Life in Ipoh

Pleasant. I believe I could use this word to describe life in Ipoh. Although possessing city status,Ipoh just doesn't have the energy of a city like KL. Even Melaka feels much more vibrant and "busy" compared to Ipoh.

This could be due to the appearance of Ipoh, which lacks skyscrapers or intimidatingly tall hotels or vast blockish shopping centres. The "city" area is made up of old prewar buildings that have been refurbished (or not) and the newer shops which look like those shops you see in Desa Sri Hartamas. It doesn't give a very city feel to the place, more suburban. Ipoh folk also dress much more casually compared to the KL-ites so there isn't much to look at unlike Jalan Raja Chulan where you could sit around the numerous cafes or stalls and "people watch" all those trendy office workers, shoppers and tourists.

The economy here is much smaller though. There aren't many MNCs here and I guess the only Malaysian company that employs a good number of people here would be Taiko Sdn Bhd, holding company of listed KL Kepong. With so much resources and land available, one wonders why Ipoh just hasn't caught up. Melaka and Johor earn from Singaporean visitors. Ipoh is too far north and sandwiched between the capital KL and manufacturing hub Penang - or so the excuse has been given for umpteen years to explain the lack of development in Ipoh. Be an education centre, then. Go out on trade missions and invite foreign education institutions to set up campuses in and around Ipoh, offer them incentives that beat KL. The standard of living in Ipoh is slightly lower so that would be a plus for students, and with the double tracking rail up (when it is up) and also newly resumed flights to Singapore in 2009, the Perak state govt should really pump up its marketing. But that is a topic for another day.

I am glad that, unlike KL and PJ, which have been stripped of leafy green tress, it is rather green here in Ipoh. The main roads of Jalan Gopeng and Jalan Tambun have nicely manicured road shoulders that converge at the antique fountain smack in the middle of the round-about leading into/ exiting town. At least the trees planted by the local council are "real" trees with branches that spread far and lush leaves, unlike KL and PJ where DBKL and MBPJ in their wisdom, have chosen to plant ridiculous non-shade-providing palms. Just because Malaysia in in the tropics doesn't mean we have to make our cities all look beachy, and windy, you know. What happened to all those grand raintrees and flame of the forest?

I noticed that Ipoh folk are more laid back and friendly. The shopkeepers all have a moment to chat with you. And there is less of that "hurry up" feeling whenever you go out to run your errands. Back in Damansara Utama or SS2 in PJ, I always felt hurried - heck the parking (or lack of) was enough to drive one ballistic.

Luckily for me, I am not a pathological shopper. If you are one, you might not survive in Ipoh. There are only Kinta City and Ipoh Parade, which carry brands like Jusco, Cold Storage, Padini, Nike, Royal Sporting House, G2000, Poney, and the main gents and ladies clothing and shoe lines, but on a much more muted scale. Of course there are lots of independent boutiques around, but style-wise, nah. You would be running screaming back to KL to shop!

Traffic jams? Much much less than KL. Happens only for brief spells at the peak of the usual to school- to work, back from work-school times. And Ipoh drivers move at a slightly slower pace, too. I am always overtaking them.

Scenery? Great. Ipoh is hemmed in by limestone hills all around. So when you are up on the flyover, you can see the green, rolling hills which does good for your soul. Air quality? Good, and being further up north, thank God Ipoh is spared the haze. The sky is almost always clear,blue with white puffy clouds.

In Ipoh - my feelings

Ipoh is a nice enough town (or should I say city). I am not unfamiliar with it as my grandparents lived in a little town just outside Ipoh.

But having to treat Ipoh as my city now, that was something different. I consulted my inlaws on where to go to buy what, which roads were best to take, how to find tutors - all the usual questions you would expect to ask being new in town. Unfortunately, my parents-in-law still work and have a very busy life, so I had to rely on my husband's brother's wife who doesn't work and takes care of my inlaws' household for advice.

This was the least pleasant part of starting life in Ipoh. To put it simply, my sister in law and I don't get along (surprise surprise!!). It was never deliberate on my part and I can honestly say I try to be nice to her, to try to connect each time we meet, but all my efforst are met with her stony, sullen, no eye contact, monosyllabic responses. I literally have to prod and pry information out of her. For example:

Me: Where can I go to buy stationery for the kids?
Sis-in-law: Mubarak.
Me: (holding on to my temper) Uh, where is Mubarak?
Sis-in-law: Old Town.
Me: (grinding my teeth now) Oh. And which part of Old Town?

Helpful huh? I don't think I got depressed. Thank God I am not prone to it. But I did feel very alone and you know, my husband is really from Mars. He did not notice, or maybe didn't think it was a big deal, that I was having some issues adjusting. It would have helped a lot if he talked to me about the move, how I felt, took me under his wing to show me Ipoh. But noooo. My hubby is the type who likes his wife to be independent, you know. All that nicey, romantic, supportive stuff fades after marriage I gues.

So yeah, I did get snappy and my hubby and I had big monumental fights in Ipoh. Seriously. And the renovation work on the house was driving me nuts! And my hubby is control freak and fuss-pot supreme. "Why is there a scratch on the wooden floor?", "Did you notice the metal grill wasn't done right?", "There's some stain on the marble floor". Give me a break. All day long I hear drilling and knocking, workmen trudging through the house, dust and cement all over, following the workers around and giving them old newspapers and rags (to the point we ran out of rags and I had to cut up my older T-shrts) endless cleaning, finding that my brooms were going missing daily, fetching my son to school and back on unfamiliar roads (I found a better route on my own - no thanks to you know who).

And you know, now that I don't work, I feel this control issue. Lilke I don't have any. When I earned my own money, I had a voice, authority. Now, do I? I have to check with my hubby on anything to do with the house. Then he says, but you can have your opinion, it's just that I may not agree with you all the time. Great. On the other hand, he says to me to be independent and take charge. And when I do, and when he doesn't agree with the outcome, we have our fights and he says "Why couldn't you have checked with me first? Is it so hard?" Behind their facade, I think all men are MCPs, control freaks and have huge egos.

Thank God for email. I emailed to my friends a lot and that helped me to vent. They gave words of support and advice. It really helped. Never disconnect with your friends. I miss my Mommy!!