Malay houses
Carved timber on stilts.
spicytropic — CC BY-SA 3.0 · spicytropic — CC BY-SA 3.0 · spicytropic — CC BY-SA 3.0 · spicytropic — CC BY-SA 3.0
A historical complex on the bank of the Perak River, in the village where James Birch, the first British Resident of Perak, was killed in 1875 by men of local chiefs who resisted British interference, the best known being Maharaja Lela and Dato Sagor, so the event became an early symbol of resistance to colonial rule in Malaysia. The complex opened in 2004, and its finest features are its traditional wooden Malay houses raised on stilts, with pointed roofs and carvings, now museums showing the history of the area and the life and tools of its people, along with memorials to the resistance heroes, a watchtower and old cannons. An adult ticket costs about four ringgit, and it opens daily from half past nine to five, with a break at Friday prayer time. It is quiet, with few visitors on weekdays. It is more than an hour's drive from Ipoh with no convenient public transport, so allow half a day, and you can combine it with the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan, roughly on the same route.
Carved timber on stilts.
The British Resident's death.
Memorials to local heroes.
Pasir Salak, on the Perak River, about an hour and a half's drive south of Ipoh
The tower in Ipoh was raised in memory of the same James Birch who was killed at Pasir Salak, so the two places tell one story from opposite sides.