Day 3 @ ETS Train Ride to Taiping (Apr 2016)

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Saturday, 23rd April 2016

It was quite a joyful ride as I embarked on the 67km ETS train journey from the iconic Ipoh Station to Taiping. Before that, I made a whistle stop at the Ho Yan Hor Museum at Ipoh's Old Town and was surprised at the warm reception that I received at this fine museum.

The train that I travelled on today was relatively new and the cabins smelt really fresh. It had the hall marks of modern train design including clean restrooms, a meal car as well as the train route indicator. I booked my tickets online one month before my travel dates. The train was full on a Saturday morning but it did not compromise on comfort. Currently, the ETS service covers Gemas in Negeri Sembilan to Butterworth (Penang). I had read all the good reviews of this new breed of trains in Malaysia and it was nice to be able to ride on it. The journey was smooth and I could move around the cabins without much issues.

About an hour into my journey, I had reached Taiping, my intended destination. There was a nice railway station gallery at the Old Taiping Station. Built in 1885, I was glad that they managed to preserve this fine building. Taiping town is difficult to get around without your own transportation. Since I only got a couple of hours before my next train back to Ipoh, I decided to hang around the old railway station building. There were a couple of local eateries and modern café within the old station. And the afternoon rains did help to bring down the Saturday afternoon heat as I waited for my train to bring me back to Ipoh the same day.

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