Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow

First floor of Sekeping Kong Heng Hotel

Theoretically, staying anywhere is fine since you need to drive to get around Ipoh (you should rent a car). Many people have recommended to me to stay at M Boutique Hotel.

First floor of Sekeping Kong Heng Hotel

But I wanted to stay at Old Town. It’s the most convenient spot in Ipoh.

Sekeping Kong Heng Hotel is hard to find. It is in the center of a compound. The most direct route is to walk the alley between Plan B cafe and Restoran Kong Heng. Walk about 20m and you’ll see a narrow metal staircase on your left. Beside the staircase, there is a small opening. That’s the reception.

Entrance to Sekeping Kong Heng Hotel

At first glance, the hotel is extremely, extremely charming. I couldn’t stop squealing on how awesome it is. Vines and banyan creep on the walls. Wooden louvred windows typical of shophouses in the early 20th century are in various stages of rot. The pale pastel green paint is peeling and cracking, revealing the white undercoat here, or cement there, or a gaping hole. This post-Apocalyptic sublime. This ruined beauty. This memento mori. Who can resist it?

Lovers’ locks

But unfortunately, after living here for 4 days and 3 nights, I understand what the hotel website means when it says it’s not for everyone.

The narrow stairs up to the hotel

The small lift for bulky luggage

The “jail”-like corridor to rooms

PROS
-Amazing location.

-You’ll never go hungry with these famous eateries at the foot of the hotel: Burps and Giggles; The Roquette Cafe; Bits and Bobs; STG Boutique Cafe; The Happy 8 Cafe; Plan B; Restoran Kong Heng; Thean Chun; Sin Yoon Long; and Nam Heong.

–Near graffiti

-Every tourist comes here to take photos, but only a hotel guest has access to the building. Feels very privilege to get into the building.

CONS

–Not suitable for old people and disabled because there is no lift and there are many steps.

–Not suitable for old people and kids because the shower floor is metal, which is slippery.

–Not suitable for friends because the curtains separating the shower and bed are sheer; you can see through them.

–Not suitable for couples because the toilet is in the same area with the bedroom, so when one person shits, the other person can see and smell the funkiness. All romance dies.

Common space for TV

–Not suitable for light sleepers because you can hear every small creak. You hear the music from Plan B, your neighbors showering, your neighbors packing at 2am, the Muslim prayers at 6am, the hawkers’ chattering at 7am.

-Not suitable for the easily bored; no TV

–No security. I sometimes find the gated door at the staircase, which leads to the rooms, left open. In any case, it’s locked by a combination lock and hundreds of people will know the combination by now.

–Troublesome. The room is locked with traditional lock and key, and the gate by combination lock. So tedious.

–No privacy. At the top of the wall of every room, there is a window, so people standing at the corridor can peep into the room.

-they do not provide shampoo, toothbrush, tooth paste, potable water, and other amenities.

-they do not clean the room during the stay. So if you stay for a week, they won’t clean your room for a week.

I could tolerate some inconveniences because I stayed alone. But the one thing I was afraid of was someone would peep while I was sleeping.

Sekeping Kong Heng
74, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
T: +60 12 2272745

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.