The “Lions” of Hugh Low Street…
This is a front view of No.188, Hugh Low Street – which used to be Ipohgal’s home. The picture was taken by Aaron Ong, who was inspired by Ipohgal’s description of her colourful childhood. The design of this house deserves a special mention – particularly the 2 lions on the roof (see picture below)
Like Ipohgal has mentioned, there are 2 lions on either side of a globe (in the centre). Were the lions part of a certain trademark? Or perhaps a unique ‘signature’ of a famous person? I do wonder if there are anymore of such designs on other buildings around Ipoh – maybe it was part of a series of buildings built by a particular architect! (for instance, the shop houses that Yau Tet Shin built all have a similar design).
We thank Aaron for the pictures, and also Ipohgal for sharing her fond memories with us.
Well, from the pic.
* Two lions playing with a globe ~ most likely a symbolic of chinese fengshui .
* Peony(Muotan)flower 牡丹花 ~ rich and abundant a symbolic of chinese fengshui .
* Two pairs of dragon & phoenix ~ Power & Intelligence a symbolic of chinese fengshui .
* Trees and Birds at the bottom left ~ a symbolic Well to do
* Trees and Cranes at the bottom right ~ a symbolic Longevity and Affluent .
This type of design can be seen in the southern China part but with local chinese fashion.
Purely from my personal judgement and compare to what I have seen before.
Sorry , it should be a dragon & a phoenix only not two pair typing error
Haaaaaa….one pairs of dragon & phoenix at each side~ Power & Intelligence a symbolic of chinese fengshui .
Hi KLboy, thanks for that interesting detail which presumably means the building was built by/for a Chinese. Incidentally, the date in the bottom centre records 1931 as the date the house was built.
Tks KL Boy for deciphering the motifs.
Though I do see TWO pairs of dragons but I fail to see a pair of phoenix.
I should think 1931 is correct though part of the “3″ have detached away.
Hi IpohWorld, what a pleasant surprise! I am so delighted and honored to see my former home being featured so prominently in your blog!!
And to Aaron, a big thank you for your wonderful photography. Wow,your camera is real good,producing such clear pictures!!
Honestly,for the first time in my life,I can see the craving from such a near distance,it is almost like being on top of the roof itself! When I was still a child, we used to look up from the road. We could see the outline but not the intricate cravings.
From the picture, I can see that a new coat of whitewash was applied and a new roof was fixed although the blue color seems odd. Doesn’t quite blend.I am glad it is still standing there albeit very old.
And KL boy, I can see now that the cravings were indeed Sino and not British design. Perhaps you are right about the fengshui aspect. This building faces the junction and this is not good fengshui. Normally to counter this, a mirror or bak gua is placed at the entrance to deflect the bad qi or force. Instead, all the good and auspicious elements like lions,dragons,sun and peony were used instead. Such ingenuity!!
So,part of the riddle solved.Now,who is the designer and the craftsmen?Hopefully we can find the answers too. Meanwhile a very big thank you again guys for a job well done!!!
Btw, KL Boy, between the lions there is a 8 pointed sun (or star)? Any significance of that?
Also, ipohgal, do you remember the Freedom Cafe, a mamak restaurant opposite your house? This Freedom Cafe has since been demolished, perhaps sometimes in the early 90′s, as the building structure was jutting out awkwardly into the road and causing a bottleneck at the traffic light.
I read from somehwere that Freedom Cafe got is name just after the brutal Japanse occupation. If not mistaken, Lat the cartoonist did do a drawing of the cafe.
The front of Freedom Cafe was almost all fixed glass with its entrance in the centre. On either side of the main door is a fruit stall, managed by the proprietor who is always spraying water onto the fruits.
Beside Freedom cafe is Yee Fah Shoes, who had just recently closed its doors.
Hi ! AARON , and thanks Ipohworld a lot for posting this article with photo.
I m gradually like this blog a lot.
Well, its a 8 pointed sun.It looks like Kuomintang logo, but Kuomintang is having 12 pointed sun logo.
“Sun” means sunny and bright all year round.
Haa………..
If not mistaken , it a pair of dragon and phoenix at each side, that’s the chinese fengshui way, although I m not fengshui master…hope my guess right.Haaaaaa……
This type of design you can see it in southern part of China
(Guangdong province)
Hi Aaron,yes,I do remember Freedom Cafe opposite my house. My dad loved their roti telur with extra onions to go with teh tarik. Besides the fruit stall at either side of the entrance which you mentioned, I still remember many taxis outside the cafe waiting for customers. I think they plied the Taman Chempaka and Ampang area. Now this building is gone. All I can see is a wide pavement and the giant Khong Bros advertisement!
As for Yee Fah Shoes,my sisters like to buy shoes from this shop when they started working and earned their salaries.
Do you still remember the big raintree between the back portion of Freedom Cafe and the old Tanjung Rambutan bus station? Once a year, the Ipoh municipal workers would come and trim the shady tree. That was in the early 70s before they finally felled it down completely.
Speaking of the old Tanjung Rambutan bus station, did you notice their jukebox that belt out Elvis or Beatles songs? My mom loved these songs eventhough she does not understand a word of English.
The original police station opposite is also gone to be replaced by a modern one. Last time,it used to be a timber building with a big angsana tree outside.
And lastly,are you staying somewhere near Sin Yee Huat grocery shop or Yuyi Express Bus company?
KLboy, thanks for the feng shui lesson!
at first I thought that those carvings were just for decoration….
Aaron, Ipohgal……just for your interest: there is a sketch of Freedom Cafe in Lat’s “Town Boy”.
For information, we feature Town Boy at http://www.ipohworld.org/search8/result.asp?strid=1829.
Well, ig, I stayed upstairs at #12, formerly Universal Travel Agncy, organising regular bus trips to Hadyai & Spore. It is/was also a hair salon. The view outside my window overlooks right down the entire strecth of Hume St, as well as the Tg Rambutan bus station, actual name = Century Omnibus. (Bus, I know; but what’s an Omnibus anyway?)
By the time I moved in in 1980 the tree is no longer there though I do see the stump of what’s left of the tree. Sometime in 1981 or 82 the entire bus station was almost gutted in a night time fire. A few of the parked busses were totally goners. Staying upstairs we all had a fabulous first class unobstructed view of the excitement, watching the firemen running around and fighting the fire while policemen (or was it the FRU?) kept the large crowd at bay. For a while there was a fear of explosions or of fire spreading through the electrical wires linking the station to our block.
The Khong bros ad is no longer there and in place is a new ad which I forget.
I was from a poor family and for the 1st coupla years of staying there we didn’t even have a proper tv. Far from being bored, we kids made do by watching the regular Taoist funeral rites right outside our window. They had a sort of a performance which we called “thiu for”, literally “jumping over the fire”. So this Taoist priest would do some chanting mumbo jumbo and waving his sword around while walking around a small fire just outside the funeral house. Then he would abruptly jump over the fire and as he jumped, the fire would flare up suddenly WHOOOSH!!, maybe as high as him. They would do this “thiu for” thingy for about a dozen times before calling it a night.
Opposite the funeral house there were at least 2 or 3 shops making & selling funeral paraphernalia such as paper dolls (as servants), clothes, money, horses, fancy houses/mansions, cars (only Mercedes Benz models). These paper and bamboo offerings are bought and then burnt during the funeral in the belief that the dead will actually receive the goods. Hah! True or not that’s an entirely different matter.
The more richer the dead fella, the more bizarre the offering becomes. Well, for starters I have seen paper C3P0 (Star Wars was dominating cinemas those days), paper Boeing 747, about 40 ft long, and even a huge paper cruise liner.
Shhheeeesh!! the things people do to impress well wishers…
“What???? Your dead dad gets a lowly Merc? Well, whaddya know I just sent my dead dad a jumbo jet, just in case he needs to travel for his regular meetings between heaven and hell.”
To be honest I have yet to see a paper space shuttle or a rocket though.
Well, coming back to the subject how nice if #188 is done up again, with new cement render and a colourful frontage highlighting the beautiful motifs.
Aaron,now I knew roughly where you used to stay. Just a few doors from my former place.
Hah, so you too witnessed the fire at the bus station! It was opposite my bedroom window. And my Dad was equally worried about the fire spreading to our place which is so near. Luckily that didn’t happen.
Coincidentally, I am half way thru a piece about life near Hume Street. Like your family too, we only have a TV in the early 80s when all of us finished school. But life then is far from being bore with all the noise and happenings around us.
Paper space shuttle or rocket? Maybe the dead are not keen about space travelling yet but they certainly keep up with IT! I have seen paper laptops at some shops in KL. No laughing matter!!
IG,
Yeah I’ve seen paper computers as well as typewriters too. I’ve seen paper suitcases full of paper clothes. I’ve seen paper pianos, TVs, and other stuff that I didn’t even know existed, like VCRs. You name it they probably have it. Not DVD players though.
Hi Aaron
Do you know the lady at the desk called Ah Keng, working in the express bus company near your place? She rented 188 back portion to store tyres and diesel oil. Perhaps you can get her to show you the interior of the shop.
Hi Aaron
Along the row of shophouses where you once lived was Union Mobile Advertising Company. The business was owned by Mr. Yip and I believe his son also helps to run the show. I had some business dealings with them in the early 80′s and was wondering if the shop is still in existence. Whenever I am back in town, I just don’t have the time to re-trace my steps and visit the places where I have left my footprints.
Aaron I think the one thing I would want most would be a paper return ticket
IG,
Nope I don’t know Ah Keng and as far as I know #188 is still inhabited by the mamak workers.
KC, Yes the shop is still in operation if I remember correctly.
JJ,
LOL! A paper return ticket indeed.!! How the dead would wish.
Have been reading all the interesting comments about Ipoh in the olden days of the 60s, 70s and 80s by people like Aaron Ong and ipohgal. Kudos to both of you for the vivid and well written pieces of history of Ipoh! Very nostalgic for me as well. I’m just wondering how old Aaron and ipohgal are now. Anyway, thanks and keep up the good work!
Aaron and Ipohgal, like you both, I am an introspective person. Though my growing days were no bed of roses, there were some happiness and fun which will never be felt again.
I enjoy reading your accounts. Keep them coming.
BTW, I grew up in Buntong New Village, Ipoh, in the 50 and 60s.
PT I am desperately looking for photographs of Buntong in the old days. Do you have any please.
Veronica, For your information I am now officially “4 sheets, no balance” (in Cantonese)
Ika, I would love to oblige. But I never owned a camera until I started earning in the 70s. Camera was luxury during my schooling days.
Ipohgal, Yee Fah Shoes had a long history too. They sold quality leather shoes that were imported from the UK. I remember buying a pair of John White from them during the early 70s. Freedom Cafe, unlike today’s mamak shops, had a facade you don’t get to see anymore in Ipoh. Its glass frontage made the place look pricey.
Hi Veronica,
Thanks for your interest in my childhood stories. How old am I? Just sufficient to say that I am still very young at heart! Hahahaha….
And PT,
Yee Fah Shoes is no more. In it’s place is a shop selling all kinds of aiding equipments for the elderly and the frail. Freedom Cafe is now a piece of vacant lot.
Very interesting structure,I never noticed it until I see it in the blog. I used to visit my friend’s shop next door. A very long time ago!
Just wondering if any of you know of Merdeka Gardens. Located off Kuala Kangsar Road, behind Yuk Choy High School. I grew up there. When i was born, my family lived at Jalan Bendahara, Pasir Putih if I am not mistaken. I was sent to Sungai Siput for a year to stay with my Aunt. I never knew why that happened, maybe because i was difficult to handle as I can remember that my Aunt was quite a disciplinarian. That would be in 1966.
I think it was during that time that my father saved up enough for a deposit on a house. He was the bread-winner of the family. I have an older sister and a younger sister then. Now I remember why my parents sent me to Sungai Siput. It must have been because my youngest sibling was just born, my little brother. Anyway my father worked for SUN HENG, located on Hugh Low Street as a counter sales person. This shop sold everything from singlets, t-shirts (the old chinese style), slippers and so on. I can remember I love spending time at the shop as there was a toy shop right next door. Never got to buy any toys though as we were not very well off. Always cried when mum had to drag me away from the shop to get me home. Some years later the shop was burned down. It was located on the market side of Hugh Low Street adjacent to Wai Sang Tong (a Chinese herbal shop). Mum used to get all the herbal stuff from this shop.
Dad bought our first house in Merdeka Gardens. I can still remember. It was No. 28 Jalan merdeks, just opposite a padang and also sewege plant where all the waste from surrounding houses were collected. I remember it used to stink when the trucks come to empty the tanks. A few years later, I think I was 8 then, may dad lost his job with Sun Heng. It was a very scary situation as we suddenly lost the income stream. Instead of getting another job, my dad borrowed some money, built a cart and started selling noodles. he had a partner then but some time later he started out on his own selling Chee Cheong Fun. It was a very popular store, he sold CCF with braised pork and sataki mushrooms, curry Pork crackle. It was hard but he managed to put us through school and university doing that. Later on he also sold Tou Foo Fah. As kids we had to help at the store every night. We took orders, serve and collected the proceeds and clean up.
I am also wondering if anyone here knows of my father’s Chee Cheong Fun and tau Foo Fah store at Merdeka Gardens. Does anyone have some pictures of the line of stores operating in the evenings on Jalan merdeks? Would be nice if it can be posted here.
I went to Saint Michaels’ until 1977. I passed my MCE but only got a pass for Bahasa so I continued Lower Six at MHS. It was just for a few months as I had applied to study in Australia. I left M’sia in 78/79 and had been in OZ ever since. I have been back to Ipoh many times and more recently had taken my own family back.
Ipoh will always be my hometown. Everytime I go back I feel very emotional and even now, writing this makes me feel homesick.
Thanks to the lot of you who are writing your stories. Each story I read reminds me of my childhood. Thanks you Thank You Thank you.
Yoke Leong,
Thank-you for sharing your story. Like youself, I’m an ex- Michaelian and MHS, albeit a year your junior. Having left M’sia for UK in 1981, I find myself feeling homesick for my hometown,Ipoh, despite returning for visits every year or two. Which is why i give thanks to the efforts of Commander Ian Anderson and all the other contributors who have made this Website so successful. I am really looking foward to getting a copy of the book, Ipoh my hometown!
BTW, there is a Facebook group called – St Michael’s Institution Ipoh , which might be of interest to you. It will the Centennial Celebration in 2012 and there will be a 200 tables
Anniversary in the school padang in 29/09/12. I predict that tickets will sell like hotcakes.
Ian, are you able to give any indication for the price of the new book incl P&P to UK yet? Thanks.
meant to say 200 table anniversary dinner, in my last post. please excuse my fat fingers. hate these small keypad on mobile phone.
I’m Michaelian too… anyone know how or where to get the tickets?
Hi Thunderchild…….if you’re refering to the ‘Ipoh My Home Town’ book, it’s priced at RM 100. as to buying it, perhaps you could contact Ian through email info@ipohworld.org
Felicia, many thanks. I will contact Ian.
Aaron Ong, info on SMI Centennial dinner can be obtained from Peter Khiew at peterkiew.blogspot.com
i’m an andersonian ,having lots of friends in smi,which i’m a banana also.ipoh is the place to beeeeee forever.
I lived in 169,Hugh Low Street most of my life until the late the 1960′s.I must admit I didn’t notice the two lions and don’t even know where is 188,Hugh Low St.I remembered Tanjung Rumbutan bus station and the big rain tree.Tell me is it opposite the police station.
Hi CQ,
If you look at the first picture carefully, I am sure you will have no problem locating 188 Hugh Low Street. It’s back faces the famous Yong Suan Nasi Kandar shop, and yes, it is also opposite the new town police station. I think most Ipoh folks have passed by this place one time or another in their live time.
Wong Yoke Leong, do you recall a very good friend of mine, John Robert Gomes (Bobby) who lived in Merdeka Gardens as well. His dad was Indian, mum was Chinese but he looked ‘Mat Salleh’:)
Hi,
CQ, are you aunty Quan, I stii remember grand live in 169. we spend lots of time there.
took me a while to recognize this building until i realise it’s at the junction between hugh low street and jln yang kalsom. used to visit my grandma (very often) who lived at 156 hugh low street (next to the lim keng guan dried pork shop) until the mid 90s, so when reading ipohgal’s writings about hume street, it was exactly how i remember the area.