Kota Ngah Ibrahim, Matang, Perak

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Ready to get to know Kota Ngah Ibrahim (Facebook page by Leisure & Incentive Tours Sdn Bhd) better?

Free Admission
Operating Hours: 9 am to 5 pm daily. Closed for Friday prayer between 12.15 pm to 2.45 pm.

Left home an hour later than planned, we went straight to Kota Ngah Ibrahim in Matang. The first to arrive, we had the place to ourselves for over half an hour before a family arrived followed by a group of school kids. The latter being my museum pet peeve, I was glad that I was almost done touring the place anyway. Spent longer than I planned in Kota Ngah Ibrahim as I saw more than I expected to see.

What's left of the wall

Huge, sprawling ground

First we roamed the outdoor area of the complex. You might want to come early in the morning (the place opens at 9 am daily) so you can explore the ground comfortably and not sweat bullet. There are 2 guard towers (more like a platform, really) and 2 wells in the complex. See if you can spot them.

Rather well-preserved compared to the one in front

Old well. Don't go throwing coins for luck in there!

The other tower and well. Nope, not a wishing well either

The 'new' well built by Brits (kut, cannot recall)

There's also a monument & Ngah Ibrahim's own grave in the complex. Go say a little prayer or recite the whole Yassin if you wish. They've built a cozy space with wudhu' area for visitors' convenient.

Pathway to the grave

The caretaker was very friendly. He gave me a leaflet on the complex and another brochure of museums in Malaysia. Now I can tick off all the museums I've visited! =D 

Malaysia Museums Map

He also answered my questions about the place and told us about the famous Mee Udang Kuala Sepetang. I heard him suggesting a few other places of interest to the big family that arrived while I was looking at the exhibitions in the gallery. Such dedication!

The building housed exhibitions on the history of Taiping, in particular the stories about mining on the ground floor. Stories about old kings and lords are on the upper level. And since the building was used as prison, school, office and even court, certain areas displayed diorama of its various functions throughout the year.

Shea & Museum Mirrors Series

Ngah Ibrahim's bedroom. Not sure if purple was actually his fav colour

Suddenly je got class kan :p

Yang dikasihi. Pahlawan Melayu. Mempertahankan, Tanah Air. I cannot read the fancy khat in the middle :(

View from the tower/platform. Capt. Speedy's house on the right- museum's office now. No, that's not him in neon green.

It was interesting standing on the sentry tower imagining how the place used to look like. See it for yourself!

The fort ground looked smaller once upon a time

P.s. LinaHilmin on Twitter shared that there's a tree where the hanging of Dato Maharaja Lela and Dato Sagor took place, in front of the complex. There's also Dato Sagor's mausoleum near the Matang mosque.