Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan

The Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan is the most recognised structure in Teluk Intan. It was strategically erected at the town centre . The tower was built in 1885 by a contractor, Mr. Leong Choon Chong.

Originally housed the water tank that supply water to the town area and reserve during drought and fire. It was also used to report time and served as a beacon to guide ship into Teluk Anson Port.

The tower drew comparison with the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Standing at only 25m with 110 steps, it is not as tall compared to the Leaning Tower of Pisa which stand at 55m.

The tower have a pagoda shaped desgin. Although it looks like an eight storey tower, the circular brick structure is actually just three storey high. The structure is made of wood and brick. The base of the tower is 13m in diameter against 8.2m in diameter at the top.

Now, the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan serve as a clock tower. The chiming clock which was installed in 1894 was bought from London and designed by J.W. Benson-Ludgathy.

 

 

 

The view of the tower is much more spectacular at night as it is illuminated with four different colours of LED lights at a few seconds interval.

Unfortunately, the access to the tower is currently closed for maintenance work. I heard there is a little display of the tower's history inside.

Batu Tenggek

Batu Tenggek (Sitting Boulder) in Teluk Intan is now considered as the war memorial commemorating the dead of World War I & II based on the engraving on the stone pedestal.

 

The local legend has it that the rock was placed there by a British soldier and was originally the size of a matchbox but miraculously grew over the year.

The memorial can be found beside the Lembaga Tabung Haji Building at Jalan Mahkamah. It might be a bit hard to notice the stone if one is not paying attention as it is surrounded by traffic and trees around it.

The memorial also carries a line from Laurence Binyon's famous poem "For the Fallen". The fourth verse of the poem has been regarded as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of nation.

Teluk Intan

Teluk Intan is Perak's third largest town which is more famous for its leaning tower. The town is about 2.5 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur

 

The town was founded on the river bank of Perak River. The river forms an oxbow meander as it flows through the town and the town is built around the oxbow

During the British colonial era, the town was changed to Teluk Anson (Anson Bay) in honour of a British Officer, Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson. From my conversation with a few locals here, most of the elderly will still refer this place as Teluk Anson.

In 1982, during the centenary of the town's establishment, the name was changed again to Teluk Intan.

 

The long distance buses will stop at its bus terminal at the Bandar Baru Teluk Intan. This new township itself is just less than 10 minutes walk from the old town.

 

The town is best explored on foot. There is no traffic lights around and most of the streets here are one way street. Pedestrian crossing lines are located at strategic spot but pedestrian still need to be alert as Malaysian drivers are not known to give way to pedestrian.

 

 

 

 

The town has a number of colonial buildings and Chinese shop houses together with modern buildings, few shopping complexes and a cinema.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm amazed with the number of churches here as well as other places of worship found here. Some of them are probably as old as the town itself. Racial harmony is pretty imminent in this town.

 

 

 

The wet market in Jalan Woo Saik Hong is pretty huge for the size of this town. Fish and cockles are relatively cheap here.

 

The old bus station in the heart of the town appear to be still functional and served as the base for some old bus company which probably plying the nearby area.

 

Teluk Intan also has a lot to offer when it comes to food. I notice the locals will flock the Glutton Square and a stretch of hawker stalls, both along Jalan Ah Cheong.

The town is blessed with many schools with a number of missionary schools from the old day. I reckon this town produce a lot of good students in the past but sadly most of them had migrated to bigger cities such as KL, Shah Alam and Klang as there aren't much opportunity here.