Sam Po Tong, Ipoh

"Ipoh has breathtaking views" - that was my conclusion at the end of the excursion. Take Sam Po Tong (三宝洞) for example (Left), I was there a few weeks back and was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful landscape. The temple is unique because it is build into a limestone cave.

At the entrance of the temple, I was greeted by a fine looking pond (Bottom Right).
The most astonishing thing is that the fishes growing in the pond are huge! The biggest one that I have spotted would be the Patin (巴田) fishy, that have easily grown to 1m, if not more. I dread to think what would happen if someone falls into the pond. The surrounding of the pond is decorated with potted bonsai plants and statuetes of pagodas/gods/godesses, giving it a strong oriental features.
I walked through the caves in the temple and at the end of it, it opens into a natural "courtyard" (Bottom Left). Inside the courtyard, the surrounding is so picturesque that it could have easily been mistaken for a setting in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Statuetes are ubiquitious in Sam Po Tong. (Bottom), Julia posing with a smiling Buddha statue. Some carvings of the Buddha are more serious. Although description-less, I can tell the this carved rock of Buddha with palms facing downwards and upwards could easily be a relic (2nd Bottom).

Another attraction inside the "courtyard", would be the tortoises square. The tortoises feed on kangkong vegetables that are purchasable at the entrance of the temple. I purchased a bunch for RM2 so that I can let the tortoises indulged. I need to throw Kangkong towards the hot spot (Bottom). Two tortoises jostling for a bite at the kangkong leaves (2nd Bottom). Some of the tortoises are so big that they are easily older than me and I am pretty old hehe.