Tronoh, Perak

Tronoh, Perak

The tiny town of Tronoh (sometimes spelt Teronoh) is about 30km south of Ipoh, Perak.

Like the rest of the Kinta Valley, Tronoh is a former tin mining settlement and 100 years ago it was the site of the largest open cast tin mine in the world.

In those days a railway line linked Tronoh to Ipoh but it was dismantled by the Japanese during the war for scrap and never rebuilt.

Old shophouses in Tronoh

Today it is a very sleepy town comprising two or three streets of decaying old Chinese shophouses and some newer suburbs.  There are a couple of restaurants but no hotels. Even the main Ipoh to Lumut highway now bypasses the town, leaving its quiet streets to slumber in peace. A university campus has been opened nearby but its impact on the old town centre appears negligible.

Main Street, Tronoh

The town has had a few moments of fame. Tronoh starred in a couple of films – it was used in the 1981 Hong Kong movie called Father & Son and more recently was the setting for a Malaysian romantic comedy called Ice Kacang Puppy Love (2010). You can see the latter’s movie trailer (in Chinese) if you are interested:

Ice Kacang Puppy Love movie set in 1980’s Tronoh.

 

There’s not a lot more I can say about Tronoh. Here are a few more photos from my visit in April 2013.

Singer Shop, Tronoh

Singer advertising boards can be found in nearly every Malaysian town but how many people buy their sewing machines these days?

Bicycle repair shop, Tronoh

Some well maintained shophouses

Most of the shops were shuttered up.

Tronoh's kaki lima

Incense coils in Tronoh

Classic shophouse, Tronoh