Kellie's Castle, Batu Gajah

I used to work for a multinational company which its manufacturing plant is situated in Batu Gajah. Every month or two I'll need to drive down to Ipoh and Batu Gajah to meet clients and attend meetings. Countless time I've driven passed Kellie's Castle, I have never once stepped foot into it.

This year, one of my best friends and I have many days leave to be cleared by end of March. We both seized the opportunity and took two weeks off for Chinese New Year. We departed from Kuala Lumpur to our hometown on the 10th of February at 8.30am in the morning and took a slow drive up north. I dunno where did the idea creep in and we decided to visit Kellie's Castle.

So two idiots in shorts and T-shirts stopped to visit the castle under the hot blazing sun. Man I tell you we were toasted.

Kellie’s Castle was built by a Scottish planter his name called William Kellie Smith from a little town in Scotland. So he came to Malaysia in late 19th century and he basically developed Batu Gajah. I will leave the history part aside in case you are thinking to visit the castle in the future, you can read it there.

Anyways, picture below is the ruins of World War II. The main building were still very well-maintained and very windy.

I didn't know until many people told me after my visit that Kellie's Castle is very haunted. Many people claimed to have seen Mr Smith and his daughter roaming around the place. I'm not sure if I am sensitive to spirits but many times I have had encounters in different places. And, I sweat the "Linen Room" or whatever it's called was so eerie I got goosebumps once I stepped foot into that room. Of course, I quickly back off 😂. Chicken shit!

But all in all it was a great experience because I never knew or care to learn about this story behind this tourist's attraction. I gotta say this architecture is a masterpiece.

If you happened to drive pass Batu Gajah, it is just about 10-15mins off the highway. Parking fee is RM2 per vehicle, entrance fee is RM5 per person for Malaysian, and I think it's only RM6 for non-Malaysian. Definitely worth visiting unless you're too afraid of ghosts.