Kellie's Castle

It stands majestically amid oil palms estates, its sprawling grounds well kept, surrounded by a river. Its story had been likened to that of the Taj Mahal, and it truly would have been just as magnificent had it been fully constructed. Now, its colors faded with time, it still presents an imposing sight to all passing by, a reminder of a more glorious time gone by.

Welcome to Kellie's Castle, folks! Or Kellie's Folly depending on which side of the story you listen to.

The ruins of Kellie's Castle is located near Batu Gajah and is about 30 minutes'
drive from Ipoh. The castle remains in ruins because the construction was never
completed by the original owner due to his untimely death.

The property of English rubber tycoon William Kellie Smith, the incomplete 19th century building remains dark and mysterious with much speculation among locals and visitors about hidden rooms and secret tunnels.

Its allure and romance led these ruins to be chosen as one of the set locations for the filming of "Anna and the King" in the mid 1990's.

Source: allmalaysia.info

Entrance to the castle costs RM3.00 for each adult. From the ticketing booth a bridge over the river will take visitors to the foot of a long staircase that leads up to the castle grounds.

This well located in the courtyard behind the castle also doubles as a ventilation shaft for the secret tunnel that supposedly runs underneath the castle grounds. One of the tunnels supposedly leads to an Indian temple nearby. Well, I did search the place for an entrance to the tunnel, but couldn't find it. Either it's not located within the castle or had been sealed off.

This long corridor runs the entire length of the castle. Entrances to the main hall and kitchen area are located along this corridor.

The second floor contains the main family's bedrooms.

This picture was taken in Kellie's daughter, Helen's room on the second floor. It is said that her spirit still walk these walls! There are no uninvited guests in this picture are there? Hehehe.......but wouldn't it be real cool if there are?

Helen's room is connected to her brother, Alexander's room through a secret door in the bathroom.

Third floor - here's where it starts to get interesting. The guest rooms are located here as well as a linen closet which is quite dark.

Here's Jeff fooling around outside the linen closet pretending to have his arm around imaginary figures. Lucky no "additional" figures showed up in the shot.

One of the guest bedrooms. I believe there were three of them.

Sher Lynn is standing on the helipad, at least that's what most historians say this flat, circular structure is for. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think helicoptors exist yet circa early 1900s, do they?

This open-air space on top of the main section of the building can be used to hold parties where guests will get a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape (in this day and age, that means miles and miles of palm oil estate :D). Notice that it is two-tiered.

The bottom tier is narrower and accessible through a staircase. Although the two tiers look very close together, don't think about jumping down there. The height between the two tiers is actually almost as tall as me!

The view from the bottom tier overlooks the Smiths' old home before the construction of the castle. Only the facade remains now.

This balcony overlooks the river and gardens beyond.

These aren't accidental shots. I was exploring the basement which is pitch black and had to use the camera's flash to see if there are any dangerous obstacles in the way. From the first picture you can just makeout the shape of the wine rack in the dark corner. The second picture is of the narrow passageway in front of the wine rack under the staircase. I was hoping to find the entranceway to the tunnels here, but no luck. The next time I get a chance to come back, I will definitely bring a flashlight along.

You will notice that most of the pictures taken here are of Sher Lynn. I was too busy running around the place looking for ghosts to pose for pictures :D There were also secret staircases all over the place and it was so much fun discovering them. These are in hidden corners and are so narrow, there is only enough space for one person at a time. Definitely not for claustophobics, although some of these staircases are already exposed. There is even an elevator shaft.

Both Kellie's Castle and the old house were built with basically Indian designs as William Kellie Smith was facinated with Hinduism and Indian cultures. All building materials and labor for the castle were imported from India. Problems cropped up during the construction when the Spanish Flu hit Asia and claimed many of the laborers' lives. Construction finally halted for good when Smith went for a short trip to Portugal and died there.