Jalan here, jalan there. Petrol cheap, drive here, drive there. Domestic holidays are fun and cheap. Is it like what they're saying? Or is the government trying to keep the money within the country by promoting domestic travel? Well, if you're Malaysian, why not? If you're not Malaysian, why not? There's so many places to visit, things to eat and unique local food to savour. Where to go then? The nearest or the furthest state? Ipoh is just 2.5 hours away, highway speed limit in compliance. Drive faster than 110 km/h, the wind drag will cause your fuel consumption to increase. Save money on time or on fuel? You decide.
Our first stop was the Big Tree hawker centre at Pasar Pinji, reachable within 20 minutes after exiting the NSE at Sg. Pulai. Here, you can either decide to drive on to Ipoh or divert to Cameron Highlands for a cuppa of Boh Tea at their scenic plantation. But let's leave it for another trip, ok? So, at the popular hawker centre, we ordered the famous yong tau foo, fruit rojak with crackers. The dragon fruit drink helped me to wash down the delicious food. Rich in anti-oxidants, I felt healthier already! But being healthy is not the objective here. Eating a lot and lots of it, is. So, let's continue.
Buku Lima or 555, Sekeping Kong Heng - they're located at the same location, just different parts of the locality. Plenty of cafes and trinket shops for to satisfy your shopping needs for unique stuff to decorate your home or to give away as souvenirs. And why are they hanging metal food net covers in the middle of the five foot way? For me to take a shot, I guess? Buildings of yore have their old world charm as they generate memories of the past, in the creation of the country to what it is today. One can imagine the different lifestyle and hardship as they toil with what little they had in those days. Jobs were scarce and jobs were kept for long.
What's awesome in Ipoh? Besides the numerous foodie locations, the pre-war buildings, the street art decorating the streets and the friendly people, nothing much. Wait! Or is there more to Ipoh? For one thing, you can achieve your 10,000 steps in this town. At Sekeping Kong Heng, one can't forget Yasmin's museum if you're familiar with her movies like Sepet and the others. The movies challenge society's pre-conceived ideas on religion and race, about love across religion and race, touching on humanity and the reason for being. They pose a question to society - accept or reject? You decide.
50 years ago, the kids used to suck flavoured ice balls. You can find Sarsi, and other syrups soaked in the ice, and have fun sucking the coolness to chill out in the hot, humid weather. It shouldn't cost more than 5 cents then, but it costs RM4.00 today. A good profit margin, huh? Well, before you go into the economics of things, better suck the juice before the ice melts and cause a mess on your pants. I was lucky not to have the juice drip on my pants because the folded paper drained it away from me. What's the 4D number for this kind of event? Beats me!
On we walked, to look for food to satiate our growling foodie stomachs. What do one eat in Ipoh? Without further, deeper delving into this question, chicken rice comes to mind. Chicken rice being my favourite food, it's only natural that we'd go for it. A few steps from the ice ball stall, Thean Chou hor fun was our target. At 1600 hrs, we'd be lucky to have it before it runs out of chicken and closes for the day. The drinks auntie was really fierce - make sure there's still chicken hor fun before ordering your drinks. The old uncle was generous and kind enough to eke out 2 bowls of hor fun for us. We're so eternally grateful to him, helping us achieve our foodie target.
With all the food and drinks and hunger satiated for the moment, back to the hotel we went. Sarang Paloh, right smack in the middle of town, renovated colonial shophouse, is an apt choice of location. But more of the resthouse later, at the end of this blog. After having a shower and a power nap, we're ready to continue on our foodie journey. Uncle Google brought us to the other side of town, to this place called Restoran Ayam Tauke at Jln Buntong. Again, we're lucky to arrive at 1945 hrs because the couple in the queue behind us were told to return the next day as they've limited chickens! After a 1.5 hour's wait, our boiled chicken arrived with the taugeh and we're so ever grateful for the delicious food.
Were we happy with the amount of food consumed? Well, I think we have a bit more space in our stomachs to spare. So, off we went back to the city and found this octopus offering in a shop selling guilinggao or turtle shell herbal jelly, if translated in the correct sense. Is it really made of turtle shell shavings? Well, it used to be so, in the past but no more these days. The crunchy octopus, dipped in nutty chillie sauce, managed to fill up what little stomach space we have. This would be the last meal for the night, we told ourselves. Averagely, we were eating and drinking every 2 hours. Did anyone ever die due to over-eating? Just Google it.
We needed a walk, to help with the food digestion. From the time we were kids, a walk would help to ease the bloated feeling every time. So, where can we go at 2230 hrs? Shopping complexes would have closed and we don't do shopping complexes during our foodie trips. Parks would also be closed at this hour, so we're left with the Kinta Riverside Walk. A 10 minutes drive brought us to our destination, a place lit up with LED lights, similar to I-City in Shah Alam. Mind you, there's plenty of activity here. Rent a gyro board at RM40 for 30 minutes, watch three 3D movies in the VR booth, rent quad-cycles, listen to buskers crooning away with the guitars.
At 0030 hrs, it's time to call it a day and to get some sleep before the foodie sessions continue the next day. At 0700 hrs, it's time to wake up and by 0750 hrs, we left the comforts of the bed in search of food. It's good to be early to escape the crowd, and they'll come out in droves by 0900 hrs. Uncle Google brought us to Nan Chao curry mee, housed in a corner shoplot. Having thought it's an Ipoh version of curry mee, it tastes more like Sarawak laksa though.
After an hour at the shop, buffeted by toasted bread with kaya on top of the curry laksa, we're ready to walk again. Just beside the shop, there's a street art lane with red umbrellas hung overhead and graffiti art on the walls. You have to admire the artists who drew the paintings. I mean, how easy is it to draw on a vertical surface, most times higher than the person itself? And to get the proportions correct at the same time. Amazing job, I'd always say of these street artists. Converting a dull lane into a bright, cheerful street for visitors to admire and take a second look at the colonial buildings, is nothing to be sniffed at. It's a noble act, helping in the movement to create awareness of old buildings and the need to preserve the heritage that would be gone if the developers had their way. In Penang, many pre-war shophouses have been sold to Singaporeans to develop into hotels, pubs and other commercial purposes. Well, it's a way of keeping the buildings intact, rather than leaving it to rot, right?
If the developers were allowed free rein, you'd get massive apartments like the one on the right. Juxtaposed against the low level pre-war buildings, it creates a reminder of the old and new, what the future is capable of changing and the landscape that'll never be the same again. The old will be replaced with the new and the evolutionary cycle continues till everything old is replaced, or is there something we can do about it? For one thing, you can take photos and keep it for rememberance so that you can whip the old photo out to the grandchildren and share stories about the past. Moments frozen in time.
After 2 hours, it's time to eat again and our last meal before leaving Ipoh was had at this mamak nasi kandar (nasi ganja), the stall rented from a Chinese shophouse. It creates a uniqueness here, right? This delicious plate of nasi kandar costs RM4.50. You won't be able to find this price in KL, that's for sure! To complete the meal, a final meal - tau foo fa dessert was found at Funny Mountain foodie outlet not too far away. The smoothness of the soy curd could not be found in KL either and you wouldn't regret making the effort to locate this shop. At 1140 hrs, it's time to return to the rest house to prepare for check-out.
Sarang Paloh, located in the middle of the town, in the middle of foodie locations, is a highly recommended place to stay. Being a renovated pre-war shophouse, the ceilings were high and air circulation was good. The floor creaks as you walk across the floor boards. A mix of the old and the new, the rooms had air-conditioning blowing cool air towards the bed, rain showers in the bathroom and LCD television set to while the time away. A welcome tea bag pouch is complimentary and the pu-er emanates good aroma as you bring the cup closer to your nostrils. Ipoh, till the next trip, goodbye and see again in the near future........
Cut the trees, chop down the forest, clear the bushes. As nature gets victimized in the name of development, there's only so much of rainforest coverage for us to enjoy. Green, green foliage will be reduced to concrete if humans get their way. Make way for more buildings and homes, humans with their insatiable demand for destruction.
Anyways, we make it a point to relish whatever's left of the rainforest while it's still standing. So, to the jungles we went over the weekend and get some fresh air, away from the pollution in the city. The heaven on this part of the state, isn't located that far way, being only about 55 km from where we are staying. And take a look at the photo to the right - isn't this place awesome, if not inviting your presence just by the sight of it?
Surrounded by the forest, this quaint little wooden house aptly called Taman Sari (https://tamansarimalaysia.wordpress.com/), is standing on stilts at the edge of the forest, offering a great view of the green foliage surrounding the area. Sans wifi or any other electronic devices that is the good old television set, you'll be on your own or in other words, find real life activities to fill up your time here. And the kids had their drawing tools and board games to occupy themselves over the night.
After unloading our stuff, off we went to discover the locality of Ulu Langat. So, off to driving around we went and we chanced upon this fishing pond which is located about 10 km from Taman Sari. If you'd prefer spending the night fishing, then the other option would be to rent a room here instead. But us, being not the fishing type, decided that this is definitely not for us. Why catch fish which is thrown into this man-made pond? Surely, it's not natural, right?
For dinner, a short drive to the Thai Vege Fish Farm (http://www.fishfarmthai.com.my/) which is near the derelict Lookout Point, gets us good Thai food and hospitality. A Thai restaurant, the raw supplies of which comes from their own vegetable and fish farm, is a really unique offering by the very entrepreneurial business partners of this business venture. Along the way, get fresh fruits other vegetable fresh produce from the stalls lining the road. We had our share of kampung durians after dinner at RM10.00 for 3. As nightfall dawned later into the night, the plush bed and sofa looks inviting enough for us to call it a day, with the chirping of insects and howling of the primates lulling us to sleep, random calls of the nocturnal animals in the background.
In the morning, we were greeted by Lulu the cat. As you greet Lulu, she will reciprocate by climbing onto your lap as you bask in the early morning sun whose rays peek in from the little spaces between the trees. After she gets comfortable with you, she'll follow you everywhere you go. Yes, that's what happened to me, anyways. Your level of cat-ness will determine how close you'll get to her or rather, how close she wants to get with you.
The morning is never complete with a read. This is one book which I got from the Big Bad Wolf book sale and love it. It'll explain the technicalities of driving and once you understand the dynamics of controlled motion, you'd appreciate your car better. For example, I didn't know that to make for more effective braking, you'd stomp on the brakes just to transfer the car's weight to the front wheels so that it'll get a better grip and will steer you out of harm's way. I'd bet you didn't know this either, right? Life is so much of learnings, this being just one of the many lessons. The owner of the B&B delivered home cooked nasi lemak for breakfast and we relished the good food, in the super cool atmosphere of the jungle, absolutely no need for air conditioning, the temperature was a cool 23 degrees!
With an excellent view of the forest out the window, it's just one of those great moments in life, to accept and enjoy life's greatest treasure offerings. Just take a moment to put aside the demands of Life and absorb the luxury that plain old nature has to offer. Looking out the verandah, squirrels were seen scurrying down the bamboo trees. Not one or two, but a team of 5. Ah, the simple pleasures in Life is free of charge. And the primates are howling again as they call to each other, as they begin their forage for food in yet another day of the life. Who needs a television when you have nature, right? No, I have my smartphone with data plan, to update Whatsapp and Facebook, of course! Ho ho ho ... Need to share this pleasure with the rest of you folks out there.
All in all, it was a pleasant experience in the laid back style of the countryside. Exposure of the kids to the simple pleasures of nature, will hopefully generate a love for Life and did I miss the part of the natural hotspring located nearby? Having a dip in the warm, natural spring for the sulphur seems to be a weekly activity for the retirees, at least. So, there we have it - the cool of the forest in the morning, balanced by the heat of the hotspring. Yin and Yang. Balance, that's what the intent of Life is. Never too extreme, never too relaxed. Suffer so that you can find relaxation. Good and evil, day and night. Till the next adventure in Life, hope that you'd also find satisfaction in running through this adventure called Life.
Thinking about work this, thinking about work that. Reply e-mail this, reply e-mail that. Do this, do that, all in the name of work. But what does work gets us? Money, that's right. To pay the bills. However, if the mental health isn't quite right, where does it get us? You're right. To the mental asylum.
So, to maintain sanity in this fast moving lifestyle in the city, a visit to the countryside is in the works. Away from the hustle bustle of the city, where constant traffic congestion is part of Life. Where you can see more greenery and listen to the sounds of nature. A get away to find the cooler greens and enjoy the fresher air and the cooling atmosphere offered under the shades of the nature reserve.
The traffic on KESAS on a public holiday was surprisingly easy, with most of the cars having left the city yesterday night after work. 2 hours and 110 km later on the Karak highway, Bentong town was within reach. A few cars were still rushing to their hometowns in the East Coast and bike convoys didn't want to be left out of the fun. A quiet city where time stood still, compared the hectic life in the city.
Having reached at 1100 hrs, we were quite fortunate to get the last available parking lot! After ensuring that it's secured, off we walked to the waterfalls, a short 150 metres walk away. The entrance fees were RM2 for adults and RM1 each for the kids. A small amount to pay towards the conservation and maintenance of the forest reserve.
And there it was, looming ahead, the wonderful force of nature as the water gushed down the face of the rocks, to end in a pool for the holiday makers to wade and wallow in, to escape the heat from the concrete jungle. A refreshing dip was in the works, as it works to refresh the mind and soul. A place where race does not matter, a place where everyone is a human being, joined by the motivation to enjoy the serenity of nature. Young and old, one is never too late or early to bask in the atmosphere of heavenly peace. Just the sound of the water breaking onto the rocks. I couldn't avoid wondering how much water does nature hold at the top of this hill, to offer an almost endless supply of water for humans to enjoy. The logic of water evaporation and condensation is difficult to comprehend as it escapes my mind at this time.
Having found a shaded spot, it's time to enjoy my nasi lemak (yes, it's Malaysia staple dish, anywhere, anytime!). The time of cheaper food has left us decades ago, where taxes continue to increase and impose a higher cost of living upon us folks. So, this packet costs RM3, just a basic offering where 30 years ago, one could have it for a mere 50 cents. Anyways, cost of living aside, nothing beats the feeling of enjoying the country's favourite dish while being accompanied by the sight of nature working it's way down the rocks and seeing the people enjoy the fruit of their travel all the way to this country hide-out, bereft of even the phone signal, thereby rendering everyone incommunicado with the rest of the world.
After this simple meal, it's time to get wet in the chilled waters. It's not something to be missed, having travelled all the way from the city. A dip is an obligation, if not compulsory, when you're here. The water may be cold but you've acclimatised, it only feels natural to place yourself in the water, enjoying the push of nature as it glides over the rocks and producing tiny currents to massage your back and assuage the frizzelled nerves and calm yourself down. If you haven't tried it, you should. After all, nature is free for everyone to enjoy (except the entrance fees, of course). But be careful and never challenge the force of nature for you will almost certain be defeated and many have had their lives lost due to carelessness.
A walk along the jungle trail upslope will bring back the heat to your body. Steep it was, the path was littered with fallen leaves, making it treacherous as you struggle up the path, slippery with both earth dirt and leaves. But on we went, accompanied by cacaphony of natures sounds, in the form of insect sounds, serenading us but be wary of the path ahead, for a snake may slither past (yes, had this experience in Bukit Kiara). A python it was, about 6 inches in diameter. That was that, but nothing eventful happened during this hike. The kids were taught how to manouvre the jungle trail, learning that patience and perseverence will carry themselves forward. And upon reaching the plateau, down to the rocks we went, to get closer to the waterfall. And enjoy the sound and sight, we did.
All these activities had made us hungry and off we went to the town of nearby Bentong, to hunt for food. No need for anything fancy. Just a bite and a drink to feed the hungry souls. It was found in a non-descript coffee shop and the customers were either watching the badminton competition on tv or having a game of mahjong. Quite a relaxing atmosphere, huh? Well, it's a matter of choice and these elderly folks had served a long span of their lives building up the society in this little town and they deserve to spend their final days doing what they enjoy instead of doing what they had to. A short drive brought us to the Bentong Walk (or wai sek kai, in Cantonese) and we found this wild boar curry noodles for RM5.50. That's just 20 minutes after our late lunch but this is an obligation and not be missed local food adventure. It was followed later by a downing of both chrysanthemum and sugarcane drink.
Since we were in this part of town, I decided that we had also to experience this much talked about foodie joint, hidden in the hill slide of Janda Baik, a 45 minutes drive away as traffic volume had build up. Pinto (http://www.pintocoffee.com) coffeehouse can be reached from the Janda Baik archway, after about 20 minutes drive along the idyllic village road. A right turn after the blue water pipe (that's how it was described in the website) and true enough, Pinto was ahead. After parking the car, a short walk brought us to this simple building with nature's facade, welcoming us as we stood to admire the architecture. A very basic hut without air-conditioning, it serves well and customers were intimate with nature (with mosquitoes and all!). The service was friendly and after 20 minutes, my order of mee atjeh arrived. Javanese food, they served but it's nothing close to the fried noodles available in town, and it's bland in comparison. Ho ho ho But if you're in Janda Baik, give it a try.
How can you leave Bentong town and not have a go at it's home made ice-cream? Kow Po Ice Cream Parlour, a foodie place which had opened it's business decades ago, continue to operate till this day. It's part of Bentong culture and you've not visited Bentong if you haven't had a taste of it. An ice-cream cone costs RM3.50 and looking at the huge crowd outside the five foot way, it's better to get a cone and stand and enjoy the ice-cream than waiting for tables to clear. That's Bentong for you, a place lost in time as the tourism ministry attempts to maintain the town's relevance in the travel industry. That's all for this time, and let's hope there's another adventure to share in the not too distant future. Be Happy, Be Safe.
Our first stop was the Big Tree hawker centre at Pasar Pinji, reachable within 20 minutes after exiting the NSE at Sg. Pulai. Here, you can either decide to drive on to Ipoh or divert to Cameron Highlands for a cuppa of Boh Tea at their scenic plantation. But let's leave it for another trip, ok? So, at the popular hawker centre, we ordered the famous yong tau foo, fruit rojak with crackers. The dragon fruit drink helped me to wash down the delicious food. Rich in anti-oxidants, I felt healthier already! But being healthy is not the objective here. Eating a lot and lots of it, is. So, let's continue.
After 2 hours, it's time to eat again and our last meal before leaving Ipoh was had at this mamak nasi kandar (nasi ganja), the stall rented from a Chinese shophouse. It creates a uniqueness here, right? This delicious plate of nasi kandar costs RM4.50. You won't be able to find this price in KL, that's for sure! To complete the meal, a final meal - tau foo fa dessert was found at Funny Mountain foodie outlet not too far away. The smoothness of the soy curd could not be found in KL either and you wouldn't regret making the effort to locate this shop. At 1140 hrs, it's time to return to the rest house to prepare for check-out.
