Enchanting Ipoh
Traveled - March 2020
Travelling is now ingrained in our DNA. There is a lifestyle shift in this millennium and travelling is an integral part of that lifestyle. Little did we know that a short trip to Ipoh would be our last for the next few months to come. As always, there was a desperation to explore a new town and so we set off to plan a trip to Ipoh. After all, we needed to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. This was when the world had still not accepted the Covid situation and people were moving around freely. Borders were not sealed and travelling was deemed normal.
So we set off on another journey to Ipoh (leaving my youngest one, Ivaan, at home with entrusted grandparents). Iyana was excited to explore another place and was looking forward to the 3 days of family fun. For those who don't know, Ipoh is a small city in the Perak state of Malaysia. Surrounded by million years old limestones, the city offers a very natural and scenic look to its residents.
We took a direct flight from Singapore to Ipoh. Upon arriving at Ipoh, we booked a Grab taxi and headed to hotel. Taxi service is quite affordable in Malaysia and plenty of cars are available. The public transport isn't robust and taxis are the best possible way to commute within the town. We were staying at "The Haven Resort Hotel Ipoh All Suites". As the name suggests, all rooms are suites. The campus is home to a single drop of a limestone that is 280 million years old. The resort has taken premium care of the property retaining the natural surroundings. Our balcony offered the view of the limestone. Not to forget, there is an infinity pool that overlooks the lake, limestone and cliffs - serene!
Day 1: We visited the famous Lost World of Tambun in the evening. It is themed after the Malayan tribal group and all attractions resonate the history and culture of the place. Located in the backdrop are the limestones which give a very natural look to the park. It is an integrated theme park that has day and night park attractions. Night theme park offers hot springs, water play area, petting zoo, light and sound shows and carnival. There are many hot spring pools that have a temperature variation (from warm to very hot) - worth a try if your body needs that relaxation. Swimming pool options are plenty. My favourite was the petting zoo. Variety of animals and birds - ranging from king cobra, talking macaw, feeding the Tapir and walking with the deers, the zoo was well kept and the animals given the best of the surroundings.
Day 2: We returned to the Lost World to experience the day park. The park was surprisingly empty, owing to the Covid situation. We enjoyed all rides without any crowd or queues. Water play area was a little crowded.We spent more than half a day exploring the park. It was time to relish some local cuisine. Malaysia is famous for its culinary offerings - the variety of food one can explore in Malaysia is just huge and impossible to try it all in a single trip. My personal favourite is Nasi Goreng / Mee Goreng / Maggi Goreng / the variety of Prata you get / Malaysian styled Tom Yum soup and many more....
We went to a small market area and entered small food court to eat local cuisine. Maggi goreng as usual was delicious. Iyana tried a milo prata (somehow, the children love chocolate flavour in everything) and Sai tried Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken). The market itself was sufficient to buy daily needs and it was lovely to see the locals wander around in all small shops buying their daily goods.
On Day 2 evening, we decided to try the Malaysian seafood at Ikan Bakar (a small joint near our hotel). The place offered unlimited choices of food and it took me a good 20mins to decide what to eat. We ate Tom Yum Soup, Nasi Goreng Paprik, Nasi Goreng USA and Maggi Goreng Ayam accompanied with some fresh juice. Malaysian cuisine can be a little spice so it is best to inform the preference of spiciness upon placing the order.
Day 3 was the day we were flying back to Singapore in evening.Though a little upset, we wanted to make the best use of the day. So we headed to old town of Ipoh which is famous for little artistic lanes, themed cafes, and plenty of wall murals to take photographs with. I was quite surprised to see the artistic walls and suddenly I wanted to delay my flight by a day so that I can explore more of the little streets. We walked around for almost 2 hours in the little lanes snapping pictures and looking at little cafes before finally settling down at Plan B for lunch. Plan B cafe is huge, neat and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It has an industrial decor. The food was delicious. We order international brunch menu and the portions were huge.
Other themed cafes include Platform 9 1/2 (Harry Potter Styled, where you can take pictures with costumes), Rainbow Kuma (you get rainbow coloured cheese sandwich), Girlie's cafe and many more...There are also many shops such as Stripped Bare (book store), art & craft shops, stationary shops, etc...The lanes (especially Concubine lane) had a charm and I was mesmerised by the decor and feel of the entire place.
Unfortunately, we had to return back to hotel and check out. We flew back to Singapore with some amazing memories. Little did we know that it would be our last holiday of the year and possibly the last for a while to come.
Visit my Instagram Page to view more pictures and find out more about each place :-)
Tummy_Full_Travel
Travelling is now ingrained in our DNA. There is a lifestyle shift in this millennium and travelling is an integral part of that lifestyle. Little did we know that a short trip to Ipoh would be our last for the next few months to come. As always, there was a desperation to explore a new town and so we set off to plan a trip to Ipoh. After all, we needed to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. This was when the world had still not accepted the Covid situation and people were moving around freely. Borders were not sealed and travelling was deemed normal.
So we set off on another journey to Ipoh (leaving my youngest one, Ivaan, at home with entrusted grandparents). Iyana was excited to explore another place and was looking forward to the 3 days of family fun. For those who don't know, Ipoh is a small city in the Perak state of Malaysia. Surrounded by million years old limestones, the city offers a very natural and scenic look to its residents.
We took a direct flight from Singapore to Ipoh. Upon arriving at Ipoh, we booked a Grab taxi and headed to hotel. Taxi service is quite affordable in Malaysia and plenty of cars are available. The public transport isn't robust and taxis are the best possible way to commute within the town. We were staying at "The Haven Resort Hotel Ipoh All Suites". As the name suggests, all rooms are suites. The campus is home to a single drop of a limestone that is 280 million years old. The resort has taken premium care of the property retaining the natural surroundings. Our balcony offered the view of the limestone. Not to forget, there is an infinity pool that overlooks the lake, limestone and cliffs - serene!
Day 1: We visited the famous Lost World of Tambun in the evening. It is themed after the Malayan tribal group and all attractions resonate the history and culture of the place. Located in the backdrop are the limestones which give a very natural look to the park. It is an integrated theme park that has day and night park attractions. Night theme park offers hot springs, water play area, petting zoo, light and sound shows and carnival. There are many hot spring pools that have a temperature variation (from warm to very hot) - worth a try if your body needs that relaxation. Swimming pool options are plenty. My favourite was the petting zoo. Variety of animals and birds - ranging from king cobra, talking macaw, feeding the Tapir and walking with the deers, the zoo was well kept and the animals given the best of the surroundings.
Day 2: We returned to the Lost World to experience the day park. The park was surprisingly empty, owing to the Covid situation. We enjoyed all rides without any crowd or queues. Water play area was a little crowded.We spent more than half a day exploring the park. It was time to relish some local cuisine. Malaysia is famous for its culinary offerings - the variety of food one can explore in Malaysia is just huge and impossible to try it all in a single trip. My personal favourite is Nasi Goreng / Mee Goreng / Maggi Goreng / the variety of Prata you get / Malaysian styled Tom Yum soup and many more....
We went to a small market area and entered small food court to eat local cuisine. Maggi goreng as usual was delicious. Iyana tried a milo prata (somehow, the children love chocolate flavour in everything) and Sai tried Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken). The market itself was sufficient to buy daily needs and it was lovely to see the locals wander around in all small shops buying their daily goods.
On Day 2 evening, we decided to try the Malaysian seafood at Ikan Bakar (a small joint near our hotel). The place offered unlimited choices of food and it took me a good 20mins to decide what to eat. We ate Tom Yum Soup, Nasi Goreng Paprik, Nasi Goreng USA and Maggi Goreng Ayam accompanied with some fresh juice. Malaysian cuisine can be a little spice so it is best to inform the preference of spiciness upon placing the order.
Day 3 was the day we were flying back to Singapore in evening.Though a little upset, we wanted to make the best use of the day. So we headed to old town of Ipoh which is famous for little artistic lanes, themed cafes, and plenty of wall murals to take photographs with. I was quite surprised to see the artistic walls and suddenly I wanted to delay my flight by a day so that I can explore more of the little streets. We walked around for almost 2 hours in the little lanes snapping pictures and looking at little cafes before finally settling down at Plan B for lunch. Plan B cafe is huge, neat and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It has an industrial decor. The food was delicious. We order international brunch menu and the portions were huge.
Other themed cafes include Platform 9 1/2 (Harry Potter Styled, where you can take pictures with costumes), Rainbow Kuma (you get rainbow coloured cheese sandwich), Girlie's cafe and many more...There are also many shops such as Stripped Bare (book store), art & craft shops, stationary shops, etc...The lanes (especially Concubine lane) had a charm and I was mesmerised by the decor and feel of the entire place.
Unfortunately, we had to return back to hotel and check out. We flew back to Singapore with some amazing memories. Little did we know that it would be our last holiday of the year and possibly the last for a while to come.
Visit my Instagram Page to view more pictures and find out more about each place :-)
Tummy_Full_Travel
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