Ipoh Attractions | Singapore Travel Photo Blog @ travelerfolio.com

Wednesday, 6 Feb 08

Supposed to wake up early for Dim Sum but slept till noon.

Most hawkers were closed for Chinese New Year eve and many people were doing their last minute shopping at Jusco shopping mall, the nearest mall to our home. I bought two tops from Padini at 50% discount, and gave one to Melissa as it was too small for me.

We had lunch at Kenny Roger restaurant and were quite disappointed with the food and poor service. The vegetable salad was very little – as little as one piece of small leaf being torn into halves! Kenny Roger restaurant in Malaysia should be cheaper than Singapore’s, but with smaller portion of side dishes.

Drove around Ipoh and passed by some cave temples. Surprisingly, we didn’t see any worshipers there. It could be due to Lunar New Year eve and the Chinese were preparing for reunion dinner.

Ipoh is also famous for its pomelo. The flesh of this large fruit is juicy and can taste sour, sweet or bitter. I remembered my first meeting gift from Jacky’s mother were two big pomelos and we had to carry them all the way back to Singapore! We checked out the stretch of shops selling pomelos along Tambun. We used to see young girls standing in front of the pomelo shops to welcome customers, but this time, we only saw older ladies.

The big pomelo statue.

Whenever I am in Malaysia, I will definitely buy cheese cakes from Secret Recipe. They are so much cheaper than Singapore’s outlets! A big and yummy cheese cake in Malaysia’s Secret Recipe costs RM6.30 whereas it costs around S$5 in Singapore. Good buy!

Surprised to see this grocery shop selling big bottles of Diamond water which are filtered from the Diamond water system to walk-in customers. Seemed like the business was quite good.

Free Ad: Bungalow land for sale at RM50 per sqft, Lot size: 8751 sqft. Good Fengshui with “mountain support”, any taker?

The family from Penang finally arrived in the afternoon. My mother-in-law was preparing for reunion dinner. Her maid ran away in January, leaving behind her belongings including passport and stole Melissa’s Nokia handphone. Most handphones in Malaysia are selling a few hundred Ringgits more than the same models in Singapore! We helped Melissa to buy a new Nokia 6500/slide handset in Singapore at S$510 (w/o contract) and a 1GB memory card at S$20. In Malaysia, Nokia 6500 costs RM1700+ and a 1GB memory card can cost RM100+!

Before the reunion dinner, my mother-in-law set up an altar for praying. Desmond’s joss-stick was seen catching a big flame!

Good wishes written in Chinese characters on the candles, before and after the candles were burnt.

We had roast duck, roast pork, lettuces and other vegetables for the reunion dinner, and mostly importantly a family get-together dinner.

This was the first time I prepared “ang baos” (red packets loaded with $$) for the kids. Fireworks were heard and seen everywhere in Ipoh. I could see some fireworks from the room window, but mostly were blocked by trees.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Bizarre Limestone Cave in Ipoh

Visit the bizarre limestone cave in Ipoh that let imagination running wild – “Kek Lok Tong” (极乐洞; Cavern of Utmost Happiness).

When we saw this big cotton tree. Can you see the cottons hanging on the branches? Anyone knows what is the real name of this tree?

Three children joyfully sticking out of the car roof and waving at everyone on the road.

The entrance to the cave temple – “Kek Lok Tong”. It is a limestone cave with karstic formation around it. It has a cleaner, quieter and more cooling environment and I personally think it has the best scenic cave view among other caves in Ipoh.

Spot a stone formation that looks like a rat here. Melissa spotted it first. (Photo taken upward) Hint: See left side. It is “coming” out of the “burrow”and has a long “nose”.

Does it look like a toad? (See circled.)

There used to be lightings producing special effects on the karst formations. But that day, it was quite dark without much lightings. So, use your imagination! Below is a crater-like formation.

Melissa checking out the texture of the cave.

Left photo: Cave lines. Right photo: A black hole on the cave ceiling.

Let your imagination runs wild on these karstic formations.

The other side of the cave, or “exit”, overlooking the most scenic view among other caves in Ipoh. There are many monkeys too. (Note: The cavern closes at 6:00pm daily.)

And all about yum-yum!

We went to Jusco shopping mall. Ipoh city is always very crowded with people who return home from other states and countries for festive seasons; and Jusco is the newest shopping establishment is that area.

All time favourite: Loaves of long bread at Delifrance. The breads are always hot and crisp straight from the oven, and filled with Kaya and butter. They are appetizing, but one needs to be extra careful of the Kaya and butter dripping from the bread. Cheap and good!

Melissa wanted to watch CJ-7 (Hong Kong movie starring Stephen Chow) but it was selling like hot cakes and all seats were filled up except those midnight slots. So in the end, we bought tickets for KUNG FU DUNK (功夫灌篮) Hong Kong movie starring Jay Chou. Guess what? We would be watching the movie the next day at 11:00am, the only slot left. If not for Melissa and her friends who were going for the movie, I guess I would prefer to laze in bed!

The movie ticket was cheap. It only cost RM6 for morning show. Melissa bought five tickets for her friends and that summed up to be only RM30. I told her, in Singapore, we could only buy 1 ticket for a weekend movie for the price of that!

We drove to New Hollywood kopitiam (next to Hollywood kopitiam), a place where I crave for Mee Jawa. But too bad, the stall was closed.

I ordered “Wan Tan Hor” (flat rice noodle with a thick gravy mixed with egg). It was quite tasty. And Melissa ordered “Yong Tau Fu” (in red bowl).

Jacky’s Nasi Lemak – looks good, tastes better!

Melissa’s favourite drink since a child – Ice-cream float, with Sprite. This time, I also ordered one for myself, despite that I don’t like gassy drinks.

Tea break at Old Town Cafe! It is located near the famous “Hiong Piah” – Yee Hup Bakery. At least this cafe was not so crowded and we got seats. Those coffee cafes in shopping malls were usually fully occupied.

Peanut Thick Toast – It has a thick layer of peanut plus some condensed milk on the warm and crispy toast.

Traditional Kaya Toast – It is freshly toasted and sandwiched with Kaya and butter; so crispy that it melts in the mouth. It’s much thicker than “Yat Kun” bread.