we rch Melaka at abt 4 plus on Fri pm, wandered ard a bit, then chked into Accordian... :) a cheap but cosy budget hotel @ RM90 per nite... we went for dinner at Pizza Hut which cost us abt RM40. then we went on to wander down to Jonker Street & Jonker Walk for shopping & makan. i bought a lot of knick-knacks there, earrings, necklace, coin pouches, etc etc... :) then we also bought snacks to bring back to sg. it was fun to buy food & eat as we walk, buying too much? no worries... we brought the food back to the hotel to watch while World Cup's opening match was on :) cool yea? but fell asleep after the 3rd goal... keke
next morn, woke up to the hotel breakie of nasi lemak & tea.... then we wandered ard for more shopping. then we started on our way to Muar. stopped somewhere near the industrial area to have nasi briyani lunch... YUMMY!!! best i ever tasted! after lunch, was shopping again. bought a lot of knick knacks again :) also bought a baby cradler for my fren who's giving birth in Nov... a timely prezzie :) had tea in the hotel, which mainly comprises of ice cream!!! YUMMY!!! had dinner along the makan street in Muar, otah, oyster omelette, satay, etc etc... also bought more otah back!!!
oh! & wat a great experience we had while waiting to clear the customs! domino pizza had its riders sell personal pizza at RM5 jus before the M'sia customs!!! u jus hv to wave & they will come running over wif the pizzas!!! cool! of cos, we bought 1 :) yummy! hot too!
overall, me thinks tis was a great trip! wld love to do it again, but provided hubby is on work trip so dat we can save on hotel :) yippee!!! i finally had a chance to be a shopping queen!!!
Monday, June 12, 2006
2D1N in Melaka & Muar
went to Melaka & Muar wif hubby for a wkend getaway... actually i was tagging along on his biz trip. but it was cancelled at the last min, so it was purely leisure :)
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
our driving trip to m'sia: 24 - 31 dec 2005
tis is pretty late, but here it goes... my story of our driving trip in m'sia, jus hubby & me... wif our old & trusty starlet. co-edited by hubby.
however, i'm not posting any fotos here. those interested in the fotos can view them @ www.ju78personalpics.shutterfly.com & click on m'sia trip.
Day 1 - 24th December 2005
We started off from our flat at 6am, and reached the Causeway at 6.30am. It was jammed packed from KJE near Tech SemiConductor.We cleared the customs at about 8.30am, and proceeded to drive up to Mersing. Reached there at about 10.30am and had some lunch and started buying stuff like snacks, toiletries and drinks for the rest of the trip.
Around Endau area, we went to get more food and drinks... and also toilet break. Then of course, we continued our drive to Kuantan. Along Highway 3, some areas were partially flooded. But mainly being at the road sides and thus did not caused too much delays. But the rain made driving tougher as stronger concentration was required and the speed had to be reduced as well.
About 1-2km from Kuantan, we encountered a traffic police stop. The policeman was beating around the bush, asking questions like: "how did you get to Kuantan on the same day as you got into Malaysia from Singapore?", "then asked hubby to open the boot", etc etc... then he realised that we couldn't speak Bahasa Melayu, he had to let us go... hubby said "maybe he wanted $$, but didn't know how to ask in English". we had a good laugh after that... fancy wanting $$, but don't know how to go about it. So if someone dun wanna pay bribe $$ to them, just pretend dunno how to speak Melayu, maybe he or she can get away without paying a single cent. We did!!!
At Kuantan, we checked into Hotel Vistana. "New Generation Room" @ RM$230 per nite, 1 double bed with a lounger, breakfast included. Room number 0203.
Later that night, we had dinner at Restoran Tanjong, which had fantastic seafood. We had 3 crayfish, 1 dish of "gong bao" squid & 1 kangkong belachan, plus 2 cokes. the bill came up to RM$43. Thereafter, went to patronise the most famous satay stall in Kuantan (which is the birth place of all satay), "Terminal Zul Satay", near to Vistana Hotel. Marvellous food indeed! 10 sticks (beef & chicken) plus 1 nasi @ RM$6, slightly expensive, but worth the $$ & the half hr wait.
And MegaMall is the best shopping mall I came across in Malaysia... It looks like it's got everything under the sun!
Day 2 - 25th December 2005
The next day, we woke up to breakfast buffet at the hotel's CoffeeHouse. Had both local & continental kind. Good & filling breakfast. We went back up to the hotel room for a soak in the bath tub & packed up our stuff. Then about 12.30pm, we set off for K. Terrenganu.
We were stopped by police again just when we crossed the border into Terrenganu. We wanted to show the police our passports, but he just waved us off when we told him we are heading to K. Terrenganu.Phew! We thought it was going to be another extortion incident. And this policeman was very polite! Surprise surprise!
Of course, today rained again... But not much flooding, still tiring to drive and slower than ideal speed.
We nearly got lost, after leaving Kuantan. But managed to get instructions from a foreman at 1 of the industrial sites. Then we are on our way! halfway to kuala terrenganu, we passed by Polyteknik Dungun. It was situated between 2 mountains, kind of in a valley type. It looked wonderful, with the blocks of classrooms & probably, hostels, and it's got a signage ala Hollywood style, white blocks on the hill side. Pity, I didn't manage to get a good picture of that visual. Later we realised that this is just one of the many institutes of high learning being isolated out in the middle of nowhere during our trip.
Thereafter, about 3 hrs later, we reached K. Terrenganu. We asked around the locals & got ourself booked into a Midtown Hotel @ RM$90 for a nite, 2 singles bed and breakfast thrown in. Room number 815. After checking in, we drove around town, got ourself cheap local dinner & went back to our room. Rested early that night for the toughest and possibly most dangerous part of the whole trip.
Day 3 - 26th December 2005
We woke up at about 6am, packed up everything, checked out the room, and went for the buffet breakfast provided at the hotel. After a hearty breakfast, we set off for Tasik Banding and Penang at about 7.45am.
Today had been pure sunshine, with slight drizzle in very few areas. We went passed several mountainous routes to arrive at Tasik Banding, which did not disappoint us at all. It was a huge and magnificient lake, set right within the towering mountains... gorgeous place! We took some photos and continued on our journey to Penang. While passing Gerik, hubby suggested a good lunch to celebrate finishing the 1st part of today's journey early by almost 2 hours. Then the act-smart me, decided to heed my own instincts and told hubby we should travel to Penang via highway A5 within Perak, instead of going up to Perak as suggested by 1 of the locals... BIG mistake on my part... we got onto mountainous routes, which were steep, narrow, prone to landslides, isolated, etc etc... and it probably extended our driving trip by an hr or so... i was SO guilty... be sure to listen to the advice given by locals.
But, we managed to find our way back onto North-South Highway aka E1, and reached Penang about 5.30pm... THEN.... roads in Penang are so confusing... 1 way, 2 ways, leading no where... and every now and then, we see a sign that points "Jalan Sehala" or something along that line. we are still wondering about what it could be...
The hotel we intended to stay wanted to charge us RM$200 which was supposed to be the promotion price. hubby said we'll find something else. the back-up 1926 hotel was closed. so we drove around & decided upon Oriental Hotel, which charged a rate of RM$75 per nite, a double bed, but no breakfast. Room number 707. We checked in, had a shower and went out for dinner... also bought some tank tops to wear as Penang is super-hot... then i bought some cooling water to try & heal my ulcers... :p
ok, that's all for Day 3. till the next sun fall...
Day 4 - 27th December 2005
Rise & shine to a bright & sunny day. We drove to the Clock Tower to take pictures, visited Fort Cornwallis for more pictures. Legend had it that if a barren woman placed some flowers in the barrel of this particular cannon, she will be blessed with child! Of course, the me yearning for a child, did so. hubby then patted the cannon & said "i trust the legends are true about u, so don't disappoint me dude". i laughed, how can he say dat to the cannon... after leaving fort cornwallis, we went to St. George's church to take photos, and went to E&O Hotel for a classy lunch. the atmosphere reminds me of Raffles Hotel Singapore. very colonial style and full of old charms. food was ok, not bad, but not that fantastic too. price of course, is considered cheap by S'pore standards at such an establishment. thereafter, we stepped out to the al fresco area to take more photos of the straits of penang... and probably a bit of batu ferringhi beach peeping out at the end of the shoreline.
then we headed south of the island to snake temple. thought we overshot the temple, but realised we were right beside it, when we wanted to turn back to look for the temple. of course, we were jumping wif joy, to have found the temple incidentally. we went in to pray to the gods, then visited the snake farm within the temple compounds, entrance fee of M$5 per person. first, we saw displays of live snakes enclosed in aquariums, affixed on the walls. a small exhibition, but worth the entrance fees, considering the variety of snakes we saw. and there's free photo-taking with a baby python! think s'pore zoo would have charged at least SGD$5 for a single photo! of cos, i grabbed the chance to be photographed wif the beloved reptile. it feels so good... & cute! though many would be disgusted at the idea!
then we went back north to visit Kek Lok Si temple. initially, we thought we had to climb up the hill to visit the temple cos so many cars were parked at the bottom of the hill. then we realised there was a road leading up to the temple. we drove up, of course. RM$2 for the parking just outside the temple, not bad. we went into the main hall to offer prayers, and to our shock, people were selling things in the main hall, in front of the 3 buddhas!!! i knew they were trying to get donations by "selling" roof tiles, but i din know there was actual money transacted between hands. shouldn't the money be dropped into donation boxes, probably labelled for building the temple??? i was aghast that they were also selling knick-knacks like bags, bracelets, etc in the same main hall... this is too much commercialism. it certainly didn't feel like a temple at all!!! hubby & i just took some photos outside the temple and left. we didn't think the place was worth staying longer.
then we met up hubby's friends & went to this chinese restoran for lunch/ dinner, located @ lorong selamat. fabulous food, though i didn't know how much. will chk wif hubby's friend & update again. his treat, you see!
Day 5 - 28th December 2005
Last day in Penang. So, we planned our precious time the night before, so that we maximise the last day... First, we re-visited the Clock Tower as the pictures taken the day before were not so good. Then we went for lunch at this hawker centre in the financial district of penang. hubby & i settled for western food. silly hubby bought me a bouquet of pink roses, so lovely. after lunch, we went to Wat Chayamangkalaram temple to offer prayers and take photos. we bought rojak and muah chee at the stalls outside the temple. nice and cheap local food. then we headed to batu ferringhi for some beach time. to our dismay, most of the beach was closed to the public. so we had to look for those portions of the beach that were still opened to the public. yeah, we managed to find a couple of small strips, but they didn't seem that nice. so a short walk on the beach was all we did. then we stopped by a road-side stall for some penang laksa (assam type) & some nasi lemak.
caffeine-hungry me needed some caffeine shots, we found a Starbucks outlet at Gurney Plaza. sweet hubby agreed to some coffee for poor me. we went in & did some good familiar internet surfing at the outlet, while i was enjoying dat good caffeine, hubby had some fruit punch. we did rest our poor souls there as well. hubby had some napping while i chatted wif the gals on motherhood forum via msn.
after enjoying our rest, we headed up penang hill. a long queue to get on the tram to go uphill. when we reached the hill-top, boy! was the air chilly! wanted to buy some t-shirts to bring back, but the sales guy said the small tees were not my size!!! hmmphhh!!! why can't i wear them tight-fitting!!! i stomped off & din buy any tees... joined hubby in eating the malay style burgers.... yummy!!! we stayed till nite fall, & joined the long long queue for the tram down-hill... took some nite shots of penang from mid-hill while waiting for the 2nd tram to take us to the bottom of the hill. each ride up or down the hill consists of 2 tram rides, each lasting 15mins, and a waiting time of 15mins too. on the way back to the hotel, we passed by a methodist church which looked quite nice wif the small little lights on the outline of the church. yup! me took a photo of that.
Day 6 - 29th December 2005
Before leaving Penang, we went past Cheong Fatt Sze Mansion & took some photos from the outside, it was too early for it to be opened. we next headed for Penang Bridge to head south to Taiping.
We went to Taiping Lake. History had it that it used to be a tin-mine. after being dis-used for many years, it was converted to a man-made lake. the view is absolutely gorgeous, something like Tasik Banding, but without the surrounding mountains & the view.
Then, we drove up to Cameron Highlands. Great views along the way. a little bit of drizzle, but it didn't hinder us at all. we checked into yet another cheapo hotel: Green Garden @ RM$78 per nite, no breakfast included. but bcos of the cheapo room rates, we had extra cash to pamper ourselves. we bought quite a number of li'l gifts and had steamboat dinner. while having steamboat dinner, this boss from next door came & asked if his guests could see wat we are eating, haha.... we said sure! the 2 french ladies came by, & i guessed they din understand how u could eat steamboat without proper washing facilities & sufficient cooking time. :p somehow, we knocked out very early and slept till morning.
Day 7 - 30th December 2005
Was woken up very early by prayers, as our hotel was just next door to a Masjid (a mosque). and opposite a fire station, so the early morning exercise contributed to our morning call. hubby and i managed to doze off for yet another hour, before we woke up. headed for the strawberry farms. we stopped by Healthy Strawberry Farm, NOW this place is not recommended unless you just wanna buy some strawberries & be on your way. anyway, we bought 2 small packs of fresh strawberries and 1 strawberry concentrate & a bottle of jam for ourselves cos it tasted so good. For the REAL strawberry plucking experience, head to Kok Lim Strawberry Farm. there's a guide who brought us through the strawberry farm and told us which strawberries are sweet and which are sweet. of cos, we plucked mostly sweet ones. FACT: only sour strawberries are high in vitamin C, if u wan dat precious vitamin, dun eat so much sweet strawberries... we plucked abt 500gm worth, which cost us RM$20. we bought some souvenirs here too... i can only say one thing, eating strawberries freshly plucked from the stems is oh-so yummy!!!
next, we had english breakfast at this cafe on the cameron highlands. breakfast was english tea, scones wif strawberry jam/ butter/ philadelphia cream cheese. yummy!!! i also bought choc chip cookies for hubby as snack along the route.
next on the itinerary was Kellie's Castle in Ipoh. we had a good exploration and took pictures of the castle, also passed by the Hindu temple dat was built for the workers who died while building the castle. & we also took pics of this lily pond which was so beautiful...
before driving further, we stopped by a chinese restoran for lunch. thereafter, we tried to find tg. rambutan waterfalls, but came to this dis-used waterfall rapids pavillion area. we took a single pic and left. we decided not to go for tambun hot springs, and jus checked ourselves into Heritage Hotel @ RM$155 per nite, for a good needed rest. room 304, buffet breakfast included. after having a refreshing shower, we decided to go for a spa session at the hotel. the massage did leave both of us feeling very relaxed & we managed to sleep well thru the nite.
Day 8 - 31st December 2005
Woke up early in the morning to have breakfast in the hotel. thereafter, we went on our way back to s'pore. on the way, we stopped by melaka to visit some tourist spots, buy local produce & to eat chix rice ball.hubby & i also went into this shop which sold portuguese egg tarts, they sell the best tarts we've ever eaten.
then we drove to tan kim hock to buy some local produce. after making our purchases, we continued on our way back.
we finally reached SG at abt 6.30pm.
however, i'm not posting any fotos here. those interested in the fotos can view them @ www.ju78personalpics.shutterfly.com & click on m'sia trip.
Day 1 - 24th December 2005
We started off from our flat at 6am, and reached the Causeway at 6.30am. It was jammed packed from KJE near Tech SemiConductor.We cleared the customs at about 8.30am, and proceeded to drive up to Mersing. Reached there at about 10.30am and had some lunch and started buying stuff like snacks, toiletries and drinks for the rest of the trip.
Around Endau area, we went to get more food and drinks... and also toilet break. Then of course, we continued our drive to Kuantan. Along Highway 3, some areas were partially flooded. But mainly being at the road sides and thus did not caused too much delays. But the rain made driving tougher as stronger concentration was required and the speed had to be reduced as well.
About 1-2km from Kuantan, we encountered a traffic police stop. The policeman was beating around the bush, asking questions like: "how did you get to Kuantan on the same day as you got into Malaysia from Singapore?", "then asked hubby to open the boot", etc etc... then he realised that we couldn't speak Bahasa Melayu, he had to let us go... hubby said "maybe he wanted $$, but didn't know how to ask in English". we had a good laugh after that... fancy wanting $$, but don't know how to go about it. So if someone dun wanna pay bribe $$ to them, just pretend dunno how to speak Melayu, maybe he or she can get away without paying a single cent. We did!!!
At Kuantan, we checked into Hotel Vistana. "New Generation Room" @ RM$230 per nite, 1 double bed with a lounger, breakfast included. Room number 0203.
Later that night, we had dinner at Restoran Tanjong, which had fantastic seafood. We had 3 crayfish, 1 dish of "gong bao" squid & 1 kangkong belachan, plus 2 cokes. the bill came up to RM$43. Thereafter, went to patronise the most famous satay stall in Kuantan (which is the birth place of all satay), "Terminal Zul Satay", near to Vistana Hotel. Marvellous food indeed! 10 sticks (beef & chicken) plus 1 nasi @ RM$6, slightly expensive, but worth the $$ & the half hr wait.
And MegaMall is the best shopping mall I came across in Malaysia... It looks like it's got everything under the sun!
Day 2 - 25th December 2005
The next day, we woke up to breakfast buffet at the hotel's CoffeeHouse. Had both local & continental kind. Good & filling breakfast. We went back up to the hotel room for a soak in the bath tub & packed up our stuff. Then about 12.30pm, we set off for K. Terrenganu.
We were stopped by police again just when we crossed the border into Terrenganu. We wanted to show the police our passports, but he just waved us off when we told him we are heading to K. Terrenganu.Phew! We thought it was going to be another extortion incident. And this policeman was very polite! Surprise surprise!
Of course, today rained again... But not much flooding, still tiring to drive and slower than ideal speed.
We nearly got lost, after leaving Kuantan. But managed to get instructions from a foreman at 1 of the industrial sites. Then we are on our way! halfway to kuala terrenganu, we passed by Polyteknik Dungun. It was situated between 2 mountains, kind of in a valley type. It looked wonderful, with the blocks of classrooms & probably, hostels, and it's got a signage ala Hollywood style, white blocks on the hill side. Pity, I didn't manage to get a good picture of that visual. Later we realised that this is just one of the many institutes of high learning being isolated out in the middle of nowhere during our trip.
Thereafter, about 3 hrs later, we reached K. Terrenganu. We asked around the locals & got ourself booked into a Midtown Hotel @ RM$90 for a nite, 2 singles bed and breakfast thrown in. Room number 815. After checking in, we drove around town, got ourself cheap local dinner & went back to our room. Rested early that night for the toughest and possibly most dangerous part of the whole trip.
Day 3 - 26th December 2005
We woke up at about 6am, packed up everything, checked out the room, and went for the buffet breakfast provided at the hotel. After a hearty breakfast, we set off for Tasik Banding and Penang at about 7.45am.
Today had been pure sunshine, with slight drizzle in very few areas. We went passed several mountainous routes to arrive at Tasik Banding, which did not disappoint us at all. It was a huge and magnificient lake, set right within the towering mountains... gorgeous place! We took some photos and continued on our journey to Penang. While passing Gerik, hubby suggested a good lunch to celebrate finishing the 1st part of today's journey early by almost 2 hours. Then the act-smart me, decided to heed my own instincts and told hubby we should travel to Penang via highway A5 within Perak, instead of going up to Perak as suggested by 1 of the locals... BIG mistake on my part... we got onto mountainous routes, which were steep, narrow, prone to landslides, isolated, etc etc... and it probably extended our driving trip by an hr or so... i was SO guilty... be sure to listen to the advice given by locals.
But, we managed to find our way back onto North-South Highway aka E1, and reached Penang about 5.30pm... THEN.... roads in Penang are so confusing... 1 way, 2 ways, leading no where... and every now and then, we see a sign that points "Jalan Sehala" or something along that line. we are still wondering about what it could be...
The hotel we intended to stay wanted to charge us RM$200 which was supposed to be the promotion price. hubby said we'll find something else. the back-up 1926 hotel was closed. so we drove around & decided upon Oriental Hotel, which charged a rate of RM$75 per nite, a double bed, but no breakfast. Room number 707. We checked in, had a shower and went out for dinner... also bought some tank tops to wear as Penang is super-hot... then i bought some cooling water to try & heal my ulcers... :p
ok, that's all for Day 3. till the next sun fall...
Day 4 - 27th December 2005
Rise & shine to a bright & sunny day. We drove to the Clock Tower to take pictures, visited Fort Cornwallis for more pictures. Legend had it that if a barren woman placed some flowers in the barrel of this particular cannon, she will be blessed with child! Of course, the me yearning for a child, did so. hubby then patted the cannon & said "i trust the legends are true about u, so don't disappoint me dude". i laughed, how can he say dat to the cannon... after leaving fort cornwallis, we went to St. George's church to take photos, and went to E&O Hotel for a classy lunch. the atmosphere reminds me of Raffles Hotel Singapore. very colonial style and full of old charms. food was ok, not bad, but not that fantastic too. price of course, is considered cheap by S'pore standards at such an establishment. thereafter, we stepped out to the al fresco area to take more photos of the straits of penang... and probably a bit of batu ferringhi beach peeping out at the end of the shoreline.
then we headed south of the island to snake temple. thought we overshot the temple, but realised we were right beside it, when we wanted to turn back to look for the temple. of course, we were jumping wif joy, to have found the temple incidentally. we went in to pray to the gods, then visited the snake farm within the temple compounds, entrance fee of M$5 per person. first, we saw displays of live snakes enclosed in aquariums, affixed on the walls. a small exhibition, but worth the entrance fees, considering the variety of snakes we saw. and there's free photo-taking with a baby python! think s'pore zoo would have charged at least SGD$5 for a single photo! of cos, i grabbed the chance to be photographed wif the beloved reptile. it feels so good... & cute! though many would be disgusted at the idea!
then we went back north to visit Kek Lok Si temple. initially, we thought we had to climb up the hill to visit the temple cos so many cars were parked at the bottom of the hill. then we realised there was a road leading up to the temple. we drove up, of course. RM$2 for the parking just outside the temple, not bad. we went into the main hall to offer prayers, and to our shock, people were selling things in the main hall, in front of the 3 buddhas!!! i knew they were trying to get donations by "selling" roof tiles, but i din know there was actual money transacted between hands. shouldn't the money be dropped into donation boxes, probably labelled for building the temple??? i was aghast that they were also selling knick-knacks like bags, bracelets, etc in the same main hall... this is too much commercialism. it certainly didn't feel like a temple at all!!! hubby & i just took some photos outside the temple and left. we didn't think the place was worth staying longer.
then we met up hubby's friends & went to this chinese restoran for lunch/ dinner, located @ lorong selamat. fabulous food, though i didn't know how much. will chk wif hubby's friend & update again. his treat, you see!
Day 5 - 28th December 2005
Last day in Penang. So, we planned our precious time the night before, so that we maximise the last day... First, we re-visited the Clock Tower as the pictures taken the day before were not so good. Then we went for lunch at this hawker centre in the financial district of penang. hubby & i settled for western food. silly hubby bought me a bouquet of pink roses, so lovely. after lunch, we went to Wat Chayamangkalaram temple to offer prayers and take photos. we bought rojak and muah chee at the stalls outside the temple. nice and cheap local food. then we headed to batu ferringhi for some beach time. to our dismay, most of the beach was closed to the public. so we had to look for those portions of the beach that were still opened to the public. yeah, we managed to find a couple of small strips, but they didn't seem that nice. so a short walk on the beach was all we did. then we stopped by a road-side stall for some penang laksa (assam type) & some nasi lemak.
caffeine-hungry me needed some caffeine shots, we found a Starbucks outlet at Gurney Plaza. sweet hubby agreed to some coffee for poor me. we went in & did some good familiar internet surfing at the outlet, while i was enjoying dat good caffeine, hubby had some fruit punch. we did rest our poor souls there as well. hubby had some napping while i chatted wif the gals on motherhood forum via msn.
after enjoying our rest, we headed up penang hill. a long queue to get on the tram to go uphill. when we reached the hill-top, boy! was the air chilly! wanted to buy some t-shirts to bring back, but the sales guy said the small tees were not my size!!! hmmphhh!!! why can't i wear them tight-fitting!!! i stomped off & din buy any tees... joined hubby in eating the malay style burgers.... yummy!!! we stayed till nite fall, & joined the long long queue for the tram down-hill... took some nite shots of penang from mid-hill while waiting for the 2nd tram to take us to the bottom of the hill. each ride up or down the hill consists of 2 tram rides, each lasting 15mins, and a waiting time of 15mins too. on the way back to the hotel, we passed by a methodist church which looked quite nice wif the small little lights on the outline of the church. yup! me took a photo of that.
Day 6 - 29th December 2005
Before leaving Penang, we went past Cheong Fatt Sze Mansion & took some photos from the outside, it was too early for it to be opened. we next headed for Penang Bridge to head south to Taiping.
We went to Taiping Lake. History had it that it used to be a tin-mine. after being dis-used for many years, it was converted to a man-made lake. the view is absolutely gorgeous, something like Tasik Banding, but without the surrounding mountains & the view.
Then, we drove up to Cameron Highlands. Great views along the way. a little bit of drizzle, but it didn't hinder us at all. we checked into yet another cheapo hotel: Green Garden @ RM$78 per nite, no breakfast included. but bcos of the cheapo room rates, we had extra cash to pamper ourselves. we bought quite a number of li'l gifts and had steamboat dinner. while having steamboat dinner, this boss from next door came & asked if his guests could see wat we are eating, haha.... we said sure! the 2 french ladies came by, & i guessed they din understand how u could eat steamboat without proper washing facilities & sufficient cooking time. :p somehow, we knocked out very early and slept till morning.
Day 7 - 30th December 2005
Was woken up very early by prayers, as our hotel was just next door to a Masjid (a mosque). and opposite a fire station, so the early morning exercise contributed to our morning call. hubby and i managed to doze off for yet another hour, before we woke up. headed for the strawberry farms. we stopped by Healthy Strawberry Farm, NOW this place is not recommended unless you just wanna buy some strawberries & be on your way. anyway, we bought 2 small packs of fresh strawberries and 1 strawberry concentrate & a bottle of jam for ourselves cos it tasted so good. For the REAL strawberry plucking experience, head to Kok Lim Strawberry Farm. there's a guide who brought us through the strawberry farm and told us which strawberries are sweet and which are sweet. of cos, we plucked mostly sweet ones. FACT: only sour strawberries are high in vitamin C, if u wan dat precious vitamin, dun eat so much sweet strawberries... we plucked abt 500gm worth, which cost us RM$20. we bought some souvenirs here too... i can only say one thing, eating strawberries freshly plucked from the stems is oh-so yummy!!!
next, we had english breakfast at this cafe on the cameron highlands. breakfast was english tea, scones wif strawberry jam/ butter/ philadelphia cream cheese. yummy!!! i also bought choc chip cookies for hubby as snack along the route.
next on the itinerary was Kellie's Castle in Ipoh. we had a good exploration and took pictures of the castle, also passed by the Hindu temple dat was built for the workers who died while building the castle. & we also took pics of this lily pond which was so beautiful...
before driving further, we stopped by a chinese restoran for lunch. thereafter, we tried to find tg. rambutan waterfalls, but came to this dis-used waterfall rapids pavillion area. we took a single pic and left. we decided not to go for tambun hot springs, and jus checked ourselves into Heritage Hotel @ RM$155 per nite, for a good needed rest. room 304, buffet breakfast included. after having a refreshing shower, we decided to go for a spa session at the hotel. the massage did leave both of us feeling very relaxed & we managed to sleep well thru the nite.
Day 8 - 31st December 2005
Woke up early in the morning to have breakfast in the hotel. thereafter, we went on our way back to s'pore. on the way, we stopped by melaka to visit some tourist spots, buy local produce & to eat chix rice ball.hubby & i also went into this shop which sold portuguese egg tarts, they sell the best tarts we've ever eaten.
then we drove to tan kim hock to buy some local produce. after making our purchases, we continued on our way back.
we finally reached SG at abt 6.30pm.
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