Kampung Agong

29th May 2023

Another day trip to a tourist attraction and another that was almost impossible to find using satnav or Google maps. Google maps took us to the middle of a farm of paddy fields on a road really only suitable for motor bikes and it was only by sheer luck that we eventually found the place. Another failure for technology.

Whereas I have found my Tom Tom excellent in Australia, in Asia it has been next to useless, the POIs are poor and sparse, even entering street names was very hit and miss, it has found the correct location of hotels but that is about it. This was the first time I have brought it with me and also the last!

On the drive to Penang we encountered many rain showers but, while it was overcast most of the day it didn’t rain again, if anything the rain cooled the place down a bit though it was damp underfoot.

The park, in the state of Penang, was devoted to coconuts and rice paddy fields, it had food shops, photo opportunities, a mini zoo, picnic areas etc. Entry was reasonable RM10 for Malaysians, Rm18 ($6 Aus) for foreigners. We spent a pleasant few hours there including a large serve of Durian ice cream.

Probably my last excursion in Malaysia on this trip as I leave in a few days.

That evening we went to an Alor Setar Thai restaurant where we were treated to a very nice dinner with friends.

Rainbow Village

28th May 2023

A day trip to Kuala Perlis and an area of the port (Kuala means “port”) where the houses have been painted bright colours to attract visitors. It turned out to be quite difficult to find exactly where it was, neither Tom Tom nor Google could find it directly. So we just set off with the intention of getting to the right area and asking.

It appears that they are aware of this problem because when we did eventually find it there was a Google maps sign and a name (KG = Kampung). It is on the other side of the river from the ferry terminal to Langkawi.

The village itself is very colourful, to be frank so much colour that I didn’t know what not to photograph. Some of the streets were too narrow for a car. I really enjoyed wandering round, there was even a cooling breeze off the water.

Don’t forget if you click on an image you get a larger version.

In the centre of the village was a pedestrian bridge over the river it too was brightly painted. We met a lady who had travelled from KL just to visit the bridge.

After exploring the village we stopped to take some refreshment in the form of an ABC. ABC =Ais (ice) Batu Campur (mix) in Bahasa

On the way home came across a giant pink bear. Make of that what you will.

Jerai Hill Resort

24th May 2023

Decided to spend a couple of days at Jerai Hill Resort perched on top of Kedah Peak an isolated mountain close to the Kedah coast used as a landmark by sailors.

That morning went to a local stall selling sticky rice and a fish based accompaniment so we had a suitable lunch or snack for later.

The resort itself, because of its unique location, is ridiculously expensive by local standards at about AUS$124 a night, when we went it was nowhere near full with a lot of people who came just for the day and didn’t stay overnight. It offers paintball, artificial climbing, hiking and many other activities – even using the pool is RM10.

Our big mistake was not driving up to the resort, it turns out that the road up is no worse than Macquarie Pass, perhaps with a couple more tight, blind corners but nothing the average modern car can’t cope with. The local transport is expensive at Rm100 per van for the trip up or down, we got him down to Rm80 but still too expensive.

The resort itself is very well maintained with an army of workers looking after the grounds. It even had a coffee shop serving very good coffee, cheesecake, croissants and cake.

We checked in at about 3pm and found our room, the rooms are chalet style in blocks of four. It was a nice room but no air con because of the cooler climate so high up.

There was a lot of screeching outside for a few minutes as we arrived at out room, turned out to be a few monkeys fighting.

After settling in went for a walk to explore the property and its views over the paddy fields of Kedah (Kedah is known as the rice bowl of Malaysia).

There was even a strawberry farm where I bought some very nice strawberry ice cream.

For dinner we went to the restaurant where we had a very nice meal.

In the evening we enjoyed the sunset.

25th May 2023

Breakfast is included in the price, they offered all the usual inclusions but Mary said it wasn’t as good as the Heritage Hotel in Tanah Rata though personally, as I have said, I don’t really like a cooked breakfast so it seemed OK to me.

Check out was not until noon so there was plenty of time to wander around the resort.

Called the driver of the van to come and pick us up to return to the heat of the plains and our visit was over.

On the way home bought some Durian for later (I like Durian very much).

Taiping to Jitra

22nd May 2023

Set off early, just after 8am to get back to Jitra, I drove most of the way. Mary has to get back for her work and I have run out of clothes to wear.

Actually I don’t have an International Licence though I carry my Australian licence but paying over $50 for what is a mass-produced booklet with a couple of stamps in it is an absolute rip off. Let’s hope I don’t get stopped.

We arrived back before lunch with only a couple of stops on the way.

Kuala Sepetang and Taiping

21st May 2023

Today didn’t start off very promising with low clouds, rain and thunder but as the morning progressed the weather cleared to a warm, sunny afternoon.

Because of the possibility of rain we first drove to the Charcoal Factory at Kuala Sepetang. It appears that you are just allowed to wander round freely. It was interesting to watch one person loading 40kg logs into the kiln, carrying them from stacks of them outside to neatly fill the kiln with several thousand of them, each standing on a brick. He must have the stamina of an ox.

The entrance to the adjacent kiln was being being bricked up in preparation for firing.

The kilns take a month to complete their work, about a fortnight of firing, then sealed up to finish the job for another fortnight. The charcoal is exported to Japan. The wood arrives by boat along a narrow tidal creek, it is Mango tree hard wood from plantation timber approximately 30 years old.

We learned all this from a Chinese fella in one of the factories (factories is a bit of misnomer they are just giant blackened sheds). He was saying that he is no longer a guide and just does odd jobs because he doesn’t speak Mandarin only English, his dialect and Bahasa, the modern Chinese kids don’t want to learn many languages and dialects any more so they only learn Mandarin.

After visiting the factories we drive to the fishing village for food.

Talking to the lady in the shop she organised a boat trip to see the Eagles and the fish farm just for the two of us. It was only an hour and we saw lots of the Eagles swooping on the fish stirred up by the boat as well as holding a baby puffer fish. I was very pleased with it, most boat trips last far too long, it only cost RM60 ($20)

Driving back to Taiping we headed for the Taiping Lake Gardens where we parked and spent a few hours exploring before returning to the hotel pretty worn out. In the park you could hire bicycles, tandems as well as pedal boats on the lake.

Tanah Rata to Taiping

20th May 2023

Today we descended from the cool of the Cameron Highlands to the normal Malaysian heat.

After a hearty breakfast we started the journey down from the highlands and were very fortunate to travel most of the way without anyone in front or behind us so we made good time.

Arrived at Kuala Kangsar where we had intended to visit a few interesting places. It took ages to get to the first stop because a bridge had collapsed (ironic) so had to find a way through a residential area on roads designed for a bicycle – so narrow.

Finally arrived at the Victoria Bridge, a relic of British rule, it is an old single track bridge very much reminded me of the bridge near Oatley in Sydney.

Construction took three years and was completed in 1900, it was blown up in WWII but repaired by the Japanese. It was replaced by an adjacent concrete bridge in 2002.

Nearby was a snack bar type of place so we had a Durian Chendol each.

Next we drove to the Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah only to find it was closed for major renovations so was only able to take a few picture outside its walls.

We also knew from its website that Muzium Diraja was also temporarily closed so decided to push on to Taiping and our hotel. We arrived about 3pm which was actually perfect for checking in.

In the evening went to the food court next door to the hotel for some food. To be honest I was not particularly impressed by the local food, it wasn’t very spicy and it was all like Chinese soup – I am not fond of soup of any kind.

Tanah Rata

19th May 2023

A day to write off. On the way to breakfast came across a massive moth or butterfly in the hallway, upon our return someone had trodden on it.

Had intended to visit a couple of waterfalls but for various reasons the roads to them were blocked off!

Ended up spending some time in the local park and walking round the local soccer field.

Later some shopping for some clothes to save on washing and had lunch at a place in a relatively new shopping centre which for years had been a concrete skeleton after the Asian Financial Crisis. The meal was quite nice and fairly cheap in a newly opened restaurant near the Old Town Coffee shop, it was basically a Nasi Lemak with calamari and shrimp crackers but OK none the less.

In the evening had a Paper Thosai at the usual Indian restaurant with Teh Tarik the cost was RM18 for the two of us ($6)

Have to pack tonight as we are on the move tomorrow.

Tea and Butterflies

18th May 2023

After breakfast decided to visit the Cameron Valley Tea rooms a few km north on the way to Ringlet. Have been a few times before but it has changed and is probably now twice the size since our last visit.

The view over the valley is lovely as it is all the tea plantation.

There was a misunderstanding with the girl when I ordered my tea which was entirely my fault, Mary wanted Durian Teh Tarik whereas I wanted ordinary tea, the Indian girl said, “Black tea?” I said, “No, with milk” and ended up with Teh Tarik. Oh well… The scones were nice though.

Drove back through Tanah Rata past Brinchang to the Butterfly Gardens, it too has expanded since our last visit with far more plants and animals. The animals were not to my interest – rabbits, guinea pigs, sheep and goats but some of the plants were very colourful.

That evening we went back to our favourite Indian Restaurant, this time I had Roti Canai with egg and onion while Mary had the Indian Banana Leaf Rice (far too much vegetable for my taste)

Cameron Highland’s Flora Park

17th May 2023

Breakfast at the Heritage Hotel is pretty good. Plenty of hot food for those who like a cooked breakfast as well as cereal and coffee for those who don’t. I had corn flakes, French Toast, Bread and Butter pudding and coffee! I might try an omelette tomorrow.

After breakfast we decided to go to the new Flora Park near Brinchang about a 20 minute drive away. There was no sign posting near by so it took us a couple of goes to find the right turn off. There was no parking at the Flora Park, you park about a km away then take their shuttle to the park. I say shuttle, it is a Dmax ute with seats in the back, there is also a charge for the car park, it cost us RM10 for about three hours parking.

The Flora Park is on the side of quite a steep hill so there are a lot of steps but none of them are very steep as they meander their way up (except those to a lookout), every time you think you have reached the end it opens out into another section, it was very large. There are also several places selling food, drinks, ice cream etc.

I know very little about flowers so I just enjoyed the many colours throughout the park.

After a pleasant few hours spent at the park we drove back to Tanah Rata and stopped in town for a lunch of Paper Thosai and Teh Tarik before returning to the hotel.

In the evening drove into the town centre for a Tandori Chicken and Masala Tea.

Ipoh to Cameron Highlands

16th May 2013

We both had a breakfast of Nasi Lemak before packing for our trip to Cameron Highlands. Checked out of the hotel at about 9.15am to visit the Qing Xin Ling Culture Village.

Drove there using my Tom Tom Satnav, I have to say that the South East Asia map “points of interest” database is very poor compared to the Oceania and European equivalents on this device. More times than not you have to look up the place on Google then enter the address in the satnav just to get close to where you want to go, it does, however, make a valiant effort at pronouncing the street names.

Anyway, on arrival discovered that they had a different entry fee for Malaysians (RM12) and Foreigners (RM20), naturally I was outraged. Winking smile

After a couple of hours at the Culture Village we set off for the Cameron Highlands, it was a fairly slow journey as we kept getting stuck behind trucks but were still able to arrive in Tanah Rata before 2pm. As it was far too early to check in we stopped in the town centre for a Teh Tarik and Roti Canai as a snack for lunch. By then it was after 2pm so we made our way to the hotel for check in.

In the evening just as we were going to drive to town for an evening meal it absolutely belted down with rain. We decided to give the hotel restaurant a try. It turns out to be a buffet for RM30 per person. The food was Malay and not really much choice, basically rice, a fish dish, a chicken dish, bean curd plus some not very exciting salad, for dessert there was watermelon, cantaloupe and tiny pieces of fruit cake. Certainly not good value in my opinion.

BTW when I first got down to the restaurant I had to quickly return to the room to get my jacket, I was cold.