3D2N Ipoh Getaway! - Day 1

Hello :)

This time as the title suggest, I shall be blogging about my 3D2N trip to Ipoh with sis. As most of us in Asia might know... our currency (the Malaysian Ringgit) has been hit really hard and all this economical turmoil means one thing...

Going on a holiday abroad cost a bomb! 

Well I wanted to say "just kidding" but it is unfortunately the situation I am in now... hence, we opted for cuti-cuti Malaysia instead... to a nearby town famous for good food & white coffee.

So here we go! (please beware that I will be spamming this post with like loads of my pictures :P)'

The sky so blue and sunny on our way to Ipoh. Started our journey from Klang at 7.30am

First stop: Kellie's Castle

Apparently people say that this place is haunted... with some claiming they saw ghostly figures of a little girl in the abandoned mansion. But nah, didn't see anything and I got to take lot's of awesome pictures (check out below). Like for real... and the entrance fee is only RM5, pretty cheap!

Just a little more background of Kellie's Castle

Kellie's Castle was meant to be a home away from home for Scottish Planter, William Kellie Smith in the 20th century. Being far away from home, Kellie desired his new residence to be reminiscent of his home back in Scotland. The castle is perched on top of a hill in what used to be a rubber estate. 

William Kellie Smith was an interesting man who was popular with his South Indian workers. Kind at heart, he erected a Hindu shrine for his workers on the castle premises. As a token of appreciation, his workers erected a statue of Kellie complete with a white suit and hat. 

Construction of this unique castle began in 1915. However, it came to an abrupt halt with Kellie's sudden death in 1926. The solitary castle, looks almost surreal in these wild plantations of Perak, it projects a strong personality and an aura of mystery. 

Recently, efforts have been made by the Perak State Government to rescue this magnificent structure from the encroaching foliage. Besides being haunted, the castle is believed to have hidden rooms and secret underground tunnels. 

The road that leads to Kellie's Castle follows the contours of the land in a dizzying, maze-like fashion, adding to the mystery and romance of the place.

Entrance fee tickets are RM5.00 per entry

Boy did I mention it was a bright sunny day? please apply sunblock when you are outside... Malaysian weather is so hot

I just love how the corridor looks like some scene from a Harry Potter movie... 

That's just me with my attempt to take a "pandang jauh" shot LOL

Trust me this was initially suppose to be a jumpshot but SIS just can't get the timing right... gave up 

Our 2nd sisters trip of the year haha

This somehow gives me the feels of Malacca... don't you think?

Oh well, after a hot hot day visiting Kellie's Castle (took us about 2 hours to get all the pictures we wanted). We sat down to enjoy some icecream... boy it taste so good and refreshing. Then off we go to cari makan... went into Gopeng town to eat lai fun (rice noodles)

You can choose either curry or "cheng tong" which is clear broth

The texture of the lai fun (rice noodle) is really nice but the assorted "yong tau fu" is a bit lacking to be honest.. the fish paste wasn't too tasty, more flour than fish. The broth was also just okay, sis said curry was a bit more to the runny side but my clear broth was nice... and the crunchy taugeh!

Since we were already in Gopeng, we wanted to visit Gua Tempurung (cave). Unfortunately it was closed for maintenance so we only got to take pictures outside :(

There are actually 4 tours available but the one we wanted (1 1/2 hr tour) was closed. The "wet" tour is still open though... heard from the management they might be closed till next year.

A little bit about Gua tempurung from the website.

Gua Tempurung is a cave in Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia. It is popular among spelunkers, or caving enthusiasts. About 3 km long, it is one of the longest caves in Peninsula Malaysia. Part of it has been developed as a show cave with electric lighting and walkways and there are a range of tours of different lengths and difficulty. A fine river cave, the river passage runs about 1.6 km through the hill. There are three very large chambers and some spectacular stalactites and stalagmites.

Only got to take in front of the entrance

Bamboo...

So ended up we retreated early into our hotel in Ipoh - Hotel Exelsior which is located in downtown Ipoh just a stone throwaway from Ipoh Parade and really famous chicken taugeh rice.

Got ourselves a twin bed room so we won't wake each other up at night!

Got all the basic stuff we need for a comfy stay. 

We stayed 2 nights for RM275 (inclusive of breakfast) after 10% discount with my CIMB Bank credit card when I booked with Expedia. Just log on here to enjoy the discount. Valid till 31 Dec 15.

I think location wise the hotel is great, bed was comfy and breakfast was not bad. But the downside is the walls are kinda thin and we were staying in a room near the lift, so we could here people talking outside while waiting... and it gets annoying when it's late at night.

In the evening it started raining, so sis and I just walked to the nearby Lou Wong Bean Sprout Chicken Rice Shop. We ordered chicken for 2 and taugeh + one herbal pork bone soup. All in all our meal cost us RM37 (without drinks) which I think is really pricy! But the food is not too bad, maybe a little salty... and we didn't order drinks (MSG alert!)

You see that red plastic bag there... filled with delicious pastries & cookies from Sin Eng Heong

Chicken RM18 for 2, Soup RM12, Taugeh RM3, Rice x 2 RM4 = RM37

And oh yes before I forget, Ipoh is also damn famous for Pastries... and there is one quite famous one nearby our hotel - Sin Eng Heong. Apparently their kaya puffs are very famous and been on Tv.. so we thought, why not try~ BAM! The soft fluffy pastry of the kaya puff and the sweet filling is a great combo that will just stir up your taste buds... confirm won't regret :) Now they selling it for 75 cents per piece (all thanks to inflation) but still worth it... better than those pastries from bakeries in KL that taste awful and are expensive.