Ipoh-Taiping Trip Part I

Date: 19/11-23/11

Participants: Elaine, Hui Xin, Liz, Me

Host: Wei Y

Day 1

Once wy's dad fetched us from the bus station, we met up with wy and her mum for lunch at a chinese restaurant. Her dad is a sporting, friendly person whose manner of speaking reminds me of Mr. Leow. He told us 'the first and only rule in ipoh is to make yourself at home.'

Indeed, the nice lunch we had was just the 'appetizer' of their hospitality throughout our stay.

After 'checking in' at her house, we all went out for tea together with si wei. The homemade ice-cream shop wasn't opened, so we proceeded to Ipoh White Coffee Cafe.

After that, we all went to Jusco as si w's parents were there. There was a popular bookfair at the concourse so we went to have a look. Elaine and Si w checked out the books on perak for places of attractions. I bought a book unexpectedly-it is 'the undercover economist'. I plan to read and read this holidays to make up for the lack of reading during uni days.

After bidding goodbye to sw, we went to check out the boutiques in Ipoh. There were a few boutiques that reminded me of those in bangsar. We didn't buy anything as the price wasn't as cheap as we expected.

Hakka mee for dinner.

We ended the day by watching 'Emma' in wy's study room. Some lines which we learnt:
'It is our imperfections that made us so perfect for each other' ~Mr. Knightley to Emma
'I would like to call you something infinitely more dear'~ Mr. Knightley confessing to Emma

Day 2
We woke up at 7 a.m. though we slept at 4 am plus the night before as we had a bus to catch to Taiping. In a half-awake state, we were treated to wy'a mum homemade breakfast.

Si w greeted us at the bus station and drove us to bukit larut area. First stop: war memorial.

A trip to Taiping cannot be complete without a visit to the serene Lake Garden. Si W really loves the place for she has told me about it before our visit. I bet she would love to take her wedding photos there next time *wink*

My first visit to Lake Garden was during my standard 6 school trip. The second one was last July when edward visited his grandparents; we merely passed by the lake for we had to continue our journey back home.

 

The trees across the lake showing hydrotropisme (growing in the direction of water). 


 
Don't you think these plastic swans are destroying the inherent beauty of Mother Nature? It is in stark contrast to the otherwise natural landscape. I know development is inevitable when a place becomes tourist attraction, however, can't they have wooden sampans instead of plastic swans?


For more pics of the lovely Lake Garden, check out my facebook.

Ambera juice (literally translated as 'red-haired pear' from Cantonese) and red bean drink are MUST-TRYs in Taiping! It is the same place that my friend edward took us last time. The signboard of the shop reads'XXX red bean drink' (ask si w for more info). The drinks are really CHEAp and really NICE!!! Rm1.20 for ambera juice and Rm1.00 for red bean drink. Goodness I wish I can drink them everyday!!

Lunch in Taiping. The char koay teow is so cheap-RM2 only!! As my stomach was full with liquid, I shared the char koay teow with hui x. Elaine and Si W ate laksa. Queen Liz, being herself, took a bit of this and that=P.


Next stop: Perak Museum which is located at Taiping

 
What we saw outside the museum.


 
What we could find inside the museum. The right pic shows the symbols of various political parties, you can even find chicken, umbrealla, scissors as symbols for independent candidates!

The day was scorching hot; to do justice to Taiping, I bet it was the same everywhere in msia. I was 'withering' but we still had the Taiping Zoo to visit. I asked si w if there was any tram, to which she said yes. So obviously we were all for it! The zoo is well-maintained, it reminded me of Singapore Zoo.


After that, si w brought us to Prima Cafe which I fell in love with. The price is reasonable and they have free wifi. If I stayed in Taiping, I would be hanging out there very often. The ambience is so chun that we saw a couple taking their bridal photos (The third couple we spotted that day, the first two were spotted in Lake Garden)

 

The drink 'love at first sight' (honey and coconut milk)- aptly describes my feelings for the cafe. The drink is so-so though. They didn't name it 'love at first sip' remember??

-------to be continued..goodness 3 more days!-------