34th entry - Trip to S's Hometown in Ipoh, Malaysia (part 2)
(Continued from Part 1)
The next morning, I had breakfast at the hotel on my own while S rode back home to have breakfast with Dad. After an average buffet breakfast, I went up to the 11th floor recreational centre to have a swim, only to realise that the tiny dipping pool was already occupied with a bunch of kids and their parents. I ended up having a short tan and a water-jet massage on the jacuzzi that was actually shaped like 3 "beds" where one could lie down and get a whole body massage, followed by a steam. Then I returned to the room, waiting eagerly for S to join me.
Shortly after I got back to the room, S came back and we set off for the "Thunder Cave" (Pi4 Li4 Dong4 in Chinese), the most famous cave in Ipoh. S pointed towards some monkeys as we entered the cave; they climbed all over the place and looked at us as if they owned the cave and we were the intruders. The interior of the cave was not as spectacular as Nirvana Cave, which was more natural with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites still intact and visible. Thunder Cave had a larger interior but its main feature was a flight of steep steps that led to a high viewing point where a large part of Ipoh landscape could be admired.
We climbed up to the top after about an hour, and having the entire summit to ourselves (there were only 2 or 3 couples there at the time but we met them while we were climbing up or down rather than at the summit itself) we kissed each other and made sweet memories there. The descent was scarier than the ascent, but S told me that the climb to Mt Hua in China was even more terrifying. Fortunately, the way down seemed shorter.
We rested a while in the cave before going for lunch at a food centre known as the "Mushroom Restaurant" because in the past the hawkers used to cluster there under colorful umbrella shades, which resembled mushrooms, but they had since been relocated to their present building. We ate S’s favourite rojak (a salad of cucumber, pineapple, fried beancurd skin, fried dough fritters, raw turnip and guava with preserved shrimp sauce) and popiah (a healthful glutinous-rice skin wrap consisting of boiled turnip, green bean sprouts and carrot together with finely-chopped boiled egg, Chinese sausage, flour crisps and roasted peanuts), and my favourite cha kway tiao (“glass” noodle made of white rice flour stir-fried with shrimps, squid and cockles in dark soy sauce).
After a fulfilling meal, we headed back to the hotel to rest. It had also started to rain and we did not have anywhere else to go. We ended up taking a two-hour nap; I guess the rain and comfort of the hotel was simply too hard for us to resist. In the evening, we went shopping at a shopping mall across the street from the hotel. S and I bought several pieces of clothes at a real bargain. We then walked to a nearby Cantonese dim sum restaurant where we shared some really delicious delicacies that was quite famous in Ipoh.
Although we had a satisfying meal, S suggested that we try the roadside hawker fare at another location also within walking distance from the hotel. S told me that it was interesting to see the supper culture of Ipoh residents. Indeed, I truly enjoyed myself that night – S and I had more popiah, satay (bite-sized marinated chicken pieces barbequed on short bamboo skewers over a charcoal flame, dipped in a special spicy peanut sauce and eaten with raw onions and cucumber) and tong soi (Cantonese for tang2 shui3 or dessert soup). It almost felt like a gourmet tour!
The next morning, I had my own breakfast at the hotel while waiting for S to return. To maximise the limited time we had, I went to the shopping mall across the street to buy some groceries (many items could be found in Singapore but prices were much lower in Ipoh). S joined me at around noon, and we checked out of the hotel. S’s dad offered to send us to the airport; as we had extra time we went to Secret Recipe to have a light meal of banana chocolate cake (the outlet ran out of S’s favourite Blackforest cake) and brownie with ice-cream.
Our flight back to Senai Airport was apparently the last AirAsia flight from Ipoh to Senai. The return flight was not as comfortable as the flight to Ipoh but I was too happy with the trip to mind. Upon arrival at Senai, we managed to board the shuttle bus to Larkin bus interchange just as it was leaving the airport. Sadly, we realized that we did not have enough small change to pay for the bus fare. We were on the verge of panicking when a kind Chinese man, apparently a university student, agreed to change our big note to two small notes. Thank God!
About an hour later, we arrived at Larkin and boarded the bus back to Singapore. We took the train back home, and ate some popiah and thick-cut spicy fries at a coffeeshop near our apartment. We were tired but we had a great time! I decided that I would love to visit Ipoh again with S when the opportunity allows...
The next morning, I had breakfast at the hotel on my own while S rode back home to have breakfast with Dad. After an average buffet breakfast, I went up to the 11th floor recreational centre to have a swim, only to realise that the tiny dipping pool was already occupied with a bunch of kids and their parents. I ended up having a short tan and a water-jet massage on the jacuzzi that was actually shaped like 3 "beds" where one could lie down and get a whole body massage, followed by a steam. Then I returned to the room, waiting eagerly for S to join me.
Shortly after I got back to the room, S came back and we set off for the "Thunder Cave" (Pi4 Li4 Dong4 in Chinese), the most famous cave in Ipoh. S pointed towards some monkeys as we entered the cave; they climbed all over the place and looked at us as if they owned the cave and we were the intruders. The interior of the cave was not as spectacular as Nirvana Cave, which was more natural with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites still intact and visible. Thunder Cave had a larger interior but its main feature was a flight of steep steps that led to a high viewing point where a large part of Ipoh landscape could be admired. We climbed up to the top after about an hour, and having the entire summit to ourselves (there were only 2 or 3 couples there at the time but we met them while we were climbing up or down rather than at the summit itself) we kissed each other and made sweet memories there. The descent was scarier than the ascent, but S told me that the climb to Mt Hua in China was even more terrifying. Fortunately, the way down seemed shorter.
We rested a while in the cave before going for lunch at a food centre known as the "Mushroom Restaurant" because in the past the hawkers used to cluster there under colorful umbrella shades, which resembled mushrooms, but they had since been relocated to their present building. We ate S’s favourite rojak (a salad of cucumber, pineapple, fried beancurd skin, fried dough fritters, raw turnip and guava with preserved shrimp sauce) and popiah (a healthful glutinous-rice skin wrap consisting of boiled turnip, green bean sprouts and carrot together with finely-chopped boiled egg, Chinese sausage, flour crisps and roasted peanuts), and my favourite cha kway tiao (“glass” noodle made of white rice flour stir-fried with shrimps, squid and cockles in dark soy sauce).
After a fulfilling meal, we headed back to the hotel to rest. It had also started to rain and we did not have anywhere else to go. We ended up taking a two-hour nap; I guess the rain and comfort of the hotel was simply too hard for us to resist. In the evening, we went shopping at a shopping mall across the street from the hotel. S and I bought several pieces of clothes at a real bargain. We then walked to a nearby Cantonese dim sum restaurant where we shared some really delicious delicacies that was quite famous in Ipoh.
Although we had a satisfying meal, S suggested that we try the roadside hawker fare at another location also within walking distance from the hotel. S told me that it was interesting to see the supper culture of Ipoh residents. Indeed, I truly enjoyed myself that night – S and I had more popiah, satay (bite-sized marinated chicken pieces barbequed on short bamboo skewers over a charcoal flame, dipped in a special spicy peanut sauce and eaten with raw onions and cucumber) and tong soi (Cantonese for tang2 shui3 or dessert soup). It almost felt like a gourmet tour!
The next morning, I had my own breakfast at the hotel while waiting for S to return. To maximise the limited time we had, I went to the shopping mall across the street to buy some groceries (many items could be found in Singapore but prices were much lower in Ipoh). S joined me at around noon, and we checked out of the hotel. S’s dad offered to send us to the airport; as we had extra time we went to Secret Recipe to have a light meal of banana chocolate cake (the outlet ran out of S’s favourite Blackforest cake) and brownie with ice-cream.
Our flight back to Senai Airport was apparently the last AirAsia flight from Ipoh to Senai. The return flight was not as comfortable as the flight to Ipoh but I was too happy with the trip to mind. Upon arrival at Senai, we managed to board the shuttle bus to Larkin bus interchange just as it was leaving the airport. Sadly, we realized that we did not have enough small change to pay for the bus fare. We were on the verge of panicking when a kind Chinese man, apparently a university student, agreed to change our big note to two small notes. Thank God!
About an hour later, we arrived at Larkin and boarded the bus back to Singapore. We took the train back home, and ate some popiah and thick-cut spicy fries at a coffeeshop near our apartment. We were tired but we had a great time! I decided that I would love to visit Ipoh again with S when the opportunity allows...
posted by sunshine wallflower at 10:02 PM
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