High Five At PLR

I was dithering whether to head to the East Coast or stick to the West Coast with my nephew and nieces this year then decided it’s too far to drive to East Coast. I also decided to include their parents (my sister and BIL along). Booking was made - and changed twice because I booked the wrong dates and then niece told me she couldn’t make it to the September dates. Told my sister I included her but didn’t share the destination and told her not to share it with the kids.

Saturday, 16 August 2025

I made my way to sister’s place in the morning. Informed the kids that their parents were also joining the trip and they were overjoyed. We left in two cars. Nephew, niece and I stopped to find a swimming cap for myself before we navigated ourselves out of the city. Saturday mid-morning traffic was heavy as usual. We stopped en route for lunch before continuing on. We arrived at the agreed rendezvous place at 15:10 and waited for the homestay owner to hand over the key and access cards.

In the early evening, we went out to Teluk Senangin. There didn’t seem to be many cars heading there so I was surprised to find many people at the beach. They must’ve either arrived much earlier or were staying there. We stayed for the sunset before driving back. We stopped for dinner before returning to the apartment.

Sunday, 17 August 2025

We drove to the Lumut waterfront at 07:10 and walked along the waterfront. I was dismayed when I saw the litter and did my usual litter-picking. We stayed for over an hour before heading back, stopping for breakfast at a roadside Warung for breakfast. We checked out just after 11:00 and drove to Marina Island. We arrived just ahead of another group of six guests. After checking in and discussing the allocated rooms, and ensuring the bags were all tagged, we sat to wait for the 12:00 boat. We left around 12:10. The sea was a bit rough, a bit surprising when the weather was calm and the day clear.

We arrived about 15 minutes later but sister and family took some time to admire the scenery. We finally made our way to the reception and we had our briefing at the library. We headed for lunch then to the Games Room before returning to the reception to get our keys. Another staff came to show us to our rooms. I had requested for adjoining rooms. We were allocated one lower unit with an upper unit above it and another lower unit at the neighbouring building.

In the late afternoon, we took the resort shuttle to Emerald Bay for a swim. Must say I was surprised at the crowded beach. This was my fifth visit to the resort and the first time the beach was that crowded. The waves were quite high. It was a bit overcast so not much chance of a sunset. Anyway, we let at 18:30 as the kids wanted to go to the pool.

We went for dinner at 20:05. Dinner was semi-buffet, which was new. No complaints as we were still feeling full and as it turned out, could barely finish our dinner. We returned to the Games Room after dinner but I left early to rest.

Monday, 18 August 2025

I went for a morning walk at 07:00 and walked all the way to the Spa Villa. There was a section where the hornbills seemed to congregate and I didn’t realise they could be quite noisy. Nothing bothersome though. I hurried back as it suddenly looked like it was going to rain and just about made it to my room when the skies opened. I took the brolly in the room then went to join my niece and nephew in the gym. We then went for breakfast.

I returned to the room after 10:20 and had a shower. I stayed in reading a book I borrowed from the library. We left for lunch after prayers. We took the shuttle to Chapman’s for lunch.  After lunch, we rested by the beach. I made progress on my novel. We returned to the pool and I went back to the room to continue my reading. I did had a soak in the bath tub.

Dinner tonight was at Uncle Lim’s. We were still full so we only ate the dishes and only my niece had some rice. After dinner, we went to the karaoke room. Unfortunately, there was some problem with the karaoke system and some songs couldn’t be downloaded.

I returned to the room and started packing before hitting the sack.

Tuesday, 19 August 2025

I finished packing and left my bags outside the room before going for breakfast. Sister, BIL and nephew went for morning walk and went for breakfast direct from their walk. We checked out and this time, had to pay some room service charge. Our boat was at 10:30 and we were waiting to board by 10:25. Nephew’s bag was picked up late because he left the room late so we took the second boat - a relief because we were spared sharing the boat with the rude guests from mainland China on the first the boat.

The staff who met and briefed us when we arrived was on the same boat so we spent time chatting with him. We left Marina Island at 11:15 and I was back home by 14:30. And just like that, the long-awaited trip was done.

I had holiday withdrawal for a couple of days. This was possibly my last trip to Pangkor Laut Resort. Well, I’ve had the opportunity and rezeki to visit it five times now, Syukur Alhamdulillah. I will miss visiting it. Still, never say never, eh.

Day Trip To Batu Gajah

My next local destination ever since I’m grounded and not able to travel abroad was Batu Gajah. I had decided to travel last Saturday and wanted to leave early in the morning but it wasn’t available online ten days before departure date. So I made my way to KL Sentral ticket office and was told by the lady at the ticket counter that I could only buy platinum ticket 24 hours before departure. I tweeted about it and someone reached out and told me that she managed to buy a ticket in September but instead of Ipoh which was her final destination, she had to buy ticket to Kuala Kangsar. I checked and she was right. I wasn’t prepared to fork out an additional RM10 though so I waited until Friday morning to buy the ticket. There were still tickets for the first morning train; however, there were only a couple of seats designated for the disabled on the 12:50 or 14:40 trains back to KL and the earliest train I could catch was the 15:42 train which would arrive at KL Sentral at 18:08 barring any delays. Err, that’s too late for me and even if I took the next train out to Batu Gajah, I’d be spending too long there. So I searched for alternatives and decided to take the Perak Transit T36 bus to Seri Iskandar and from there, Arwana bus to KL Sentral. Which was great because I didn’t fancy travelling back from TBS or Hentian Duta.

On Saturday morning, I left micasa at 06:25 (a bit later than planned) and made my way to KL Sentral. I arrived just as passengers were starting to scan their tickets. The train left on time (two lady passengers boarded just as the whistle was being blown) but we were delayed twice and as a result, we only reached Batu Gajah at 09:38, ten minutes later than scheduled. I didn’t have long to explore so I walked quickly out of the station.

Well, I had to retrace my steps twice and asked for directions. I walked through Kampung Pisang and turned left and then turned right onto the bridge over Kinta River and up the street until I finally made it to the Main Road. I came upon Pine Hotel and was shocked because it didn’t look at all appealing from the exterior. I detoured to the river but couldn’t see the elephant stone which gave the town its name (the river current was very swift then) so I walked on until I reached Laman Komuniti which is near where the road forked to Main Road and Jalan Pejabat Pos.

Main Road

Laman Komuniti

I walked on - and Main Road became Jalan Pusing - to the old train station which now houses restaurants. Across from the station are two old wooden bungalows on stilts where the railway station master and his assistant lived. After that, I turned back and walked up to The Clock Tower. I walked up to Changkat Public Park and turned right into Jalan Changkat. The road inclines gently until it plateaus and on this flat area above the town centre below is where the British built their settlement – all the familiar institutions needed namely the club, bungalows, court, offices, hospital, gaol, church and cemetery. The Kinta Gymkhana Club was formed in 1890 and became Kinta Golf Club after WWI.

Old Station

I walked past the District Officer’s House which was built in the 1890s for the most senior government official in the district. Vertically-challenged me was only able to glimpse part of the house though. Sob.

I continued on to the Government Offices & Court House which are one of the best surviving colonial-era buildings in Malaysia. Three attractive buildings linked by covered walkways make up the complex. The gaol is nearby. I walked on past the Nurses’ Residence and European Hospital to the Roman Catholic St Joseph’s Church at the end of a cul-de-sac. Then I turned back and walked to the childhood home of HRH Sultan Azlan Shah. He spent ten years there.

I took Jalan Aman back which soon became Jalan Kinta as it runs along the Kinta Golf Club. I could see some golfers there. I passed the dilapidated former Red Crescent building and then came upon the still beautiful Government Rest House.

Former Red Crescent building

Government Rest House

From the map, it looked like I could catch bus T36 at the Kinta Golf Club. An elderly Indian man asked me if I needed help so I told him I was waiting for the bus. He said the bus didn’t stop there (and indeed there was no bus stop to be seen). He told me to go back to the town centre and offered me a ride on his motorbike so I thanked him and hopped on helmetless and all. It would be no trouble for me to walk down to the town centre anyway but I didn’t want to risk missing the bus. He dropped me off by the roadside at Jalan Dewangsa across the road from a block of shops. He asked me for some money and I gave him RM1 as I needed loose change for the bus fare. There were two other people waiting so I knew the bus hadn’t gone and no, there was no bus stop or bus stand there either.

The bus came ten minutes later and my fare was RM3.20. I only had RM3 and the driver waved me in. The two other passengers went down and I was the sole passenger in the bus. It started raining halfway into our journey.

The driver dropped me off near Billion Shopping Centre and I had to walk out to the main road to Seri Iskandar. Good thing there was a wide pedestrian (?) lane along the main road. It took about 15 minutes to get there. I went to get and pay for my printed ticket (don’t know why they can’t just accept online tickets?!) then went to perform prayers at the prayer room at Petronas.

The 13:45 Arwana bus arrived at almost 14:00 and we left just after 14:00. We stopped en route to use the facilities and reached KL Sentral at 16:55. Alhamdulillah.

Trip To Royal Town

My recently retired senior friend, ZK, is now back in his hometown. He repeatedly invited me to come over for durians and when he asked in early July when I would be coming over, I finally decided I would take up on his offer. I even went to Hentian Duta to enquire the bus schedules (only a couple of operators and the service is not frequent) and also tried buying the ETS ticket online before finally going to KL Sentral to buy the tickets in person.

So in early morning of Saturday, 18 July 2020, I made my way to KL Sentral. The train left at 07:05 and of course all passengers had to scan the QR code and undergo temperature check before boarding the train. The journey was smooth and I passed the time by reading my thick novel.

We arrived at Kuala Kangsar train station at 11:15, about 10 minutes later than scheduled. ZK was already waiting and before long, we were passing the Malay College. ZK brought me to the Laksa and Cendol Foodcourt by the Perak River and I had some prawn noodles. We then browsed the nearby shops selling handicrafts before we left. We drove past the Ubudiah Royal Mosque (we thought of stopping but there were police at the mosque entrance) and the sprawling grounds of Iskandariah Palace. We then stopped at Perak Royal Museum (Istana Kenangan). This was my third visit to Kuala Kangsar (the first when I was small, the second time was during a Treasure Hunt where we were made to drive around the town with no puzzle to solve) so you could say I really played at being a tourist.

Perak River

Royal Museum

Fried laksa and Milo kepal

We spent about half an hour at the Royal Museum. ZK then drove to Laksa Pak Ngah where we had early lunch. I had fried laksa (love it! If only it was less hot) and Milo kepal. I enjoyed my lunch very much. It was threatening to rain so after our lunch lunch, we drove to Lenggong. ZK had booked accommodation for me at Suka Suka Lake Retreat so after driving around the lake, headed for Kampung Kelantan where the retreat is.

You have to cross a rickety bridge (sturdy enough to withstand vehicles so don’t fret!) to enter Suka Suka Lake Retreat

The friendly hosts welcomed us and explained that the resort was built with Malay concept in mind. Over some tea made from Garcinia atroviridis (your humble ‘asam gelugur’ or ‘asam keping’), Pak Aziz, the host, explained that he bought Malay houses from all over and had them transported to their resort and reconstructed. There are a lot of local handicrafts serving as decorations in the main house. To give the Malay Cultural Heritage experience, guests can join in cooking classes and local games. The hosts would also bring their foreign guests around the village with the guests wearing batik and pelikat sarongs (they get a lot of foreign visitors but this being in the time of COVID-19, their guests are now mainly local). They had just reopened on 1 July 2020.

Just before I was then shown to my two-bedroom chalet, Pak Aziz requested me to wear batik sarong to dinner. Fret not if you didn’t bring any, they have batik and pelikat sarongs for you to borrow. Back to my chalet, one room had twin beds while the other had a queen bed and a single bed so of course I chose the room with the queen bed. Both rooms were en-suite and there were mosquito nets over the beds. There was no AC but there are fans and it wasn’t that hot with all the trees and cool lake breeze to warrant an AC anyway. I rested and even had a kip. Oh by the way, phone network coverage was bad over there. Celcom and Unifi work best. I didn’t have coverage for my DiGi and was told there was no coverage for Maxis either. The price I paid for my room included Malay dinner and breakfast. I was told during dinner that if you stay for two nights, you get lunch too.

 Room which I chose with its queen and single beds

I ventured out for an evening walk around the resort. I didn’t stay out too long as the mosquitoes were out and about.

Shame that it was an overcast evening and we couldn’t sight the sunset

I went for dinner at a quarter to 8 p.m. wearing a batik sarong which I borrowed from the hosts. There was a family of five from Lumut and they sat with Pak Aziz while I sat with Kak Asiah (Pak Aziz’s wife) and Azam (their son). Pak Aziz and Azam wore baju Melayu with tengkolok. Dinner was excellent and I had never eaten so much Malay dishes in one go before! There were two fish dishes (we were told that they usually serve one fish dish so we were really lucky), one prawn dish, one vegetable dish, chicken, sambal... the husband of the family of wife even took some dishes from our side as the three adults shared dinner with three small children (not that the small children ate a lot anyway). After a very satisfying dinner, we excused ourselves and I went back to my room to read and rest.

I woke up early on Sunday and packed up. I went over to the living area at almost 08:00 but was told that breakfast wasn’t ready yet. I wandered around and returned again almost an hour later. ZK arrived at almost 10:00 and after thanking and bidding farewell to the hosts, we left for Rumah Sungai, which is owned by a friend of ZK. Listed at no. 51 here, it had reopened from 18 June 2020 and is fully booked on weekends until end-2020. I had told ZK that I didn’t want to walk in any orchard or forest for fear of creepy crawling leeches, darn mites and blasted mosquitoes (I had a very bad episode when I visited my niece and we went to a waterfall where I had mites entering my body and suffered severe pain two days later when I was back in KL. Needless to say, I had to visit Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital a few times because of the dang mites. It put a stop to my jungle treks and visits to my nieces when they were at the boarding school). Nature is fine and all but I would prefer the creatures in it to stay in it (and I’m sure the creatures in it also prefer for humans to be out of it too!) so ZK had his friend bring some durians and mangosteens for me. Oh, the spoilt pampered city girl that I am!

 The living area bathed in sunlight

 The living area at Suka Suka Lake Retreat

 Living area from outside

 Chenderoh Lake

Bidding goodbye to the hosts and Suka Suka Lake Retreat

 The river that runs by Rumah Sungai 

The room rate at Rumah Sungai includes lunch for four. You can choose from three different sets. Each set consists of local salad, grilled fish with sambal and a vegetable dish

I wasted no time and after washing my hands (yes, important!), I dug in happily. I think the two men must be amused and amazed that little me was able to eat durian non-stop, one after another. Continuously. I was popping them like happy pills. After a while, I did stop, went to wash my hands and sat down again to attack the mangosteen. I polished them effortlessly. Me, the champ! There were some leftovers and we packed them up and being the city girl that I am, I brought a canvas bag which fit the fruits just nice. I wanted to pay for the fruits but ZK’s friend refused to accept any payment. He was bringing out lunch sets and explained to me the three different lunch sets offered to their guests. Simple but seriously appetising.

We left and after a brief stop at ZK’s house to drop off the fruits, I persuaded him to drive me to Lenggong Archaeological Museum (we passed my nieces’ boarding school along the way). We spent about 40 minutes at the museum before returning to ZK’s house to get the fruits. We packed the durian in a container and cleaned up before leaving for Kuala Kangsar.

Lunch was had at a restaurant near the station and ZK dropped me off at the station after we finished lunch. I had about 30 minutes to kill at the station before the train arrived. The train arrived on time and we arrived at KL Sentral around 17:10. This trip took place exactly 52 weeks after my train trip to Taiping so perhaps my next visit to this region of Perak will take place during the third weekend of July 2021 (or earlier if the durian season starts early!).