DAY 9 KUALA LUMPUR – IPOH
Road journey to Ipoh: Today we hit the road and set off for Ipoh, a journey of 2-3 hours, stopping off at a couple of places en route:
Batu Caves, Rayaman Caves: We visited the Batu Caves, home to Hindu shrines and deities, surrounded by towering limestone hills and the magnificent golden statue of Lord Murugan. We climbed the 272 steps into the cave shrine, admiring the vivid murals of Hindu scripture and encountering the cheeky macaques along the lush cliff face. Inside the vast cavern, we were met by the sound of chanting and I’d like to say the scent of incense but in reality it was sweat
Rayaman Caves: Afterwards, we explored the famous Ramayana Caves, surrounded by vibrant statues and murals depicting scenes from the Ramayana. We were welcomed by beautifully crafted sculptures of Lord Rama, Sita, Hanuman, and Ravana, with illuminated displays and detailed carvings offering fantastic photo opportunities. The giant statue of Hanuman outside the cave was a definite highlight.
Ipoh
Ipoh – Malaysia’s 4th largest city – is found around three hours north of Kuala Lumpur. Though not well-known as a tourist destination, Ipoh is an interesting city with a thriving food scene. Led by its majority Chinese-led community, there are a range of dishes unique to the city, including the famous ‘Ipoh chicken rice’ followed by a cup of ‘Ipoh white coffee’. On the edge of the city lie a couple of interesting Buddhist cave temple complexes, while slightly further out towards Tambun lies the Lost World theme park and the luxurious Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat. Ipoh’s location in the centre of the peninsula makes it a handy stopover between KL to the south, Penang to the north-west, the Cameron Highlands to the immediate north, or the jungle reserves of Belum and Taman Negara towards the border with Thailand.
After the busy time in KL we decided to book a spa hotel for a few nights enroute to Penang and chose the Banjaran Hot Springs just outside of Ipoh.
We decided to eat out, it was a challenge of two fronts, firstly trying to find somewhere that was open and secondly trying to find something that was edible. We did however find a quaint little alley way for a drink
DAY 10 IPOH
Morning tour of Ipoh: After breakfast we headed into Ipoh to have a look around, first stop was the Sam Poh Cave Temple, this was pretty impressive as once you got through the cave there was a full size temple not just a shrine like Batu Caves.
Next up was Perak Caves which is famous for the murals painted by Chinese artists.
Then a quick look at the sights in town on a walking tour.
Finally, it was a walk along Concubine Lane and a couple of other adjacent lanes including Market Lane to see how the markets were and also some of the street murals.
Murals of children playing hide and seek, a universal game as is skipping and everybody on the skipping rope is of a different nationality.
This afternoon was a chill out at the retreat. Swimming, spa-ing, aligning our crystals, generally relaxing and dining.
We then headed north to our next destination:
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