The garden on the other end of Kek Lok Tong.
Public schools were supposed to start on the first week of January whilst our kids' school has a couple more weeks of holiday. So, we figured it'd be a perfect week to experience the
Lost World of Tambun in Ipoh for the first time since it won't be so crowded. We've heard so many good reviews about this place.
The last time we were in Ipoh was when Daanish was about 1.5 years old. We visited my wife's aunt. It was a short trip and hence, we didn't get a proper chance for sightseeing.
After booking the hotel and finalizing all the plans, the government announced that due to the recent massive floods which affected most of the states, public schools will stay closed for another week. At that point, we thought our plan was ruined because the theme park was definitely going to be packed.
Also, a week before the trip, I was constantly checking the weather forecast, hoping that it would not rain as much. The forecast showed it was going to rain the entire time we're in Ipoh. I was worried.
The Perfect 2-Bedroom Suite
The master bedroom at M Roof Hotel & Residences.
We stayed at
M Roof Hotel & Residences, located conveniently close to all the spots for good food. The establishment is fairly new and tastefully decorated with minimalism in mind. Our suite comfortably fits 3 adults and 3 children and comes with a fridge and microwave. Although one of the bedrooms doesn't have any windows, the unit was very clean, even the bathrooms.
The beds are very comfortable. Each room comes with a TV. The living room is spacious and the huge sofa could fit everyone all at once. We brought our classic NES console and it kept the kids [and adults, too] entertained whenever we're staying in.
Lost World of Tambun was the Highlight of our Trip
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On the day of arrival, it rained quite heavily that afternoon. We were worried, but then half-hour later, it stopped. Fortunately, the entire time we were in Ipoh, that was the only time it rained. This goes to show that you cannot 100% trust the weather forecast.
After the rain stopped, we bought the tickets via Shopee and an hour later, we were already at the entrance to the
Lost World Hot Springs & Night Park. There were lots of people, but we were able to manage the social distancing quite well.
The park was beautiful!
I was impressed by how well the attractions are laid out amongst the magnificent limestone hills. The
petting zoo was delightful. It was really cute watching the raccoons reaching out to grab the nuts from the palm of our hands. The collection of animals was surprisingly aplenty, we ended up spending over an hour there.
Lost World Hot Springs.
We then changed into our bathing suits and tried all the hot spring pools. Everything was so clean and beautiful and the kids loved the heated "swimming pool". The water temperature is different in every pool. Once we found the best one (with not too many people), we tend to spend most of our time in it. The sauna cave was crazy hot at first, but felt really good after a while.
There were a great deal of choices of food at the Ipoh Street. Although a tad expensive than outside, the ones that we ordered were all very delicious, especially the
karipap.
Two days after, we returned to the park, but this time, in the morning. It was a completely different scene! The weather was perfect. We rushed to the
amusement park to avoid the queues, but to our surprise, there was none. The kids got to enjoy their favorite rides over and over without having to wait.
Tap to see more photos.
Before hitting the waterpark, we took a relaxing stroll and greeted the hippos, giraffes, camels, tigers and other animals. The park was so huge! We then hit the petting zoo for an encore and believe it or not, still as exciting as the first time. The arachnid section was my personal favorite!
The waterpark was quite disappointing, if I have to say so myself. There were only four big slides in the entire park. Three of them share a single queue and that made it super long. Daanish and Ayra went down one of the slides once and didn't bother trying out the others. The fourth slide was rather hidden (and a bit scarier, too) and so, there was no queue. We got to go on that one a number of times and that was really fun.
Aleesa was so exhausted, she went down a few slides and decided to sleep in her stroller afterwards.
The Luminous Forest.
We hung out at the man-made beach until sundown and took a dip once more in the hot spring pools until about 9 PM. I was looking forward to the Luminous Forest, but it turned out to be a big letdown. We wanted to avoid large crowds and so, we didn't care to catch any of the shows.
Oh Delicious Food!
Our orders at Restoran New Hollywood.
It's quite impossible to try out good food in Ipoh without having to go through a long queue. This is the effect you should expect when you visit places that have gone "viral".
We parked our car around the corner and walked to Kedai Kopi Yong Suan for Ipoh's famous Nasi Ganja. We were disappointed to find out that everything had finished. And it was only 4 PM! We then drove to Jalan Raja Musa Aziz for Ipoh's famous Hainan Chicken Rice, but there was a 20-minute wait. We were too hungry and so, we bailed.
We got a bit smarter the next morning and ordered Nasi Ganja via Grab for breakfast. Yes, breakfast! It tasted really, really good! So, we ordered again the day after next, also for breakfast.
Our orders at Canning Dim Sum.
We heard about how crazy the line at
Restoran New Hollywood gets. So, my wife and I decided to go there really early without the kids. When we got there at about 7 AM, there were still plenty of empty tables. We were relieved and went a little overboard with the orders. Foods were delicious, but Penang's were better.
We also tried the dim sums at Canning, Nasi Vanggey and after checking out of the hotel, managed to
tapau the Hainan Chicken Rice for the road.
Where Else Did We Go?
Platform 9 1/2 Cafe at Concubine Lane.
There wasn't much to do at Concubine Lane. We found a
Harry Potter-themed cafe and spent a couple of hours sipping on ice coffee and taking silly pictures with the movie-set-worthy props. It was so much fun!
We then visited the most unique
BookXcess store in Malaysia. Apparently, it's been set up in an old bank vault. Very cool!
Kek Lok Tong's magnificent interior.
On the last day, we visited
Kek Lok Tong, one of the most famous limestone cave temples in Ipoh. Once we saw the inside, we understood why; The architecture of the internal structure is literally the stalagmites and stalactites. As we walked through to the other end, we were greeted with an amazing scenery of a huge garden flanked by limestone hills. Beautiful!
Are We Going Back to Ipoh?
I think it's safe to say that Ipoh definitely deserves another trip. Although a lot of the shops and restaurants close at 7 PM, there are still a lot of things to do, places to see and dishes to try during the day.
See you soon, Ipoh.
