What's up with Fi?: spontaneous trip to Taiping

since i had like so many days off for christmas, decided to go for a lil road trip... not too far, not too expensive... so my Travel Companion (TC) was available and followed me on this trip... we decided that Taiping would be a good place, since my TC hasn't really been to taiping, and i have, i could be the tourist guide.. hahahah...

so we filled the car with petrol, made sure there's enough of $$ in the Touch-and-Go card, got our stuffs and headed for the highways... the roads were clear and there wasn't any traffic, we reached Taiping toll in about 1 hr and Taiping itself in 20 mins or so...

as Taiping is known for it's wet weather, it was raining when we were ON our way there, REACHED there till we went BACK, it was practically raining/drizzling off and on... which is quite ok as the air was clean and cool..see the pic above - roads were wet

what was weird that i noticed was that the welcome sign to Taiping is infact the Taiping Prison! hahahah... but they made it look nice so that it doesn't really look like a prison... but then again, with walls like that, who wouldn't know that that is a prison! lol... look at the clouds! see, gonna rain again...

so before we found a place to stay the night, i brought TC around the lake gardens... it's just behind the prison... it wa just one big circle, yet there was so many activities and mini lakes around the main one... there were a few playgrounds, the zoo is there, there's the paddling/boat ride place, restaurants, parks for ppl to have picnics, river sides/streams to wet your feet and chill... lovely place...

i told TC that this would be the place to retire....

so, tummies were hungry, found a chinese coffee shop, sat down in the open, had something to eat and just hung out.. it was cooling, there were no sun, good conversation was going on.... life was good...

and we decided to go round taiping somemore... found this War Cemetry on the way to Bukit Larut... it's where soldiers in WWII was buried.. soldiers of all sorts of races and religion were buried here... and it was surprisingly... NEAT and CLEAN... even better than some gardens in homes!! lol.. may they rest in peace....

wanted to stay at the shalleys in Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill) but there weren't really proper shalleys and by the time we got to the foot of the hill, the tickets for the Rovers up the hill was sold out/ closed.... yea, if u wanna go up the hill got to get tickets and sit on a jeep to go up... no way you can walk up.. it's it's 10km walking up!!! OMG!

after going around Taiping, looking for a decent place to stay, in the end it was Hotel Sri Malaysia... a franchise of hotels around the world... price was ok, room has what most 5 star hotels had... extra pillows, tv, coffee/tea, ironing board, iron, makan table, hot/cold shower, toiletries (soap, shower cap, sewing kit)... fully equipt... even though the room looked old abit but it was good for the night and it included buffet breakfast too!! hahah

so the next day... gosh, i tell u, here 12pm or 4pm or 8am also look the same and feel the same.. gloomy, windy, cold, wet! hahahah if u dun have the time, u wouldn't know what the time is also...

breakfast was simple and nice... had fried rice and beehoon, half boiled eggs (see how much i wolluped), porridge, toast bread, coffee/tea, orange juice... ok what.. for a place like that.. i'm happy we stayed there... TC was quite content of the place too.. :D

we still had some time left and thought we'd go round the lake again... this time i wanted to go to the place i used to go with my bayan baru childhood friends... there was a swing, a stream, and lots of trees with a maze which i was too scared to go through it.. hahaha...

if u look properly, u can see my whitey at the end of the trees...

then thought of going back to Bukit Larut and tried getting a ride up there to see what's it like.. but it would take a whole day and we didn't have time... we had to go home.... so before that there was a Burmese "Pool" nearby and thought we'd check it out

it was just a waterfall pool made from the rocks.. with muddy water... hahaha... TC said it's muddy because it just rained, usually hilly water would be clean.. but then ah.. come to think of it, taiping always rain so, ma it's always muddy lor... right onnot?

jungle path going upstream from the Burmese Pool

so on the way back, we finally dropped by at the museum.. ready to pay entrance fee, we saw families going in without stopping for tickets... and we asked.. it WAS free!! hahahah city ppl!! malunye....

it was a simple, small... (quite sad) place.... the animals that was preserved, were so called rotting away, the fur was falling, didn't look real anymore, even the bones display was yellow and fragile.. not really a good site... what was more interesting was the old artifacts... not many though but it was cool... :) they also had old vehicles displayed outside...

which reminds me to go to the KL museum again... cause the last time i went, part of it was closed! hmm.... anyone wants to follow?

anyway, the museum was our last stop and after that, it was the journey home.. though i didn't get my sun, sea, sand holiday, this was good enough... but i'm STILL hoping for that holiday la.. hehhehe.....