Great Vacation in Ipoh, Malaysia

Ipoh, Malaysia, is a great destination for a vacation. With an exchange rate of almost 3:1 to the USD, Ipoh is affordable and fun. The Heritage Hotel (4-star) offers reasonable rates for nice, clean rooms. The staff, particularly the laundry workers, are prompt, effectual and accommodating. The hotel offers a tremendous breakfast buffet full of Western and Malaysian entrées. During the day you may be treated to witness traditional Malaysian dances performed by dancers from local schools. Ipoh boasts modern shopping malls as well as local artisans. There are many large ceramic factories that one may tour and purchase items for shipping back home. The streets are wide and lined with plants and trees sculpted into interesting shapes, making Ipoh one of the most beautiful cities in Malaysia. The citizens are mostly of Chinese ancestry in Ipoh and treat visitors warmly. The residents of Ipoh truly go out of there way to be of assistance. Malaysia, while officially a Muslim country, is very tolerant of other religions and one of the few Asian countries where Americans are still liked. The people are very well educated and take great pride in showing you the best of their country.

From the Heritage Hotel one may sign up for a Jeep tour of the rain forest jungle. On a good day one may see elephants, the Malaysian sun-bear, monkeys, exotic birds and other wildlife. The tour is well worth the small fee to hire a Jeep and a guide.

Visit Ipoh Old Town, I recommend you visit Sin Yoon Loong, it is famous for the white coffee which is exported overseas. Other great places to dine are House of Mirros(Thean Chumn) famous for it's Caramel Custard and Ipoh Kuey Teow. Kong Heng is famous for its Pork Satay (a small piece of pork on the stick with satay sauce - this is the best dish in all of Malaysia). For the one who want to search for best curry noodle you can go to Sing Seng Fatt.

The Ulu Kinta Waterfall which is about 30 minutes drive from Ipoh is a great place to visit and for the kids their is a new water theme park in town. Other sites that will interest the visitor to Ipoh are as follows:

Kellie's Castle which is the deserted mansion of an eccentric English planter,in Batu Gajah, half an hour's drive from Ipoh city center. Its main appeal lies in the belief that it is haunted and that secret passages leading to hidden chambers exist.
Sam Poh Tong (Cavern of Triple Gems) which is a Chinese temple is located at Gunung Rapat, built within a gigantic limestone cave. It has a popular attraction, a gigantic tortoise pond where it houses hundreds of tortoises (a symbol of longevity) of various sizes (a few giant tortoises too).

Kek Lok Tong (Cavern of Ultimate Bliss) a cave temple that lies on the other side of the same range of limestone hills as Sam Po Tong but only accessible through Gunung Rapat housing area. Hence, Kek Lok Tong has a cleaner, quieter and more cooling environment and has the best scenic cave view.

Perak Tong (Perak Cave) is located at Gunung Tasek and houses over 40 Buddha statues, has a steep, tall staircase in the interior of the cave rising up to the top of its hill where one is greeted by a beautiful and panoramic view of Ipoh and its surroundings. The statue of Buddha in Perak Tong is the tallest and largest of its kind in Malaysia. When I visited in September of 2005 there were very few visitors and you were able to take as much time as you wanted - you need at least 2-3 hours to really take everything in at this site. Perak Tong was built in 1926 by a Buddhist priest from China.
Muzium Darul Ridzuan is an interesting historical museum of Perak, located in a pretty former tin-mining tycoon's mansion near the Anglo-Indian railway station.

Hill climbing. One can climb the Menglembu Hill in Menglembu, near Ipoh. Once in the half way climbing to the top, you can see the awe-inspiring limestone outcrops and caves that surround Ipoh.
The Kamplar River offers white-water rafting and caving.

Ipoh also is the source for Cameron Highlands Tea - very much worth stocking up on to bring back home.
Ipoh can be seen and experienced on less than $75 a day, including hotel room and meals. One can reach Ipoh by flights from Kuala Lumpor but the best way is to fly to Penang (a fantastic city in its own right) and taking a bus or taxi sown so one can see the beautiful scenery.