Ritz Garden Ipoh

... we had both put our umbrellas in our backpacks for the journey and therefore did not have them now. We therefore dived into a park where we could see local families dashing for cover under a large sala. We don’t know the Malay words but some of the Mums were getting a bit fed up with their children running out to play on the metal climbing frames while thunder and lightning crashed around in the sky above. As so often (but not always) happens, the storm was short ...

... 4 of us managed to wake a sleeping nigh watchman and get 2 rooms in a hotel. <br><br>Next day we fitted in a tour around the hillside where we saw a butterfly farm, some creepy crawlies, lots of lovely flowers, a bee farm, a strawberry farm, and best of all a Tea garden. It was the Boh estate and we enjoyed scones and tea on the veranda with Merlene and Marieka the Dutch girls. It was a good tour and for only 25ringit (less than 5pounds) we were driven ...

... so we would have to share, but the double bed was so big that it was fine. I thought the room was too nice for us, and I wasn't really prepaired to pay RM21 for a room, but I was out voted and we spent the night there. It was nice, but very expensive for our budget. I was happy to continue walking around and find another place, but it was not to be and it ****ed up my budget and all the money I had saved in Malaysia (rant over). (Tom: The cheapest alternative was GBP1.60 cheaper ...

... s ivory tusk stem. It was also interesting to note that the Sultan studied at the University of Nottingham!) We decided to have dinner in Kuala Kangsar, rather than Taiping, so we went to the 'Benteng Thai Restaurant' which is meant to be the best in the area, and it was also surprisingly cheap, which is always an added bonus! My meal was on RM5.40 and it was really good too (Tom: Mine was full of the largest amount of chillis I have ever seen. Great though! It tasted ...

... tire des flechettes a la sarbacane (tube de bambou). J'ai viser presqu'au centre de la cible. J'ai une invitaition pour la prochaine chasse, par le chef du village. Rejean a eu trop peur de rater son coup, il s'est abstenu. bon, apres tout ca, on a attendu 1 heure le camions. Nous devions faire une demi journee mais il nous on traines toute la journees a cause que l'autre gang etait pris dans la jungle. Donc, nous avons ete visiter une ...

... first thing we see when you step off the train is plenty of English architecture! We wandered around a bit and ended up in Little India and got some really nice sweets! We rented a hotel room for day use at the station, it was pretty festy. We got on the train at about 1800 and had the train to ourselves until we got to KL Sentral where it was invaded by some really loud obnoxious people

... couldn't find that trail-head we changed our plans and headed down Path 4, which we determined should lose its designation as Jungle Path and the sign should be changed to say Sidewalk 4 as it is essentially a sidewalk that goes a little bit into the forest. Not nearly as exciting as Path 1. Day 2 Sander and I decided to go up Path 10 to the second highest point on any of the trails. Path 10 was not so well signed and on 5 different occasions ...

... snakes and other reptiles as well as beetles and such. Then we had lunch, and back to Ipoh. Soh greeted us again warmly, and had prepared us a Western delicacy, spaghetti bolognese. Though much of the food here we have been eating has been fantastic, it was great to have a small bite of home. We will now spend the next few days exploring the area around, and possibly some other towns close, and Soh is going to teach me a few things in the kitchen.

... didn't take long for us both to master it (without the poisonous darts I should add!). The chief then invited us in for food (tapicoa) and drinks ( very sweet tea) and we learned more about the history of the tribe and how different they are today. Also got to play some traditional musical instruments (KT's a pro on the nose flute!) and play with wooden puzzles (stupid thing). A good experience all round. On the way back from the village the ...

... Malaysia. The Kans and much of their extended family live in Ipoh, about an hour or so inland from Lumut. Named for the poisonous Ipoh Tree, the city was built on the late 19th century tin mining boom and thus has had a strong Chinese community from its inception. These days it comes across as quite suburban and post-industrial, although with a population approaching 700,000 it's one of Malaysia's largest cities. Set in a ...