Banjaran

"Bang the Gong" ,a ritual for guest to make a sound by banging the Gong to signify  that they  have just arrived at the 'Banjaran 'greeted by smiling staffs that will lead guest to  the chalet. Situated between the limestone hills and natural hot spring ponds and lake this luxurious spa and retreat  in Tambun seems like the most peaceful place.It's forte is health and rejuvenation as well as a yoga retreat.

"It used to be a waste land during the 70s with an old public swimming pool filled with natural hot water from the hot springs of the area.Then it was left unattended and no one bothers till Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah,owner of the Sunway groups bought over the 16.19 acres of the land which includes the hot spring and caves."said Raymond Koh,Director of operation.

"Banjaran may seems exclusive and expensive for Ipoh standard with chalets that cost one thousand ringgit a night but it is popular among people from Kuala Lumpur and international tourists."

What makes Banjaran different and special is the fact that it has natural hot springs in the massive tropical gardens as well as the 25 chalets.Every chalet has their own hot spring pool.There are two types of chalet, one is the garden chalets and another is the water chalets.Both type are charming.

The garden chalet is bigger and it faces the tropical garden and the water chalet is smaller but it overlooks a beautiful pond with lotus and waterlilies.

Nature lovers will love this resort because everything here is connected to nature. There is a jungle trek that leads guest to the Lost World and are allowed to use the facilities of the Lost World for free.There are four natural caves with stalagmites each  for different purposes.

Since Banjaran is also a yoga retreat, one can expect to do their meditation in a cave which is how meditation should be done.

The sauna at this resort is in a cave.Bubbly hot spring inside this cave which will make one sweat at the right temperature and then when you are done with sweating it out,you will be ushered  to a well with cold water dubbed the "cold dip" for cold splash of water

There are  spas and each spa specialises in different kind of massage and therapy.There is the traditional Malay massage, aromatherapy massage,Chinese style of massage and cupping.There is also a fish reflexology called Dr.Fish whereby one put their feet in a long pool with fishes that will bite off dead skins of the feet.One can be totally pampered at this resort.

There are health professionals to explain about what the massages and cupping are good for and also a yoga guru at hand.Whenever you want to practice yoga,the staff will call the guru and you can indulge in yoga outdoor with  a perfect ambience.

The chalets have a living room,dining room,a pool of hot spring and a huge room.It is really comfy and one won't feel like going out when you are in the room.

Near the chalets stood the library for guest to unwind with a book .They have a restaurant called the Pomelo which serves local and western food and it has a real Asian setting with courtious waiters and waitresses.

" The Cave is about 230 million old and long ago the Japanese used it for their hide out . There are still writings from that era in the cave."

One of the cave is called 'Jeff Cellar '.Here is where Jeffrey keeps his favourite wines and champagne. It is also a place for the guest to have a drink while listening to the music.

Impressive would be an undestatement.That surreal feeling you feel it is as though you have found nirvana.  That's how it is in Banjaran. The chalets are beautiful without a doubt,but if you have seen an exclusive chalet before,then you have seen it all.I really feel that the hot spring with its algae and the caves are their best features.

Cheap and tasty

Hotel Sri Malaysia is known by everyone for it's cheap rate and good location around Malaysia.
So I was invited to try the food at Hotel Sri Malaysia Ipoh and I must admit that it is a good place to eat if you are into food and not the hipster culture.

The hotel is ordinary,nothing to shout about but if you are going to just 'sleep' and spend your day outdoor,it is a good bargain.

Yours truly was there by an invitation from the new Manager, Salahuddin Shiyamuddin.It had been a while since I step foot in there but the place have not changed.

My friend from Copthorne,Rose was there too and actually it was she who asked Salahuddin to invite me.

We were served the 'cucur udang' which was so 'sedap' and it cost only RM 5/ a plate with 'teh dangdut'.

Then we had rice with 'asam pedas' served in a clayport.It was divine! The chef also served us 'mee kicap' with fish ball soup.Truly delicious and the set of rice with asam pedas is only RM12/

I am definitely going there for lunch or tea again.

The Japanese Lady

I met this Japanese lady at a cafe in Ipoh.She was alone and so was I.Then we started talking and I found out that this lady is a cartoonist who chose to make Ipoh as her 2nd home.

Satoka Murayama, 38 and single chose Ipoh because of her dogs.Strange but true."I brought two dogs from Japan and Ipoh is  suitable for dogs.I can take them for walks because this is a  cosy neighbourhood.  The cost of living is low too.I cannot live in a condo in Kuala Lumpur because my dogs need to be free."she said.

Satoka is a talented cartoonist and she has many comics sold in Japan and are translated to Thai  and sold in Thailand  too."I have been a cartoonist for 14 years and now I want to stop and do creative retailing online. I design background for cartoons and sell them. Most cartoonist find it troublesome to create and design the background like jungles,mountains etc.So they buy from me and they just add their own cartoon to the background. " she explained.

This talented lady is ambitious and intends to make more money through her creative design for cartoon magazines .To do one comic of 30 pages is very tough.The cartoonist have to prepare dialogues and create a story for the comic.Just drawing a cartoon character is hard ,let alone adding dialogues that are witty and catchy but if their book gets published she gets paid RM500 for a page and imagine the amount of 30 pages.Attractive indeed and Satako has done more than ten books."When people buy my books,I get paid a certain amount too" she said.She meant author royalties for her book.

Seeing is believing and she took me to her house.It is icredible and because she cannot read nor write in english,she has to do her online business in Japanese and for Japanese.There are too many cartoonist in Japan and it is a competitive market . Satoka does not consider herself as a professional cartoonist because there are many others that are much better and they get about a thousand ringgit per page.

She showed her wacom tablet and how she creates a background in the world of cartoons with the 2D method ."This is what I do every day after my morning walk with my dogs " she said.Although she is alone ,she loves her life in Ipoh and she has made a few friends that has taught her to speak in english.

2D art is often defined by its medium and composition. Media used to create 2D art may include anything that can make a mark on a flat surface. Each medium brings its own unique qualities to a work of art.
Composition of 2D art is critical. This includes line, form, color, repetition and balance, in that order of importance. Line and form shape the appearance. Color brings out shapes and contributes mood and depth, among other things. The two principles of repetition and balance impart subtle moods. These elements arranged in two dimensions can even create the illusion of three dimensions.

Does she make money by selling her image of backgrounds  online?

"Yes most of the cartoonist will just concentrate on drawing the cartoon but not the background. They have to hire another artist to draw the background and it can cost a lot.So they buy mine.They can get a background of forest,houses and many more from me online."

Satoko is an independent artist and how she makes a living through art is admirable. Hopefully Malaysians can try making money online like what she does.She only sells to the Japanese because of the language barrier. She hopes to go international when she master the English language.

Where is the love?

They say respect is earned but in today's world respect is just a word.No matter how hard we try to  instill good manners in our children,they will still witness bad behavior by our very own people and ministers.

What happened to the manners and sweet culture of our forefathers?We were admired by the Western world for our culture and that is to respect everyone especially the elderly.

I don't see it anymore.The media is full of hatred and fights.Our ex PM who is 90 yrs old is being called names that is horrible by our very own Ministers.

Then there's people on the street harassing a female government servant.What's going on?

We hear about the Palestinian plight and the Rohingya being killed and tortured in Burma.'Ethnic cleansing' they said.

Where is the love?

Too much hate and animosity in the air..Is the world coming to an end?

Bad Mom

It's a title of a movie.Very entertaining yet the message is clear.We can't be perfect mothers because it is a taxing job.
In my humble opinion,I feel that mothers should just be there for their children.Our presence as a mother is important in molding a child but we must never lose our own identity.Yes we are mothers but besides that,we too have our passion and hobbies.Some mothers have to work and that's fine as long as we do not neglect our children.
We must always celebrate motherhood because it is the greatest job.

Ngah Ibrahim

A beautiful white mansion stood in the middle of a huge land with some broken bricks that looks like a fort surrounding the area.

This white mansion was the home of Ngah Ibrahim, son of Long Jaafar who was the Chief of Larut.Long Jaafar was the man responsible for tin mining in Larut and he became the richest man in Perak.After his death, Ngah Ibrahim took over his role as Chief of Larut  and that was when it all began.Ngah was into coffee plantation, padi plantation and tin mining.So he was even richer than his father. During his era the Chinese groups that was brought into Larut by his father to help with tin mining started fighting.That was why he built the fort  in the 1870s at his private residence.

"It all began with the Larut Wars between the Ghee Hin and the Hai Sans who were fighting over everything.The third Larut War was fought because of a woman.Apparently these two group of thugs were enemies  from day one in China till they reached Perak."said Hanim.

As we enter the museum,we will see a man made elephant with mannequins of Malay men touching the elephant's leg which seems to glitter.Those glitters were meant to be tin ore and it was this elephant that was called Larut who made Long Jaafar aware of the existence of tin ore in the area of Larut.From then on history began to take shape.

"You may not learn about this in your history lesson but the biggest mistake made by Ngah Ibrahim , the chief of Larut was when he hired a British called Captain Speedy from Penang to help him with the fights between the two Chinese group or 'gangsters'."

The British intervention in Perak began when Speedy came to Larut although some argued that it started after the treaty of Pangkor was signed by Sultan Abdullah and the British. The British appointed J.W.W Birch to be the first Resident and Speedy became the Assistant Resident.

Speedy was a policeman in Penang and when Ngah approached the governor of Penang for help, Speedy was chosen but he asked for three things from Ngah and they were a house beside Ngah ' s house,to bring Indians from India to Larut and a high salary.His wishes were granted by Ngah and from then on Speedy started to manipulate Ngah."Ngah trusted him fully to the point that Speedy has access to Ngah's account and even during the engagement of Ngah ' s daughter,Speedy became the spokesman for Ngah ' s family."

"Speedy had his own agenda and that was to keep track of the wealth of Ngah and his mission was to get the wealth back to his country.This information was later gathered when Malaysian scholars went to England and gathered facts from there."

There is a mock courtroom upstairs and mannequins of Ngah and others on trial. His bedroom faces the river which is no longer there . According to the keeper of the museum,there are nights when his spirit could be seen sleeping on the bed.

After the murder of J.W.W. Birch, the first British Resident in Perak at Pasir Salak on 1 November 1875, the fort became a court for the trial of Birch's murder. Dato Maharajalela, Dato' Sagor, Sepuntum and Pandak Indut were kept in one of the room as prisoners.The room is still at the museum untouched and there are shackles and manequins of the prisoners to show us how they were treated.

They were found guilty and were sentenced to death by hanging at the court on 21 January 1877. Ngah Ibrahim, Sultan Abdullah and 40 others were exiled to Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Ngah Ibrahim died on 1887 in Singapore and was buried at the Masjid Al-Junied cemetery. However, on 7 September 2006, Ngah Ibrahim's body was brought back to Perak and reburied near his house.

The truth of the matter still remains blurry because there were arguments saying that Ngah was framed by the British and that Speedy betrayed Ngah when he took over the fort while  Ngah succumbed to the accusations.

During the Japanese occupation in 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army made the fort its headquarters and war strategic operations centre till 1945.In1987, this fort was taken over by the Perak Museum Department as a state historical site known as Kota Ngah Ibrahim Historical Complex.

Being inside the museum,I felt the sadness of the building for it witnessed the downfall of the  owner and death of those linked to the owner.I was told that Ngah Ibrahim cried everyday till his eyes became blur and he wrote 'puisi' while waiting to be exiled.His son too wrote a sad poetry which is still available in one of the local university.

All these can be found in the museum and the sad part was nobody question about Birch.He was a notorious man unlike Speedy who was subtle with his actions and was sent back to England because he was slowly turning into a Malay.There will always be  two sides to a story and what we learned in our history class were the ones from the British point of view.

Ngah Ibrahim was a hero to the Malays because he fought for their rights.He was a good administrator but his weakness was he trusted too easily

Social Business

Happiness is not about making big bucks for the new generation.The generation  Y so to speak are more into fulfilling their dreams even if it means that they cannot afford fancy cars. They lead a healthier lifestyle in smaller towns and are put off by the rat race.

We see most of them completing their professional courses in engineering, accountancy and law but most of them prefers to indulge in the arts scene.They are so much into poetry and literature as a way of expressing themselves and they are happy just making end meets.

These youth are those who earn their living through 'social business .'Unlike traditional business, a social business operates for the benefit of addressing social needs that enable societies to function more efficiently. Social business provides a necessary framework for tackling social issues by combining business know-how with the desire to improve quality of life.

Two young men from Ipoh seems to strive on social business and the duo have successfully made their presence felt in Malaysia 's arts and music arena.

"I found Projek Rabak with Seyn Jukey  and  and we love Ipoh so much that we want to promote Ipoh as a new hub for arts be it poetry,spoken words or music."said Mohd Jayzuan who has his own style of reaching out to the youth.

Projek Rabak, incidentally, is an art collective formed in Ipoh in January 2011. The organisation consists of musicians, writers, poets, painters, filmmakers, theatre activists, mime artistes and others.

According to Seyn Jukey of Projek Rabak, Ipoh needs an art platform where talented individuals can show the world what they are capable of.​ “We want to promote Ipoh’s art scene as a tourist attraction,” he added.

Jayzuan and his team owns a social place called Rumah Khizanat which is under Projek Rabak at Canning Garden. This house is a cafe,bookstore and an art space where they serves cheap and tasty food plus they often hold events of all kinds at this place

"We bring in poets to showcase their talents to those who are into arts for free.Not all youth can afford to go to kl and watch performances so we bring the performers to Ipoh.We do not charge for our events but we expect them to buy our food and drinks and the books if they can afford it. Sometimes I allow those who have hidden talent to perform in front of the crowd and this helps the youth to be exposed to the public."said Jayzuan

A popular poet from Indonesia, Aan Mansyur came to Rumah Khizanat recently and did a recital and talks for free.Aan is popular because of the movie "Ada apa dengan Cinta." since the main character uses puisi written by Aan.

"Saya jatuh cinta dengan Ipoh. (I fell in love with Ipoh)" Aan confessed adding that he do not like Kuala Lumpur because everyone is too busy with themselves.

"Ipoh is more intimate to us and we can just walk around the town if we do not have any transportation.I can easily write poems in Ipoh " said Aan with a promise to come back to Ipoh.

Pundi Kacang

Fay Rhatmanee,21 a henna artist recently introduced her Cafe called Pundi Kacang to Ipoh.A name that people had forgotten because kids these days do not play seven stones like before.

Fay's dream of owning a henna cafe cum art space became a reality on the 29th October 2016.Deepavali day saw the opening of a retro henna cafe in Ipoh.

"It's actually based on something that happened. I had created this list of names where i wrote down every single object, event, whatsoever that was from my childhood while waiting in the car  for my baby sister. I wasn't really happy with the names I had on my list. They didn't really stand out or they're probably too common. I looked around in frustration and  noticed that there were these two girls  playing batu seremban. I miss playing that! I remember back then we didn't need to have a smartphones or whatsoever to entertain ourselves. Simple seven stones can make us so happy. We used to "battle" batu seremban from class to class for the whole month of November back in primary school as we were done with exams.

"I remember back then I wanted to play batu seremban with my cousins in my grandma's house. She wasn't too happy as we were leaving scratches all over the pretty marble tiles. She then decided to make us 'Pundi Kacang'."

Reminiscing all those moments and Fay finally got a name for her studio.

"Everything here is a DIY so I do not have to cough out so much of money to set up this place."said Fay

The cafe is on the top floor of a shop lot and there are murals on the wall as one goes up the stairs to the cafe.The murals were painted by Fay and her friends.The decoration is simply "retro". Drawings of P.Ramli and his Bujang Lapuk friends are painted on the wall and a drawing of girls playing  seven stones are painted on the door.

What about the food?
"My mom and I are the ones cooking. She'd cook the oriental dishes and I would do western, dessert and light food."replied Fay

" I've always pushed my mom ever since I was 17 to be a food caterer or at least delivery you know cause her food wasn't just like any other mom's. The authenticity is there. Especially when it comes to Thai food and we hardly get that in Ipoh no matter how "Thai" they claim to be. Now, it's like a dream come true. I get to work with my mom closely, she's finally cooking to sell and not just serve at home." said Fay with pride

Their speciality are "Laksa Siam" and Nasi Lemak Kampung

The concept. .

"I came up with this henna art, cafe and event space all in one single place because I think it's really special and you don't have it anywhere. Not that I know of, at least hahaha. I am constantly surrounded by a lot of creative people and it hit me that if I were to open up a place of my own, I'd like to also showcase their talents at my place."

" Some of them are just emerging in the entertainment and art industry, some of them are already famous. Either way, I love to celebrate art. Their talents are a gift from god and it shouldn't go to waste."

"It's refreshing for henna art lovers to actually get their favourite henna art stained while having some good food, drinks, music and company in a very cosy retro setting. I really hope that my studio will be one of the stops for cafe hoppers/tourists. It's worth it, I can guarantee that."

"I finally got everything in one place and I'm more than happy now to be able to share it with the community. I really hope this studio lasts because it's a very refreshing concept that has to go on."said Fay with determination.

Having heard all that from this Ipoh lass,Perak which was voted by Lonely Planet as the 9th place to visit in the world is proud to present a unique place for tourist and locals alike.

Bukit Berapit

The world is revolving fast and with that comes new technologies and mode of transportation. Gone are the days of  slow moving 'Choo Choo train '.Some have fond memories of the good old days where taking a locomotive  is not a rush for tickets because not many wants to take the slow ride and enjoy the sceneries.

Currently Malaysia have fast moving electric  trains  that will take passengers to their destinations in a short span of time.Going to Kuala Lumpur  from Ipoh is only two hours by the new ETS (electric train service ). Choo Choo train is outdated.People are buying time and most are not keen to watch sceneries through the window of a slow moving train.We have yet to experience the bullet train in Malaysia.

However,everything in life has its pros and cons.Going at the speed of light may be good for those who are travelling on a working trip but as for the oldies who are only going on a trip to visit their grandchildren, they would prefer to take an idyllic train rides.

Nostalgia often hit us as we reminisced and we wished to go back in time.Alan Bligh, former Radio and TV  Announcer recalled his special train rides to Penang from Ipoh with his grandmother when he was in Primary school.

"I can still remember those happy days when train rides was a treat for the kids.At that time we do not bother about the long hours spent on a train ride because of the sceneries. My favourite was the ride to Butterworth from Ipoh." said Alan with a chuckle.

"I look forward to those train rides to Butterworth because of the tunnels at Bukit Berapit.I remember feeling excited when the train reached Bukit Berapit and the train would move slowly as we entered the tunnels and as it crossed the Bukit Merah lake."

"It was so beautiful, the water was so close to the moving train on both sides because the track was at ground level and sometime the water would rise and cover the track."

Although the sight was magical, it was not safe and reliable. So the latest electric train uses a new double track on a high bridge that crosses the lake.

The new bridge called the Marine Viaduct is a two lane railway track that is higher than the old bridge.It is safer and more convenient in case of flood.

According to the group members of 'Jom naik Keretapi ' on Facebook  which includes Datuk Lat and Alan himself, the old rail track had made way for the new ETS track that goes to Padang Besar.The new tunnel is the longest tunnel in South East Asia and it was built  below the old tunnels. The old tunnels are still there,a reminder of the past.It was where the Japanese and Communist used during the war.

The old railway bridge which looks like the ones in the movie 'Indiana Jones ' is no longer there but the Bukit Berapit station is still there.Those who are game for adventure can still go to the old track and take a walk to the old tunnels.It is advisable to go in a group because it is a lonely place and some say that the tunnels are haunted.

Ex workers claimed to see ghost and 'pontianak' at the old Bukit Berapit tunnel but then again this is normal for any abandoned building especially tunnels.

The  railway track from Bukit Gantang to Taiping was built in 1902 and it began operation in 1903.There were four tunnels and a high bridge along Bukit Berapit. From the bridge, passengers of the train could see the beautiful surroundings ,ravines and the waterfalls.The train had to run at a low speed here because of the winding track and the height of the bridge.

Trains could only go at 40 km per hour  along that stretch of old track therefore the new ETS that is in operation now are a blessing for travellers to Perlis and from Perlis to Singapore.

"The old track had seen tragedies of train falling off the bridge into the ravine  during the old days.One was a train that carried boxes of medicines and stuff in the 70s." said a member of 'Jom naik Keretapi.'

History has it that the fort of Long Jaafar,the first Malay tin miner and his grave are situated along the vicinity of the old railway station of Bukit Berapit.There were suggestions of having the Bukit Berapit station be preserved but it has yet to see the light of day.The station was shut down  during the year 2000.

The old railway track was dismantled sometime in 2013 but people can still walk along the the site for photography and adventure.'Jom naik Keretapi' group is a platform for all train lovers to discuss and exchange views regarding the past and the latest.