For our latest trip, we drove to Ipoh to spend the weekend. We only left KL at around 1pm and arrived at Ipoh a little late as we exited the highway midway to enjoy the scenic drive along the villages and small towns. With a few stops along the way, we finally inched our way to Ipoh at around 5pm. Feeling the need to unwind in a hot bath, I googled "hot spring ipoh" and was thrilled to find that there is a hot springs just 10 minutes drive from Ipoh city. On Fridays and Saturdays, the hot springs at the Lost World of Tambun is open to public from 6pm - 9pm. And for a very affordable fee of RM5, you can relax and enjoy the scenic view of the famous Banjaran Titiwangsa, which is situated next to the Lost World itself!)

The next morning, we woke up early to as I wanted to fulfill my childhood dream to conquer Gua Tempurung by joining the Grand Tour, a 3 and 1/2 hour tour of the Tempurung Caves. However, my parents were discouraged by the guide to join the grand tour as he thinks it is a little too extreme for seniors. True enough, the tour was not as easy as it sounds, as we do go off-track, climbing and descending near vertical rocks without safety harness of any kind - i really think that this should be illegal in Malaysia! Even the sure footed goats do make mistakes, what more first timers like mua?!??!

As we ventured deeper into the caves, all we were left were the lights from our torchlight and when we were told to off everything, we experienced a wave of nothingness, reminding us how lucky we are to be blessed with great eyesight. At a halfway mark, we found ourselves in the east entrance of the cave and we took the opportunity to wade in the cooling stream and rest our tired arms and feet until a few playful group mates decided to stir a water fight and everyone started splashing each other. The second half of the tour was spent crawling under limestones while our bodies were immersed in 6-inch high water levels.

Look wat we found? Amazing! Life in the caves! Wonder what it feeds on!

While I was literally clinging onto dear life, my parents spent their day at Ipoh, trying to locate a vegetarian restaurant named Sin Meng Kee that was said to be around the market in the city center. This vegetarian restaurant offers over 20 different dishes to go with rice, noodles or yam cake. Unlike others only uses flour, this yam cake was prepared using yam. Feeling a little heaty, the cooling tea helped a great deal as it was both strong and tasty. The ABC ice kacang was also tasty and reasonably priced. "Hiong Bang", "Tau Sar Bang", "Pumpkin Fried Crackers" were also on sale but I regret to say are all not up to standard, as the Hiong Bang tasted stale. I would probably try the Vegetarian Pig's Trotter the next time I visit as it was strongly recommended by the shop owner as their signature dish.