Travel: Kellie's Castle, Perak

Dear All,

Welcome back to yet another edition of Travel and today we bring you over to one of the most famous and places of interest in Ipoh, Perak. Introducing the Kellie's Castle which is situated in between the town of Simpang Pulai and Batu Gajah. It's about 30 minutes drive from Ipoh town.

We reached the location on a weekday and on a working day and the crowd seems to be lesser. It's a huge castle that was built by a Scottish planter named William Kellie Smith. Before he could complete the building of the castle, he died back in Portugal in 1926 due to Pneumonia. If you want to study more about the history of this castle, please visit here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellie%27s_Castle.

There's nothing much left you could see on the castle except some of the structures and some directions of the rooms where you can actually see the design of William Kellie Smith. It was nice too. On every partition, you could actually see from Kellie's room to his son and guest rooms which is situated on the castle. You can also see lots of secret passage at the castle to avoid it from being attacked by the enemy. There's a lot of history that you can learn on your journey to Kellie's Castle and you will not regret it. At the top of the castle, one can actually see the beautiful scenery of Batu Gajah and Simpang Pulai. Children must be exercise extra caution when you reach the top of the castle as there is no divider to protect the castle and it can be very dangerous.

Tips when you are there, do be extra alert as well as the stairs are steep and some of the places are dark too and you need some lights. Also after or during the rain, one must also be extra careful of
slippers floors as well. As you walk through the castle, you can actually see a few things ranging from the unfinished 6-storey lift, indoor tennis court, helipad and a rooftop courtyard for entertainment.

I would strongly recommend you to visit the Kellie's Castle when you are at Ipoh. It was a place full of history and great place to be as well. Remember to snap more photos like what I just did. Enjoy yourself and have a great holiday! MY RATING: 5/5 ; KIMMY RATING: 5/5

Address:

Chalet Mdkb Kellies Castle, 
Jalan Gopeng, Batu Gajah,Perak, 31000, Malaysia.
Telephone: 05-2552772
Visiting Hours: 9.00am - 6.00pm Daily 

 
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Travel: Gopeng Street Art & Gaharu Tea Valley, Gopeng

Dear All,

Welcome back to yet another edition of Travel. Today our journey continues at Gopeng town where there are more places of interest to visit and among them are the newly developed Street Art and the Gaharu Tea Plantation located at Gopeng.

If you are near the Museum Gopeng, then you are able to see the street art just opposite the roundabout nearby the RHB Bank at some of the shoplots. There are 3 finished street art so far and the one that are in progress is the lion dance. Among those who had completed is the dining table, a hawker stall and a Malay style Atap House. We took opportunities to snap some photos there and we also get to interview the Gopeng Museum owner where they are in the midst of developing the street art and it will reach about 30 of them by the end of the year 2013. After Penang, now Ipoh is another destination of trending of the street art and one of those can be found at Gopeng. Check the photos out. You should not miss those beautiful street art as well.

Our next stop would be at the Gaharu Tea Valley. Special thanks to my mom and dad who brought us to this place of tourist and place of interest. Once you reach Gopeng, there will be a signboard leading you the way to the Gaharu Tea Valley and you need to go pass the kampung roads about 15 minutes before you can actually reach the plantation. It's quite deserted but at least the signboard will lead you the way and you will not get lost.

This place actually introduces the famous Gaharu Tree which can help to reduce of diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Once you reach the plantation, there's a shop selling all the Gaharu products such as Tea, Biscuits, Noodles that was made by Gaharu. I've try the tea over there and it's very nice and tasty too as it contains the fragrance of the Gaharu tree. There's an option for you to take a private van up towards the plantation and you need to pay RM10 per person for a 45 minutes tour. According to my parents, there's nothing you can actually do at the top of the plantation besides you can only see the fascinating view of the plantation and then you get a chance to HUG the giant and huge Gaharu Tree only. There's a tea restaurant coming up soon at the top but it's not ready yet at press time. I plan to make another visit once the tea restaurant is ready and we can enjoy the beautiful scenery while drinking the tea. It was a great trip overall for us. I would recommend you to come over here to visit the tea plantation here as well as the street art. A worthwhile visit to Gopeng town. Enjoy! MY RATING: 5/5 ; KIMMY RATING: 5/5

Address:

Gopeng Street Art (Along Jalan Eu Kong, 31600 Gopeng Perak.)

Gaharu Tea Plantation
Lot 9840, Mukim Sg. Teja,
31600 Gopeng, Perak.
Visiting Hours: Daily 9.00am - 6.00pm
Telephone: 05-3511999
Fax: 05-3511996
Website: http://www.gaharu.com.my 


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Travel: Museum Gopeng, Ipoh (Also known as Gopeng Heritage House)

Hi All,

Welcome back to yet another edition of Travel and today we bring you another nice and entertaining place here at Ipoh. We bring you slightly north about 25 minutes drive from Ipoh town lies a small mining town of Gopeng. Here there's a few tourist attraction that I would recommend you to visit. Today we bring you to Gopeng town to see the Museum Gopeng which is situated at one of the shoplots in Gopeng. It was then run by a group of volunteers and it only opens on weekends Saturday and Sunday only.

Inside the museum, one can actually spend about 1 hour enjoying the photography session or to take a look at the history of Gopeng and as well as the historical equipments that was used back in 50-60 years ago. This museum has 2 1/2 storey and after you have seen the antiques over there, you can also have a short break by having their 'Guai Ling Gao' Herbal Jelly over there. It's very nice taste and it costs about RM2.00 per cup.

There are 2 separate Museum in Gopeng that was run by the same group of volunteers. One museum is displaying the ancient 50-60's home equipments such as desk, chairs, clock, beds, makeup tables and many more. Another museum is displaying some history and facts on the mining and the business that was operated in Gopeng back in the 50-60's. This museum is quite small if compared to another ones. Both museum is located quite nearby to each other and if you are not sure, do ask the friendly volunteers at either museum to help you out to reach the destination.

I would strongly recommend you to come over to visit the Gopeng Museum. It was fun, educational and then interesting trip down there to Gopeng and discover their historical moments over there. For the full photos, please check out our Facebook page by 'Like' us. Enjoy your vacation. MY RATING: 5/5 ; KIMMY RATING: 5/5

Address:

28, Jalan Eu Kong, 31600 Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia. 
Telephone: 05-3591923 ; 016-5421287 (Phang Sek Hong)
Visiting Hours: 9.00am - 3.00pm (Only Open On Saturday & Sunday) (Admission is free)

 
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