Graduation Trip with SISTAHs 2010: My take. 2nd day still around Taiping!

Continuation from previous post. Let’s get the pic spam rollin’! Some of the picture here are courtesy of Ms Chuah’s DSLR camera. LOL even using auto mode and shoot around like no ones business, the pictures can end up so much better than the usual point-and-shoot digital camera.

Good morning, Taiping. Drop by at Chinese Association Teahouse right beside Lake Taiping to tapao a little breakfast for us to eat before we moved on to our next destination…

Maxwell Hill or Bukit Larut, one of the series of hill stations built by the British colonist as a highland retreat to escape the tropical heat of Malaya.

Here’s the tourist information board thing.

There are two ways to go up to Maxwell Hill, one is to walk along the the jungle track (for those adventurous people) or the road leading up hill or take a ride on the LandRover Jeep for RM 6 per person. The ride uphill will take approximately half and hour to 45 minutes and it is scheduled to climb on hourly basis. We missed the 9am ride up so we took the 10am ride up. So what are we supposed to do to kill time for one hour?

Breakfast of course! Bought char siew pau and kaya pau from the lakeside tea house earlier!

We bunch of groupies eating paus.

Played a lil poker as well.

…before two people started to feel bored and did an exploration of their own. If squint very hard, you might just see AhPheng and Birdie up there.

And of course when we talk about exploring new places, group picture is compulsory. Here we are, jumping around like a bunch of foolish youth we are, in front of the Selamat Datang ke Bukit Larut signboard. Those joggers must be feeling bemused by our antics lol.

And here we go~~~

The ride uphill was indeed very dizzying with sharps turns and steep gradient. One have to salute the British colonial engineer’s determination to find themselves a highland retreat!

The single lane road gets narrower and narrower as we climb up the hill.

Our jeep stopped halfway to wait for another two jeeps to come down from the hill. While waiting, there are a few really determined people who decided to climb the hill by walking up.

Camwhore shot while waiting for the jeep to continue our journey.

As the jeep climbed further up, the air starts to feel chillier and the surrounding is shrouded in mist.

And not too long later, we were greeted by this sign. We are now 1036 m above sea level!

Pine trees, typical of highland vegetations.

More shots of pine tree shrouded in mist.

Obligatory group pic!

Quaint little cafe located right beside the jeep stand.

More shots of coniferous/pine trees.

Another shots.

A close up of the pine leaves.

Spotted this old rusty gates with a read that leads to…

…a quaint little cottage from the bygone era. Actually our original plan is that we stay in Maxwell Hill for one night at one of these cottages but unfortunately it was fully booked and the waiting list extends til October!

Me, caught in the act while taking pic.

Fellow groupies in Maxwell Hill. I love how this pic as taken! Need to thanks SzeSze’s DSLR!

Here’s a shot of Birdie Chuah, taking picture of us. She is working diligently our our photographer for the whole trip so has to give her a huge credit!

Me, camwhoring with umbrella. It drizzle intermittently while we were exploring around the area.

Went around for more exploration and obviously all the walking up steep gradient has left us slightly fatigued.

XinMi and I as the 88’ers among the groupies. Spesies ganjil!

A shot at the blooming fauna.

Another shot at the blooming chrysanthemum.

We went up a little further more and then we reached another even more spectacular lodge, complete with scenic balcony/platform!

Steep staircase leading up to the lodge.

Apparently this is where the tulips is but unfortunately it is not the blooming season yet so can say that we missed up certain experience…

The green house where the tulips are. We will be back when you bloom again, tulips.

Because we are pretty much done with exploration around the top, we went back to the small cafe at the jeep stand to rest while waiting for the jeep to pick us up and go down the hill.

Had nasi lemak and Neslo Ais for a little refreshment.

Last not least, big group pic at the rather ugly Bukit Larut and 1Malaysia sign.

And now it’s time to head back down. Good bye, Maxwell Hill! Will spent a night here next time.

Just before leaving, Coronation Swimming Pool, one of the very first swimming pool in Malaysia and uses mountain spring from Maxwell Hill as its source of water.

As we moved on to another destination, went past a few relics of British past. Here’s Taiping Jail.

Perak Museum.

Government office building.

And we are on our way over to Kuala Sepetang/Port Weld! Along the road was endless swathe of mangrove forest.

And here’s our destination: Charcoal factory! This factory is not owned by Birdie Chuah’s family btw. It just so happened that the manager here has the same surname.

The factory was build around a canal that cuts deep into the mangrove forest to harvest the mangrove trees and dragged it back to the factory using boat.

The chopped mangrove wood.

These huge dome of a furnace then burn continuously for days to burn down the carefully arranged woods in there into charcoal.

Here’s the finished product. It has to be chopped into smaller piece before ready for sale.

A shot in front of the furnace.

Another group pic before we head on to our next destination.

Our next destination, Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve.

The park provided walking platform for the convenience of tourist to explore the mangrove forest more closely.

Pneumatophore or the breathing root of mangrove tree, one of its numerous adaptation to survive in the marshy swamp ground.

Looking skyward through the towering trees.

Groups of us.

Taking another group pic with the oldest swamp tree around here.

Along the pathways are informational signboard about mangroves. Unfortunately though, the message was hampered by rather crappy English. WTF is programmers doing here?! Really the park management should’ve hire one of us BATI-an as editor to upgrade the standard of translations.

At the exit. Phew pretty tired from all the walking. Next stop and lunch!

Port Weld, where the first rail station in Malaysia situated at. Unfortunately what’s left of Port Weld Station is this rail station multilingual signboard complete with ugly KTM word with no rail left in sight.

A plaque chronicling the history of Port Weld and the first railway line in Peninsular Malaysia.

Obligatory group pic!

And that’s Mr Chuah explaining about Port Weld’s history!

Our place for lunch as recommended by Mr Chuah: Restoran Tepi Sungai.

Which is indeed located at tepi sungai! A shot of the estuary and swathes of magrove forest.

Here’s a few shots of more exotic seafoods: oddly shaped shellfish thing.

Scallops in sweet and sour sauce. Delish!

Crab cooks with spices. As usual, I don’t know how to prey open a crab shell.

Steamed crawfish (or something) in soy sauce. It’s meat is very juicy and tender.

All wash down the throat by refreshing coconut drink!

The aftermath: tableful of shells and bones, oily fingers and full stomach.

Went to SzeSze’s uncle’s house to take a peek of a fishermen’s house. Boat and river right behind the house!

And then we head back home again to have our well needed bath after a whole day of walking and sweat.

Went to Lake Taiping for a little stroll. Immediately when we reached there, we were greeted by the huge golfball.

Bought ourself icecream from the icecream man. It has been forever since the last time I bought ice cream from traditional ice cream man, in which the ice cream was scooped from a block of icecream.

According to SzeSze, this was a clock tower but for some reason, it was replaced with a plaque with MPT (Majlis Perbandaran Taiping) on it.

A picturesque view of the fountain in the middle of the lake…

Group pic~~~

Another shot from the slope.

Silly groupie picture!

Another shot toward the hills and the lake.

Look at the trees.

Path flanked by bamboo: a place to take marriage picture!

For some reason, my face looked =.=.

Another smile!

The old trees along the side of the road circling the lake.

What’s up there?

Flocks of bird heading home to rest.

All the migratory birds perched on trees.

Another picturesque spot for taking Marriage photo.

The bridge across the lake.

Lily/lotus pond.

A few lone blooming lotus.

Us.

All of us in shadow.

More of us.

Silly people running~~~

We went to a hindu temple in which they keep wild boars in the compound. There are LOTS of them.

All the boars big and small scrambled over to eat the rice that the believer offered for them. According to SzeSze, people actually believes that these boars brings good luck especially wealth just by touching them or rubbing them with RM50 before using that money to buy lottery. Whimsical as it maybe, people as far as KL and JB booked bus just to come over here and touch the wild boars.

Scrambling for food!

To wrap up the night, barbeque!

XinMi dropped by the old market to buy some bread to make our very own charcoal grilled Kaya and Butter toast! Da yum!

And here come a birthday surprise for our birthday gals, ChiaMin’s belated birthday and AhPheng’s b’day in advance!

Smile, princesses!

A shot of the birthday cake.

Let’s chow down the cakes!

Let the memories of all the good time spent together with each other remain eternal and forever. Love you all so much.

Phew so many pictures! Just pic spam alone is good enough to break my hand! Next post: Good bye Taiping, we are heading NORTH!