Problem
Travellers tell you tales of their trips. Are they true, or like the fisherman's fantastically big fish, embellished and enhanced to improve the drama of the story?
Answers
Often it doesn't matter. Just enjoy.
Here are the tales I heard this week from Malaysia.
The Journey
My friendly biker said: 'Google maps underestimated how long it takes to drive from Singapore to Malaysia. I record the time of every journey so I know for next year. I took the length of each section of the route and allowed for the time for stops. By contrast in, Singapore, the road time given is the time for cars. In the city, bikes are faster than cars. On a bike you zoom up to the front by the lights and never get caught by slow-moving traffic.'
What is there to see in Malaysia? Caves. Perak Caves.KL caves. One of the really old caves has been closed to protect it.
Kellie's Castle
Kelly with a 'y' is a popular Irish name. 'But Kellie with an ie at the end was Scottish. He was an entrepreneur who had a large palm plantation. Very different from the Scots pines of Scotland. He cleared some of his land to build a fine, huge house for himself and his wife and two daughters.
Unfortunately, while he was away in Lisbon negotiating business, he caught pneumonia and sadly died. His heartbroken wife and daughters did not want to stay in the house and sold it. After it fell into disrepair, it has been opened as a museum.
The 'foreigner adult' ticket cost RM (Malaysian ringgit) 10, about 3.30 Singaporean dollars about two British pounds. Presumably locals pay less.
Ipoh
Caves and Hills
'The town of Ipoh is set in stunning scenery. Like what - Monument Valley in the USA, Guilin in China, the rocks in the sea in Vietnam? They are called karst, mostly limestone rocks. The mounds are being chipped away, no longer tin mines, but mining for cement, ruining their countryside.
The limestone has also formed natural caves. The caves be hewn out into man-made caves. Caves can be adapted to accommodate restaurants and as cool wine cellars.
Accommodation
'The big hotel where we once had tea is above the station. It's currently under renovation and probably won't be a hotel.
'We stayed in a wonderful British theme apartment, The Majestic, Ipoh. Union Jacks on cushions. We looked at TripAdvisor.
Cave Restaurant
The accommodation at Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat was listed as $467 on our hunt for accommodation map on the internet.
'What we saved on accommodation, we splurged on food in a restaurant in a cave in the hillside. We went to Jeff's Cellar (restaurant), The Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat, 1 Persiaran, Sunsway City, Ipoh, Malaysia. Western style food. Very good. I can't remember what I had. But I kept the bill, so that will tell me.'
Recording Restaurant Food
TripAdvisor asks if there's one dish you would recommend. I photograph food. If you want to write up your restaurant on Tripadvisor, do so as soon as possible after the meal. If not, keep the bill and add ticks or stars beside each listed dish to help you give recommendations later.
Would I have enjoyed the trip? It ended up at the Sepang race track. 'All long walks in the heat, from car parks to stands. to food - you would not have enjoyed it all.'
Lessons Learned
Keep a record of everything. The length of your journey. The accommodation. What you ate in the restaurant.
Useful Websites
Kellie's Castle, outside Ipoh, state of Perak, Malaysia.
Malaysiatourism.gov.my
visit-malaysia.com
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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