Elizabeth line open! Jubilee weekend ahead. Jubilee year worldwide!

 

ALSO See previous post MAY 17 2022.

The eagerly awaited Elizabeth line was opening. Disappointingly it would cost you as much as twenty five pounds to take the express line from Heathrow to central London. Probably less than a taxi. But other parts of the line - hurray! 

London looked different. More like modern Singapore. 

Terrific Trains

I rode on a trains with one long carriage. As you go around a bend the far end of the train swings this way and that. No risk of being isolated with a funny character. If you don't like the people staring at you, or coughing near you, you can take a long walk away from them.

Fun Flags Flying

Lots of rows or Union Jack flags were flying in shop windows celebrating the Jubilee year and the upcoming Jubilee long weekend. I saw them in the post office in Hatch End in North West London. 

Two big flags flew either side of the doorway outside the Wetherspoons pub. 

But we were departing and would miss the magic, the street parties. However, with the wonder of the internet we could watch everything from a distance.

Are you not in the UK? See my sister posts in dressofthedayAngela for How To Shit In the Woods, and extra detachable sequin collars for light packing.

Travellers' Tales of Malaysia Caves, Cave restaurant and Kellie's Castle

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.