Rejuvenating Hot Springs, Sg Klah-Perak

Sg Klah Hot Springs, 4 May 2008

We found out about the place from a friend. It's about 10km from the town of Sungkai, Perak.  Located at the foothill of Titiwangsa range. Left the house after breakfast and reached the place within 1 1/2 hours. We were pleasantly surprised that it  was situated right inside a Felda settlement (Sg Klah Felda village).

Entrance fee is RM10 for adult and RM8 for children.

I must say this place was quite touristy. Many foreign tourists can be seen and i think this place is included in the itinerary of places to be seen by tour companies, judging by the no of tour buses. What is with Japanese and hot springs?. Many were seen soaking their  legs/feet in the hot pools. The heat comes from the earth underground.

We bought a basket of eggs for the boys and let them boil the eggs in the hot spring pool, with supervision, don't want them to get scalded (seems the water temperature can go up to 100 degrees Celcius). We then sat down under a durian tree (yes, its's a durian orchard) and let the boys peel the eggs. Benches are provided for families to sit and do exactly this, i think.  I'm not sure which the boys enjoyed most; the boiling part or the peeling of the eggs. Some families even brought ketchup bottles. I did think of durians landing on our heads.

Public and private jacuzzis are there for visitors and pools can be rented for a small fee, so if the whole family want to dip in together, go for the private jacuzzi. But you got to remember to bring change of clothes. We entered the public jacuzzi and soaked in the nature produced hot waters till our skin wrinkled. There is reflexology next to the pool, it's believed that if u feel pain while doing this, u r not so healthy. I admit it was painful for me. It seems at night, the steam from the hot waters cloud the place, very nice to be seen, but as we didn't do overnight, we missed this. There are chalets and mini camps available.

We then took the boys to the Mountain Spring Pool. This is a man-made recreational water theme park but we were told that the source of the water is from the mountains. There was a man-made giant octopus (not sure what this means) in the middle of the pool that served as a slide.Yes, for the children to slide down the tentacles!


A short trip but something extraordinary. Place is well-maintained but a bit touristy. The hot springs is a natural spring and an alternative for modern day spa centres, so if you don't want to spend money on spas and saunas, head this way. Many say that natural springs have healing properties that  detoxifies your body. Those with stiff muscles, joints, rheumatism, spinal injuries, skin related problems are said to frequent this place.

Recommended for its ...

• proximity to KL
• affordable entrance fee cheap (u need not do overnight really)
• natural healing elements ..therapeutic..
• clean environment
• family together fun activities
• natural setting ...

Refreshing Genting Highlands!

26-27 December, 2008

Nice get-away for the children. Stayed at Ria Apartments. Weather shivering cold, especially at night, nobody really slept deep i think. We stayed at one of top floors, so was able to see the mist and fog surrounding the entire hilltop.

We checked out both the Indoor Theme Park at First World Plaza and the Outdoor Theme Park - this one is the highlight as this is where the games and fun are for the kids, notwithstanding the long queus at each game venue. Some of us (not me pls) were eager to get on the SpaceShot but due to heavy drizzle and mist, were turned away. But the kids, as expected were happy to queue...

Recommended for its..

• Family 'welcoming' set-up - adults get to cool off; kids get to have fun
• Altitude - cool mountain air as it sits right atop the hill - so refreshing
• Closeness to nature - the green is feast for the eye

• View - of the valley below and glimpse of the city
• Cable car ride - supposedly world's fastest mono cable car system-the view from the skyway is scary but worth it
• Thrilling rides - at the outdoor theme park (if you are game for it)
• Casino - only if u r into gambling, this is the only legal casino in Malaysia
• Affordable rooms- plenty to choose from (First World Hotel has 6118 rooms in total catering to all travellers)
• Cleanliness - staff are placed strategically to ensure good hygiene
• Global feel - you get to see many foreigners here - after all Genting attracts almost 18 million visitors per year!

• Easy access -can be reached by car from Kuala Lumpur in an hour

Watch out for...

• The mountain road and its treacherous turnings
• The cold mountain air which can freeze u if you don't come prepared (yes; pack the jackets and blankets)

• The queue, especially during weekends/holiday season -just about everywhere- from the parks to the food courts-can test your patience

• The money overspent - yes, esp on food if u r not careful as outside food is not allowed into the outdoor theme park

This is definitely the nearest, fastest and coolest getaway for most KL-ites.

Surprising Cherating!

18 till 21 December, 2009

Not too bad a holiday. The kids definitely enjoyed it. For the longest time, I've had a liking for the name 'cherating', sounds pretty, like fun and happening written all over, well those were my thoughts initially. Looking back, one can only visit it once, i guess. Cherating after all became popular by association with Club Med (located on Cherating Beach). It's a place for those who want to get away from the city and laze in the hotel and at the beach. Period. Unless, you prepare beforehand and come with ideas, like we did.

Enchanting Langkawi!

16 till 18 May, 2009

finally, yes, we made our holiday trip..not Phuket as planned but Langkawi and it was fantastic! laidback, in fact very laidback, but surprisingly it turned out fine. the boys drove us wild with their usual comics and play but N and I chose not to restrain them too much. kids need to freak out too. they were absolutely into each other; we had to constantly remind them we were on hol and this is the time to enjoy the sceneries, and cows and buffaloes, goats and chickens that were on our path during the island drive. they listened and stopped to see outside as tho they had understood but within seconds were back to their own games..such a challenge it was not to raise our voices..sigh.

• Island Hopping - cost us RM120 (2 adults 2 kids) but worth it. 2 stops were made. we shared the boat with one white couple, one middle east lady and one couple and a female companion probably fr middle east too