episode V: rush rush rush and an awful ride home!!!

DAY 3

What's a morning like without more candid shots of Hanson? This time around, I was the last to wake up:( After changing, I went to the boys' room to see Hanson styling his hair with Jino's Gatsby hair wax. LOL. The reason Hanson wants to "pan leng" is because today we are going to the UTAR campus. He thinks he might get lucky and score with the female students there. Haih...when will he ever learn? -.- *Sweat*

Here is Hanson trying to be something he is not - a lengzhai! LOL:D

"Should I wear the PINK shirt?"

So after everyone was ready, we went to town in search of breakfast. Before that, I want to show another room. This is the room opposite ours - a bigger room. I think the charges here are from RM55 to RM70, if I remembered correctly. Anyway, any unoccupied rooms are not locked (that is why I can snap this pic) but without the key, there is no electricity.

Room A - I think it is for 3 people

The small town of Kampar

We walked around for ages because we could not decide which restaurant to go into. There are many eating shops but we did not know which has food that tastes nice. Kampar, in general, looks like my mother's hometown of Tanjong Malim, which seems to survive the modernicity of the bigger cities. Also, you see more elderly people here than young folks. Maybe because Kampar gives off a peaceful atmosphere.

Finally, we walked back to a coffee shop that we saw earlier because we saw more people eating there. LOL.

Wai Yin in front of the coffee shop where we had breakfast

I finally had my curry mee咖喱麵!!! I told them that I had wanted to eat curry mee ever since I came to Perak but we never found any in the eateries that we go to. The curry mee was delicious and the soup is not spicy at all, tasted a bit like the prawn mee蝦麵 soup.

Then, as a side dish, since everyone (except WY) also ordered two meals (Hanson had porridge and chee cheong fun, Jino had curry mee and chee cheong fun), I ordered yong tau foo攘豆腐 in curry! Each yong tau foo is RM0.40 but its smaller than the usual one found in KL. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much and make a clean sweep of everything that I ordered.

I would not recommend the chee cheong fun猪肠粉 because WY said it did not taste nice at all. Maybe it is because their "cheong" (sauce) is RED in colour!!! Not wanting to upset the aunty selling the chee cheong fun, WY threw them inside my curry soup after I finshed eating. LOL.

Curry hor fun mihun, curry yong tau foo and teh si

We had to leave the shop abruptly once we finished eating because Hanson was embarassing us. LOL. He burped so loudly that people were staring at us. Also, he talked so loudly and did some actions that mensiasui-kan (memalukan) us so we wanted to leave asap. Hahaha;D

After breakfast, we walked to the bus station and WY went to enquire if there are any buses to the UTAR campus. A girl told her to take a taxi there because it is not very far and the fare is not very expensive.

Haha. I like this pic of Hanson. Taken while we waited for Wai Yin

This is how Kampar Bus Station looks like in the morning

Regal Hotel was the first hotel we saw after getting down from the bus. Its right next to the bus station O.o

So we looked for a taxi and found a line of umm...old fashioned taxis right next to the bus station. Two men (who are taxi drivers on a break) were sitting in front of those taxis. We told them we wanted to go to the UTAR campus and they make a big fuss about why we cannot take the bus there? Can you believe it? WTF??? They practically are pushing business away!!! I was so damn annoyed that I wanted to leave there and then but we had already planned to go to the UTAR campus. After WY explained to them "specifically" where they can dropped us, and etc., etc., finally the man took us in his cab.

The "taxi station"?

The journey there was pretty short. UTAR campus is located quite a distance away from the Kampar town, right at the outskirts where many new housing areas were located. We passed by a couple of development areas and construction was still going on in some of these areas.

We reached UTAR main campus!

The taxi driver dropped us at the guardhouse. We had to lied that we were coming for registration so that the guard would let us in. Haha:)

After that, it was a long walk to the main buildings...

Along the way, we passed by a small island which is located in the middle of the lake. So many birds were on that island. Ok, I am terrible at Biodiversity so I don't really know what bird species it was. It did make a loud squawking noise so I will go with...seagulls?

Beautiful view

UTAR campus in the distance as we walked towards it

FYI, I am not a UTAR student (lol). I am a UKM Pharmacy student, Hanson is UKM Medicine and Jino is in UTAR Setapak doing Biochemistry. WY had just been accepted into UTAR to do Quantity Survey. She will be doing her first year at UTAR Setapak and then the remaining 3 years in UTAR Kampar. That is why she was eager to see the UTAR main campus, and that is the main reason we went to Kampar.

Wai Yin was overjoyed to see her soon-to-be campus!

Gay couple alert!!! Shou qian shou! So sweet!

I think this is the first time I saw Wai Yin SO happy since coming to Perak, like a kid in a candy store. After taking a one-year hiatus, she is more than eager to start her studies, like the rest of us.

"My soon-to-be second home!!!"

The guard explained that there was Block A, Block B and Block C but I really did not know which was which @_@

I think Wai Yin was standing in front of Block A? (pic above)

I think this is Block C?

This building houses the canteen in the ground floor and offices on the first floor

The boys taking a nap at the canteen

Us girls walked up the landing to the first floor for some exploring

Modern architectural design of UTAR buildings...buy why the dull GREY colour?-_-

Cool building...so loooong *_*

Trying out a bollywood-style pose with the flowers and trees

More modern cum new age blocks

Along the corridors

We got lost! UTAR was huge!

No, we did not dare to go inside

So anyway, after finishing our tour of UTAR, we wanted to take our leave but was clueless (as usual). Then, we saw a UTAR bus and wanted to board it but the driver asked for our tickets. Hah? What tickets?

LOL. It turns out we have to buy tickets first before getting on the UTAR bus. The driver showed us where to get our tickets - the office of Foundation of General Studies. (I have no idea what is that either).

Hanson waiting for WY and Jino to purchase the bus tickets

WY and Jino in the office buying our bus tickets (I did some effect on the photo. Can you still see them? Hehe)

While Hanson was busy collecting his "kuasa dalaman", I was busy snapping pics. I think this is Block B? I am making lots of wild guesses

To "pei min" WY and Jino (hehe), I am helping to promote UTAR Open Day! Actually, someone gave us this flyer when we were waiting for WY and Jino. LOL. We are already in UKM-lar

One of my fave photos because of the breathtaking view of the mountains and the mist in the distance. Lurve it!

We went back to where we had previously saw the bus but the bus had left. There was another bus parked there but no driver inside. So we just sat at the roadside waiting for the driver to come

Then, it started to drizzle and WY proposed that we wait at another bus stop. Hanson asked a student about the buses and she told us the direction of the bus stop and the time that it will come. The buses are not very frequent here. Once every hour. We tried looking at a bus schedule which was pasted on one of the buildings but did not understand it.

Poser ^_^

The map of UTAR Kampar Campus

After waiting for an hour, we still saw no sign of any buses. I think this was the first time we waited so long for a bus. Finally, we decided to go to a different bus stop, nearer to the main road.

Luckily, a bus appeared as we waited at our 3rd bus stop.

The UTAR bus is new and comfortable!

However, the UTAR bus was not going to Kampar town so he dropped us at another bus stop where we had to wait for another bus to bring us back to town. At that time, we were really behind schedule. It was 12pm and we still had one more destination - Teluk Intan before returning to KL. Plus, we had to go back to KL before 4pm, because WY was supposed to go to work at Kumon by that time!

Luckily, thank goodness, we met a nice bus driver. It was actually the KTAR bus and we did not board it at first because we thought it was only for KTAR students. However the bus driver asked us to get in and he said he will drop us at Kampar town...For FREE! He is by far, the BEST bus driver I had ever encountered! And he smiled a lot. Now, why can't all bus drivers be that nice?

We passed by this signboard. For anyone wanting a more high-class accomodation, try Grand Kampar Hotel. It is really pretty:)

The bus that our "nguai yan" (saviour) drove

So we bathe, changed and packed our bags for one last time before checking out from the hotel.

Hanson at the balcony of our hotel rooms

The time was about 1.30 pm already and all four of us were contemplating if we should still go to Teluk Intan or not. If we go, Wai Yin will be late for work but if we don't go, we miss another attraction on our list. Tensions were there as we all discussed our next plan of action. Finally, WY being the generous one *.*, asked us to go ahead with our original plan to go to Teluk Intan.

We saw a Teluk Intan bus at the Kampar bus station but had to wait for a while before the driver came. At that time, we were all hungry so we ate the goodies that we bought last night at the biscuit shop.

Destination#4: Kampar --> Teluk Intan安顺

After what seemed like eternity, the bus finally left the bus station for Teluk Intan.

We passed by another clock tower - reminded us of that Ipoh "clock tower" LOL

The journey was really slow...zzzz....I think it took over an hour to reach Teluk Intan. Partly because the bus was old and moving at a slow pace.

When we reached Teluk Intan Bus Station (FINALLY!!!!), we quickly enquire about bus tickets to KL because we were worried that there no buses home. We started at Transnasional bus counter and were happy to see a sign saying they have buses to KL at 4pm. But when we wanted to purchase the bus tickets, the lady told us that all tickets to KL were sold out and that they only have the 10pm bus tickets available!!!!

WTF??? 10pm???? I was panicking and a little anxious. The lady told us to try another counter. So we walked around the bus station looking for signboards of buses to KL. Finally we found one and thank goodness, they have tickets but only for the 3pm bus. We quickly purchase it, worried that they might be sold out if we waited any longer.

Tourist Spot#5: Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan

We went all the way to Teluk Intan to see the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan. At that time, it was already 2.30pm. We have to board the bus at 3pm!!! This is one bus that we cannot miss! But we have come all the way so we might as well see the tower before leaving eventhough time was really tight. From the bus station we could see the tip of the tower so we RAN towards it.

I seriously thought we would not make it in time but wtf? The tower was right behind a shophouse lot that was facing the bus station. We reached there in less than 5mins!!! After that, it was a frenzy as we dropped our bags, grabbed our cameras and sprint towards the tower.

Snap. Snap. Snap. We were snapping photos non-stop and in fast-paced motion because time did not permit us to thoroughly enjoy the famous Teluk Intan attraction.

The signboard describing about the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan

Website info: One of the town attractions is a Leaning tower erected in 1885 by a Chinese builder, Mr. Leong Choon Cheong. It started to tilt four years after its construction finished due to an underground stream. The tower had a clock at the top, and still rings every 15 minutes now. The clock tower was originally used as a water tower, supplying water to the town area, while also reporting the time to all townfolks. It had also served as a beacon to guide ships into Teluk Intan Port.

We finally made it! Our last destination on our list!

Currently it is a local tourist attraction, and no longer stores water. The area around the tower was paved with bricks and became a plaza. The main street at the centre of Teluk Intan is also named after Mr. Leong Choon Cheong to commemorate his contribution. The name of the street is "Jalan Ah Cheong"

Teluk Intan town - our last stop of our Perak journey

In the early days, the town was known as Teluk Mak Intan, after a female Mandailing trader.
During the British protectorate era, the name was changed to Teluk Anson (Anson Bay), in honour of a British Officer, Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson who drew the plan of the modern township in 1882. In 1982 during the centenary of the town's establishment, the name was changed again to Teluk Intan (Diamond Bay) by the Sultan of Perak. The town has a number of colonial buildings and Chinese shophouses together with modern buildings and a few shopping complexes.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teluk_Intan

My view: I like this place but I was a bit char do by how near it was to the bus station. I originally thought it was some kind of pagoda or something. It lies right in the middle of the town square with all the cars and shops. A must-see. Some of my favourite pics of this trip comes from this Teluk Intan tower.

Does it look like it is leaning?

Destination#5: Teluk Intan --> Kuala Lumpur

There was no time to waste after we finish taking photos. Since there was no time to have lunch at Teluk Intan (which we had originally planned), we tapau some food stuff from the stalls around to eat in the bus.

In front of Teluk Intan Bus Station

The bus came shortly after and we have to wait for the workers to clean it before we can board. One of my regrets is that we did not spend more time in Teluk Intan. I would like to try their delicacies and maybe walk around the town or do some little shopping. However, time did not permit us to do so:(

Goodbye Perak!!! Goodbye our little adventure!!!

"S'long Perak! C'est la vie!"

Our bus back to KL

Inside the bus

When we got on the bus (which is a far cry from the Transnasional bus that we came in), things were chaotic as well. The lady gave us seats no. 11, 12, 13 and 8!!! Wtf? One of us have to sit separately from the bunch?

Our bus tickets

Luckily, we managed to negotiate with the original no.14 bus ticket owner to swap seats. hehe.

Before that, scroll back upwards and check out the bus company that we took. I would seriously not recommend this bus!!! We would not take it if it was not because we were in desperate need to return to KL. Here are the reasons why you should not take it:

1. Reckless driving.
2. Old and dirty.
3. Expensive. RM11.40 for our ticket each.
4. Extremely SLOW!!! It took us 4 hours to reach KL when it only took us 3 hours to go to Ipoh from KL. Mind you, Teluk Intan is a LOT nearer to KL than Ipoh is.
5. Bumpy ride.

JUST DON'T TAKE IT!!! Period.

Jino feeding lunch to Hanson ^0^

My lunch - tau fu fah豆腐花 and also, a bag of potato chips

Wai Yin, with the map that was our sole main guide throughout our trip. Thank you MAP! We love you! *muacks*

Aww...another sweet Hanson-Jino moment

After what seem like 50 years of my life on the road (lol), we finally reached KL. But the time was already 7pm so Wai Yin had to missed her work. I am so sorry Wai Yin :(

The familiar sight of Petaling Street and the familiar traffic jam. Yup, we are back!

So the bus dropped us at Pudu Bus Station. My mom came to pick me up shortly whilst the other 3 took the LRT home.

We came back home with dirty clothes, Perak snacks, tonnes of memories...

.....and lots of bus tickets!!!

I would like to say THE END but I don't want to.....-_- Will post more photos soon after I get them from Jino and Wai Yin.

Phew! I am glad that I have managed to blog about my entire 3D 2N trip before I leave for Melaka tomorrow. Ok, gtg now. I am meeting up with Suz C, who is staying overnight at my house so we can go to Pudu Bus Station tomorrow morning together. Too bad WY cannot join us but she is busy with her uni stuff. Tata now!