Thank God for a wonderful break in Ipoh. Thank God that Jiaen and Meilan offered their house for me to stay there during the trip. There are many things to thank God during the trip. First day in Ipoh, the good food and famous white coffee already seal my love for that small town. In the afternoon, we visited 小西湖, where the couple had bought a house with an irresistible price of RM250k, very cheap as compared to housing prices in singapore. In the evening, we tasted Ipoh's well-known dish "bean sprouts chicken", 芽菜雞 and also honey chicken. The portion of bean sprouts was so generous that you can actually see a steep mountain shape dish.
Second day was filled with excitement. We woke up at 6am to climb 万里望升旗山. The view on top of the hill was exceptionally good. I took a few photographs and video of it! I tried a different route up but ended up dirtying my precious shoes. Thank God that there is a place to wash it clean! After coming down the hill, Jiaen drove us to a place where we can see the great scenery of 升旗山 while having my sumptuous breakfast. I ate Laksa Hor Fun and ordered chicken cutlet to be shared around the table. It just taste yummy!
Third day, we visited Ipoh Train station where Meilan had to purchase train tickets. I came across an interesting sign board that says "No Playing of Music". It will be over my dead body if I can't do that during my free time! Thank God that it is only forbidden in the station! In the night, Pei Yun drove us to the 'dessert street', 糖水街, for a local delight, mixed fruit on ice shaving - 杂果冰... it was so delicious because the huge bowl was filled with real, fresh fruit (not the usual, boring Del Monte Fruit cocktail!)... in fact, there were generous servings of 10 different fruits - water melon, papaya, pineapple, honey dew, grape, dragon fruit, mango, jackfruit, kiwi fruit, longan! on top of this colourful display of fruit was a scoop of ice cream! inside there was red bean too... it was really mouth-watering, even if you merely look at it! That was one of the best desert that I had tasted so far! Definitely, next year I am coming back for it again.
Fourth day, I visited the local church that Jiaen and Meilan are serving in. For the first time in my life I had the experience of laying grasses on the barren field! It was a hard labour job but for the work of the Lord, it is worth it! At night, we went to Daniel first month celebration. I was requested to present an item "爱的真帝" to Jing Tai and Amy for their 10th Wedding Anniversary and their child's first month. This hymn brings back memories to them.
Fifth day, Pei Fen drove me, Xue Yun and Xiu Ling to the Moon River. It is a nice place to talk but I didn't really talk a lot, probably because of my quiet and shy nature. Seventh day, I had Tim Sum with Yan Ping's family together with Jiaen and Meilan. In the afternoon, Yan Fang drove me around to see the SeJarah Kellie Castle. Kellie's Castle Building or Kellas House was built in 1910 by a farmer rubber leading British called William Kellie Smith. This building does not have time to be completed after Kellie Smith died at the Port of Lisbon, Portugal on December 11, 1926. Kellie's Castle has always been a location of filming the drama and film. Among them is the film Anna And The King is played by Chow Yuen Fatt. Next, we went to 三宝洞. This place is filled with idolatry but the natural caves makes me curious to see what is inside. I saw some tortoises and also felt some cool air flowing while inside the cave. Next, we went to a guitar shop and I purchased a capo at a good price. In the night, we ate "肉骨茶".
Eighth day is Christmas Eve, there is a Cantonese Music Gospel Meeting (他的一生) in the church. The meeting portrays the life of Christ and his purpose on Earth, his death and resurrection to save Sinners. There are also the rendering of Choir, Piano and Gu Zheng's recital; a very meaningful way to spend Christmas Eve!
Ninth day, I had breakfast and coffee with a Jian Gan's family together will Jiaen and Meilan. After that, they drove me off to 草原快车 boarding place. I bid goodbye to their warm fellowship at around 9am then come back to Singapore.
