Lily Lee: Ipoh @ Banjaran Hotsprings resort

Ipoh Day 1 Banjaran Hotsprings Resort
Took Scoot to Ipoh. First experience having to take a bus to the plane. No point buying the "board me first" as everyone rushed in and packed into the bus. In fact many got onto the plane faster. Glad that the flight was pretty short and hubby survived that.

Ipoh is located in a valley. You can see how the airport is surrounded by hills. There are even clouds floating by. As we were queuing at the immigration, there was another group going up the plane!

Our driver for the airport transfer, Raymond Lim, took us to Chang Jiang restaurant to try their very rich white coffee and very Q wanton noodles. He was so kind to bring us to this place with no additional charge.

Warm welcome and buggy brought us to the villa. It's tradition to hit the gong checking into the resort.

Nurshafiqah explained to us the facilities in the resort as she drove us to our villa.

This is a map of the villa.

Amazing garden villa at Banjaran Hotsprings Resort.
Glad that they noted it's our 25th wedding anniversary.

Nicely decorated bed and also a cake for the occasion. A pomelo was given to the guests as well.

Love that we have our own geothermal jacuzzi and private pool. There is both an outdoor and indoor bath.

Very nice toiletries with mouth refresher, face mist and even insect repellent.

Even a phone to use while in Ipoh.

The tiger soft toy is left in the outdoor living area to frighten away the monkey.

Beautiful and tranquil resort.

Steam room (cave using steam from geothermal). Hubby said not too hot .. It is natural sauna from the geothermal.

So relaxing immersing in the tranquility of the resort in the dipping pots ranging from 40 to 42 degree Celsius at the edge of the geothermal lake. The main geothermal lake temperature is as high as 70 degree Celsius.

Main Swimming pool. Warmer than the villa pool water as part of the water came from the hotspring.

Lunch at the Pomelo restaurant. Nice but a bit too spicy for hubby. Nasi goreng with chicken wing and satay. Chicken rendang with rice(ketuput).The complimentary bread is so soft and warm.

2 performers welcoming guests at the lobby. Awaiting grab to the mall.

Even the waiting area at the porch is so pretty. Nurshafiqah was so kind as to book for us grab to Ipoh parade. Cos I realised I forgot to pack my toothpaste (I only like darlie)

After getting the stuff from Ipoh Parade, we went to get a massage at Palace Foot reflexology centre. I think hubby so tired he is sleeping.. 😴😴😴. It rained so heavily during our massage.

Luckily we could grab back to the resort. The staff then use the buggy to bring us back to our villa. After a change of clothes we called for the buggy to bring us to Jeff Cellar.

We ordered the Chairman's favourite menu. The cave is 260 million old. Pricey dinner at RM500 per pax but once a lifetime experience.

Chairman's favourite menu in Jeff Cellar
1.Amuse Bouche which is pan seared scallop with cavier,
2. Foie Gras .. my favourite
3. Lobster Bisque
4. Signature pop Sorbet. The sugar on top of the sorbet sizzle on the tongue
All nice but portion so little.
5. Had higher expectation of the A5 Japanese Wagyu. Hubby said not as good as the Japanese restaurant in Holiday Villa JB. Not a fan of beef but agree as I had two parts too tough to be bitten.

Impressive presentation but dessert does not taste as good as cruise's.

Pleasantly surprised to find this on the bed. It contained two biscuit black sugar version. Still prefer the traditional malt but appreciate their thoughts. Used the nespresso machine to make a strong cup of coffee.

Hubby ordered the vegetarian bee hoon to the room. Room service is up to only 10pm.

Ipoh Day 2 Banjaran Hotsprings Resort

Love the breakfast esp the counter where you choose your fruits and the staff will make the juice for you. Love the mango yogurt too. The curry for the roti canai too thick. The French toast too thick and sweet.

Found the beautiful meditation cave behind the waterfall. One of the 7 wonders of Tambun.

Beautiful crystal cave. Look like they are going to upgrade it with sky bar. A pity the balcony is undergoing renovation to upgrade it to a sky bar as I heard the view from the balcony is amazing.

Complimentary fruits sent to our room. Water from Labu Sayong which contain minerals believed to have healing properties. One in the living room and one in the bedroom.

Nice bouquet of flowers from the resort.
😅 Oh dear i think they saw my comments that the lobster bisque was too diluted and gave me this as apology. Ops

Random photos around the resort. Went back to soak in our geothermal jacuzzi. So nice... Hubby said want to come back for a stay again.

Jungle walk from the resort to the back gate of the theme park Lost World of Tambun. With guide Hakimi. My goodness. Had not done so much climbing for a long time.

Hakimi showed us the caves, the tree with water that can help survival, fruits which look like palm trees but can make one drunk as well as a tree that glows in the dark due to the algae which grows on them.
Good experience though.

This tree stores water

This tree glows in the dark .. thick buttress roots.

These fruits can get you drank so even the monkeys don't eat them.

Finally reached the Lost world of Tambun theme park via the jungle trail. Entered by the back gate near petting zoo. Interesting animals. First herd of deers.Racoons kissing and hugging.Then walked to tiger valley, passed by giraffe feeding.. some camels, zebra and ostrich there as well. Monkey stealing horse feed.

At the Dulang tea house at tin valley. Delicious chicken curry with bread toasted w charcoal. Old school is the best. The rice tea taste like longan tea. Just realised that the exhibits of the tin mining is on the platform where the teahouse is.

My goodness. Really got lost in this lost city of tambun. They should have signs pointing to the main entrance. Finally found the exit. Not a place which hubby like except the curry chicken with toast

Took Grab to concubine lane. Bought some biscuits and dumplings. So crowded. Reminded me of Macau as you can try some of the biscuits.

Shaved ice ball with 4 flavours

Went to the nearby lanes and took pictures with the mural art and cute displays.

Han chin pet soo museum or Ipoh world. Staircase can only bear the weight of one so I went up first the hubby followed. Bought the herbal tea to get rid of heatiness, fatigue and one to relax at night (no caffeine)

Packed the chicken rice and bean sprouts from Lou Wang cos too crowded and no seats. Wanted to eat in the living room of our villa when suddenly got a shock when monkeys appeared and we quickly shift into bedroom.

My tiger staying guard. Can't believe the monkeys are so huge. Actually the living area is so nice to relax. There is a player which we can play soft music. Will also be a great place to dine if not for the monkeys. Going to take a swim and then soak in the geothermal jacuzzi

Relaxing at our own pool and geothermal jacuzzi. Hubby said too tired from the jungle walk. Aching all over. Getting old.

Contacted Raymond Chee whom we engaged to bring us around Ipoh and Taiping on 14 and 15 Dec to check out Chinese medical hall and he was so nice to get the stuff for us. Then he brought us to eat our dinner. Very smooth Ipoh hot fun and nice broth. The bean sprouts were more crunchy. Kampong chicken but we still prefer Singapore chicken rice.

He even packed for us very smooth tofu fah from a street vendor.

Came back to the resort and found this... Plus a palm sized spider! Call reception and by the time the stuff arrived, it was gone.

Ipoh Day 3 Banjaran Hotsprings Resort

Breakfast at Pomelo. I ordered the dim sum and chicken congee whereas hubby ordered the roti canai. The buffet spread is the same. Ordered Latte and made expression. Nicer than the coffee yesterday.

Went around the resort taking 360 videos and it started to rain. Did the booking for our spa and went back to the villa to chill ... Geothermal jacuzzi and hubby also swam. He liked the sofa bed in the living area. Listening to soft music and relaxing.

Some random photos taken around the resort

Spa in Banjaran hotspring resort. So relaxing hubby fell asleep. Pricey though 10x rate of body massage at Palace Reflexology. Started with washing our feet with salt scrub and aromatherapy massage. Just for the experience.

Went to the food court in Aeon keblang. Newly opened. Not so nice.. just grab any food cos hubby was hungry. Grab to Aeon Kinta City and managed to get 2 dresses and 3 skirts. Hubby couldn't find anything he like.

Dinner at D' steamboat.Love the fried dumpling. So crispy and the meat so well marinated. The prawns are so fresh and also love their speciality meat ball. The broth are average compared to the modern revelation in JB. Love the sauce too.

Checking out of Banjaran hotspring resort tomorrow. Hubby said we should stay here longer. I think many of the guests fell in love with the resort too. True haven.

Ipoh Day 4 Banjaran Hotsprings Resort

Breakfast at Pomelo. Love that you can pick your own fruits and enjoy fresh fruit juice in the morning.