Christmas In Ipoh! >.<

Merry Christmas, everybody! (There are 12 days of Christmas, my dear.)

Ahhhhhhh... It was on! Christmas was going to be held in Ipoh. And considering I have never been to Ipoh, the anticipation was a whole lot more consuming. So we were scheduled to departure from the house at 0730 but (biasalarr, most Malaysians where got leave on time? Heck, even movies in Malaysian cineplexes don’t start on time!) Heh, so we finally left the house at about 0750. Since it was Christmas and still rather ‘early’, there weren’t many vehicles on the road so we reached grandma and grandpa’s place in good time. Initially we were suppose to have breakfast in Ipoh but then bearing in mind that the journey there would take roughly ‘bout two hours, daddy decided we had something to eat first. (As alas perut, not meant to eat full full.) We headed off to Bangsar for Pan Mee and pork noodles.

At about 9-ish we took off for Ipoh. Hahahaa… traveling north is a bit of a change for me cause I usually only travel southwards. And this was practically what I saw (mostly), hehehe: trees, trees, ooo big tree… more trees. Ooo look, some kampung houses. Some cows grazing on grass. Oh and I saw a truck loaded with (pink) piggies!! So cute weii but felt sad at the same time ‘cause we all know where these cubby li’l mud-lovers are going! Yikes! Oooooooh and I forgot to mention how common it is for one to see Limestone Mountains on the way to Ipoh and in many parts of Ipoh as well. Some are HUGE while others are normally-sized. Here’s one I managed to catch on camera:

Didn’t sleep much on the way there ‘cause excited marr. =P

Okay… Fast forwarding >>> Fast forwarding some more >>>

Finally, we reached Ipoh! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! Met up with Uncle Fish and his family and we went for some good Ipoh food. Although it was only a two hour ride or so, we were famished. They decided to bring us to Ipoh Old Town! (And darn the real thing is so much better than all them adaptations and franchises in KL.) I had the authentic Ipoh Kai See Hor Fun with fresh tauge, some Popiah and the (fuyoh must try) Rojak! Food was goooooood! (But… the guy who served my cousins and me our drinks was better! >,< style="">red clogs totally potong stim laaa… but he was hot nonetheless.)

Moving on! Haha… Okay, so Auntie Val insisted that we try this one particular kopitiam’s koh-pi. We went to Kedai Kopi Sun Yin Loong to sip (non-ridiculously priced) coffee. And whoa, their kopi peng can compete with Starbucks or whatever-bucks on any given Sunday mann! And this is coming from a non-coffee lover! Here’s proof: So after lunch, the adults decided to visit Kong Kong’s late uncle’s house and my late great granduncle’s children and at the same time, they have also decided to put Bonnie, Amanda and I in Jusco, Kinta City. (Apparently the hot spot for teens in Ipoh.) The high of my visit there: I managed to spent some quality time with my cousins and I got myself a new pair of shoes!! Whooooooooh! *Ru went home smiling*

So after everything, we went home for some yummy soup (which was tender-lovingly boiled by Auntie Valerie) and some much-anticipated Secret Recipe’s Moist Chocolate Cake! Then after much persuasion by Kevin-boy, we played Junior Monopoly with him. Hehehehe… It was so fun! The rules ain’t complicated. The board is cutely-small and user-friendly, the cheapest property is $1 and the most expensive property is $5! Very easy to gain rental money from other players but even easier to lose all yer money to those who collects these rentals! Sheeeesh!

Mm hmmm… and you know how they always say, “Time passes fast when you’re having fun.” Well, it’s true ‘cause it did. Shortly after that, it was about 1840 and we were told to freshen up as we are leaving for dinner at 1900.

We ate dinner at this restaurant where they specialize in claypot rice (chicken).

And Shan and I were recommended by Auntie Val to try a drink (a very popular drink in Ipoh, mind ju) called sa lei. It’s also known as Great Hog Plum or Ambarella. If you still aren’t sure what I’m talking about, then maybe you have heard of or are more familiar with the fruit called buah kedondong.

(Btw, I found out that: Menurut kepercayaan masyarakat setempat, buah kedondong sedap dimakan, tidak sesuai untuk wanita hamil kerana tumbesaran bayi akan terbantut, TETAPI tidak terdapat bukti saintifik mengenai hal ini.) ...And this was what I had:

It's sourer than it is sweet. The color puts many people off. It’s got an ‘unripe banana’ aftertaste. It’s high in Vitamin C and can be a bit unpleasant to some but I like it! Dinner was delectable and laughing and reminiscing about our childhood throughout dinner with Shan, Bon and Manda was icing on the cake.

We hug hug each other then departed for KL. Shortly after we passed the toll, I snoozed off. But I woke up (much later) when I heard my grandfather's voice saying something about a possibility of an accident. Then dad, mom and grandma started talking too about all the possible reasons for the jam... ALONG THE HIGHWAY! (Yup, a highway jam.)

The ride home felt so loooooooooooong. Plus, my iPod Shuffle—battery kong!

It was fun larr basically. An eventful and tiring day but we had a blast celebrating Christmas in Ipoh. It was my first time there and probably will not be my last!

Here's to a jolly season—Cheers!