Ipoh, Malaysia

Approaching Ipoh, lovely limestone cliffs rise up to greet you, surrounding the city with ethereal wonder, and form the majestic backdrop of The Lost World of Tambun. Its mist-shrouded cliffs lend a mysterious air to this theme-park that beckons you to come and play. We checked in to the Lost World Hotel and were pleasantly surprised by our lovely Executive Suite, complete with separate bedroom and flat-screen TVs.

After caking on the sunscreen, we headed straight to the water park and spent the afternoon splashing in the wave pool, flying down tube slides, and swinging from the rides. We also saw the tiger-feeding show (live-feeding would have been more exciting, but not kid friendly!), panned for tin with our dulangs, and peddled swan boats. There was also a petting zoo/animal encounter and a walk-in aviary.

In the morning we enjoyed the breakfast buffet (nasi lemak and curry chicken--yummy!; pancakes for the kids!), then we drove 20 km south to explore Kellie's Castle in Batu Gajah. This lovely and mysterious castle was built by a Scottish man named William Kellie-Smith who traveled to Malaya in 1890 to seek his fortune.  He became wealthy in the rubber industry and built his first mansion, Kinta Kellas, in 1909. (Most of this structure was later destroyed in WWII.) Five years later, he laid the foundation stone for his second mansion, which proved to be his ultimate folly. During construction, illness broke out killing many of his workers. He immediately halted construction on the castle and instead built a Hindu temple nearby to appease the gods (accessible by a secret underground tunnel from his estate). Work then resumed on the castle, but unfortunately, Kellie would never live there and it would never be completed. He died from pneumonia at the age of 56. Some say his ghost still wanders the estate at night . . . , but we were only there during the day.

 Before heading back to Penang, we drove back through Ipoh and enjoyed gourmet burgers and crepes at the quirky and eclectic Burps and Giggles Cafe. (Mine had jalapenos; oh, how I've missed you!) Throughout, creative items hung from the ceilings and the walls were decorated with artwork and unexpected phrases. We chose a table under a painting of some fat ladies in bikinis. =) In the back, we enjoyed a local art gallery, and my daughters spotted some kittens they wanted to take home. (Mean momma didn't let them!)