Last week my husband and I went on a road trip, of sorts. We didn’t spend too much time planning it. Our destination was the Belum Rainforest in Gerik, Perak.

We wanted a stopover. Somewhere half way between Kuala Lumpur and Gerik. Ipoh, the capital of Perak, was the obvious choice as it was close enough to the mid-point of the approximately 360 km or four-hour journey. We’ve been to Ipoh before but never stayed in the city centre. We decided on the Ritz Garden Hotel. Why? I searched on Google for the 10 best downtown hotels in Ipoh. For some reason, the other nine hotels used Ritz Garden as the benchmark to measure their proximity to the city centre.

The hotel room was as advertised. Large and clean. No frills. But the hotel building was peculiar. It could only be accessed via a skybridge. We parked and registered in one building. Lugged our luggage across a skybridge, past what looked like the hotel’s bar and restaurant, which were closed and had notices for leasing enquiries, to a compact lift that transported us to our room. On the ground floor, a block of wood sat on the handles of the front door. This meant no one could enter or exit via the main entrance of the Ritz Garden. We tried, unsuccessfully.

After lunch and a walkabout, we both decided Ipoh city was worth a revisit. The people were friendly, and engaging. The shops looked a bit past-times but inviting. And, they were located almost in clusters – biscuit shops, haberdashery, electrical, restaurants and cafes, and funeral parlours.

It was fun to browse and shop, and discover street names like Concubine Lane and ‘Jalan Bukit Timah’ or Tin Hill Road. Perak was a tin-mining state back in the day. Equally fun was finding insta-worthy buildings like the Ipoh City Hall, the train station, and Birch Memorial Clock Tower, which apparently chimes on time. With a bit of a spruce up (we saw trees growing out of abandoned shop lots near the Kinta River that flows through the city), coats of paint, clever messaging and visible advertising, Ipoh has what it takes to be a top-notch tourist attraction.

I didn’t know this. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of  Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand’s Yala and Narathiwat provinces both lie to the northeast[1].

Our next stop was Belum Rainforest. We’ve been to Belum twice before but have no recollection of the route we took. Never mind because Route 76 from Kuala Kangsar to Gerik was quite exceptional. Seriously, we had many wow moments along the way. There was so much nature, greenery, and spaciousness to marvel at. Low hanging clouds over undulating mountains. Tall, short, huge, varied trees and flowering plants lined the roads. Neat and tidy kampung houses. No rubbish strewn about. Everything seemed to be in its place. We drove past towns like Kuak, Lenggong, Gerik and onto Pulau Banding where Belum Rainforest Resort is situated.

Along the way, there were single carriageways, with passing lanes, that were windy-twisty with sharp bends that kept me awake and alert. For me, it was one of the more pleasurable driving experiences. That said, I’m not sure how we would have felt if traffic was heavy like during festivals and school holidays, and we were stuck behind a convoy of slow vehicles. Hmm.  

Belum has grown a lot since we last visited. It now offers various types of rooms, villas, and a houseboat. Our kampung style room was a standalone chalet that overlooked a body of water, which was helpfully calming. For entertainment, we had birds chirping, butterflies fluttering and squirrels scampering about. We heard noises at night that sounded like something was trying to burrow or drill into our room.  

Our original trip was for three nights. My husband suggested we stay another night in Kuala Kangsar as a way of breaking the return journey. I was hesitant at first because in my head my mum would be expecting me home, and I couldn’t just stay another night as I would have to relieve Kalyani, the caregiver. No such considerations and no one was waiting for me. Sigh.

We checked into the Casuarina Hotel. As per our booking, we got a river view room. But the front door faced a military cemetery. It was strangely not creepy. As for Kuala Kangsar, it’s a pretty town. Trees, parks, rivers, lots of space, no high-rises and not many people. We visited a night market, walked to the majestic Masjid Ubudiah and nail-less Istana Kenangan, and drove to the impressive Ihsaniah Iskandariah mosque, before we headed home.

All in all, it was good to be away but my head and heart still weighs heavy. What to do…