I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the people to join the Ipoh Familiarization trip with the Singapore’s media and travel agents. The trip was set to begin on 12^th July 2009 after the Inaugural Celebration of Singapore-Ipoh flight at Sultan Azlan Shah Airport.

We began our journey right after the celebration held at the airport. The group departs from the airport by bus to Lumut Jetty and we managed to catch the last ferry at 8:30pm to Pangkor Island. General Manager of Pangkor Beach Island Resort, Mr. Jimmy Yeoh was kind enough to escort us to the resort. The sea breeze ride was about 25-30 minutes. Then, we hopped on to a pink van which drives us straight to the resort.

When I reached Pangkor Island Beach Resort, one word says it all, RELAX. I really felt like I am in paradise. We had dinner at Hornbill Restaurant and proceeded to our room individually. We had our room facing the ocean (Ocean Wings). That night the sound of the waves accompanied me to sleep. It was a wonderful experience.

Pangkor Beach

Pangkor Island Beach Resort is certainly a place for you to lay back and do nothing. At the resort, you can relax by the pool or by the beach.

There are also various activities which can be done there such as deep sea fishing, snorkeling, jet ski, water ski, banana boat ride, jungle walk and more. If you are too lazy to get up, you can also get pampered at the Aryani Spa where you can unwind and soothe those aching muscles. Besides, there’s also a mini golf course for all you daddys out there.

The next morning, we awoke at 7am to catch the opportunity to see the hornbills at the resort. These hornbills are wild as they live in the woods around the resort. Animals such as monkeys and peacocks are often seen roaming freely as they inhabit in the nature surrounding the resort.

The wild and smaller Hornbills (as compared to those in Sarawak) are seen near the resort’s pool area

Group photo before we leave the resort

The following day, we went to Cameron Highlands. We departed in the evening from Lumut Jetty and reached Strawberry Park Resort later that night. The highlight of Strawberry Park Resort is the Neo Tudor design of the resort, which is blended perfectly with its breathtaking surrounding. We had steamboat dinner and hot cocoa drink to warm ourselves up!

In the morning, we went for a tour at the resort after our breakfast. There, beautiful flowers and even a strawberry farm, managed by the resort, can be found. The strawberries were then picked by the workers and made into delicious strawberry’ dessert for Jim Thompson Terrace restaurant.

Group with Marie Bark, PR Manager of Strawberry Park Resort. Thanks Marie!

We also visited the fruits and vegetables’ market where we tried the famous fried sweet potato balls, the cherry tomato, the sweet milk corn and the strawberry honey stick. The group also had a chance visit the Bharat Tea plantation. The plantation was vast and the group gets the random idea of how tea was plant and picked.

At Cameron Bharat Tea Plantation

Right after the tour, we made our way back down with the bus back to Ipoh and checked in at Impiana Casuarina Hotel. The hotel is a premier hotel centrally located in Ipoh. The 4-star rating hotel, located at the city centre allows easy access for both business and leisure travelers.

After a sumptous buffet lunch at the Garden Terrace, we visited the Gopeng Rainforest Resort.  Gopeng is a small town located about 18Km south of Ipoh and 16Km north of Kampar in Perak.

The owner, Mr. David Foon treated us to a ‘kampung durian’ feast. The Singaporean was very happy as this is a rare opportunity for them to eat ‘kampung durian’ whilst to visit the resort that is surrounded by nature.

'Kampung Durians'

Gopeng Rainforest Resort also offers various activities which can satisfy the adventure and nature’s lovers such as white water rafting, jungle trekking, Rafflesia trail, etc.  The resort also caters to many teams building activity for corporate team, college students and school children which can widen their scope of knowledge about nature and other moral values such as teamwork.

Before we leave, we also took the chance and visited the waterfall where the white water rafting activity is actually done. The waterfall was magnificent and once again, this was a rare opportunity for the Singaporean to have a view of the beautiful creation of God.

Gopeng waterfall

Of course, we didn’t miss our chance on taking some nice photographs here.

Jonathan, jumping for joy!

Beautiful!

Orang Asli house

The next day, the group had a taste of the famous thing in Ipoh- Ipoh white coffee, of ocurse! We had our typically ‘Ipoh-ians’ breakfast of white coffee, ‘kaya’ toasts, ‘hor fun’, dim sum, egg tart and char kuey teow.

Then, we went for a 45-minutes tour at Gua Tempurung, the limestone hills in the Kinta Valley. The group was amazed by the formation of limestone which has begun over 400 million years ago. However, I would recommend for a longer tour as it is impossible to appreciate and see the cave in just 45 minutes, perhaps we can come here again next time?

For lunch, we were treated by Mr. Yap of Parlo Tours at the award-winning Indulgence Restaurant. Julie Song, the owner and chef at Indulgence welcome us personally. The restaurant also functioned as a  boutique hotel.  Currently, it has 7 rooms (Ildi, Kinnaree, Giulianna, May-Suet, Tzarrah, Beverly, and Qatrynka) ranging from different themes which Julie has been inspired on her visit to other countries.

One of the room

We were certainly indulged by the vast amount of Fusion food served and hospitality by Julie.

Thanks Mr.Yap and Julie!

After lunch, the group then head to the Sultan Azlan Shah airport and was welcomed by Nia, the tame python from the Lost World of Tambun.

With Nia!

This trip has certainly been an enjoyable and wonderful experience for the group before they head back and faced the reality- work!

July 15, 2009 21:51 PM

SINGAPORE, July 15 (Bernama) — The Ipoh-Singapore route serviced by local community airline Firefly Sdn Bhd can help boost tourism, investment and the economy in Perak.

State Health, Local Government, Consumer Affairs and Public Transportation Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said Firefly would operate daily flights for the route soon due to overwhelming response from the public since the service began last Sunday.

“We are happy with the response to the Ipoh-Singapore route served by Firefly. We understand that 85 per cent of the tickets have been booked for flights until November,” he told reporters after leading a delegation on a state government technical working visit to Singapore.

Also in the delegation were state Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology Committee chairman Mohamad Zahir Abdul Khalid and the Menteri Besar’s advisor on Indian community affairs Datuk S. Veerasingam.

Dr Mah said the flight tickets for the first two months since the service began were fully booked.

He said the service would bring in more tourists to Perak from Singapore as it would take them only one hour and 20 minutes to reach Ipoh compared to more than five hours by road.

Dr Mah said with the good response, the state government hoped that more airlines would operate at the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport for routes from Ipoh and also for cargo service.

“The state government is confident of drawing more tourists to the state than the three million recorded last year and more investment, especially from Singapore, with the new service by Firefly.

“The state government will also negotiate with other airlines to reintroduce flights to a number of destinations like Medan and Padang in Indonesia and Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand,” he said.

During their three-day visit which ended yesterday, the delegation attended briefings and had discussions and dialogues with the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority and Land Transport Authority, and met with Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, S.Iswaran.

“This has been a meaningful and productive visit as we learned from Singapore’s experience in developing the island republic, including the policies and plans,” Dr Mah said.

He said in the economic sector, 18 per cent (RM540 million) of the RM3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year that went to Perak came from Singapore investors.

Investors could benefit from such economic sectors as the metal and shoe industries and products for the ICT industry, he said.

Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore, Datuk Md Hussin Nayan, said the Ipoh-Singapore air route operated by Firefly should provide a good opportunity for Perak to diversify activities in the tourism and economic sectors.

“We are proud and happy that airlines like Firefly, MAS, AirAsia and Singapore Airlines are increasing flights from or to major towns in Malaysia. With this, we hope the relevant authorities would provide better facilities for tourists and investors coming to Malaysia,” he said.

Thursday, 16 July 2009

by Sylvia Looi

SINGAPORE: The Perak Government hopes to attract 20% of Singapore tourists to the state following the introduction of Firefly’s Ipoh-Singapore service.

Perak state executive councillor Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board’s records showed that 11.43 million Singaporeans visited Malaysia last year.

He said the four times weekly flights have been fully booked for the next two months while flights for November were 85% booked.

Urging Singapore investors to grab the opportunity to invest in the state following the introduction of the air service, Dr Mah said the time needed to travel between Ipoh and Singapore had now been shortened considerably.

“The Firefly flights augur well with the state’s plans to attract more investors,” he said after hosting a dinner here on Monday evening for invited guests.

Dr Mah had led a delegation of state dignitaries and newsmen to visit the island republic following the introduction of the air service.

Singaporeans contributed 18% of the RM3bil in investments received by the state.

Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Md Hussin Nayan, who was present, welcomed the service as it would provide an opportunity for Singaporeans and Ipoh folks to visit each other.

He also urged tourism players in Perak to provide better services to tourists.

During the delegation’s three-day visit, dialogues were held with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Land Transport Authority, Preservation of Monuments Board and Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister S. Iswaran.