A visit to Gua Tempurung

Gua Tempurung located in Gopeng, about 24km south of the capital city of Ipoh in Perak.

This limestone cave is one of the largest in Peninsular Malaysia.
It is made up of 5 large domes and is believed to have existed since 8,000 B.C., about 10,000 years ago.

There are lighting and platforms that have been built for the initial part of the cave to enable you to walk with ease.

If you are more adventures, you can choose to go deeper into the cave depending on which tour package you take.

We chose package Dry Tour 2: Top Of The World.

This tour package needs a minimum of 5 adults that takes you 50 minutes to reach to platform 5 known as Top Of The World. It is named so because this location is the tallest in the entire cave.

Total duration of this tour is 1 hour and 45 minutes. For a safe and fun trip, we couldnt do the wet package.

All tours are guided by trained guides. It is advisable not to go caving alone. 

If you are feeling tired, take a break at the Wind Tunnel where you will be able to experience breeze of cold wind that flows on this tunnel due to the difference in pressure in the cave.

44 of us had never went into a cave before, so we were excited to start our adventure at Gua Tempurung on 28.11.2008.We started our tour around 10am where at the begining of the tour you needed to climb up to many steps. Really tiring. Due to take good care of our superactive students, we didn't manage to capture certain interesting part in the caves.
Pretty huge inside. Some places are really like rat-hole size. Some was reportedly dug by communists.
But generally, the cave is safe and can be explored by both the young (from seven years old) and senior citizens.

However, it's most important to go prepared. Dress comfortably (consider T-shirts and long pants) and wear comfortable shoes or sandals with straps and a good grip. It is best to carry the bottles and other personal stuff in small backpack.
Lydia and Priscilla, avoid caving during extreme weather conditions, like heavy rain. Like any adventure activity, it can be dangerous if you are not careful.

Make sure you can hear the guide well and learn about the cave as much as possible.

Truly appreciating their magnificence and geological transformation over millions of years.

Another interesting event for our family in November was the memorable trip to Gua Tempurung.

Though it was tiring, but it really a worth and enjoyable trip.

Happy adventure, my children.

A visit to Gunung Lang Recretional Park

Many local people still do not aware of this recreational place due to lack of publicity. A calm lake surrounded by limestone hills. At the far end of the lake is a recreational park and children's playground. In order to reach there, one must pay RM3 (adult) / RM1.50 (Senior Citizen) for a boat ride from the jetty.We visited Gunung Lang Recretional Park on 28.11.2008. It is an ideal location to relax the mind and the body. Our parents and children wanted to take a boat to across the lake to another park which were in between mountains and trees, but the boats were out of order. What a pity.
You can get a packet of fish food which costs RM1 to feed the fishes around the lake. The lake is teemed with large fish hungry for food but we didn't see any eagles flying around here. Some larger fish occasionally came in to try to feed on the fish food. That was fun.

Our children were busy on feeding fish and running around.Both of you took pictures with grandmom. We were glad that grandmom joined this learning trip.
Dad and mom plan for second visit. We will get the opportunity to go round the "Little Guilin of China" and explore its natural beauty when take a boat ride. With no doubt, Gunung Lang is a 'must visit' place at Ipoh. Ipoh is the capital of the Perak State in Malaysia with the enchanting scenic beauties, the limestone hills and recreational activities.
We really hope that the state government can include it into its list of tourism activities next year. Promote Gunung Lang as a tourist destination in Ipoh.
We started our journey at 7 a.m from Penang. Mom felt a little tired and took a nap during the journey. All my girls let the sleeping teacher continue to sleep until reached a destination.
Lydia and Priscilla, our goals were to add to the learning experience and to inspire students to become life-long learners. Learning is a process, not an event. Becoming a life-long learner requires that we do things daily to acquire knowledge and learn new skills.

Happy learning trip, girls.

A visit to Mega Kiddies World

Dad and mom were busy this afternoon. We had to buy a lot of revision books for our students on 23.11.2008. The series of this revision books are good revision aid to benefit all our children. Mom used these series as a revision guide.The countdown to the 2008-2009 school year has begun. New semester, new goal and new start. Dad and mom discover new lesson plan ideas before school starts. In order to better prepare all students, we buy more than 400 revision books. Busy teaching days ahead of us.
When dad and mom were looking for revision and story book, both of you had fun at Mega Kiddies World. Scoot down the slide. Run, climb and crawl. This was both of you second time visit on Children Adventure Land. It situated at Gurney Plaza Level 7. RM15 per person per entry on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Everyone is required to wear socks when entering the park for hygienic purpose.

After one and half hour, we went to fetch you. Both of you enjoyed the freedom to individually explore the park. Due to enjoy yourselves too much at the park, both of you refused to go home. There is no time limit for children to play. You requested to spend the whole day at the Mega Kiddies World. My two highly energetic and playful girls.Before we went back, we had our lunch at a restoran at Gurney Drive. We were so ashamed that Gurney Drive was no longer what it used to be. Girls, when dad and mom were small, the sand on the beach was so clean and fine that we would come here to frolicky in the waves, build sand castles and dig the sand to search for the siput babi.

We were so disgusted that development in Tanjung Tokong has altered the currents around Penang's shores. Lydia and Priscilla, Penang is a lovely island. Let's not give up but continue to enjoy and protect the beauty of nature that God has wonderfully created.

His Amazing Grace

It was the annual prize giving day of our Sunday school. The ceremony was held at the GLGC on 22.11.2008. Main theme for the day was free grace of God. The grace or love of God, whence cometh our salvation, is free in all, and free for all.Everyone says saxophone is easy to learn, however it would take a long time to master it. Which song did you blow today, Lydia? Yes, Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound. The author of the words was John Newton. The words to Amazing Grace and its' melody are very powerful in many ways. Its power heavily touches so many of us.
Hand and arm signals are a great way of communicating.
Eight of you wore white gloves. Using a variety of hand signals to express basic meaning of song. All of you used hand gestures to enhance your presentation.
Glad was the youngest. He was willing to learn. He looked capable and smart.

The hand signal invented by teacher Li Fang. Actions and emotion expressed through hand signals. Speaking behind hand. A great job done by teacher Li Fang. She came up with some amazing ideas!
Praise Him for His Amazing Grace. Dad and mom really love this song.
Lydia and Priscilla, grace is God's love freely offered to us. We do not do anything to earn it. The price for God's forgiveness is high, but He paid the price Himself. By Christ's loving act of grace, believers are eternally freed from the penalty and guilt of sin.
May it a grace-filled day. Let us give thanks for His Amazing Grace. 

A visit to Kellie's Castle

Kellie's Castle (sometimes also called Kellie's Folly) is located near Batu Gajah, and is about 20 minutes drive from Ipoh, Perak.

We went for a visit with parents and students on 28.11.2008. 17 adults and 27 children joined this learning trip. Today was absolutely gorgeous. It was sunny and breezy, not warm, not cold, just righ.

Many might find it boring and just another empty building.To me, it is deeply interesting. Walls and ruins that tell stories and tales of the unfulfilled. Definitely worth a visit.

The Perak State Government in line with its promotion for the tourist attraction properly maintains this castle in terms of cleanliness and facilities.

It was an abandoned European Castle lost in the jungles of Perak. Today Kellie's Castle is on the tourist map of Malaysia. In fact, some of the filming of “Anna and the King of Siam” with Jodi Foster were filmed at Kellie's Castle.

Kellie's Castle was built by William Kellie Smith, a Scottish planter, as love gift for his wife, Agnes. At the age of 20, he travelled to Malaya to seek his fortune. He made his fortune from tin and in 1896 he built Kellas house and he returned to Scotland to marry his sweet heart Agnes. He brought Agnes to Malaya, they were blessed with a daughter and a son. The rage at the time was for the wealthy to own a castle hence he built Kellie's castle.

Unfortunately he died of pneumonia on 1926 in Lisbon. Distraught Agnes went back to England leaving the uncompleted castle.

It is believed that Kellie's Castle has hidden rooms and a secret tunnel.

Dad was having so much fun taking pictures and learning how to take better pictures. He let the pictures do all the talking. There are many stories behind this particular castle.Lydia and Priscilla, interested in an educational vacation? Learn more about Malaysia's history and heritage while on holiday. There's always something to be learnt about Malaysia's rich culture.

Dad and mom are currently planning our next visit. Adventure travel is a great way to explore remote locations, immerse yourself in new cultures, see amazing natural settings, and enjoy outdoor activities.

Children, happy visiting and learning.