Stardorm Ipoh Homestay

Stardorm Homestay

Menara Majestic

Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar

30300 Ipoh

Perak Darul Ridzuan

FOR a double birthday celebration in October, we headed to Ipoh and stayed for one night in this unique homestay. The place has three bedroom and it can cater up to 10 pax. Two parking spots and a couple sets of keys and pass cards are provided.

  The interior decor was exactly like in the photos provided. Star Wars would appreciate this. WiFi, HyppTV and game are available for the guests.

Booking

Easy via Airbnb. Payment done using the same site. The host provided us with details of the homestay and check-in & check-out instructions a few days before our visit

Location

Strategic location in Ipoh town. Popular eateries and attractions such as Gerbang Malam are within walking distance

Rate

Fair. Less than RM450 per night for 7 pax

Dining

Not applicable

Service

Friendly and helpful host. 

Overall 4 <3<3<3<3 of 5

The homestay is also well-equipped with a small kitchen and two bathrooms. Stove, kettle, fridge and iron are among the appliances available. Although guests are required to bring their own towel, shower gel and shampoo are provided.

Master bedroom with view & ensuite shower

The sheets were clean although the pillows could have been more comfortable. All the rooms and living area have air-conditions and fans.

  If it isn't too hot outside, guests can sit in the balcony to enjoy the town view.

Security in Menara Majestic was satisfactory. Guests need access card to get into the parking,  work the elevator and to access each level. 

  Swimming pool and gym facilities are available in the building. At the top, there is a small rooftop garden and skybridge.

I'd recommend this place even if you have no Star Wars fan among you. As it is a homestay, you'll have to keep it clean and tidy. The hosts are reachable via phone should you need assistance during your stay.

Gaharu Tea Valley, Gopeng

Gaharu Tea Valley

Jalan Sungai Itek

31600 Gopeng

Perak Darul Ridzuan

Hours

0900 - 1800 daily

So I said gaharu and gaharu is agarwood. What is HOGA then?

  Well, HOGA stands for holistic gaharu. What's so holistic about a bunch of trees? They are the special 12-in-1 super hybrid agarwood tree, claimed to be the superior among its kind.

  Visitors can enjoy the offerings at HOGA Deli or shop at the HOGA mart. I decided to delay my main reason for coming here and took the van tour first. 

Van Tour Tickets

 RM10/adult

 RM5/child

Free gaharu tea sachet!

The HOGA van tour ride will take you to three spots. First stop was the viewing stage, followed by the Hugging Park and lastly the Lovers Park. Along the way, your van driver who is also your guide will tell you about the plantation and its precious trees.

  Did you know that agarwood tree can only 'grow' if they got 'hurt'?

  If a tree didn't get damaged, it will grow to be a normal tree. To produce the black resin thingy, it will have to be wounded naturally or artificially(?) and get fungal infection. 

  That's just some of the things I learnt during the tour. Cringe.

Viewing Stage

Our first stop after the driver/guide introduced us to the plantation and agarwood trees, was this building. He said it is still in "construction" and is meant to house a restaurant. He dropped us and told us that we can take any van to get to the next stop once we're done here.

  On the ground level, there were many plastic chairs placed in front of a screen showing video presentation. The toilets are on this level in case you need to go :)

Most people headed straight to the first floor where they could take photos with some 3D drawing. You know, one of those trick eye paintings. 

I was more interested in the gorgeous view. There was a swiftlet nest building in the area and I could hear their song. View of green trees and swiftlet song soundtrack... it was just peaceful and tranquillising.

We took the same van to our next stop, the Hugging Park. 

  The name is suggestive no? Only instead of your loved ones, you hug trees. It is said that hugging these gaharu trees brings good luck. Who doesn't need some good luck, right?

  And even if you don't believe in such things as luck, you might still want to hug these trees or at least take photos with them. The trees were painted with cute animals but watch out, some of them might still be wet.

From Hugging Park, the tour continued through more agarwood trees and backtracked by a fish pond opposite the Hugging Park. The audio tour in the van we took said the fish pond helped to control bugs so they won't have to use pesticide in the plantation.

Last stop, the Lovers Park. We stopped at a hut that looks like a bus stop and took the stairs down to the park. The main attraction of this park is a huge tree but for kids, it was the fish pond. Remember to buy fish food at the ticket counter if you plan to feed the fish.

Not a very popular love lock

Fish Pond

Nope. Not haunted. I asked the tree.

Back to the main building, I headed straight to the HOGA Mart. The souvenir shop sold everything gaharu from essential oil, tea, soup to cookies and even noodles.

I bought tea sachets and their special tea for myself. For mom, I got a packet of nougat. Not too sweet, I liked the nougat. The price may be on the high side but where else can you get stuff made of gaharu, right? At my request, the cashier dabbed a little gaharu essential oil on my wrist. Not my cup of tea because the smell was too strong but if you're looking for concentrated gaharu oil, you can find it here.

  Next, I went to their deli and *finally* got myself... 

Gaharu Ice Cream

It was okay. Tasted like tea-flavour ice cream. 

I won't say you should go out of the way to visit Gaharu Tea Valley but if you're in Gopeng or on the way to Ipoh and you have time to spare, do drop by. The view was more than worth it for me.

Salleh Stall Mee Udang Port Weld, Kuala Sepetang

Step 1: Decide if you want something fried, boiled (rebus) or with soup (kuah)

Step 2: Choose noodle, vermicelli (bihun) or flat noodle (kuetiau)

Step 3: Select your prawn size - normal, special or super special


If you want only prawn, you can ask them to fry it in batter (goreng tepung), with turmeric (goreng kunyit) or chilli (goreng cili).


Available hot/cold drinks: tea, coffee, Milo, Nescafe, Horlicks, Sirap, Lime

Udang Goreng Tepung Special (RM12)

Kuetiau Goreng Udang Super Special (RM20)

Mee Goreng Udang Super Special (RM20)

Taste - Good
Price - Fair. I counted 6 or 7 prawn in my super special fried kuetiau
Ambiance - Open-air stall. Bring wet tissue!

Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum

Kinta Tin Mining Museum

Lot 126026, Jalan Batu Karang

Taman Bandar Baru

31900 Kampar

Perak Darul Ridzwan

Operating Hours

Monday to Friday : 0900 - 1300

Saturday, Sunday & Public holidays : 0900 - 1600

Entrance Fee

FREE

You can find the museum easily using Google Map. There is no dedicated parking spots for the museum but there is a parking area for a supermarket and a mamak restaurant just next door. It was convenient for us because some in our party didn't want to go in. So they waited at the mamak restaurant while we went exploring and later, we had breakfast there together.

A guard handed me tickets even though there is no entrance fee. I guess it's how they record number of visitors. 

As I was exploring the museum's ground, I realised that if we had this museum back when I was in school, learning about tin mining wouldn't have been so dull! Teachers should totally take their students here for school trip. This museum is full of artefacts and displays that could help students to better understand what it was like back in the mining days.

Some heavy machine for tin mining

Palong- remember?

Gravel water pump

Tai chi... Idk :p

Inside the main building

They could use some maintenance

Pretty diorama. Interactive too but some are in need of repair

More diorama

Not diorama. View from upstairs

The "trees" in the picture above aren't just for decoration. They are fossils. Check out their story at a corner situated in the top left part of the picture above.

Anyway, the area upstairs is full of documents on minings. Pretty boring to most people but quite informative if you know what to look for.

Kinta Tin Mining Museum may be small and in need of some maintenance but it is still worth a visit if you happen to be in the area.

I spent about an hour here. There is no wheelchair access for the mining documents gallery upstairs but the rest of the museum should be easily accessible. There is a small shop selling ice cream and drinks and there are toilets (but they didn't flush when I checked).