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Tourism Malaysia

5 things to do in Teluk Intan

Teluk Intan is a small town that is just 2-hours away from Kuala Lumpur. Once known as Teluk Anson, (Anson Bay) it was named in honour of Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson who planned for its modern township in 1882. A century later in 1982, the name was finally cemented as Teluk Intan which translates to ‘Diamond Bay’, where Perak rulers once held court for hundreds of years.

With a rich history solidified by ancient landmarks and friendly townspeople, Teluk Intan is sure to provide lasting memories for every visitor.

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For a town that is barely 127 square kilometres wide, it is surprisingly busy. With the town in constant motion, the hustle and bustle of people about their day allows for visitors to immerse themselves entirely with the pulse of the place. From it’s colonial architecture, to its accessibility to the river bank and its colourful shop lots, the different elements come together to give travellers a sense of paradise. It also has all the modern day essentials for the urban traveller with shopping malls, a movie theatre and fast food joints scattered around town.

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Of course, no trip to the riverside town would feel complete without fishing! For a fetching price of RM300 a day, you have the option to rent a boat from the town’s jetty and fish the day away! The calming waters and the cool and crisp breeze could just be what you need to escape the routine lifestyle. Just sit back and be part of nature. Leave it to the local boatmen to take you to the best fishing spots. While fishing, travellers (who are advised to bring a pair of binoculars) can engage with nature and enjoy some birdwatching. You will definitely walk away with a deeper appreciation for nature and seafood for dinner.

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Menara Jam Condong Teluk Intan or the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan is certainly a must visit. Built under the guidance of Leong Choon Chong, a 19th century contractor, this beautifully designed building was once used as a Japanese watchtower during World War 2 before becoming a national monument in 1957. Standing tall at height of 8-storey, this tower chimes every 15 minutes and only needs its mechanisms rewound every 7 days. Even though the tower looks like it has 8-storey, it actually only has 3 very tall floors. The lean of the tower is what makes it unique and is most prominent when standing in front of the tower. Although it is more of a tourist attraction nowadays, the tower was once used to store water for the town during a drought or in case of fire. A trip to Teluk Intan would certainly not be complete without a visit to this Malaysian wonder.

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No town in Malaysia would be the same without its street food! With a wide variety of choices, Teluk Intan’s street food has all the local delicacies along with food native to the town. Eateries are accessible and available at any hour of the day. Freshly made ‘Mee Rebus’ (blanched noodles) and ‘Chee Cheong Fan’ (rice noodle rolls) are available for the hungry traveller regardless of the hour. Among the local desserts found is the famed ‘Apom Balik’ (turnover pancake). It is believed that the best stall for this dessert is located near the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan. The stall that is manned by a charming Malay couple that have served this delightful dessert for years.

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Teluk Intan is also known for their fruit orchards and the produce can be seen with the availability of fruits everywhere. Travellers should not miss the chance to sample the assortment of fruits sold by street vendors. There are dozens of dusuns (fruit orchards) bearing all sorts of fruits from bananas, papayas, dragon fruit, mangoes and jambu batu (guava) to the local specialty, pineapples. A visit to the ‘Bazar Nanas Kampung Selabak’ (Kampung Selabak Pineapple Bazaar) is a must for any fruit lover. Fruists sold here are fresh from the orchard with a new batch arriving every 3 to 4 days. Besides fruit, the bazaar also offers other locally made snacks and condiments such as wild honey, rojak sauce (black fish paste sauce to be mixed with fruits) and another local delicacy, salted fish.

For an up close experience of the Teluk Intan Leaning Tower, check out this video:

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Tourism Malaysia

Hunting Street Food in Teluk Intan

If you’re thinking of visiting Teluk Intan, we recommend adding a gastro adventure to your agenda. Delicious food is not hard to come by and you might just make a friend or two in the process of finding your way to one, or all, of these eateries.

Abdullah Mastan Ghani Mee Rebus Rojak

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On the outside, this eatery looks like your average Mamak (Indian Muslim) restaurant. But, don’t be fooled! This restaurant serves what is probably the best Mee Rebus (blanched noodles) you will come by. Foodies, we recommend you pop by for a taste of a local favourite that is sure to delight.

Mee Rebus translates to blanched noodles. Yellow noodles, more commonly known as egg noodles, are blanched in hot boiling water and served up with delicious spicy and slightly sweet curry-like sauce. The sauce is made from a variety of ingredients including potatoes, soybeans, shrimps, peanuts, curry powder and vegetables that are puréed together creating an enticing mixture of colours and flavours. The dish is then served with hard boiled eggs, limes, green chilies and fried tofu.

The Mastan Ghani Mamak is well-known to locals for its unique Mee Rebus recipe. Taking advantage of the fact that they are situated by the riverside, they are generous with the seafood served up with each order. The sauce bears a strong prawn flavour and has a thick consistency that will tantalise the taste buds of any seafood lover.

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This restaurant also boasts other delectable dishes. A personal favourite, the Rojak, a dish that is a mixture of different meats, vegetables and fruits covered in a tangy sauce. For dessert or anyone with a sweet tooth, an order of Ais Kacang that consists of shaved ice with beans, syrup and evaporated milk, is the best compliment to the Mee Rebus or is great on its own on a hot day.

Hawaii Desserts Restaurant

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This little eatery boasts delicious iced desserts, serving up local Malaysian favourites including the famous Cendol. Made up of rice flour, coconut milk, shaved ice, red beans, grass jelly, palm sugar and a myriad of other ingredients that are added to your preference, this dessert has become an intricate part of Malaysian cuisine. It is quintessential to Malaysia so much so that it has been declared a Malaysian heritage food by the Malaysian Department of National Heritage.

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Just outside this eatery, a food truck serves up the much-loved Loh Hon Kor; a traditional Chinese herbal dessert that is said to be able to rejuvenate the body and reduces illnesses such as throat inflammation and heat stroke. Made primarily out of crushed Buddha Fruit, Chinese honey dates, dried Longan and water, this drink is a delicious alternative to the bitter traditional remedies that are usually offered at Chinese medicine halls. It can be consumed either hot or cold depending on the individual. The servers here are quick, friendly and are more than happy to chat with patrons about the history of the town.

M.Gulam Rasul

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M.Gulam Rasul is a little Indian Muslim eatery, famous for its Nasi Kandar. A popular northern Malaysian dish that has roots in Penang, Nasi Kandar is a dish made up of white rice or biryani rice, served with a variety of different meats, vegetables and curries. These dishes generally have a powerful and distinctive aroma and taste. The best way to have it is with a flood of mixed curry poured onto the entire plate of rice. This gives the food a taste so diverse and so flavourful, you will keep coming back for more.

Although the restaurant is self-service, there is always an employee around that can explain the dishes to patrons and give some expert advise on the best combinations to try. They are also quick to point out the spicy dishes to patrons so those with sensitive palates won’t be left in tears.

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A must try is the Ayam Goreng Berempah (spiced fried chicken) with its flavourful and crispy layer of spice covered skin, it’s a twist on fried chicken that locals love. The restaurant itself offers a huge variety of dishes, encompassing a wide range of flavours. Patrons can choose to mix and match their favourites or try dishes that are new to them. Even though the eatery has ample space, the restaurant does get crowded around lunch hour, emphasizing its popularity with both the locals and visitors.

Malindo Apom Balik

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Apam Balik is a traditional Malaysian dessert which translates to turnover pancakes or griddle pancakes. This dish is made up of a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk and water to create a pancake consistency. It is then topped with many other ingredients such as sweet corn, peanut granules, cheese, chocolate or other ingredient making this dessert a dynamic masterpiece.

The Malindo Apom Balik stall is located right beside The Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan and is popular with both locals and tourists. Unsurprisingly you will find a queue of people by the stall waiting to get a taste this sweet treat.

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Malindo’s Apom Balik is available in two forms; thick and soft or thin and crispy. This thick Apam is large and usually cut into 4 bite size pieces. The slightly sweet taste from the pancake batter, the crunchiness of peanuts and the sweetness of the corn and sugar makes for a tasty treat. Unlike the thick Apam Balik which is soft and doughy throughout, the thin and crispy variety is smaller in size and provides a lighter more diet friendly portion.

If you’re out exploring the city, a quick stop at any of these eateries will provide you with a delectable meal and ample energy to take in as much of the sights as possible.

To see just how tantalising Teluk Intan’s food is, check out this video:

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Tourism Malaysia

LEGOLAND MALAYSIA: There’s a big kid in all of us

By Lloyd Green

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THE GATEWAY TO YOUR CHILDHOOD

OKAY, so you’re a parent and your kids want to go to LEGOLAND Malaysia. They’ve been dreaming about this day since….well forever actually. The only ones that need real convincing are you and your wife. Sure, there’s the rides, displays and themed hotel room but what’s in it for you — other than the large hole in your wallet? I mean, you guys are the ones reading all the blogs and reviews and all of them say how much fun your kids are going to have. Yes, I agree that is the main kick for you; to see little Jack and Emily running around having the time of their lives. But you must be asking yourself….’how much fun am I going to have’?

Well, if your childhood days were spent playing pirates, kingdoms and all kinds of LEGO fantasies — yes guys, I’m talking to you; the Gen Y nerds now aged 25 to 35 with a few kids in tow — then this is the theme park for you. In the same way Toy Story 3 was levelled at Gen Y adults that fell in love with the original Woody and Buzz flicks, LEGOLAND Malaysia passes all the tests in sending you down memory lane and on an adult journey where it is still cool to get get excited about a life-size LEGO statue of Chewbacca.

Those moments of nostalgia begin as soon as you step foot in LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort. Whether you are with your kids or a childhood mate, that sensation of being young again is real. There is LEGO everywhere and everything you see is coloured, shaped or moulded to match the all-out LEGO explosion. There are swarms of kids building LEGO in the many ‘brick-pits’ located in the lobby and you can’t help but wander over there and join the fun.

The hotel room is the real surprise. Themed bedrooms may be a thing of the past but not when you’ve got an entire ‘adventure’ or ‘pirate’ mural to stare at each morning. And for the kids, there’s a box of Lego for them to play with and a safe to crack with some take home gifts inside. This is a lot harder than it seems and best left to the imagination of the kids to solve. How hard can it be to count the number of lizards, bugs and spiders on the floor? All in all, the room creates a sense of happiness for everyone and is the perfect base to explore LEGOLAND the following day.

Picture2 WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE! LEGOLAND MALAYSIA RESORT (PIC BY LLOYD GREEN)

The theme park itself is a lot of fun. If you go there expecting massive roller coasters and cutting edge rides, you will be sorely disappointed. But face it, the park is aimed and children, young kids and their families and it caters perfectly to them. That doesn’t mean you still can’t have some fun. Like in Toy Story 3, the humour of many of the displays and movies (LEGO Ninjago, LEGO 4D and Star Wars) is aimed directly at to you. There are plenty of lame dad jokes and while not crude the dialogue is definitely of the adult nature giving you plenty laugh about. Even the park guide has a hint of sarcasm to it. Instead of ‘Lost Child’ it has ‘Lost Parent’, presuming you have ventured off into another world.

LEGOLAND Miniland is a winner too. It’s essentially the reason why everyone falls in love with LEGO in the first place; building cool stuff. The attention to detail is crazy: It took three years to create and was completed by a team of 100 builders from around the world. In all, 30 million LEGO bricks were used — 500,000 alone on the Petronas Twin Towers replica. Other famous landmarks include KLIA airport, the Taj Mahal plus an interactive naval re-enactment. If that’s not enough, they’ve also gone all out on the Star Wars Miniland display with interactive models from the first six Star Wars episodes.

I guess the only criticism of LEGOLAND Malaysia is the lack of atmosphere. There’s no doubting you and your children will have a great time (your poor wife will have two kids to look after) but when you gaze around and see only a handful of people on the rides, it’s hard not to question why this adventure-haven isn’t more popular. The harsh exposure to the Malaysian sun is one factor, possibly the price too, but there’s definitely no qualms over the staff and up-keeping. The grounds are immaculate and every volunteer, shop assistant and ride operator has a winning attitude. Generally these are the aspects that suffer when a theme park loses its appeal. Perhaps it was more to do with the fact I went on a Wednesday and during school; in that case I suggest you go then as there’s no waiting, no hassles and total freedom to do whatever you want.

LEGOLAND MINILAND TOOK THREE YEARS TO COMPLETE

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And do check out the LEGOLAND Water Park. Like its big brother across the road, the rides are suited to children and families so don’t get your hopes up of a Wet N Wild styled one kilometre sea odyssey. But it does do its job of cooling you off after a long day in the sun and there’s plenty of attractions to keep you entertained for a few hours.

Overall, LEGOLAND Malaysia gets a thumbs up. Particularly if you love LEGO and you want share the father-son, mother-daughter moment of reliving your LEGO-playing youth with them. Whether it is value for money is another question? (Prices can be seen here: http://www.legoland.com.my/). But if you treasure fantasy, imagination, memories and good old fashion fun, you’ll be willing to fork out any amount of cash to experience the magic of LEGO once again.

 

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Travel to Melaka

Stadthuys Melaka – The Famous Dutch Square

Stadthuys Melaka - The famous Dutch square in Malacca


There are places in a city which became center of attractions for tourists and Stadthuys Melaka is among the most visited Malacca attractions for tourist. It is an Old Dutch building, actually a reconstructed one, that is a big city hall once used for public gatherings. Representing the Dutch architecture, it is a red building in the center of city that was built in 1650 by the Dutch people on the land. For the same reason, Stadthuys Melaka is also known as the famous Dutch Square.

Stadthuys in old Dutch spelling referred to City Hall. The other famous name of Stadthuys include Red Square Dutch Square.

History of Stadthuys

Stadthuys Melaka is the oldest Dutch building in the east. The Stadthuys or Stadius was built under the administration of Dutch Governor and Deputy Governor. During the British rule in nineteenth century, the Malacca Free School started operating near the vicinity of the Stadthuys. The Stadthuys had been used mostly as the center of administrative work. It served government deepl operations for over 300 years. The building today serves as a history museum. Since 1982, it displays the history of Melaka during times of Malay Sultanate, Portuguese, Dutch and British colonization.


Attractions around Stadthuys

Being in the heart of the historical city, the Stadthuys Melaka is surrounded by many visit-worthy tourist places. There is an eighteenth century Christ Church Melaka nearby. The other nearby tourist places include Melaka River, Melaka River Cruise, famous Jonker Street, Cheng Ho Culture Museum, Maritime Museum, Malaysian Youth Museum. A must observe landmark of the Dutch Square, the Queen Victoria’s Fountain is also located here.

One of the popular activity and things to do in Melaka is to stroll around Stadthuys and take as much as pictures possible. You will also find this landmark on many postcards in Melaka.

Inside View

After the maintenance of the building and its conversion into a museum, it is used as the Museum of History Ethnography. You would find here customs of Malacca people through their statues, dressing and occupations. You will find history of the place in the mas hanging through walls, photographs and the exhibits.

Location

The Stadthuys is still a live place that is center of attraction for the tourists. It is also called the Dutch Square Melaka. It is just vpn besides the Christ Church. The famous Jonker Street is just opposite to the Stadthuys.

Getting to Stadthuys

Stadthuys Melaka is one of the fame tourist attraction in Malacca so you will not have any problem getting to Stadthuys. Most likely, you will be staying in a nearby hotel or hostels and you can just walk to this place.  You need to walk to or take a cab to the Stadthuys if you’re accommodation is a bit far.

It is a recommendation to visit the closely located places of Melaka in a go and, of course on foot. Furthermore, you can inquire from the hotel or hostel staff as well.

The Stadthuys Melaka was constructed as an administrative block today it is one of the best places to visit in Melaka. While visiting this place, make sure to take lot of selfies 🙂

Photo Credit: Brian Jeffery

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Travel to Melaka

The Sterling Boutique Hotel Melaka – For a Luxury Stay Over

The Sterling Boutique Hotel Melaka


Melaka was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2008 for possession of various relics and valuable historical sites. The greatness of A’Famosa, Jonker Street, Stadthuys, Hang Li Po’s Well, Masjid Kampung Hulu and Maritime Museum puts it among the places that should be visited by the tourist in Melaka. Your trip to the historical city of Melaka will be complete if you have a comfortable accommodation. In fulfilling this requirement, The Sterling Boutique Hotel Melaka, opened in November 2011 offers great many services for its guests.

The Sterling Boutique Hotel Melaka

Strategic location in the heritage zone certainly is among the factors to fully enjoy the atmosphere of luxury accommodation at The Sterling Hotel, a boutique hotel which applies a touch of English architecture.

Rooms

The boutique hotel has 37 luxurious rooms with contemporary style. The Sterling Hotel offers six types of rooms with interesting names such as The Leyton the Stoke Mandeville, The Windsor, The Riley, The Brighton and The Churchill as an option for the guests.


Leyton is a standard that is suitable for not more than four persons. Stoke Mandeville name was taken from a city that introduced the first wheelchair recovery in Britain. For families, the Windsor was also an option for a two bed ‘king’ and the total area of ​​40 square meters allows visitors to add a sofa bed.

Additionally, Riley, Brighton and Churchill rooms also offer a well-equipped and comfortable luxury as well as the use of a Jacuzzi inside or outside the room while enjoying the beauty of the sun from the balcony. The Churchill Room streamlined with a living room and a private lounge measuring 46 square meters.

Amenities

The Sterling Boutique Hotel Melaka provides in-room services like mini fridge, LCD television, tea and coffee making facilities, IDD telephone, newspapers and a safe deposit. The Sterling Hotel not only presents the architectural uniqueness applied in each luxuriant room, but also makes full use of LED lights and power generation using solar energy and rain water that form part of the exclusive features as support the ‘Go Green’ state government.

Eco Friendliness

The Sterling Boutique Hotel Melaka use of LED lights that can save energy up to 90 percent and durable than conventional bulbs. It also uses a centralized air conditioning system to suit the customer flowed and energy efficient. Solar energy is used in water heating systems that meet the needs of hot water in the rooms. It has a rainwater collection system for natural plants and 320 liters for cleaning.

The Loft

Visitors have the opportunity to celebrate a wedding anniversary, a birthday or a romantic dinner in Melaka at The Loft restaurant, which can accommodate up to 70 guests. The dining room is comfortable and quiet, serving a selection of delicious menu of Western or Asian. Relax in the open space at The Balcony with a choice of cocktail or mock tail with sliced ​​fruit while watching the sunset and twinkling lights of the city of Malacca.

The Loft restaurant opens for breakfast from 7.00-11.00am served to order; 12.00-3.00pm for lunch and dinner from 6.00-11.00pm. The Balcony opens from 6.00pm-1.00am daily.

No wonder, The Sterling Boutique Hotel Malacca has always been the focus of both local and foreign tourists. Other services include a shuttle bus to the city of Melaka, parking and Wi-Fi service. Located in Jalan Temenggong near Restaurant ‘Satay Dip’ and ‘Little India’ or 5 minutes walk to the famous Jonker Walk and is surrounded by the world heritage sites, which obviously makes The Sterling Hotel right choice for those who crave a luxurious stay in the middle of the city.

Related Article: Best Hotels in Melaka

Address: Lot 232 Jalan Temenggong 75100 Melaka, Malaysia
Phone: +60 6-283 1188