The first night I spent there was in Tanjung Harapan Chalets. A small, locally-owned "resort" located on a little cape, which can only be reached by boat from a small jetty. The reason being, the land part of it is surrounded by the woods. The cape consists of simple A-huts, lined along the shores of the lake, surrounded by land which the owner's son described as a campground for those who wanted to rough it out.
Being a city gal who did not expect to be roughing ANYTHING out, I did not take to the simple conditions and the fact that outhouses had no running water.
The place was perfect for backpackers and people who were on adventures, but not for me, and apparently, not for one of my companions either. We left the next day, after a beautiful one hour boat ride around the lake.
My definition of a lake has always been a small body of water. That day, I discovered just how vast a "small" body of water can be. If I had driven the boat myself, I would have probably gotten us lost in the endless twists and turns, so fascinated was I with the beautiful landscape it provided, so amazed was I with just how big the lake was.
Overall, our stay there (two A-Huts for one night at RM50 each, dinner and breakfast for three (RM50), an hour's boat trip (RM100) cost us RM250.
We almost gave up and went home, if my husband had not suggested the Tasik Raban Resort, which he had read about when we were researching the place. I was glad.
The Tasik Raban Resort is a small resort manned by the Majlis Daerah Lenggong. It costs somewhere around 3.8 million. Money well-spent I would say. The resort consists of ten standard rooms for two at RM80 a night on weekdays and two family sized-rooms for four (chalet with two bedrooms and a living room) for only RM150 a night! The rooms are complete, with aircond, comfortable beds, water heater, coffee-making facilities (coffee not provided), sejadah, ironing board, a television set, towels, soap, and most importantly, a BIG balcony overlooking the beautiful, idyllic Raban Lake.
While food is not that easily found in the area, one can always rely on the Tasik Raban R&R, located off the main road, right across the lake from the Tasik Raban Resort. The stall on the utmost left, which is manned by two very nice women and a mamak serves delightful "roti canai". The best part is, the one cooking the roti is not the mamak, but the makcik! The roti canai is made just right, light and fluffy and slightly crunchy. Those with big appetites will not be able to stop at just one helping.
In the mornings, the stall also serves nasi lemak. It is generously proportioned, with a helping of rendang, sambal ikan bilis, cucumbers and half an egg. And guess what? If you order a "nasi lemak telur mata", they don't charge you extra for the egg. In KL, normally, nasi lemak like that would cost around 3.50 - 4.00 per plate. One morning, on my more recent trip, we ordered:
3 nasi lemak telur mata
1 nasi lemak biasa
2 milo ais
1 teh ais
i kopi panas
Guess how much it all amounted to?
in KL:
Nasi Lemak: 3.00
Nasi lemak telur mata: 4.00
milo ais: 1.80
teh ais: 1.80
kopi panas: 1.40
almost RM20 right?
They charged us RM14.50
A meal for two in KL = A meal for four in Perak.
The best part was, that morning, my husband's kopi panas was bitter, so he only drank half of it. When we came again that night, the woman came to our table and apologised for the kopi. Apparently, they had noticed that it was only half-touched, so they tested it and discovered that it was too bitter. So not only is the food cheap and good, the service is personalised as well!
During lunch, for a change of taste, we would hop over to the Medan Ikan Bakar, just a short drive away on the main road. Only open during lunch, it serves really good ikan bakar, marinated in some sauce, served with kuah asam. The fish is reared and really fresh. A typical meal there, with each of us taking white rice and other lauk, plus the ikan bakar and the drinks usually cost around RM30++, for four. Some might think that it's expensive. Trust me, it's not. Ikan bakar, white rice and individual lauk for four people, RM30 is really cheap compared to the exhorbitant prices we have to pay in KL for fresh fish.
But enough about food. What does one do in Tasik Chenderoh?
Well, for those adventurous types, there's always hiking at the Lata Kekabu, a waterfall, in which you have to hike a ways up in order to reach the main waterfall. After hiking, cool yourselves by plunging into the waters. You can also go spelunking at the caves.
For those who would prefer a laid-back holiday, there's always fishing. You can rent a boat for the day for a mere RM80 at the R&R. Or you could visit the Lenggong Archeology Museum. Or swim in the lake. Or just have a picnic by the waterfall. But please remember to bring a plastic bag and throw your rubbish responsibly.
I never thought of Perak as much of a holiday destination, but being there, seeing all this, I came to appreciate what we have here in Malaysia a little bit more. From cheap, good food, comfortable resting places, adventurous hikes and campgrounds, it seems that Tasik Chenderoh has got it all. If you can bear to leave the internet just for a few days, it's definitely worth the 3 hour (if you're from KL) journey to Perak.
1 comment:
thanks 4 d info..menarik
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