This Is Your Sign to Up Your 🇲🇾 Travel Game ✨

for the longest time, i have compulsively obsessed over the idea of visiting all 13 states of Malaysia. do not ask me why, there r many things about myself i do not quite understand and this happens to be one of them. maybe my neighbourly game is just absurdly strong?

whatever it is, it has been 12 years since that idea first hatched in my head – 6 years since i physically put it to the works… and i am happy to say that, after all this time, i have successfully crossed 6 of these 13 states off my list. 🙃

ik, sound like a terrible KPI rite - but im actually super proud about it bcos i never expected for it to get this far (plus let’s not forget the world stopped for 2 yrs ya); not to mention that this entire thing is driven by no real purpose other than to achieve some arbitrary goal of visiting all 13 states in Malaysia. but look at me now: im almost halfway there! ✨

in any case, im here today bcos ive decided to make my unhinged plan mean something to someone else other than myself, and therefore, i will be turning my adventures into a condensed series of guides, organized state by state- in hopes that it will help someone else just as crazy about Malaysia as i am (MTPB this is where u reach out to sponsor me💫)

since Lemon8 only allows 10 slides per post, i will be highlighting only the most important and useful stuff for you guys here, but in case you’re interested, the full version of this passion project of mine can be found on my personal travel blog!

(🔊SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔.𝒄𝒐𝒎)

⋆ at the Main Menu bar, go to:

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 > 𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗔 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗦𝗨𝗟𝗘]

⋆⋆⋆✦⋆⋆⋆

today’s spotlight lands on Perak, a place that’s still somewhat of a wildcard destination bcos, unlike cities/states like KL and Penang and Malacca and even Johor, it still isn’t quite the heavyweight as far as Malaysia tourism goes just yet. which means that if youre looking for a piece of Malaysia where you can sidestep the madness of tourism while still enjoying the essence of a true Malaysian holiday, then this is the antidote that you’re looking for.

when i first declared to everyone that i was headed to ipoh (the capital of Perak), the kneejerk response from one of my Malaysian friends was, HMMMMMM.

he didn’t elaborate and i didn’t push, but after i came back i went straight back to him and started ranting like OMG *** WHY DIDN’T U TELL ME IPOH WAS SO BORING EVERYTHING CLOSES AT 6 I FELT LIKE I DID NOTHING–

he basically just chuckled with a shrug and said, “that’s why when you first mentioned you were going to ipoh, i just said hmmmm” – and then almost as an afterthought, added, “the people in ipoh are very… family-oriented.” – a nod to them knocking off super early.

🙄

4 years on, for some strange reason, ipoh has become one of my most favourite cities in Malaysia (as this series progress, i will go on to say this about very state 😂). i dream of its nostalgic streets and its resolutely timeworn shophouses, i compare many daily things to its nature, its quiet. till today, there is not one chicken rice stall i pass that does not remind me of Ipoh’s illustrious taogay chicken rice (and tbh, nothing has quite come close either).

if there is anything that can be said about Ipoh, it would be that you better be careful before u go – because even though you might be a little underwhelmed by the place when you first return, it will grow on you like mold – subtle, but persistent; so much so that by the time you even notice that it’s there, it has already fully wrapped itself around the full surface of your soul and permeated every corner of your being.

enjoy perak. i know i did. 🐃

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