Day: December 15, 2017

Tour Of Gua Tempurung, Gopeng

Today papa drove us to Gua Tempurung, one of the largest limestone caves in Peninsular Malaysia.  Ever since the North South Highway was opened over 20 years ago and  Gua Tempurung made visible to all who travel on the highway, I’ve been wanting to visit this magnificent cave with a breathtaking view.

We left the house at 9 a.m. for Gopeng.  Our first stop was at the Gopeng food court, situated next to the Gopeng wet market to have breakfast.

Hawkers food in Ipoh and Gopeng are so much more cheaper than in KL.  A plate of standard (with no add-ons) chicken rice, fish ball noodles and curry noodles only cost RM4 in Ipoh and Gopeng while they cost a minimum of RM6 or RM7 in KL.

Alycia who doesn’t like noodles ordered an Indian apam which costs RM1.20 each.  The apam tastes like  Chinese ‘pak tong koh’ (steamed white sugar rice cake) in the middle while the sides are crispy.  All of us pecked on her apam and in less than a minute was done to none. She ordered 2 more pieces later.  Love it. Something so simple and affordable can taste so yummy!  Real comfort food.

On our way to Gua Tempurung, we dropped by at Gaharu Tea Valley, Gopeng just to have a look-see at this tourist spot.  Mum who had been here before told us that there is  a buggy to bring visitors up the hills to the tea valley for sight-seeing. But we decided not to do the short tour as our main purpose was to go to Gua Tempurung.

 

We reached Gua Tempurung  at about 10:45 a.m.  Papa bought us the tix for Tour 2 (Top of the World) which would bring us to Platform 5 of the cave. Tix are priced at RM9 for adults, RM4.50 for children aged 6 ~ 12 year old and RM3 for senior citizens aged 60 and above.  The estimated time for this tour is 1 hour 45 minutes from entrance to Top Of The World and return. But we managed to complete it within 1.5 hours.  Without time spent on camwhoring and admiring the caves, it would only take us an hour to go up and down the caves.

So glad that papa (74 this year) and mum (71 this year) managed to climb up the steep steps inside the cave. Some of the steps are very steep and can really exhaust you to the point of gasping for air. Thankfully papa and mum could climb up without any problem, albeit mum had to climb up and down slowly. The steps are quite slippery at certain points where there is water dripping down  the steps.

At the start of the climb inside the cave:

Participants of the wet tour ending their cave exploration at this exit, which is a stream with crystal clear water:

Our 3 hyper girls climbed up so swiftly that I could not keep up with them.

Tell me what this rock formation looks like? A teenage boy ahead of us commented that it looks like a ‘thumbs up’ but I think it looks somewhat similar to a errr, penis. Depending on which angle you look at the rock, it may look like a thumbs up at an angle and another image at other angles.

Platform 2:

By the time we reached Platform 3, all of us were sweating buckets from all the strenuous stairs climbing, though it’s pretty cool inside the cave.

 

Platform 4:

The rock formation here looks spooky. Can you see what I see?!  Staring right at you:

Finally at Platform 5 a.k.a. Top Of The World, all sweaty and sticky and  stone faced:

This locked gate will be unlocked for participants of Tour 3 and Tour 4, which involves an underground river adventure:

Exit from the cave tour and admiring the stream view and crystal clear water with fishes swimming in the water:

Papa could not resist the cool stream water and washed  his face with the water.

Though a short trip, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the cave exploration. Our next visit to Gua Tempurung will be to partake in the wet tour, hopefully with the hubs too. That would be really exciting and adventurous. The girls are looking forward to it.

 

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Responsibility & Finances Are A Match Made In Heaven

When it comes to developing habits that will last you positively for the rest of your life, considering your financial ability should always be at the top of the agenda. Being responsible with your finances is often the best way to keep a form of safety blanket throughout life. Everyone stumbles and is dry on funding sometimes, but overall having the right attitudes and discipline regarding how you behave with money will give you that peace of mind no one could artificially give you.

cash, coins, money
We’re here to offer you some of the most useful money tips to keep you in the black for the longest amount of time possible.

Save 10% Off Your Paycheck
Saving 10% of your paycheck, no matter when you are paid it or how frequently, will always give you a slowly increasing funding reserve. You can expand this as much as you’d like, but we’d always recommend you to keep it at 10% as a minimum. This will help cover you for emergency spending such as your car breaking down, while also allowing you to treat yourself every so often. You never know when a job might be lost, when you have to reassess your income, or how hard the taxes are going to hit you every year. For that reason, developing a wise attitude around money is one of the best habits you can ever develop.

Hide Some Cash
Hiding some cash in a shoebox in your wardrobe can help you out if you otherwise are prevented access to your bank account. This can happen more than people realize. A power outage, emergency maintenance your bank decides to conduct along with being fraudulently mimicked from an identity perspective can hurt your funding access. It can be as simple as accidentally snapping your debit card.

It’s important to hide some cash for this reason. Not a lot, maybe one to two hundred dollars. Maybe more. You should keep this in case you need to buy groceries, you need emergency gas, or you need temporary accommodation. While we hope you will never need it, having $200 in cash only you know about just might save your life.

Temperance
The consumer culture we live in often leads us down avenues of thinking. One of these pathways includes thinking you need the biggest and baddest thing to be happy. While material possessions are nice, and none of us practice a sufi-level of wisdom to neglect the material world, we often do feel chained to our belongings. Imagine how bad you would feel if you spilt milk on your laptop. Sure the laptop is expensive, and it will limit your online functionality until it’s repaired, but it’s not important for your survival. You can, in the final analysis, do without it.

Practicing this temperance allows you to view every purchase like this. Do you truly need that new watch? Could you do without that iced latte? Maybe catching the bus to work instead of an Uber exec could save you a little disposable income this week. Even when you’re doing well and have the funding to backup a great lifestyle, practising a little temperance in your purchasing decisions can be wise and make you happier.

After all, there will always be something new to spend your money on. Saving and purchasing the things which truly matter (especially experiences,) are often the best way forward.

Loans Aren’t Evil
Loans are not evil. They serve many purposes. Needing to use one does not signify you are bad at financial planning and should never be given a paycheck again. It simply means something is out of your reach for now, and provided you can pay the instalments, you are securing the object of your desires while it is still competently priced.

Of course, there are many loan terms you need to know to stay a wise loan recipient. You must never enter a loan out of desperation, but out of a sense of convenience. You must always be willing to accept the consequences to your financial reputation and credit if you are unable to pay. You must understand who you will affect if you do not use loans correctly. You should understand, always, that it’s a privilege and not a right to receive one.

What You Do Matters
If you have children, they are directly impacted by your financial decisions. Of course, not only are they impacted by this, but they can see your struggles. If you are constantly in a sense of money tightness, it will show, and you will set a negative example to your children. As they come of age, you should have examples from their childhood to show them times you saved, times you were responsible, and how it helped you. This demonstrative approach will allow your child to feel positive in your example, and hopefully adopt these money attitudes for future use.

Consider Your Expenses
Of course, we needn’t give you advice about budgeting. It’s likely you know how important that is already. However, you must consider your expenses, and limit them where necessary. We’re not talking about large purchases; we’re talking about the everyday items which can truly hurt your working budget if you’re not careful.

For example, if your phone contract is coming up for renewal, consider the cost of purchasing a sim-only package you can tailor each month and purchasing a new handset outright. This can lessen your overall costs, even if it might take a big initial hit to your finances. Purchasing items in bulk or now can often rival a long-term constant renewal of expenses, but it’s up to you to gauge the affordability of this idea.

It’s also important to consider which items you should spend lavishly on, and which you should keep humble. For example, an off-brand or supermarket developed handwash or towel is likely similar to the branded towels you find in any home furnishings store, and can be much cheaper. Knowing where to pick your expenses can save you plenty of money in the long term.

With these tips you can be sure that your finances are well taken care of.

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HEALTH FREAK MOMMY