Foodie Friday: Medan Selera Kampar of Malaysia

Date Visited: 28th May 2015

Travel and food are interrelated, it's hard to separate them apart apparently. And when travel in Malaysia, hunting for food has always indirectly been part and parcel of the itinerary. So when my friends and I were in Kampar last month, my local friend's parents brought us to Medan Selera Kampar (Kampar Food Court) for breakfast.

#1: The bustling of Medan Selera Kampar

Hotel Review: Le Metrotel of Ipoh, Malaysia

Staying in stylish, chic and trendy boutique hotel has always been part of my travel wishlist, provided still within my budget. Initially before going to Ipoh, I plan to stay in M Boutique Hotel Ipoh but unfortunately it couldn't fit in three of us. And after looked into few factors, we finally chosen to stay in Le Metrotel of Ipoh Town.

#1: Beautifully decorated in the lobby of Le Metrotel

Art of Old Town, Ipoh

I may sucks at arts and don't even understand at the sophisticated art but that doesn't stop me from loving arts especially the art street. I have to admit that I admired the beautifully painted art street by London-trained Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic which I found they are exceptionally meaningful and interesting, especially across the heritage area of George Town city of Penang. You can't imagine how much fun and trilled I was for hunting down all these colourful art street and wall paintings within the inner city two years ago right after I attended my best friend's wedding in Penang (click here for Penang's Art Street, Wall Paintings & Steel Sculpture)

So when I was in Kampar, Perak last month for another best friend's wedding of mine, besides hunting for the best food in Ipoh town, the first thing to do in my mind was scouting for another art street collection by Ernest Zacharevic himself in Old Town of Ipoh. 

Collaboration together with OldTown White Coffee which is the leading white coffee manufacturer in Malaysia, currently there are 8 unique murals within Old Town of Ipoh:

#1: An Old Uncle Drinking Coffee

Summary of My 5D4N Hatyai, Thailand (2013) Travelogue & Travel Expenses

Here is the compilation for all the post relating to my trip to Hatyai, Thailand for 5 days and 4 nights. Plus, by end of this post, I also share on how much I spent throughout my trip.

Day 1: 21st June 2013

Stay: Centara Hotel

From Hatyai International Airport to Centara Hotel, we took taxi which cost 320 baht per ride.
As for the hotel room, the rate per night is RM192.10 for a superior queen room inclusive breakfast.

Shabushi by Oishi at Lee Gardens Plaza 

We had our late lunch in Shabushi, a Japanese restaurant serving shabu-shabu and sushi in a buffet style. It cost 345 baht per head. Each patron is given 75 minutes to enjoy their meal, or else additional cost will be charged.

Day 2: 22nd June 2013

Klong Hae Floating Market

We took tuk-tuk to this floating market and it cost 420 for a return trip. The driver agreed to give us 3 hour to venture around. Most of the time these tuk-tuk drivers would eventually approach you everytime step out from the hotel, especially if you are staying nearby Lee Garden Plaza. Klong Hae Floating Market is only open from Friday to Sunday. Generally, the vendors start to operate from 3pm to 9pm.

Day 3: 23nd June 2013

A Day Tour Around Hatyai

We got the best price of 1,000 baht for our day trip around Hatyai and Songkla. Normally, the tour starts from 9 am until 4 or 5pm at least but we ended earlier cause the weathers was unbearable hot. Throughout this trip, we managed to visit Wat Hat Yai Nai, Hatyai Ice Dome (Admission Fee: 300 baht for adult and 200 baht for children), Chang Puak Camp, Songkhla Aquarium (Admission Fee: 300 baht for adult and 200 baht for children), The Great Serpent and Golden Mermaid Statue.

Day 4: 24th June 2013

Big C Supermarket, Fuji Japanese Restaurant, Sky Buffet & Gelate

A day before leaving Hatyai, my friend and I decided to go Big C Supermarket for local snacks. And as usual, we took tut-tuk. Expecting to pay 100 baht per ride cause it's located quite distance away from the city center. After shopping, we had Fuji Japanese Restaurant for lunch. Not just they served great and delicious Japanese meals but the prices were pretty attractive and reasonable. As for our dinner, we had the famous sky buffet dinner located on the highest floor of Lee Gardens Plaza in Hatyai. Imagine for the price tag of only 169 baht, it's no harm for us to try before leaving this place permanently on the next onwards.

Extra Feature:

• Keep Calm & Travel to Hatyai (Sneak Peek)

And the following is the details of my travel expenses that I spend for my 5 days and 4 nights trip in Hatyai, Thailand:

(The exchange rate by the time I changed; RM10.42: 100 baht)

NOTE:

1. The cheapest airfare I ever bought! When can I get this kind of fare again? 
2. 15kg baggage allowance for my flight from Hatyai to Kuala Lumpur.
3. Stayed for 4 nights throughout the trip, which including the breakfast as well. Highly recommended hotel to stay when in Hatyai. 

My shopping hauls from the floating market 

My food hauls from Big C Extra Supermarket 

We Eat, Shop & Sleep in Hatyai: Day 4 - Big C Extra, Fuji Japanese Restaurant, Sky Buffet & Gelate

Date Visited: 24th June 2013

I know that my friend and I had spent too many days in Hatyai alone but frankly speaking, we really enjoyed our laid back trip. As it was our last day before leaving Hatyai on the next day, we decided to shop for local snacks and after searching from the net, we took tuk-tuk to the nearest Big C Supermarket.

#1: Big C Extra

Big C is one of the biggest supermarket chains in Thailand selling quality products at affordable and low prices. It's not just visited by the local but by the foreign visitors as well, especially the one in Bangkok where you will be surprised that majority of the customers there were eventually foreign visitors.