Spent 3 hours at Mid Valley yesterday attending the NAPEI Education Fair together with nephew and niece. We were early as the fair opened its door at 11am only. Quite a lot of exhibitors were there – KLIUC, UTAR, Sri, Inti, SEGI, Kojadi, Baking Institute, HELP, APIIT, TAR College, UNITAR, MAHSA, Masterskill, Lim Kok Wing, Stamford, Taylor, KDU, AIMST, Dika, PTPL, IACT, One Academy, Saito, MUST, Nilai, among others, and few agencies that deal with recruitment for medicine seats.
Saw quite a number of Indians in the fair. Many were interested in the usual colleges and the standard programmes – medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering.
Got a good explanation from Head of Childhood Education of SEGI Subang Jaya. Lim Kok Wing staff also were quite friendly and explained well. Same goes for UNITAR, who were understaffed, but tried to answer questions from visitors.
Some of my views/findings:
– Early childhood education is a good field to explore. Among the colleges that offer a diploma/degree is SEGI, Unitar, Sri, Dika, and PTPL.
– Only UNISEL and UNITAR offer Bachelor of Education that is recognised by MOE. Meaning you can apply for government posting after graduating. The fees are quite OK too.
– I think Lim Kok Wing has among the highest fees for a standard degree program. Better to do a diploma and then continue with degree (year 4), but still its a 5 year study. Other colleges offer shorter period of 4 years for same path. Need to think twice (or more) before enroling here.
– APIIT seemed to have lots of foreigners at the booth. Maybe want to show their multi-national environment.
– TAR College remains a popular choice for many – affordable fees, recognised programs, employability OK. It had good crowd at the booth.
– If you have 10As and above, good chance of getting a scholarship in private uni/college. Can be exempted from tuition fees. At least will reduce burden of parents.
– For average students, there’s not many choice – enrol for your intended program and apply for PTPTN. Your average results means scholarship is very, very hard. If you do well in the first and second semesters, then apply for scholarships the following year.
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Sometimes, we are amazed by how fast time flies by. Today, I attended the first year thithi prayers for Valluvan. Can’t really believe its been a year. Others couldn’t make it due to various reason, so I guess I kind of represented the rest. Managed to find my way to Temiang after asking for directions from Suraj.
Sometimes I do think of him. Some people do have that effect. I’m reminded of his antics and his selfless actions, especially when I’m in the same situation.
Morbidly, I was thinking of death only today. I guess these prayers also serve to remind us of our mortality, lest we grow egoistic or too big for our shoes.
Finally I managed to get on the Eye on Malaysia! I was put off going to KL when the ferris wheel was at Lake Titiwangsa due to traffic jam and the long queue (and the high fee). At Malacca, the a trip on the wheel for 15 minutes (about 5 rounds) costs RM10 for MyKad holders and RM20 for others. The historical parts of Malacca town is being redeveloped and upgraded. Area around Jonker Street, the Stadhuys, and along Malacca River are different now compared to 5 years ago. More light at night..in fact a lot of lights! By the way, Eye on Malaysia closes at 11pm weekdays and midnight on weekends.
At the entrance to Eye on Malaysia, there were three domes with projected images on its ceilings. We also visited it (free entrance). It was some sort of ceiling projection concept but the garrish color and sound can give you a headache after a while.
There was a paper lantern exhibition near the Big Ship, where many replicas of famous artifacts and animals were crafted in paper. Quite a nice place to hang out a night but I think the exhibition will end soon.
I also had the time to squeeze a trip on the river cruise along Malacca River. You can buy the tickets near the Big Ship area. Ticket costs RM10 per person and its a 45 minute ride along Malacca River. Try to take the trip during sunset or at night to fully appreciate the lights. Last trip is at 9.30pm I think.
Oh ya.. the compulsory cendol and chicken rice ball also on the list.
After postponing visit to Maxwell Hill (Bukit Larut) Taiping twice, we managed to squeeze in some time during Chinese New Year. A good thing too, since the tulips (imported from Holland) start to bloom during January/February. It seems that Maxwell Hill is only place in Malaysia we can view tulips. Not sure how true that is.
Some quick guide on getting there:
1. Take PLUS highway towards north (if coming fro Klang Valley). Exit at Changkat Jering (its about 40-60 minutes from Jelapang toll plaza in Ipoh).
2. From Toll exit, follow the signboard to Taiping town – about 15 minutes drive.
3. Once you are near to town area, keep an eye for brown signboards that highlight tourist attractions. The entrance to Maxwell Hill is behind the Taiping Lake, so as long as you reach the lake, should be fine.
4. You can go on day trip, but be advised that you should make booking for the jeep transport. Only the government jeeps are allowed to be used within the hill reserves. The price is RM6 round trip to the “stesen”, RM7 if you are going to the chalets.
5. If you plan to walk up, its a 13km uphill hike on tarred road, which can take between 2 to 4 hours depending on speed and stamina.
We left Klang Valley at 9.45am and reached the foothill at 1.15pm. It was raining. We got our jeep tickets (it was scheduled to leave at 2pm). Took a fast meal at one of the stalls (Gerai 2) outside the main entrance. I had roti bakar while Then took nasi lemak. She said it was delicious and packed another set!
At 2.10pm, we got on the jeep. The journey took approximately 20 minutes, on a narrow winding road. You can practically view the deep ravine below, while taking photos was impossible due to twists and turns along the journey. The driver dropped us at the entrance of the stairs leading to Cendana Hut. We checked in and I took a quick nap while Then went exploring.
There are few accommodations at the hill itself but I guess Cendana Hut is most suitable for small groups as others are all bungalows. Kids may get bored fast so two nights stay is MORE than enough. Cendana Hut offers rooms with (RM150) and without (RM80) attached baths. There’s a common area with Astro-enabled TV, DVD player, drinking water facility, … and that’s about it.
We went for a walk late in the afternoon. It was foggy due to rain in the afternoon. We visited the green house (which is just below the Cendana Hut cafe) to view the tulips. It was a bit disappointing because I was under the impression that it will be a tulip FARM, not tulips on a row of tables. Anyway, we can safely tick that off our list – see tulips in Maxwell Hill. Took more photos and after the fog cleared a bit, we could see from Taiping town all the way to the sea. Some people say even Penang island can be visible at times.
We stopped at the Cendana Hut cafe on the way back. I had fried mee hoon (a bit salty) and tea (quite watery). After a short break, I read a bit of Jeffrey Archer’s False Impressions.
Took dinner at the Cafe. I had fried rice while Then took fried kuay teow. Tasted quite OK, but the food cooled very fast due to the weather. We took some photos of night scenes of Taiping town from the cafe. It was very cold, so we went back in and watched TV for a while.
The next day, we walked to the Watch Tower and Bridge (about 10 minutes downhill from Cendana Hut). Took some pictures and then backtracked to the Hut again. From there, we walked up hil for about 2.5km (took us 50 minutes) to reach the peak. There is a TM telecommunication tower with “No Entry” sign, so we just took some photos from outside the area. The walk back was faster because its downhill. We reached the Hut in 30 minutes time. Had a late breakfast – I had roti bakar while Then had chicken burger. Both were quite OK.
After that, we packed and checked out at noon. Our jeep trip downhill was packed with fellow tourists. Many of the jeeps were full, and the drivers drove more carefully. We reach the ground entrance after 30 minutes, thus ending our trip to Maxwell Hill.
There’s nothing much to do at the hilltop. You can spend time walking, at playground, go birdwatching, snap photos, visit tulip house (RM1 off-peak, RM2 peak season), and eat at Bukit Larut Coffee House or Cendana Hut. I was warned that Bukit Larut Coffee House food is not tasty. Cendana Hut food pricing is slightly high, but there’s no alternative.
Most surprisingly, we saw many Chinese families throughout the trip. I mean, its first day of Chinese New Year and these folks are going trekking at Maxwell Hill or picnicking at Taiping Lake Gardens! What happened to the open houses? 🙂 According to the jeep driver, some of the regular visitors are locals who come daily to get water from the natural sources at Maxwell Hill. These group mix their own herbal drinks and enjoy it there itself!
Oh ya, contact info:
Booking Jeep: +605-8077241/3
Cendana Hut / Kamalodge (both under same company):
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