What to do in Kangar, Perlis in one day

 

Here is a quick record of what we did in Perlis in one day, in continuation to my previous post. We were in Perlis to register for the Kolej Matrikulasi Perlis 2022/2023 intake. 

We went by train a day earlier so it won't be so tiring.

We bought our tickets online from the KTM Integrated Ticketing System or KITS in short. It is very convenient and easy to make a booking. Just book online, they will send you the tickets by email with a QR code and you can use that to scan to check in and out of the station. There are about 5 trips to Arau, Perlis (where I was heading) daily. 4 of them are Platinum service and 1 gold. The difference between the platinum and gold are the gold makes more stops and is about 15 minutes slower. It takes about 5 and 1/2 hours whereas the platinum takes about 5 hours 15 minutes. The timing for the gold is also not a popular time. However, with just 15 minutes difference for about RM25 difference in fare and only 1 service a day, usually the gold is sold out first. 

The train ride has beautiful views of miles and miles of padi fields.

Since I went there by train, I had to rent a car. We booked our car from Brother Car Rental. Interesting experience because everything was done via whatsapp. I never got to meet any of the car rental service guys. I filled up a form stating the date and place of pickup and return, made payment online and the car was waiting for me at the pickup place and time with the keys inside and no one around. I paid a deposit during booking and paid the balance upon pickup. I returned the car in a similar fashion and my deposit was returned to me online after that.

Time for breakfast

We went to My House Restaurant for breakfast. It is like a hawker coffee shop with several stalls. They have char koay teow, bak kut teh (non-halal), pao, tim sum etc. 

The food was not bad and like its name suggest, the owners have taken care of it like a house. If you pay attention you will notice, plants and flowers decorating this house of food.

After fueling up with breakfast, our first stop was Taman Melati. Taman Melati consist of  a couple of lakes and a Chinese garden with lots of lotus. We didn't visit the other lakes, only made a quick stop at the Chinese style garden. 

Watch our video on Taman Melati, Perlis below

Next stop was the Cave of Darkness or Gua Kelam. Entrance fee is only RM1 per person for adult. Parking is RM2. You may find bats in the cave too. A short walk through the dark cave will lead you to a secret garden.

Next stop is the Timah Tasoh Dam. No fee is required here and you only need a few minutes to stop by to take some nice nature photographs. If you are lucky, you may even catch a bird in flight as I did.

Below is our video of the Timah Tasoh Dam, in Perlis.

 

All that walking and driving leaves one hungry. So its time for lunch. We stopped by at a restaurant called OK. The food was Ok too or more than Ok especially their fish curry and mantis prawn. The price was Ok too, not too pricey.

Then it was back to the room to rest until dinner time because we weren't actually there to play tourist. We were there for a purpose which is to register to the matriculation college in Perlis. A little bit of sight seeing on the side was a bonus. 

We had dinner at the Hai Thien Seafood Restaurant in Perlis. It is located right at the Jetty at Kuala Perlis. Very strategically located so I guess the price is also strategic... It is good to go in the evening to watch the beautiful sunset. I will be back because I missed it. I was stuck waiting for a seat in the restaurant. The food took a long time to come because it was full house and by the time I had finished eating, it was dark. Planning what time to come is important in this case.

We had the Thai Style steamed fish which had ample sauce and was nice. You can get a lot of Thai food here because of its proximity to Thailand. They recommended Ambra Juice in a jug costing RM19 per jug. Rather good and we had many refills each. There were four of us. 

Perlis has beautiful sunrise and sunsets. A beautiful and peaceful place to visit.

I still want to visit the Wang Kelian viewpoint, the floating market etc. Saved for the next round when we are less rushed for time.