Here's why you should travel slowly...

It always scares me when I see ads on the newspapers promoting package tours that list 4 to 6 European cities for a 10 to 12 day trip. You'll spend an entire day on the plane and another day jet-lagging while they drag you across more than 1000kms in the coach. I'm not sure if that's a $5000 holiday or paid torture. 

Here are 4 reasons why you should travel slowly!

1. Travelling slowly helps you relax (and maybe make a baby :p)
Have you ever got back from a vacation and wished you had another to catch up on rest? We've been there and we hated it. Packing less in a day helps you enjoy the lull moments sitting by the pool or taking a stroll around a picturesque nature reserve. It helps us unwind from the stresses of having to meet schedules and answer millions of emails right from the time we wake up. It is a great opportunity to not set an alarm for the morning! It gives you the opportunity to spend quality time with your loved ones and come back feeling recharged! 

I'm not joking about the baby part! We all know someone who is stressed out with trying to conceive. After years of not being able to conceive in the midst of their hectic stressful lives, BOOM! A good slow relaxing trip and congratulations! They are pregnant! We can attest this worked for us! 

4 city people in the mountains getting all amazed by the low lying clouds, REALLY COLD rain and crazy refreshing air. It is remarkable what sitting outside, just looking at nature in daylight + 19 celcius can do for your mental health.

​I cannot emphasise what wonders this slow trip has done for our mental health as a family. We can focus better when we need to. We have that bandwidth to write blogs, take photographs, write a book, draw and design! The kids are more willing to do their school work, focus on reading and enjoy countless hours of open ended play. 

2. Travelling slowly saves you $$$
Long stays on Airbnb are almost always cheaper. You also can ask for better rates when you stay longer with a hotel too! Less commuting = less costs! You save time and energy packing and unpacking again and again. 

Settling longer in a place also means we are more willing to cook/make simple meals, make our own cup of tea and coffee. Instead of eating at touristy places, we use Google Maps and look for great local reviews for awesome food. We've been able to find many food options throughout our trip that cost between 50 to 70RM (About S$15.80 to S$22) for the entire family. 


3. Travelling slowly allows you to find hidden gems!

Travelling deeply and slowly, you get to fully immerse yourself and enjoy a place. That's exactly what we've been doing! We found places other explorers mark as "Great View" on google maps in Cameron Highlands and roamed the around on foot to find our favourite satay man in Tana Rata. He sold a satay for 1RM and cooked them over coal... (See pictures in this post)

Because we get to spend more time at a place, we tend to go exploring the area beyond what the travel guides point us to. We go beyond what Google Maps recommends! That was also how we found these eateries when we explored Ipoh...

Get there early! The queue starts around 6pm and gets crazy by 7pm!

Price and portions were very reasonable

We still think about the taste...

We cannot think of an equivalent in Singapore. It tasted so good we keep talking about going back for more!

They weren't stingy with the ingredients!

She had the fish noodles that smelled a tad too fishy for me but she thoroughly enjoyed herself

We chanced upon Dekori Premium Cafe in Ipoh while searching for ice cream. We actually found another shop but didn't like what they offered and decided to walk around the streets. Found this just across the road and it was amazing!

Very nice ambience and the seats were comfy!

Wow...this was decadent and the chocolate tasted incredible!

The kids had this milk-based ice dessert with fresh strawberries, kiwi, almond, cashews and corn flakes.

Just look at the focus and smile....no words needed on how they feel!

Look at the size of this shaved ice dessert!?

Debra loved this! It's really cute too. You get to fill the teddy's bath with milk!

​4. Travelling slowly gives you unexpected adventures
​(my favourite reason for travelling slowly!)

We've seen most of the places we could in Cameron Highlands and decided to explore the surrounding areas in Perak (Ipoh). Mossy forest and Parit falls in Cameron Highlands were closed when we wanted to access them because of landslide and maintenance.

I chanced upon this cave on google maps while looking at the terrain layer. (Please try this, it is most amusing for those who enjoy seeing 3D maps!). The interesting "T" shape caught my eye and you won't believe what we found....

Gua Tempurung (Tempurung Cave) is just about 30 minutes by car from Ipoh.

You are in for some adventure if you choose tour 3 & 4! You'll put on a helmet and really go crawling and climbing through the cave. We opted for tour 1 because we had two little ones with us!

Gwyn got a little bit scared having to enter a hole in the rock. She overcame her fear and has been asking us to go back to the cave!

This cave is of epic proportions! In fact its the largest you'll find in Peninsular Malaysia!

Gwyn got a little bit scared having to enter a hole in the rock. She overcame her fear and has been asking us to go back to the cave!

The cave was humongous and that meant we had to climb quite bit of stairs. It was cool but very humid inside. It was a good workout!

We took it slow so we had time to pose for fun pictures!

Look up and appreciate the textured formations! We even found some bird's nests and bats (too dark to catch a shot)

We were just amazed that we live in such a beautiful world.

It was the first time the kids ever got into a cave. No rush! We just soaked in the majestic rock/mineral formations. The kids are now hungry for more adventure!

There's always light at the end of the tunnel right?

Next time you travel, try travelling slowly! Hope you'll find it as rewarding as us! 
If you've found other amazing food, scenery or relaxing places around Malaysia, please share them with us!

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