Journal Entry: Day 57

Kampar, Perak, Malaysia,

Well, I’m glad I went to Ipoh this weekend. It made me change of scenery after 2 months of being stuck in the same district because of MCO (movement Control Order).
Going for a 1 night / 2daysish, I can draw some verdict about how it went.
First, I have to witness I was too much loaded, for only a 1-night stay and many plans to do, things to records, I should not have taken the computer, I literally didn’t use it so it was pretty much useless.
Secondly, I felt I was planning too much last minute, almost on the go; I actually did plan but probably I was too excited to go left and right, I added a lot of stuff in from the original plan.
Third, going to pasar karat to buy antiques so I can record them was not a very good idea either. Most of the items there are not specifically interesting or can be found anywhere, also it was mostly overpriced (because it is deemed as antiquity), many stuff are pieces of junk. Anyway, I found an old camera that makes some interesting sounds, I have it with me now. I will set up a recording session for this.

On my way back, I passed by Gopeng and went to check if Gua Tempurung is open, and surprisingly they are open, I check with them about how it works and I was thrilled to learn that I am allowed to go by myself inside. It will make a wonderful journey of recording this huge cave. I hope I can get interesting sounds. What’s even better, is that there are very few tourists at this time, so I might be very much on my own, which is ideal! I’ll go this week! Weekdays are the best.

In the evening, I went back to this Korean restaurant (the only one in the town solely Korean), I went to 7 weeks ago. They have indeed very good dishes, I should really go back. And I was pondering about my fate for the rest of the month of March here in Malaysia. MCO is supposed to end March 31, and then we should have 14 days to leave the country unless they extend the ruling. Last year, they already extended this so many times; this is why I have been able to stay in the country for so long.
But now I feel, since it has been almost 1 year, they might change the way they deal with our cases (stranded tourists).
So I am torn between staying in Kampar a little more (and continue exploring around while having my base here), or getting a little more of the country (moving entirely, so I can go further…) before the end of March knowing I have to leave. However, for now, I can’t go outside the state of Perak, and I very much don’t know if they will allow me to do so anytime before the end of March. Well, I will think about it for the next few days and take a decision.

Dim Sun!
Dim Sun breakfast

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