Enjoy An Eco Tour In Malaysia - Agarwood Forest, Charcoal Factory, Mangrove Forest

As mentioned in the previous blog, Ipoh is one of a cultural and heritage cities of Malaysia. Actually there is a flora and fauna in Malaysia where I have just selected some destinations having been with my travel buddies for 2 days at Ipoh. Some eco destinations are highly recommended for visit near Ipoh where takes 1-2 hours by car.

1) Gaharu Tea Valley Gopeng  (務邊沉香園)


Gaharu, also named in Agarwood, Eaglewood, Oud or Jinko in different part of the world. But agarwood in Chinese culture actually plays a significant role in medical treatment. Because agarwood leaves can be used as Tea, and also the wood can be transformed as fragrance. They also can be used as cooking ingredients in chicken soup, herbal egg with their leaves. I also tried the soft serve in agarwood flavor (RM2), which I cannot tell you the taste, as it is very unique and with a long after taste of the agarwood. It's worth to try.

There are over 200,000 agarwood trees in the forest distributing in 5 mountains according to the local guide. Some of the areas are open for the tourists. Tourists are escorted by their private vans for transportation. This Gaharu Tea Valley in Gopeng is the only one open for public in the globe, sharing the trade secrets and promoting the usage and the awareness of the Gaharu Tea. Gaharu Tea is rich in vitamins, calcium zinc, iron and manganese. Gaharu leaves contain high anti-oxidant functions. It reduces blood sugar levels and lowers the blood pressure etc. That's why there is a market for gardening Gaharu Tea.  

Gaharu (Agarwood) Tea Valley, Gopeng

For information: www.hoga.my  ; www.gaharu.com.my
Opening from 9am to 6pm (Monday to Sunday and Public Holiday)

2)  Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory 

A total area of 40,711 hectares of forest area divided into three regions, namely Kuala Sepetang, Kuala Trong and Sungai Kerang which were managed under a "30 Year Work Plan" by the Perak State Forestry Department.

This charcoal factory locates at Kuala Sepetang.

Trees from Mangrove

7-Ipoh Wall Art Murals by Zach

It's first time to visit Malaysia, and I headed to Ipoh, a city with a lot of heritages and cultures.
Ipoh is a home town of Michelle Yeoh, the Hollywood superstar.
Ipoh, is a name in Malay meaning a kind of tree, but nowadays there is only one and the only one existing at Ipoh, locates in front of the train station.

When visiting Ipoh, one of the cultural visits is searching the 7 wall art murals,the latest collection of by Ernest Zacharevic (ZACH), who painted murals on walls along the streets of Penang’s Georgetown.

Ipoh is famous with their white coffee, so the artist features coffee on the painting. This one features the old man drinking a cup of white coffee.

Next to a car park, there is one featuring the hummingbird.

Opposite to the hummingbird, there is a huge mural with 5 iced coffee , they call as KOPI (coffee) in Malaysia , and the packaging for iced tea is using a plastic bag.  The painting is awesome as it illustrated like a real one with water drops on the plastic bags.

This one is unofficial without Zach and the government mentioned , but our tour guide said this one is also an artwork by Zach. The tour guide said it was painted in overnight. But I think this one is a test drawing by Zach before he painted the large one, do you agree?

This one named "Girl" is very active in motions, like she is catching the bird in the birdcage.

This one is near the Coffee and Old Man . It is an awesome artwork too.

This one is a Chinese painting style. But too many tourists there I cannot take a full picture.

I like this one so much, as it shows the man doing job for living and the shaw you can take photo with it. 

The map of Art of Old Town, you can search the 7 mural artworks by visiting Ipoh, drink the white coffee, enjoy a day in Malaysia.


View another article about Eco Tourism in Malaysia