Lost World of Tambun Getaway
Last month, I brought my staffs to Ipoh, the land of white coffee for a short getaway. It was one of the perks of working for Althea Korea. Every month, I get to bring my staffs out for team bonding with a budget. This is strictly only for employees, whoever that tag along has to pay for themselves. Stretching that budget is art. An art that I master in since I became a shopaholic. When I chance upon this year's MATTA Fair promoting Lost World of Tambun, I immediately decided this was going to be the trip we were waiting for. Our first out-of-the-city getaway. A chance for us all to unwind, enjoy and just let loose. My staffs are all crazy people. They're fun, adorable and well crazy. Sometimes I asked them if they forgot to take their medicine? It's supposed to be funny but it meant, are you okay?
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Lost World of Tambun, Ipoh
Anyway, the Matta Fair promotion was to buy 2 room vouchers and get the 3rd room voucher for RM1.00nett. Each room voucher RM180nett entitles you to a night's stay at Lost World Hotel along with two breakfast, two entrance tickets to the Lost World Hot Springs & Spa by Night. On top of this, I also bought the Buy 5 Free 1 Lost World of Tambun Entrance Tickets at RM48.75nett each. This would mean, I now have a full Lost World of Tambun experience on my hands. Pretty sweet right?
Breakdown:
Hotel 2D1N = RM120.30
Day ticket = RM40.60
Night ticket = free
Breakfast = free
Total: RM100.75/pax
*Excluding surcharges that apply if you go on weekend/public holidays/peak season.
The problem now was, how do you transport 10pax from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh? We couldn't possibly fit all of them in a car. The next best thing was to go by train and the beauty of this is now KTM has a direct train route from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh via ETS (Electric Train Service) which is an inter-city rail service operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu. Currently, ETS only runs for Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh and it takes 2-hour ++ only. It's a non-stop route.
Unfortunately, the KTM website does not help you understand where to get information from or how to book one. They should really improve their website and make it easy for people to book train tickets without going to the KTM ETS booth to buy it. I mean everything now is automated online, so we save our time and money?
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BusOnlineTicket.com
Fortunately for me, there was BusOnlineTicket.com. It's like the Agoda of all public transportation for your travels in Malaysia. From bus, train, ferry and airport transfers. There's also hotels and tours. The booking was easy, everything was there, and I just register, check, book and paid for it all in a matter of minutes. I'm pretty thankful for this seriously because it made traveling easy for people like me who don't drive. I booked for 10 ETS return tickets from KL Sentral - Ipoh - KL Sentral.
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it's the best place to book ETS train tickets for me
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KL to Ipoh by KTM ETS Train
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ETS Ticket Types Silver Gold Platinu,
(click for larger view)
Through Bus Online Ticket, I was able to see the ETS timetable, the ticket class - Silver, Gold, and Platinum along with prices for one way or return. The differences? I'll try to explain to the best of my knowledge because ETS has been updating this. It used to be only ETS Platinum which was the fastest route, non-stop to Ipoh @ 2hours++ but now it has introduced Silver and Gold.
Silver - Takes 2 hour 30mins with 14 stops
Gold - Takes 2 hour 20mins with 10 stops
Platinum - Takes 2 hours with 1 stop (KL Station) + snacks (simple snack with Milo)
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The site is very professional, once you made payment, notifications would be sent to your email, then you'll also receive your tickets by email to print out. Else you can refer back to your account again. I use this site a few times already so safe to say, I got back in one piece. No stress, no hassle.
The ETS trains were comfortable, there's ample amount of spaces (leg room) and you can put your luggage in the luggage area or on top of your seats (luggage compartment). It wasn't hot, the train was still fairly well maintained and clean. 2 hours was nothing to us. We had fun in the train, check out the crazy things we do.
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finally arrived at Ipoh Railway Station
(Eros, Me, Baby G, Sydney & her bae, Bo, Anis, Mira & her sis)
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our Lost World of Tambun journey begins
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example of how my e-mail ETS ticket looks like
(just print and show to train conductor)
I went to Pangkor last year by booking a bus ticket here for my 1st anniversary with Baby G. Just a few days ago, I made another booking here for train tickets to go back to Ipoh! This time to celebrate my 2nd anniversary at The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat Ipoh. Besides Lost World of Tambun, this is another place that I will frequently visit because it's one of the best romantic places for honeymooners, couples, and relaxation (peace and quiet) in Malaysia. It'll be Baby G's first time here and the 5th for me. I can't wait to show him around. We'll have our own hot springs garden jacuzzi, plunging pool, big nice comfortable bed with Bose music playing in the background. Can't wait!
If you have any questions about ETS or BusOnlineTicket, feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply if I can! XX
Lost World of Tambun, Ipoh
Anyway, the Matta Fair promotion was to buy 2 room vouchers and get the 3rd room voucher for RM1.00nett. Each room voucher RM180nett entitles you to a night's stay at Lost World Hotel along with two breakfast, two entrance tickets to the Lost World Hot Springs & Spa by Night. On top of this, I also bought the Buy 5 Free 1 Lost World of Tambun Entrance Tickets at RM48.75nett each. This would mean, I now have a full Lost World of Tambun experience on my hands. Pretty sweet right?
Breakdown:
Hotel 2D1N = RM120.30
Day ticket = RM40.60
Night ticket = free
Breakfast = free
Total: RM100.75/pax
*Excluding surcharges that apply if you go on weekend/public holidays/peak season.
The problem now was, how do you transport 10pax from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh? We couldn't possibly fit all of them in a car. The next best thing was to go by train and the beauty of this is now KTM has a direct train route from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh via ETS (Electric Train Service) which is an inter-city rail service operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu. Currently, ETS only runs for Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh and it takes 2-hour ++ only. It's a non-stop route.
Unfortunately, the KTM website does not help you understand where to get information from or how to book one. They should really improve their website and make it easy for people to book train tickets without going to the KTM ETS booth to buy it. I mean everything now is automated online, so we save our time and money?
BusOnlineTicket.com
it's the best place to book ETS train tickets for me
(everything is there for you to see!)
KL to Ipoh by KTM ETS Train
ETS Ticket Types Silver Gold Platinu,
(click for larger view)
Through Bus Online Ticket, I was able to see the ETS timetable, the ticket class - Silver, Gold, and Platinum along with prices for one way or return. The differences? I'll try to explain to the best of my knowledge because ETS has been updating this. It used to be only ETS Platinum which was the fastest route, non-stop to Ipoh @ 2hours++ but now it has introduced Silver and Gold.
Gold - Takes 2 hour 20mins with 10 stops
Platinum - Takes 2 hours with 1 stop (KL Station) + snacks (simple snack with Milo)
Fast Accurate Comfortable Safe!
On the ETS, there's power outlets where you can charge your phones or laptops, bathroom with 30inch seat, LED TV at the ceiling in each bunk to watch shows, and deli cafes to buy food, drinks, and snacks to make your journey comfortable.
the screen tells you your destination (real time)
the complimentary snacks with ETS Platinum class tickets
(crackers, biscuits, Milo)
I am so thankful there's a site like this that makes traveling easier in Malaysia. It's easy to register, easy to book and all the information is there for you to see before you decide which type of transportation is the best for your journey. You have the liberty to select the type of bus company, according to their routes, timetable and price affordability. You can book ahead of time as well, I have checked ETS has up to a month's timetable shared.
The site is very professional, once you made payment, notifications would be sent to your email, then you'll also receive your tickets by email to print out. Else you can refer back to your account again. I use this site a few times already so safe to say, I got back in one piece. No stress, no hassle.
The ETS trains were comfortable, there's ample amount of spaces (leg room) and you can put your luggage in the luggage area or on top of your seats (luggage compartment). It wasn't hot, the train was still fairly well maintained and clean. 2 hours was nothing to us. We had fun in the train, check out the crazy things we do.
me and my staffs on board ETS to Ipoh
2 hours journey What To Do?
finally arrived at Ipoh Railway Station
(Eros, Me, Baby G, Sydney & her bae, Bo, Anis, Mira & her sis)
example of how my e-mail ETS ticket looks like
(just print and show to train conductor)
If you have any questions about ETS or BusOnlineTicket, feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply if I can! XX
