7-Day Heritage Unesco Trail: Diethelm Standard

Arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and transfer to the city of Malacca. After arrival check in at the hotel.
Malacca has just been conferred the status of Unesco World Heritage Site on 7th July 2008. A full day tour of Malacca is an adventure through more than 600 years of history. The city was formerly ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch and lastly the British.
Visit the St. Peter's Church (built in 1710) - the oldest Christian church still in use in Malaysia today. Drive pass the largest 17th century Chinese cemetery outside of China, located at Bukit China. Proceed to view the famous gateway "Porta de Santiago", also known as "A-Famosa". Once a fortress, it was built by the Portuguese in 1511. Visit the ruins of St. Paul's Church where St. Francis Xavier was once buried and much more. Next visit the Stadhuys - 1641 to 1660 - also known as the "Red Square" due to the salmon pink color of the building. It was once a Dutch Administration center which today houses the Malacca Museum and some government offices.
Enjoy a 40 minutes boat ride on the Malacca River to have a good journey through time, passing by and seeing old buildings along the river and fishing villages. After the cruise continue on a walking tour to Cheng Hoon Teng ancient Chinese Temple before lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, take a leisurely stroll along Malacca's antique row know as Jonker Street. See all sorts of antiques on display at reasonable price, art galleries, souvenir shops, dried food shop and etc.
End tour, back to hotel & overnight.

Estimated driving time/distance:
Kuala Lumpur Airport - Malacca: 2 hours, 140 kilometers

Accommodation at The Majestic Melaka.

Meals included:None

Morning at leisure - spend the morning exploring this historical city of Malacca at your own pace.
11:30 hours
Check out and we will continue our heritage journey to Kuala Lumpur. Check in the Hotel and rest of the evening is free at leisure.

Meals included:Breakfast

09:00 hours
Tour of the historic heart of KL, covering many famous colonial-era landmark buildings clustered in a compact area surrounding Merdeka Square.
This walking tour starts and ends at the Masjid Jamek LRT Station - Masjid Jamek (the place where the history of Kuala Lumpur began, build in 1907) - Sessions Court Building - PanggungBandaraya Building (the city theatre that was formerly the old City Hall) - Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) - Old High Court Building (now the Criminal High Court & Civil Sessions Court) - Sultan Abdul Samad Building (completed in 1897 using a Mahometan style also known as 'Neo-Saracenic' which originated from India. The architect for this lovely building was AC Norman and the State Engineer CE Spooner. It was originally known as the new government Offices and housed the Public Works Department, the Survey Office, the Treasury, the Post and Telegraph Offices) - Industrial Court Building (previously housed the Loh Chow Kit Emporium which opened in 1905) - Loke Yew building (architecture is of Art Deco design) - Old Post Office Building - Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur (Independence Square) - Textile Museum - The Fountain of Independence Square (It was said to be dismantled in England and assembled locally at Independence Square by Harpers as Kuala Lumpur's first outdoor entertainment in 1897) - Merdeka Square Flagpole - Royal Selangor Club (1884, a meeting place for recreation and relaxation especially for expatriates, but from the start always had a mixture of Chinese, Indian and Malay members as well) - Cathedral of St Mary (one of the oldest Anglican churches in Kuala Lumpur) - Masjid India - return to the station to end your Kuala Lumpur Heritage Trails.

Estimated driving time/distance:
N/A

Accommodation at The Majestic Kuala Lumpur.

Meals included:Breakfast

After breakfast, we depart to the 'Town Built on Tin' also known as Ipoh. Close to Ipoh we stop at the Sam Poh Tong Cave Temple in GunungRapat. The temple houses an impressive work of art with various statues of Buddha set among the natural stalactites and stalagmites. Making our way to Ipoh after that where the town is home to wealthy miners during the tin heydays, driving through the streets of Ipoh is like being caught in a time warp. Ipoh town itself is sectioned into two parts. The Kinta River divides the historic center of Ipoh into Old Town and New Town. The Old Town is home to old Chinese and colonial styled buildings while the New Town of Ipoh sees stretches of shop housed, which cover the livelier business hub. Ipoh is simply a charming heritage site. Check in the hotel and enjoy a stroll along Ipoh Heritage trail and re-discover the historical wonders.

Estimated driving time/distance:
2 hours 20 minutes, 205 kilometers

Accommodation at The Indulgence & Living Boutique Hotel.

Meals included:Breakfast

08:30 hours
Breakfast at hotel. Check out from the hotel and we will continue our discovery today to Kuala Kangsar, a most attractive royal town, around 60 km north of Ipoh. En route visits will also be made at the Ubudiah Mosque and the Iskandariah Palace (royal palace).
The Ubudiah Mosque is reputed to be one of the most beautiful mosques in the country. Its construction began in the reign of Sultan Idris MurshidulAdzam Shah 1, the 28th Sultan of Perak. Elephants damaged the Italian marble flooring twice during the 1st WW.
Next stop will be at Taiping. The town of Taiping in Malaysia means "Eternal Peace" and is Perak State's foremost historic town. Formerly, known as Larut, the town was in the midst of a bloody feud between Chinese secret societies who worked the lucrative tin mines in the 1870's. After peace was declared between the feuding parties in 1874, the town changed to its present name. Before the founding of Kuala Lumpur in the south, Taiping prospered for several decades, scoring a number of firsts: first museum in the country, first English newspaper; first swimming pool. Today, it is chock-a block with heritage buildings.
Exploring the town is easy as its main roads -- JalanStesyen, Jalan Taming Sari, JalanPasar, Jalan Kota - run parallel, and are criss-crossed with small ones. Highlights include: Post & Telegraph Office (1884), Town Rest House (1894), King Edward VII School (1905), Ceylon Association (1899), St. George's Institution (1928), Hokkien Association (1931) Old Mosque (Masjid Lama) (1897), Peking Hotel (1929), Tseng Lung Hakka Association (1887), Taiping Market (it consists of two buildings: Old Market and New Market. The former was built in 1884; the latter, 1885), Police Station (1881, the present structure was completed in 1936), Cantonese Association and Temple for the Immortal Girl within a common compound (1887), Public Library (1882, former premises of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China), All Saints Church (1886, it is the first Anglican Church in the Federated Malay States), Perak Museum (First opened in 1883, it exhibits ceramics, weapons, and stuffed animals, including the skull of an elephant that charged at a train in the 1950's), The statue of Colonel Walker (considered the "Father of the Malay States Guide"), Fort Carnavon (1885, named after the Earl of Carnarvon, Secretary of State for the colonies (1894-1878).
Finally we are crossing the 4th longest bridge in South East Asia to Penang. Check in the Hotel and relax for the rest of your evening.

Estimated driving time/distance:
2 hours 30 minutes, 169 kilometers

Accommodation at Hotel Penaga, Penang.

Meals included:Breakfast

09:00 hours
After breakfast, experience the historical and vibrant city of "Georgetown". Start at the hotel and head to Chowrasta Market ("Four Cross Road in Urdu") to experience the lively roadside trading of livestocks, vegetables and fruits. This followed by enjoying the scrumptious toast bread at Toh Soon Caf'e9 where charcoal is conventionally used to toast and boil water.
A must-visit shopping spree haven, Campbell Street or formerly named "Sin Kay" by the Chinese in the 19th century is one of Penang's notable precincts where you will enjoy great bargains and varieties of retail shops, boutiques and restaurants.
Treat yourself with "yu char kuih" (Doug-fritters) at Campbell Street Wet Market, probably the oldest existing market in Georgetown built around 1900, a reminiscent of late Victorian with ornate cast iron columns and brackets.
Additionally, feast your taste-buds with those appetizing dim sum varies from succulent steamed pork spareribs and "char siubao" (steamed buns with roast pork) to mouth-watering shrimp dumplings with the translucent skin or better known as "hargao".
Next visit is to the KhooKongsi the Clan House building features a magnificent hall embellished with intricate carvings and wood work.
Visit to the well-known Kapitan Kling Mosque, a dome-shaped minaret named after the Indian Muslim merchant, shortly before enjoying our Indian Muslim traditional pancake known as roti canai (made of dough with egg).
Roti canai for brunch. One requires a skillful hand-flipped dough technique to produce a very thin and flat roti canai.
Take a stroll to Sri MahaMariamman Temple, a Dravidian-style temple, which sports a sculptured tower or Gopuram, covered in brightly painted statues of gods and goddesses.
Your walking tour continues with a visit the Goddess of Mercy Temple, a temple honoring Kuan Yin built in the 1800s by early Chinese settlers of the Hokkien and Cantonese communities. The temple was originally named Kong Hock Keong temple (Cantonese-Hokkien Temple).
After those visits, your appetite should have been stirred up by then. Indulge yourself with banana leaf rice at nearby Banana Leaf Restaurant and experience eating rice with curry on a banana leaf, with your hands, like the early Indian settlers used to and quenched your thirst with a glass of "pulled" tea (teh tarik).

The afternoon is free at leisure to explore further the city or relax at the hotel.

Estimated driving time/distance:
N/A

Accommodation at Hotel Penaga, Penang.

Meals included:Breakfast
Lunch

After your breakfast we will transfer you to Penang Airport. End of tour.

Meals included:Breakfast