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Some of you might have noticed that a year ago, our group of aunties comprising Audrey (Fourfeetnine), Wei Zhi (Citygal), Hui Wen (RevelinMe) and Careen have been using the hashtag #CompetitiveAunties. The reason being that we are all married aunties, simple as that hahahaha. The definition of an aunty for me is a woman who enjoys going to the supermarket, who gets excited about discount vouchers, who doesn’t really like going to hipster cafés because they are too pricy and also our love to free samples hahahaha. I think I’m fit to be called an aunty these days.

Anyway, we started using #CompetitiveAunties back in July, 2015, so back then we were saying we should totally plan a mini weekend getaway to celebrate our 1^st anniversary instead of just having a dinner. It’s pretty hard for 5 of us to come up with a date when everyone will be free. Besides the timing and dates, we were also looking for a place that is not too far from KL so that Careen and Audrey won’t be too far away from their babies.

Thank god we found this lovely place called The Banjaran Hotsprings located in Ipoh. I have heard a lot of good reviews about this resort but I never had a chance to visit it until last week. I’m so glad that I went there with a group of my favorite aunties, because it’s a perfect getaway for aunties like us! We need places that are not crowded, where we can do spa and maybe some tanning in between and not to mention a hotel room that is big enough for us to chit chat till late at night!

We started our journey from KL to Ipoh at around 2pm, so the traffic was smooth and our trip was enjoyable. We have endless topics to talk about whenever we meet so this 3-day getaway is perfect for us! The way from KL to Banjaran Hotpsprings was pretty straight forward; you can Google Map or Waze. Once you pass Ipoh toll you will be able to see the Banjaran Hotspring signs from there.

When we reached the resort we were greeted with views of mountains, greens and flowers! I instantly fell in love with this place.

Then, during the check in we were served a cup of ginger tea and cold towels. We were told to hit the dong too to inform everyone we will be the guest here for 2 nights! Of course aunties must hit it together hahaha.

One thing I love about the Banjaran is their key system, instead of using a card or normal key we were given a rubber bracelet so we won’t have a problem of losing our room key and it’s waterproof yo.

We were greeted with canapés and refreshing drinks the moment we stepped into our villa.

We were given 2 Garden villas, Villa 1 & 2! Audrey and Careen shared Villa 2, which is the mum’s villa because the hotel prepared all non-alcohol drinks in the room, whereas I, Hui Wen and Wei Zhi shared Villa 1! We called it the party room because you can find plenty of booze there haha.

 I love the little details that Banjaran prepared for us, for example 3 sets of amenities, bathrobes and an extra bed. They even prepared mosquito repellent for everyone!!! The walk-in closet is big enough to fit everyone’s luggage!

Our view in the morning =)

The view while walking to Pomelo for dinner.

Dinner in Pomelo was great. They serve local or Western cruise to fit everyone’s tastes. We informed Banjaran that it was Careen’s birthday so they prepared a cake and sang a birthday song for her too.

The next morning, Wei Zhi and I woke up earlier than the rest of the aunties so we took our time to take a couple of pictures at our villa and also the facilities.

The morning view of the geothermal lake. If you look closely, you can see a layer of smoke on the surface of the lake because of the heat.

Banjaran is surrounded by mountains ….

One of my favorite facilities was the geothermal hotsprings dipping pools. There are a total of 4 pools, which have different temperatures ranging from 44c to 40c.

After meeting with the rest of the aunties, we headed out to explore the resort! First stop was the foot reflexology area.

Then Garra Rufa Fish pool, where only Audrey and Wei Zhi dared to put their feet into hahahaha. There was a lot of screaming involved.

We have been told to dip into the geothermal dipping pool first, and only after that head to the ice pot! It would help to tighten up our pores.

The ice dipping pot was pretty cool too! It was located in a cave. You can inform the staff earlier so that they can prepare ice for you.

This is the stairs to the balcony to overlook the Banjaran Hotsprings resort!

Another place that we really liked during our stay was the Crystal Cave!

It’s so beautiful and it’s air conditioned!

We took our sweet time hanging out in the cave.

Then we had lunch at Pomelo restaurant before our spa session at 2pm!

We were looking forward to the spa the most because we all needed a nice massage really bad!

A group picture after the much needed spa.

While everyone was taking turns to the shower, I took the time to sun tan before it started to rain T____T

Our dinner on the second day was at Jeff’s Cellar, and it was the coolest restaurant I have ever been to!

It’s a wine cellar in a limestone cave.

It was our first ever cave dining experience so it’s worth opening a bottle of wine to celebrate. The food was great and their service was very good too. We had their 3 course meal and I chose beef as my main course, it was perfectly cooked and very tender.

On the last day of our stay in the Banjaran, we joined their holistic exercises: Yoga and Pranayama breathing classes. The Banjaran offers a few varieties of exercises for their in-house guests, you can check out the timing and list here

Instead of heading back to our rooms to pack and check-out we took our time to take pictures at the deck LOL. It’s rare for us to wear active wear together ok, so we had to take more pictures hahahaha.

Being very “sticky” guests, we insisted to stay and take more pictures in the garden before heading home for real hahahah. I guess the staff in the Banjaran was trying to avoid bumping into us because we stopped whoever passed by to take pictures for us hahaha but they were so patient and nice.

Once again, huge thanks to Sunway’s The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat for giving us this opportunity to celebrate our 1^st anniversary in such a relaxing and amazing way. Each of us enjoyed our stay there to the max; I told them I will definitely bring Jo back for our next mini getaway.

For bookings and info please check out https://www.thebanjaran.com/ and also you can visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/banjaranhotsprings

♥