Boxing Day in Taiping

As planned, the lot of us unruly kids drove up to Taiping first thing in the morning. First order of business, visit the zoo. What follows is a mixture of feelings: depression that animals are caged up, annoyance that so many exhibits are empty (in other words, not that many animals are caged up), exasperation from the heat, glee from enjoying ice-cream. At the back of my mind   I was constantly aware that Malaysia has become a highway for the illegal wildlife trade and that the zoos here have been noted for being a front for the trade.

After seeing the elephants the group wilts from the sun and decides to move on to lunch. After which, we walk to this cendol store that's supposedly the best. (It was OK. Priya says the stall in Malacca is better.) The little store is filled with customers, so we take our little bowls and sit across the road in the shade of the block.

I was under the impression that we'd be doing some idle strolling at the picturesque Lake Gardens, but we just sat at one spot, exhausted from the heat before heading home.