Day 2: Genting Highlands and More

Backpacking South East Asia by the hand signs

Day 1: Petronas Twin Towers

Our original plan was to go to Batu Caves first then catch the bus going to Genting Highlands at 10am. But since we arrived late, we skipped Batu Caves.

Lee Chua, a co-blogger from Malaysia, bought us Go Genting tickets prior to our arrival. It's very risky to miss the bus at 10am. As per Lee said, you should purchase the tickets in advance. Aside from it's cheaper, you will have guaranteed seats. True enough, we saw a lot of people lined up for the tickets but only afternoon trips are available.


From KL, 50kms it is to reach Genting, a magnificent city on a hilltop. The place is 2000m above sea level. Temperature is colder than usual of course. No time to waste, we began to explore right away.

Genting Highlands

First, we passed by the Indoor Theme Park. The place is not that big but it is full of interesting attractions.

if you make it here, you can make it anywhere...

indoor sky diving

We checked out Ripley's museum, Im a fan of unbelievable things. Entrance is RM18.

Ripley's Believe it or Not

ok, let's see the unbelievable

random pictures of interesting items inside

13 women got pregnant after touching these fertility statues

the opponent's shrunken head

illumina twins

the smallest people

the tallest man

a car made of gold coins

i forgot the story behind this Ü

this one's really hard to believe

oh well, I'm a believer!

We proceeded to Coffee Terrace and availed their buffet. We chose to avail this buffet rather than the Outdoor Theme Park tickets because we can save more in doing so. Just so you know, Coffee Terrace buffet is priced at RM59++. So the Go Genting Package we bought at RM41 is so sulit!

Coffee Terrace buffet area

Actually eating in a buffet style allowed me to try different Malaysian food. But Im surprised, they offered beyond that.

Local Favorites

Nyonya (Chinese-Singaporean-Malaysian-Thai)

Chinese

Japanese

Western Asian

and Western

And of course, a wide variety of desserts. From pastries to fruits, to items Im not familiar with to etc.. This one's my favorite shot.

dramatic strawberry delight!

Grabe ang daming cuisines to choose from! I tried Laksa, Satay, Dimsum, Pasta, Sushi, some Indian food, etc.

round 1

round 2

make room for dessert

I enjoyed it. Im so full ayoko na yata magrides sa outdoor theme park. Baka masuka ako. Hihi
My pose for day 2: at Coffee Terrace.

my Day 2 at Genting Highlands

Coffee Terrace
http://www.rwgenting.com/en/fb/buffet/cterrace/gallery.html

Finally, we went to the Outdoor Theme Park. Since we already used our tickets at Coffee Terrace, we purchased our tickets here again. Ride-All-You pass + Flying Coaster ride costs RM45.

Outdoor Theme Park

the map

and the rides

Yeah, I admit Im a theme park junkie. Gusto ko yung mga buwis buhay na extreme rides. Ü

Space Shot
Space Shot is a rapid vertical ascent and descent amusement ride.
Height is 185 feet. Speed at 67 km/hour. Exciting yung sudden drop, I really felt I was floating.

the rapid ascend

and the sudden drop

Flying Coaster
A hang-gliding roller coaster. Swoop, twist and zoom round turns and drops. The unique positioning of the passengers - four riders "fly" together, side by side - is a new way of experiencing drops, spirals and swooping turns from the "front seat." This ride is crazy. Pero parang wala lang, too secured kasi yung "cage". Obviously di ako mahuhulog. Di ako kinabahan.. hihi

the Flying Coaster

4 flyers at a time

We tried every ride that looks promising. Good thing here is that you don't need to line up for hours.

the Spinner

We checked out this famous shop too and bought some chocolates.

Beryl's Chocolate Wonderland

Due to irresistible and overflowing free samples, I gave in. I bought some bars for pasalubong (and for myself). Haha

yummy Beryl's!

We took the 7pm bus back to KL.

It was a tiring but fun day at the peak..

Genting Highlands Theme Park
http://www.rwgenting.com/en/themepark/index.htm
Go Genting Package
http://www.gogenting.com.my/en/express/klsentral.htm

Click here for Day 3: Batu Caves + Putrajaya

Day 1: Petronas Twin Towers

check out my prelude first ---> HERE

What makes me busy 2 weeks after I got back from my first backpacking trip?
Nothing but struggling to stay awake at night again. As you all know, I've been working at night for 2 years now and that's my normal routine. Well, after my SEA trip, nasira ang body clock ko.

been very busy catching up sleep (in the office)

Tapos kung maka-demand pa kayo na umpisahan ko na yung SEA trip, hirap na hirap nga ako makatulog ngayon.. Wala kayong puso! Chos! (drama lang..)

PLANNING
First, I did research a little about South East Asia. I checked out a map and studied the countries which are side by side and can be traveled overland.
Second, I looked around forums and spotted some future travel buddies. Luckily, I found 2 girls! Yup, we don't know each at all and we'll travel together outside the country! Extreme eh?
Third, waited and booked for a promo fare. And by promo fare I meant PISO fare!
Fourth, I did extensive research in every country, including the map, route, train system, made reservations on cheap accommodations, etc. Everything that's essential.
Fifth, I bought a 15-kg luggage (smallest size). I realized I can't carry a huge bag (for 10days) that's bigger and heavier than I am.

backpacking SEA in a red trolley

My ROUTE
I intentionally put Thailand in the last leg. I found that country most interesting.

Manila - Kuala Lumpur - Ho Chi Minh - Siem Reap - Bangkok

A NEWBIE'S BACKPACKING TRIP

First Leg: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I actually flew via Airasia, a budget airline that's based in Malaysia. My fare from Clark-Kuala Lumpur was P988. From Pasay, I took the Philtranco bus which goes directly to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA). Fare is P350.

In DMIA, I paid the usual travel tax of P1620 and P600 for the terminal fee. Since I only have forward tickets, the immigration officer asked me a lot of questions regarding my trip. Maybe she thought I would do something illegal?! Good thing I carried my company ID with me, and bragged I have a decent job here in Manila. Then she let me pass. Yey!

flying via Airasia for the 1st time

I dont care if the airplane is not spacious as long as the flight is smooth. And it was. Aside from hindi maganda ang amoy ng mga katabi ko- I have nothing else to complain.
After 3 hours, I finally reached Kuala Lumpur. Landing is at LCCT.

first glimpse of Malaysia

I lined up in the immigration booth and it went smoothly too. I got my trolley and proceeded to Skybus terminal. This 1hour bus ride took me to KL Sentral.

I learned that in the first stages of planning, its best to download a map. You'll have an idea of everything, plus you'll have more sensible questions in mind. Ü

the efficient KL transit map

Upon reaching KL Sentral, my companions Franklyn and Mera (my ex-officemates from Trend Micro) and I walked around and looked for the monorail. It is 400m away from the bus station. Quite reachable by foot. From KL Sentral, we paid a small amount to reach Bukit Bintang, that's the area we planned to stay.

Important reminder: almost all guesthouses / hostels in KL only offer common bathrooms. And since I am not comfortable with that, we ended up no choice but to pay more and stay in a not so good hotel but with a private bathroom.

i DONT recommend staying at Season's View

We got a triple room for MYR125 (around P1,800) per night without breakfast. Location is good but the beds suck!

totoo palang may bed bugs!

Aside from the room is small, we personally saw some bed bugs. Omg, totoo palang may bed bugs! And it scared us big time. Too bad we already paid 2 nights and thought it would only hassle us to look around for some decent and cheap hotels nearby. It's raining that night, just so you know. And we've been carrying our luggages since that morning. So we decided to stay there. We just removed the thick sheets (we figured that's where the bugs are coming from) and used only the thin ones. Pero nakakapraning pa din matulog! Luckily, it worked at hindi ako nabiktima ng bed bugs. But not worth the paranoia I experienced.

Hotel Season's View
61 Jalan Alor, Bukit Bintang, 50200 KL
http://www.seasonsview.com/home.htm

Moving on, I badly need to make a phone call to Lee Chua. Yes, she's a fellow blogger from Malaysia and I need to meet her. I emailed her for some assistance and she actually helped me more than I expected. She offered us to buy 3 Genting package tickets in advance. According to her, most of the time only late afternoon trips are available if you purchase the tickets within the day of your trip.

Act of kindness #1
That phone call to Lee was made possible by a vendor along Bukit Bintang who let me use his cellphone for free. Thank you sir!

We had our dinner outside the hotel the famous Jalan Alor street. The best place to eat Malaysia's local favorites.

famous Jalan Alor street (right outside the hotel we're staying)

crowd favorite? ok dito tayo..

Only very few vendors speak English but that's no problem. We just pointed some favorite and best seller items in their menu.

Penang Char Kway Teow and Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Super yummy (and cheap)! Bentang-benta sakin ang combo na yan. Drooling once again.. Ü

After a satisfying meal, we walked towards the very sparkling Twin Towers. And because we thought it's quite near, we decided to walk. Wrong decision. It took me 40mins to reach Suria, KLCC. That's where I need to meet Lee. I lost my companions by the way.

I lost my companion but Lee found me!

A very fine lady. Lee is very accommodating in our exchange of emails, but she's even nicer in person. She handed me our tickets and I paid her. She even toured me around.

KL at night is really very alive but Petronas Twin Tower simply stands out. May WOW factor. Its beauty is sparkling.

Suria KLCC and Petronas Twin Towers

And since I lost my companions, I asked her to take some photographs of me infront of the sparkling twin towers. Lucky me, she's a good photographer!

day 1 behind the famous landmark in KL

And for a change, here's a reflection of the sparkling towers in the lake. Nice!

lights reflecting at the lake

Lee and her boyfriend Troy even drive me back to our hotel. I really appreciated that.
Thank you Lee. Im lucky I have met you here in blogosphere, and Im luckier I met you in person. Please let me know if you have plans of going here in Manila (and Boracay) and I will help you the way you helped me.

I intentionally wrote every detail I remembered in this backpacking trip. Some may sound personal. Afterall, my blog is more of a personal blog than a travel guide blog. Ü

Click here for Day 2: Genting Highlands