My Side Trip to Malaysia

I didn't know that my couple of days in Singapore would be insufficient to explore it thoroughly. So, of my five days vacation, i ignorantly allotted half of it to SG's neighbor, Malaysia. Of course, the days weren't enough!

I tried to make the days longer by travelling in the middle of the night from Singapore to Malaysia (by bus). 

StarMart Express costs SGD 35 and leaves at 11:30PM from Golden Mile Complex

Reaching Genting Highlands in Malaysia at 6AM, it was freezing cold! I was probably more sensitive to the cold temperature because I didn't have enough sleep. 

braving the fog and cold evening breeze outside our hotel
Visibility: ALMOST ZERO

inside the First World Hotel, at the Rain Forest Walk, before check in

Staying in First World Hotel was an advantage. It was where First World Plaza was located and the indoor theme park. There were lots to do inside if weather didn't permit visitors to go outside.

walking around Genting Walk

shops and stores for all kinds for shopping -
Malaysia is a bit budget-friendlier than Singapore :)

free shows at the Rain Forest Walk and at the stage area hold visitors' attention

when hungry, EAT!!! :)
First World Plaza has a LOT of food choices - from fast food to restaurants to food stands! 

the gondola seems like a relaxing ride after chow time 

reindeer rides delight kids and parents alike with its Christmas-sy theme

at the Universal Walk, "flying" whale and dragon rides let you explore the Plaza from above

Ripley's Believe It or Not will leave you amazed -
or maybe i was awestruck by Shrek?!

Halloween-themed Arena of the Stars Park won't get little kids scared coz their characters are just sooooo cute! :)

see this witch?...
isn't she just adorable?  :)

Revived from lack of sleep, we explored the rest of Genting Highlands in the late evening. There were five hotels in Genting Resorts. We only got around to three of them.

Highland Hotel lobby felt more like an art museum

the seed collection at Resort Hotel

the colorful First World Hotel - where we stayed

Aside from casinos, discos and bars also abound for more seriously adult enjoyment...

Safari Disco featured pop music, not tribal as i would have expected :)

it was quite early yet at Cloud 9

...but knowing me, I'd much rather spend my time and money on these...

my first Fish Spa experience - PRICELESS!
(actually, it was RM 18 for 10 minutes, hehe!)

...my first Baskin Robbins mocha malt - YUMMY and DREAMY-CREAMY..!

my first 4D movie, The Pirate Story (RM 8) - not so scary, hehe

...and not my first cable car ride..but it was the first time i got nervous -
 ( lasted 20 minutes and 10km in distance )
- at a very low, low price of RM 4.50

On more stable Malaysian ground, we kind of missed the Genting Highlands height and sought out the towering Petronas Twin Towers in KLCC. Asking around for directions, we were able to find Malaysia's famous skyscraper with no trouble at all.

at the Petronas Twin Towers in KL

quite fascinated by the atom design at the Discovery Center

the Suria KLCC behind me

KL Sentral MRT Station, from here we jumped onto the KLIA Express Train , RM 35

And then, we got lost...hehe! In our hurry to catch our flight back to Singapore, we took the KLIA Express to Kuala Lumpur's International Airport. Once there, we were so excited with its awesome pillars and festive decors so we took pictures even before locating our check-in counter.

the train that brought us to the wrong airport!
(it was very fast though...just under 30 minutes from KL Sentral)

at KLIA, excitedly taking pictures for souvenirs :)

Diwali, an Indian holiday and Festival of Lights, was celebrated last October 26

Deciding we should check-in before taking more pics, we asked where our airline's check-in counters were....and were told that Air Asia was in LCCT, the other airport! Somewhat dismayed, panicked , and annoyed with ourselves, we hurried to the money changer (we didn't have enough Malaysian Ringgits for our taxi ride to the correct airport)...We purchased a ticket for our taxi cab and went our way to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). We were relieved we had plenty of time to spare. I even got some postcards from Books @ LCCT.

Books @ LCCT after finally checking in at Air Asia :)

our Air Asia flight back to Singapore

Oh well, the shots and the brief tour we took in KLIA was very well worth the taxicab fare :) We were just glad we made it in time for our trip back to Singapore.

happy to make it back in Singapore :)

Thank you, Malaysia... It was lovely!