Thursday, September 25, 2003
While I have the chance Im going to complete my Genting Highlands trip
We were up early - i have no idea why but Megat and Maya were up at about 7.30
They cooked some breakfast - most of what we had the night before - meals here seem less specific to a certain time of day if that makes sense...
We had a wander around the French resort which was as odd as I had imagined the previous day before taking the shuttle bus up to the Japanese Tea Gardens.
Actually "bus" is a little bit strong - it was more like an elongated golf cart - the driver seemed to think he was racing somebody and it was actually a much more exiting ride than the ones in the theme park the previous day - not least because some of the drops are quite a long way down..
Anyway once at the top we found ourselves at the Only Japanese Tea house in a tropical rainforest. I wasnt sure if I was supposed to be impressed or just suprised by this - I guess it must have seemed like an obvious idea at the time.
Its very beautiful though - we walked through the botanical gardens which contained some great stuff - perhaps my favourite was the Miniature Pineapple - which pretty much did what it said on the tin by being a pineapple about 2 inches long.
It was a pretty sweaty walk though - we then wandered a bit further to see the Japanese Tea House itself - and its pond complete with the obligiatory Koy Carp - one of which was absolutley huge.
The ride down the hill was just as interesting as the ride up it - hanging on is definitley recommended.
We stopped off at the final part of this Genting Highlands "French Themed" Resort at the Rabbit Park - which was a small park full of cute little bunny rabbits. Mostly getting chased by kids.
So the resort was certainly different and enjoyable - not on the usual backpackers route either - the hotel we stayed at was positive luxury - especially when I compare it to where I have been staying since.
The weekend was not over though - when Ronnie and his friends go out they believe in having a full day..
We drove back to KLand had a meal in a cafe that served traditional Nyonya cuisine - from the old Straits of Melaka - ill explain more later - maybe - anyway - Rice and various other bits spicy and very nice as usual - and also a different type of Satay - cooked in a different style which I prefered
Round the corner was a traditional Kampung (village) style Malay house which we were able to have a quick look round - quite bizarre as a family still actually lives there - didnt seem to mind us nosing around though and I didnt feel so bad as when we were leaving a busload of Chinese tourists had just turned up
We then went to drop Maya off and went in for a snack - some nice spring rolly type things and deep fried fruit of some sort - they have Mango trees growing in their garden
Ronnie eventually dropped me off at Puduraya bus station ready to catch the bus to Langkawi I had booked a couple of days previous.
I cant help thinking this entry has been less than inspired but there you have it
When I write again I should be in Penang cos im getting the Ferry there tomorrow
Laters
We were up early - i have no idea why but Megat and Maya were up at about 7.30
They cooked some breakfast - most of what we had the night before - meals here seem less specific to a certain time of day if that makes sense...
We had a wander around the French resort which was as odd as I had imagined the previous day before taking the shuttle bus up to the Japanese Tea Gardens.
Actually "bus" is a little bit strong - it was more like an elongated golf cart - the driver seemed to think he was racing somebody and it was actually a much more exiting ride than the ones in the theme park the previous day - not least because some of the drops are quite a long way down..
Anyway once at the top we found ourselves at the Only Japanese Tea house in a tropical rainforest. I wasnt sure if I was supposed to be impressed or just suprised by this - I guess it must have seemed like an obvious idea at the time.
Its very beautiful though - we walked through the botanical gardens which contained some great stuff - perhaps my favourite was the Miniature Pineapple - which pretty much did what it said on the tin by being a pineapple about 2 inches long.
It was a pretty sweaty walk though - we then wandered a bit further to see the Japanese Tea House itself - and its pond complete with the obligiatory Koy Carp - one of which was absolutley huge.
The ride down the hill was just as interesting as the ride up it - hanging on is definitley recommended.
We stopped off at the final part of this Genting Highlands "French Themed" Resort at the Rabbit Park - which was a small park full of cute little bunny rabbits. Mostly getting chased by kids.
So the resort was certainly different and enjoyable - not on the usual backpackers route either - the hotel we stayed at was positive luxury - especially when I compare it to where I have been staying since.
The weekend was not over though - when Ronnie and his friends go out they believe in having a full day..
We drove back to KLand had a meal in a cafe that served traditional Nyonya cuisine - from the old Straits of Melaka - ill explain more later - maybe - anyway - Rice and various other bits spicy and very nice as usual - and also a different type of Satay - cooked in a different style which I prefered
Round the corner was a traditional Kampung (village) style Malay house which we were able to have a quick look round - quite bizarre as a family still actually lives there - didnt seem to mind us nosing around though and I didnt feel so bad as when we were leaving a busload of Chinese tourists had just turned up
We then went to drop Maya off and went in for a snack - some nice spring rolly type things and deep fried fruit of some sort - they have Mango trees growing in their garden
Ronnie eventually dropped me off at Puduraya bus station ready to catch the bus to Langkawi I had booked a couple of days previous.
I cant help thinking this entry has been less than inspired but there you have it
When I write again I should be in Penang cos im getting the Ferry there tomorrow
Laters
Righty ho then
the 20th of September
I may have already mentioned that Ronnie and his friends - and it seems the entire working population here have to work Saturdays except the third Saturday of each month. Since this was the third Saturday he had arranged to go away to a popular resort in the Genting highlands - and I had been invited.
He has been to the resort numerous times - to the extent that he has a loyalty card - as does Maya so it was by no means a novelty although the hotel we were staying at was a new one (i cant help feeling im getting my tenses mixed up here but excuse me - its not as if i write drafts of this stuff its all off the top of my head - oh. you noticed..)
Anyway - we were up pretty early and had to go and pick up Maya, Megat and another of Ronnies friends - Dot
Ronnie had been promising (threatening?) to take me for a traditional Malay breakfast. Now I like spicy food at least as much as most back home - currys as anyone who has lived with me will affirm are my speciality but for breakfast Marmite is usually about as spicy as it gets
Nasi Goreng - or Fried Rice is the staple but you then top it with a selection of various spicy curry type concoctions. Eaten with the hands its a good way to get very messy and woken up early in the morning - i guess the theory goes that if your morning cup of coffee doesnt get those eyes open then a nice green chilli will do just as well
It was actually very nice - and although i wouldnt do it every morning neither would i have a full English and its no more bizarre than the Europeans with their cooked meat and cheese selections (and at least the Malaysians arent obsessed with fruit tea)
So after that we drove up to the Genting Highlands - now they are called that for a reason - I was told they are 6k above sea level but im not entirely convinced by that - they are certainly a long way up though - you can tell by the fog which occasionally drifts across meaning you cant see 3 meters in front of your face.
Its a bizarre resort to be honest - set in the midst of tropical rainforest is a gigantic theme park with exclusive hotels and all manner of shops
To get to the park - where we were not actually staying but we did have a day pass for the Saturday - we parked the car and took the Genting Skyway.
This is the fastest and longest Cable car system in South East Asia (of course)It certainly impressive - a 3.5k ride up over forest (and that fog) which takes maybe half an hour.
Once at the theme park things are slightly less impressive - there are some good things there but the rides seem a little bit tatty - we went on some swingy type thing before I refused to go anywhere near the Corkscrew - im not getting turned upside down by a rollercoaster anywhere let alone here (do you remember what happened to the Monorail?)
Im not good with Rollercoasters anyway but that wasnt happening - i waited with Maya and Dot while Ronnie and Megat went on.
Quite good though cos when the girls went to the bathroom I got chatted up by an Indonesian girl who insisted on having her photo taken with me (admittedly I was among about 4 westerners about all day - and chatted up is a bit strong cos her English wasnt great but I'll take it)
Anyway for lunch I wondered what was happening as Ronnie led us down back corridors first into areas marked "Hotel Guests only" which i thought we could get away with, and then to areas marked "Strictly Staff Only. No Admittance. Tresspassers will be prosecuted" which I was a little more dubious about since although the others might be able to blag it I thought the chances of convincing anyone I worked at the resort were somewhere around Zero.
We were going to the staff canteen.
The reason being that all the restaurants for guests are vastly overpriced - by Malaysian standards and the canteen er wasnt.
Decent Malay grub - Mee Goreng - Fried Noodles - and nobody stopped me!
We went outside to look over a balcony - not much of a view unless fog is your bag and then i was convinced to take off my shoes and socks to do the "pebble walk"
Literally a path of pebbles - walking around it is supposed to be akin to reflexology and improves circulation in the body.
Im not convinced - it hurt though.
Back in the resort we went on a couple more rides - the first ever rollercoaster in Malaysia (Which was a bit like that Lego one in Denmark - only Hannah will know what im talking about but hey)
And the train which took us around the whole site
Other notable attractions we had a look at were the Sky Diving Simulation where you basically jump on top of a giant fan and float for a few minutes, the Snowscape - where you can dress up in outdoor gear and lob snowballs at each other (readers in Scotland will wonder what the fuss is about) and the main hall which included a giant Big Ben, Eiffel Tower and Oscar statue
As I said - a little odd
But it gets odder - we were staying at a resort down the road
It was French Themed.
We drove past the new development which was a large French Castle to our hotel which is based on some sort of French village.
Malays dressed in French costume greeted us (bizarley)
To save money the guys had brought food and cooking stuff so we had a meal of rice and curried sardines and other stuff which was good
There wasnt much going on at night though - we checked out the Amazing Wu or whatever the Magician was called but he was hardly David Blaine (not a Shazam in sight)
So a French resort in the Malaysian highland rainforest - great views - and I think I shall leave it there for the moment
This resort gets more odd though - on the sunday we go to the Japanese Tea gardens
I dont get it either
the 20th of September
I may have already mentioned that Ronnie and his friends - and it seems the entire working population here have to work Saturdays except the third Saturday of each month. Since this was the third Saturday he had arranged to go away to a popular resort in the Genting highlands - and I had been invited.
He has been to the resort numerous times - to the extent that he has a loyalty card - as does Maya so it was by no means a novelty although the hotel we were staying at was a new one (i cant help feeling im getting my tenses mixed up here but excuse me - its not as if i write drafts of this stuff its all off the top of my head - oh. you noticed..)
Anyway - we were up pretty early and had to go and pick up Maya, Megat and another of Ronnies friends - Dot
Ronnie had been promising (threatening?) to take me for a traditional Malay breakfast. Now I like spicy food at least as much as most back home - currys as anyone who has lived with me will affirm are my speciality but for breakfast Marmite is usually about as spicy as it gets
Nasi Goreng - or Fried Rice is the staple but you then top it with a selection of various spicy curry type concoctions. Eaten with the hands its a good way to get very messy and woken up early in the morning - i guess the theory goes that if your morning cup of coffee doesnt get those eyes open then a nice green chilli will do just as well
It was actually very nice - and although i wouldnt do it every morning neither would i have a full English and its no more bizarre than the Europeans with their cooked meat and cheese selections (and at least the Malaysians arent obsessed with fruit tea)
So after that we drove up to the Genting Highlands - now they are called that for a reason - I was told they are 6k above sea level but im not entirely convinced by that - they are certainly a long way up though - you can tell by the fog which occasionally drifts across meaning you cant see 3 meters in front of your face.
Its a bizarre resort to be honest - set in the midst of tropical rainforest is a gigantic theme park with exclusive hotels and all manner of shops
To get to the park - where we were not actually staying but we did have a day pass for the Saturday - we parked the car and took the Genting Skyway.
This is the fastest and longest Cable car system in South East Asia (of course)It certainly impressive - a 3.5k ride up over forest (and that fog) which takes maybe half an hour.
Once at the theme park things are slightly less impressive - there are some good things there but the rides seem a little bit tatty - we went on some swingy type thing before I refused to go anywhere near the Corkscrew - im not getting turned upside down by a rollercoaster anywhere let alone here (do you remember what happened to the Monorail?)
Im not good with Rollercoasters anyway but that wasnt happening - i waited with Maya and Dot while Ronnie and Megat went on.
Quite good though cos when the girls went to the bathroom I got chatted up by an Indonesian girl who insisted on having her photo taken with me (admittedly I was among about 4 westerners about all day - and chatted up is a bit strong cos her English wasnt great but I'll take it)
Anyway for lunch I wondered what was happening as Ronnie led us down back corridors first into areas marked "Hotel Guests only" which i thought we could get away with, and then to areas marked "Strictly Staff Only. No Admittance. Tresspassers will be prosecuted" which I was a little more dubious about since although the others might be able to blag it I thought the chances of convincing anyone I worked at the resort were somewhere around Zero.
We were going to the staff canteen.
The reason being that all the restaurants for guests are vastly overpriced - by Malaysian standards and the canteen er wasnt.
Decent Malay grub - Mee Goreng - Fried Noodles - and nobody stopped me!
We went outside to look over a balcony - not much of a view unless fog is your bag and then i was convinced to take off my shoes and socks to do the "pebble walk"
Literally a path of pebbles - walking around it is supposed to be akin to reflexology and improves circulation in the body.
Im not convinced - it hurt though.
Back in the resort we went on a couple more rides - the first ever rollercoaster in Malaysia (Which was a bit like that Lego one in Denmark - only Hannah will know what im talking about but hey)
And the train which took us around the whole site
Other notable attractions we had a look at were the Sky Diving Simulation where you basically jump on top of a giant fan and float for a few minutes, the Snowscape - where you can dress up in outdoor gear and lob snowballs at each other (readers in Scotland will wonder what the fuss is about) and the main hall which included a giant Big Ben, Eiffel Tower and Oscar statue
As I said - a little odd
But it gets odder - we were staying at a resort down the road
It was French Themed.
We drove past the new development which was a large French Castle to our hotel which is based on some sort of French village.
Malays dressed in French costume greeted us (bizarley)
To save money the guys had brought food and cooking stuff so we had a meal of rice and curried sardines and other stuff which was good
There wasnt much going on at night though - we checked out the Amazing Wu or whatever the Magician was called but he was hardly David Blaine (not a Shazam in sight)
So a French resort in the Malaysian highland rainforest - great views - and I think I shall leave it there for the moment
This resort gets more odd though - on the sunday we go to the Japanese Tea gardens
I dont get it either
