2008-09-22T13:46:00.056+08:00

18th - 20th September, 2008
Grrls ROADTRIP - GENTING HIGHLANDS RESORT, MALAYSIA

Me 'n my grrl fren, Yvonne aka The SuperModel took a much deserved 3-day hiatus to the Genting Highlands Resort. I'm a Malaysian but its my first trip up to our own No.1 holiday resort (sheepish!) while Yvonne is a Singaporean but not her first time. Abit paiseh about it but anyway, off we go!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is our destination, I hope the place is as magical as it looks in the pic.

DAY 1

Our escapade begins at Bukit Timah Plaza which is the boarding point for the air-con coach to Genting. Although its quite near my home, I overslept and just made it in time. My grrfren is as usual early and smugly waiting for me. The coach is operated by a company called WTS Travel which we chose cos we were told they were the more atas one among the Genting coach operators. Eh... maybe too atas cos the coach's name is C.E.O. Gold Cruiser.... I don't think I'm a CEO yet (or ever wil be!).

Waliao, we board the coach and see mostly aunties and uncles. The driver told us this is normal during the weekdays and there are more young people in the weekends. Already so young, makes us feel even younger. hee. Yvonne thinks all of them must be heading for the casino.... oh, and someone is still too young to enter the casino still but it ain't me!

Here we are primed and ready for our road trip. Guess which is me and which is the Supermodel? I think can't tell lah cos both oso so cute! This girl ah, didn't tell me she wearing satin top also, now we look like getai singers together.

Before u can say geronimo, our dear supermodel drew the shades, put the seat back and is already knocked out in dreamland within 1 hour of the coach trip! Notice her tai-tai-ish bag......

And the tai-tai immaculately painted toenails and those fashionista shoes set so daintily on the foot rest. Buay tahan ah, no wonder everyone call her the supermodel. By the way, those foot rests are a godsend for vertically challenged ppl like me!

The journey is like 6 hours long, but they did pull off at Yong Peng for us to have breakfast. We slept through the rest of the journey on the North-South highway which is so straight and well-maintained and only woke up when the coach begins the uphill climb up Genting Highlands. You get to see lots and lots of palm tree plantations especially on the Johor stretch.

And these are rubber trees if I recall correctly from my childhood Skudai days .

It soon started raining after the coach crossed from Johor into Malacca state and it signals a good time for me to catch 40 winks and join Yvonne in dreamland!

I woke up when the coach started its uphill climb to Genting Highlands....which meant I missed the Batu Caves that I wanted to see..hmph!!!!!! I was quite amazed at how one can build the road leading up to the mountain top where the resort is located. The roads are very winding as you can see but are wide and safe. I was told many years ago it was single lane each way and very narrow. It started to get foggy and cooler as we go higher. Gives you a feeling that you're not in Malaysia anyone but some country in the middle of the cool autumn season.

You can see in the pic how wide the roads are now going up to Genting Highlands. The driver tells us the resort has 20 million visitors last year....wah, that's even more than the tourist arrivals in Singapore.

At the 4,600 ft level, we passed by the Chin Swee Temple with its distinctive 9-storey pagoda

Our dear Supermodel Yvonne begins prepping herself up just before we were to arrive at the resort. Wah, see....not a hair out of place and u can't even tell she was snoring 1 hour ago ah. Can't stand her!

And finally we reached Genting Highlands! The 6-hour plus journey seemed to be over in a flash but maybe because we're so preoccupied with the video-on-demand movies and games in between our beauty sleep on the plush seats. Brrrrr.....its pretty cold up there!! We are staying at the Resort Hotel, which is listed as a 4 star hotel but is much much better than i expected =x . Yvonne say the last time she visited Genting, she had stayed at the Highlands Hotel but the hotel staff told us its now converted to a 5-star level for the high-rolling casino customers together with another hotel, the Genting Hotel. She told us there is an even more exclusive "St Regis" style accomodation built within Genting Hotel called Maxims Suite.... waaa, when can I ever afford that. Check in was a breeze and we were quickly on our way to our room....

We were told the whole hotel is newly renovated from the rooms to even the corridors and lift lobby...

This is our Deluxe Room! Very avante garde yah! I chiong in first and took the bed next to the window before slowcoach Yvonne had any chance.

Ms Tay digging gold from her bag! haha

A random shot of the view from our hotel room. Only 1 word to describe....breathtaking!!! I can sit at the window ledge and stare out and space all day........

Wat I really, really love most about our room is the TOILET!!! Very classy lah. See the nice bowl-sink....

But the best is really the shower stall........ overhead shower head !!!!!!!!!!!!!

So cool...and kinky too except too bad my roommate is only Yvonne. Hiaz.

Then we got changed and went for our lunch at the Coffee Terrace! It's an open kitchen concept restaurant which serves international buffet for Breakfast, lunch, dinner and even supper! Basically, the food that they served can be found in Singapore as well, and the standard is actually comparable to those in Singapore! Really reminds of The Line at Shangri-La except the buffet spread here is much much more.
The grand entrance to the restaurant

A marked Oriental style interior decor...

....yet blended with a very avante garde modernistic open kitchen
concept with wide variety of cuisine like Nyonya, western, Indian, Chinese etc.
There are many items that are only prepared and cooked on the spot upon

There is a good variety of Indian dishes as Genting Highlands has became a very popular tourist destination for Indian nationals over the last few years as more middle class Indians emerge and travel on holidays.

THE DESSERT BAR .... stocked with both local and western desserts.... goodbye to size 3, hiaz.

Japanese food galore! ....wide variety of colorful sushi

The gastronomic smogasbord that we pounced on, yes, it's for 2 persons only ... but we're 2 young and ravenous maidens

The two chefs.. the one on the left is very friendly. When i asked if i can take a picture of him, he simply replied, "Sure. You're not the first person to ask." Then he happily did a thumbs-up for me to take a shot of him. After that, he even ask if i took a good shot and wanted me to show him.. haha..

The desserts. All of them taste good, but the brulle-type stuff on the extreme left was a little too sweet for my likings. Yvonne though is the one with the sweet tooth.

See the green dessert I'm eating? It's called the Mint Mousse! Quite addictive!

Can you see the contentment in our faces??! So sweet right? We decided to take this shot first before we stuff ourselves with all the food else our faces might look abit more puffy at the end. hee

As compared to local buffets, this is actually value for money, which cost about RM50 per person after GST etc. All of you should try this restaurant when you go Genting Highlands!!! Rating for this restaurant as follows:

Food: 4.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5

After that, we visited the M Spa & Fitness located near the Genting Hotel lobby!! The spa manager was nice enough to bring us around the centre for a look-see.

This is the area where the customers soak and wash their feet before the treatments.

The M Spa Gym Room. It has a panoramic view of the First World Hotel and the Outdoor Theme Park! The First World Hotel looks so colourful from the outside with the rainbow coloured facade and the spa manager told us its a 3-star accomodation and has over 6,000 rooms!

The Couple treatment room. Next time i can bring (one of my) my boyfriend(s) here.. then my cost will be covered...haha

The jacuzzi bath. I think my photography skills does not do justice to the ambience...sorie.

This is some kind of oxygenated bath chamber ala Michael Jackson..... Beat It! Beat It! whoooooooooooo-oooo. The Gloved-One will surely love it!

The general spa pool area.. again sorry for my photography skills or the lack of it actually.

Mirrored walkway..... very useful for Supermodel.... you can see how delighted she is!

That's us!

Next, we head for Snow World! It's something like Snow City in Singapore, with sub-zero temperatures! Before we even stepped into Snow World, we can feel the coldness..
Me all Geared up!

We're keeping each other warm... a money shot for the tabloids (if we have been famous) haha

There a photographer who helped people take souvenir pictures. Check out our 'winter' photos...its all so...Christmassy!

Us at the igloo. Makes me recall my boss telling me I have to learn to be able to sell ice to Eskimos! I'd probably more likely be eaten by a polar bear first

It's not easy to smile for the camera when you're experiencing extreme cold! But we stil manage to do it.. Notice how Yvonne is always tilting her head for the camera, its in her model genes ...haha

Up on the slides. Wanna play together with us?? ;)

The slide was so fun! We look like kids in this picture. I always win the slide race against Yvonne because of my greater 'gravatitional pull'.

...and hereeeeeeeeeee comes the looooooser.....

Well, that's its for Snow World...... we left none the worse having experienced a little bit of Greenland and slightly sore bottoms. Wish my BF was here to rub it for me....

After Snow World, we went to First World Plaza and took the Rio Float, which is a family ride. Good time for us to rest our butts after all the activity in Snow World.

Yvonne is glowing after our climatic experience. Wah, if someone jump into the blog right away here and read this, then maybe can be abit misinterpreted!

Me !(i think this photoshot does me the best justice!) If anyone wish to start a fan club for me.....

The both of us. Picture postcard perfect right??

This is our good friend, Carol. So sweet and doe-eyed. When you put all three of us together, we probably can audition for Charlie's Angels. I will introduce you to "Bosley" later. Read on!

This is First World Plaza located at First World Hotel complex. Its an Indoor Theme Park cum retail mall.

The Eiffel Tower, one of many famous replicas in the First World Plaza. There's also Petronas Twin Towers and many others.

Ripley's Believe it or Not, based on the popular tv series is located on the 2nd floor of First World Plaza. Well, believe it or not, we didn't manage to go in because the place was under maintenance during our trip there. (pun intended!)

And Starbucks!!! Haha, all the way up here 6,800 ft above ground! Carol told us there's also 2 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlets here and I also saw McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Wendy's ... omigod Genting is a fast-foodie's wet dream!

I made a bee-run for the Bumper Car ride, one of the Indoor Theme Park attractions! (this is the closest I'm getting to driving a car!) I played alone cos Yvonne doesn't want or don't dare to play as she was afraid it would damage her coiffure...beri rooty-tooty lah. Haha! It was pretty fun playing (spell 'bullying') with the kids, but one of them was very very agressive! Towards the end of the ride, I was given a real banging! (eh...maybe I should rephrase that)

Danica Patrick, eat your heart out!

This was the kid who whopped me. Future triad leader I think. Very "Lewis Hamilton" in style, knocking all competitors out of the way.

After that we walked around the plaza then went back to our hotel room to rest and to keep our shopping stash. We brought 3 pairs of heels/sandals each to use for each of the 3 days we will be here! No Manolo lah, but functional and cheeep.

Dinner time at Ristorante Torcello's, an Italian joint located within the First World Plaza. The food is ok and the ambience is great. Torcello's is set amidst a Venetian scene complete with the canal and gondolas. (but this gondolier can't talk to you, GRIN)

Ze Starters.. Cream ole Chicken, with 2 buns (warm like I prefer) and a side salad.

and Ze Entree, grilled ala chicken with speciale BBQ sauce.... one word... EXCELLENSIMO!

Here's us before we dug into our dinner. A toast to Torcello's!(left hand side one prettier hoh?)

Ok, let me rate Torcello's.

Food: 3/5
Ambience: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5

After that we went to catch the international show, Dreamz, currently playing the Genting Pavilion. Catch it fast if you haven't as I heard the run will end on Dec 31 this year. This show is completely original and an in-house production by Genting.

The show was very entertaining! It's like a multi-entertainment show with singing, dancing, magic performances, acrobatics and it also features the white lion, the first time in South-east Asia. Here's a video clip of the show pulled off YouTube.

Audience can actually take pictures with the white lion for a fee but Yvonne and I didn't manage to because the queue was too long but we did steal a quick pic with my camera phone.

After the show, we visited backstage with Bosley's help and Yvonne tried on some of the show costumes to see how she looks in them...

Following the impromptu fashion parade by Yvonne, we decided to head back to the hotel and rest for a bit before heading out again for our midnight activity..... a invite by "Bosley" to us "Angels" for karaoke session at the Be-A-Star Karaoke Lounge situated on the mezzanine of the Genting Hotel.... I'm quite a songbird so Karaoke is my favorite pastime... let the songs begin! This is the entrance to the karaoke lounge, it pretty 70's psychedel--ish.

Once upon a time there were 3 little girls.... and an angel wannabe (in serious glasses)

and introducing...Bosley. Actually, he asked if he can be Charlie but then we would have to cut his head off the picture to maintain the Charlie mystery man image. But he says his face is his best asset so nothing doing. His left hand is hidden from view though...hmmm

"Angel" Carol and the wannabe. Carol is flexing her lips here in exercise to prepare to belt out the next song.

"Angel" Yvonne & Joyce doing a duet while Bosley looks on. The jug of beer in the foreground is only for Bosley alone.

Its 1am now and "Angel" Yvonne is still preening even when singing...... guess who's getting all of Bosley's attention?

We sang till like 2am! It's cheap as compared to the KTV in Singapore like K-Box and the service, sound system is way better than what we have in Singapore.

Check out Bosley and his beet red face, he's into his 2nd jug of beer now. Time: 2am.

Day 2

We returned to the room and only slept about 3am and by 10am the next morning, we are already hitting the Outdoor Theme Park! It's actually best to go to the theme park in the morning because there are less clouds hence better visibility. The theme park has 4 different type of rollercoaster rides...whew! Here's us starting at a more sedentary ride first called The Spinner.

Then we headed to Corkscrew! This is one of the best rides!

Me here waiting for the green light for Fun Kart. Not as fun as i thought and Yvonne dun wanna play.

The Pirate ship! I managed to take pictures of Yvonne haha

Lots of people queuing for this Cyclone rollercoaster ride.. not for the pukey type hor

The Flying Coaster... another rollercoaster ride but we didn't manage to get on as it was under maintenance that day.

This is my favorite ride .. THE SPACE SHOT! Don't do this on a full stomach!

At the top of the ride, you get a very good visage of the entire Genting Highlands where you realise how high above the clouds the resort actually is.

On the drop, you'll feel your tushie lift off the seat! Recommended for those who is looking for maximum adrenalin rush!

OK, now that we are done with the thrills, its a good time to fill our tummies so off to lunch at First World Plaza where we were spoilt for choice on what to eat as there are dozens of restaurants and eateries to choose from. We finally decided on Hainan Kitchen and the ubiquitous Hainanese chicken rice.

We were told First World Plaza is always bustling all through the year and all the makan places too... look at the Hainan Kitchen crowd

Then we went shopping at First World Plaza. There are 3 levels of retail shops here with many familiar mall brands. The prices here are actually quite competitive and of course the strength of the Sing$ to the Ringgit really helps!

Fortunately, I remember to bring along my WorldCard which allows me to earn points and enjoy discounts at many of the shops here.

Yvonne trying on some cool heels

and moi too...

the SEED store, hard to find in Singapore nowadays...

We were thinking of taking a ride on the Genting Skyway cable car which is Southeast Asia's longest but I chickened out at the last minute as there was quite a strong wind blowing and it looks as if the cable cars were swaying a little as the moved.

The attendant assured us its very safe and that the Skyway has a 100% accident free record but I decide to give it a pass. Yvonne tot I was xiao after having insisted taking every thrill ride in the theme park earlier today.

So it was back to the room we go then for a little breather.

This is us CAM-whoring in our room before dinner....

in the hotel lift...

and again at the hotel lobby...

Dinner tonite is at the Genting Palace Restaurant which has a Cantonese cuisine menu. Fairly pricey in RM terms but the food tastes great and even greater is that Bosley reappears to foot the bill! Ah... the privileges of having Yvonne around :)

Look at our dining spread...

and for Dessert..

Yvonne went with the herbal jelly with longan

I did the ah bo-ling.

Genting Palace restaurant rating

Food: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 4.5/5It's

After a satisfying dessert of ah-boling, we, of course, have to go for ...ah...BOWLING!!! As long as Bosley's wallet is still in play, we decided to capitalize on it!

The Genting Bowl is a 28-lane alley located at the 3rd level of the Firt World Plaza.

This is me on my approach

And the release... oops no one reminded me mini-skirt and bowling don't really go together.

I think the ball is a little off-centre...the only reason why it went into the gutter. Oh wow, why is everyone looking at me?? Cos of my gutter ball or my peekaboo show... hmmmm... lucky I'm an exhibitionist!

Wha-say, Yvonne throwing a hook ball man!

The final score...

Me looking none the worse after the bowling game.

We went back downstairs and had a small snack at Marry Brown (yup, yet another fast food joint) before checking out. Dunno how long don't have this chain in Singapore already.

Aiyah, it all ended too soon... so back to being a "CEO" again on the WTS Travel CEO Gold Cruiser coach. We also saw a Platinum Cruiser parked nearby also from WTS Travel, must try dat next time.

There's a karaoke lounge on the lower deck of the coach. With all the training we had in Genting, we decided to have a go again later when the coach hits the highway.

Here we go on the return 5 hour coach trip back to Singapore

Wah, both of us are so tired as we hardly got any beauty sleep in the last few days up here. So we both agreed to watch a movie and then hit the big snoozer. This personal entertainment system is very similar to the one on SIA flights.

My movie choice, Kung-Fu Panda!

3 hours later.. somewhere along the N-S Highway... Yvonne in slumberland

Back on home soil, Yvonne & I shared a cab and I dropped her off first and came back to the hubbub of good 'ol Jurong West at Jurong Point to grab some chow before going home.

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A Genting Highlands Chic Flix