Genting Highlands: Getting there, renovations

Genting Highlands is under the same company, Resorts World, as Sentosa in Singapore. Genting used to be a popular destination among locals and tourists because the higher altitude makes the climate much more comfortable. It is breezy and not humid like in Kuala Lumpur. I use the past tense for "used to be popular" because it is undergoing major construction tearing down the outdoor theme park to re-build a new one with 20th Century Fox so tourism has been affected.

Genting Highlands

Getting to Genting Highlands
To get to Genting from Kuala Lumpur (KL), go to KL Sentral station to buy bus tickets. The ticket booth is a bit hard to find. It is on the second level so go up the escalator, turn left and walk straight. The booth should be on your right hand side. The bus takes you to the base of Genting and you have to take either a) a cable car or b) a free shuttle bus to the hotel area. When we went the cable car was down for its monthly maintenance so we bought the bus ticket excluding the cable car price. It cost RM8.60 for roundtrip from KL to Genting.

The ride from KL Sentral to Genting was 50 minutes in a comfortable air-conditioned and clean bus. The shuttle bus up to the hotel took about 20 minutes because it went slowly up the winding road.

KL Sentral; source: www.skyscrapercity.com

What to do at Genting
The old main highlight of Genting was the outdoor theme park but it was already closed and demolished since 2013. We stayed at the First World Hotel which is connected to the Indoor Theme Park. It is one of the largest hotels in the world with over 2000 rooms! The lobby was large with rows of chairs like at a bus terminal. The rooms are small but clean and had everything we needed except WiFi. That was a major downer that there was no WiFi in the room so we had to go to a restaurant to use it.

First World Hotel behind the theme park construction

Since there was no Outdoor Theme Park and it was raining outside (when we went) there were not much options left except to eat, walk around the First World Plaza, bowl, and look at the Indoor Theme Park. We did not go to SnowWorld because it did not interest us since I come from a country that snows. We also didn't go on any Indoor Theme Park rides because they were catered for kids and didn't gamble at the popular Genting Casino just because I don't gamble. But those are all available options.

Indoor Theme Park

There were a lot of dining options from food courts to restaurants at Genting. Prices were higher than in KL but affordable options are available. Bowling was inexpensive (RM3.60 per game during certain time) and pretty fun! First World Plaza is the shopping mall under the First World Hotel but there are only a limited number of shops.

Food places by the First World Plaza

There are shuttle buses that take you to other parts of Genting Highlands like the Chin Swee Temple (didn't go because it was raining) and Awana Hotel. However the shuttle bus times are not very frequent.

Shuttle bus schedule to Chin Swee Temple

Lastly...
Genting Highlands is very affordable to go to from KL now because hotel prices have dropped with the closing of the Outdoor Theme Park and buses are cheap. So it is worthwhile to go to but not for long periods. I was there for one full day and left the next morning. At the end of my full day I already did not know what to do because there is only so much entertainment in the indoor space. As well many things were not organized well at Genting and lacked the efficiency of another Resorts World place, Sentosa, that I was used to.

For example, the shuttle bus down to the base of the highlands to take the bus back to KL does not have a set schedule. When we asked the information desk, their reply was simply that we would have to wait in line, get on the bus, wait until the bus is full for the driver to start the vehicle. This vagueness is horrible for trying to get on the bus towards KL on time because we had already bought our tickets.

In the end we left the hotel 1.5 hours before the scheduled KL bus time to find the shuttle bus queue (which not all staff knew), queue for awhile (many tour groups ahead of us), and make the ride down. Leaving the hotel 1.5 hours beforehand for a normally 20 minute shuttle bus ride only left us with 5 minutes until the KL bus departed! This rushing could have been avoided if there was proper scheduling.

In general going to Genting can still be fun as long as you are aware of their organization problems!

Public bus: Singapore to Johor Bahru (and beyond)

There is a very affordable method to take the public bus from Singapore to Johor Bahru (JB) for a day trip or to the Larkin Bus Terminal for buses to other parts of Malaysia. Bus fares bought in JB to parts of Malaysia are significantly cheaper than bus tickets purchased in Singapore. You can compare private bus company fares using this website (note: I've bought tickets on the site before, very useful).

I will discuss the costs, pros and cons of taking public buses versus private bus at the bottom of the post.

Jump to parts of this post:
Departing Singapore
Crossing the link to JB
Arriving in Malaysia
Larkin Bus Terminal
Cost
Time
Pros and Cons

                                              

Departing Singapore

Take the MRT to Kranji station and follow the crowd out of the exit to where the buses are (it'll be obvious!) Take bus 170 to Woodlands Checkpoint to exit the Singapore border. Bus 170 costs S$0.87 with the EZ-Link card and S$1.50 by cash.

Especially if you're going on a weekend, depart early. I was there at 7:30am and there was already a long queue of about 40 people that was continuously growing. Alight with everybody else at the Woodlands Checkpoint, have your passport ready and exit the Singapore border.

Bus 170; source: busesingapore.blogspot.com

Woodlands checkpoint; source: therealsingapore.com

Crossing the link to JB

Once your passport has been checked, exit the doors to the bus terminal outside. It will be hot and probably crowded. You can look for bus 170 to take you to the Johor Bahru checkpoint to enter the Malaysian border. In my case, I took the CW2 and paid RM2.60 which included the bus fare beyond the JB checkpoint to Larkin Bus Terminal.

Singapore to JB; source: freedomaires.wordpress.com

Arriving in Malaysia

The bus will alight at the Johor Bahru checkpoint and just follow the crowd to have your passport checked again to enter Malaysia. Once that is done, walk down the wide corridor and down an escalator to find the bus terminal. We boarded the CW2 bus again since we already paid for the trip to the Larkin Bus Terminal. You can take other buses (they will be labeled!) to the centre of JB for shopping and the likes.

Johor Bahru checkpoint; source: sg.news.yahoo.com

Larkin Bus Terminal

There will be many private bus companies offering rides to many places in West Malaysia. But popular destinations like Malacca do get sold out quickly! It costs RM20 to bus from JB to Malacca compared to S$21 from Singapore to Malacca. Approximately S$1 = RM 2.6. You can read about my experience taking the bus from Singapore to Malacca here.

Larkin Bus Terminal; source: whattaworld.wordpress.com

Cost

Bus 170 S$0.87 + CW2 RM2.60 (S$1.00) = S$1.87

Time

This trip can vary from 1.5 to 3 hours depending on traffic. My trip took 3 hours because I went on a public holiday.

Pros and Cons

If you're considering going to other parts of Malaysia via Larkin Bus Terminal at JB for the cheaper fares there are some pros and cons. The most evident pro is saving costs but you may be sacrificing or saving time.

The first time I went to Malaysia I took a bus from Singapore to Malacca. The bus dropped us off and picked us up at every checkpoint so we did not have to look for a public bus. It was convenient and we got to sit in an air-conditioned vehicle. However our entire trip from Singapore to Malacca was delayed by 2 hours because a few passengers were held up at the border (possibly due to passport problems?) so all the passengers on the bus had to wait for them. That resulted in arriving in Malacca late and cutting short our sightseeing.

The second time I went to Malaysia I took public transit to JB before buying a ticket to Kuala Lumpur. Cost: Public bus $1.87 + Private bus RM34.30 (S$13) = S$14.87 to travel from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur which is twice the distance of Singapore to Malacca (private bus S$21). 

This second time was a public holiday and very very crowded. At both the Singapore Woodlands checkpoint and the Malaysia Johor Bahru checkpoint we alighted the bus and followed the crowd to get to the checkpoint by foot when the bus was nearby but stuck in traffic. The walks were about 10 minutes but the ability to be mobile because we only took public transit is key. If I had purchased a private bus ticket I would be forced to wait for the vehicle because it would take me beyond the border.

Malaysia 5-Day Itinerary: Day Four and Five

5 Day Itinerary in Malaysia

Read Day 1 here - Malacca
Read Day 2 here - Kuala Lumpur
Read Day 3 here - Cameron Highlands
Read Day 4 and 5 here - Georgetown, Penang

Street art in Penang

Georgetown destinations Day 4 and 5

Day 4

We rode a Unititi Express bus (RM 28) to Penang and it was another mediocre experience. The 8am trip didn't leave until 8:30am because the bus driver didn't arrive to work on time and the bus had the same air conditioning problem as Day 3. Though he did drive fast and we arrived at the Komtar bus terminal by 1pm.

At the Komtar bus terminal there is a stop for the free shuttle bus that took us to Lebuh Geraja where our hostel is. Look for a sign with a big 9 on it.

We stayed at Couji Couzi in a double room with air conditioning and shared bathroom. The room and shower were pretty clean though the sink was not. However, within the first 5 minutes of arriving I got 4 mosquito bites on my leg. In addition, there was a window along the bottom of one wall that had no glass and was only covered by a curtain and wooden shutters with large gaps. Needless to say, that is where the mosquitoes kept entering all night. As well, the not enclosed window made the room noisy because the traffic sound from the street was not filtered at all.

After dropping our things off and armed with a map taken from the hostel, we proceeded to walk around to find street art. Most were located on Armenian street so we walked down that street to find street art while heading in the direction of the clan jetties.

Clan jetties

It was very hot and sunny in Georgetown so it is probably good to have a plan of where you want to walk before heading out. We got pretty tired from "aimless" wandering while looking for the street art without exact directions.

Street Art Slideshow

We took a break at Toh Soon Cafe which I've seen on TV before. It is located in a side alley of Lebuh Campbell. I got a kaya toast and ice Milo. The toast was burnt in fire and not in an electric toaster.

Toh Soon Cafe

In the evening we took the shuttle again to New Lane where there were many food stalls lined up like the night market. I tried a seafood char kway kok (RM 5), a guava juice (RM 2.5) and ais kacang (RM 4).

Day 5

We went back to Toh Soon for brunch because the dim sum place we wanted to go to was closed. Then we walked to the Eastern and Oriental hotel which had a beautiful sea view behind the building.

View behind Eastern and Oriental hotel

We were at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion by 1:30pm for the tour (RM 12). Cheong Fatt Tze is known as the first capitalist of China and was very rich but his mansion was dilapidated until the 1990s when an architect bought it and began repairments. The tour was an hour long and only went to a courtyard and two rooms but I enjoyed it because the tour guide was entertaining. His own mother used to live in the mansion when the 38 rooms were rented out after Cheong Fatt Tze died.

After the tour we walked to the ferry terminal area to see the view and to find more street art. The Brother and Sister on a Swing is my favourite!

Interactive street art

To get to the Penang Airport we took bus 401 in lane 5 at the Komtar bus terminal. It cost RM 2.70 and got us there in exactly an hour. There is no set schedule for the bus so you just have to wait at the terminal for the next one. You can also take 102 and 401E which all come in 20-30 minute intervals.

That's the end of our Malaysia trip!

Read Day 1 here - Malacca
Read Day 2 here - Kuala Lumpur
Read Day 3 here - Cameron Highlands
Read Day 4 and 5 here - Georgetown, Penang

Malaysia 5-Day Itinerary: Day Three

5 Day Itinerary in Malaysia

Read Day 1 here - Malacca
Read Day 2 here - Kuala Lumpur
Read Day 3 here - Cameron Highlands
Read Day 4 and 5 here - Georgetown, Penang

Cameron Highlands tea plantation

Cameron Highlands destinations

Day 3

We went to Pudu Sentral for our 8:30am bus with Unititi Express to Cameron Highlands. Upon first sight of the bus it already made me nervous because on one side was a huge dent that was the size of a bed. The ride had inconsistent air conditioning which meant sometimes it got very warm and other times too cold and the bus was uncleaned. We finally arrived in Cameron Highlands at 12:30pm at the information centre in Tanah Rata.

Our lodging, Orchid Lodge was only a 5 minute walk behind the information centre. The temperature difference from KL was so welcoming since it was around 23 degrees Celsius here. Orchid Lodge was the most comfortable stay during my Malaysia trip. The place was clean, the manager was very hospitable and even the other guests were pleasant. The manager was cleaning parts of the flat at all times of the day when we saw him and he was always open to chat about where to go and what to see in Cameron Highlands. Highly recommend! He's going to open another place soon called Backpacker's Hostel so check that out if you see it on the internet.

It's not convenient to cover distances without a vehicle in CH since there is no public transport system. The manager helped us book a half-day tour (RM 25) and we were on the mini-van in the next hour!

The tour was a mini-van with a driver that took us to a rose centre, a butterfly farm, a honey farm, BOH tea plantation, and Big Red Strawberry Farm. It wasn't a tour where the driver would explain this destination and that, he only drove and answered questions when we had them. The original tour was supposed to go to a Buddhist temple but we wanted to visit the strawberry farm so we switched to that instead.

Rose centre

Absolutely loved the view at the tea plantation. We only had 40 minutes here but I wish that I could just sit and observe for the afternoon.

BOH tea plantation

Big Red Strawberry Farm

I've been to strawberry farms and picked strawberries before so the fruit portion wasn't that special although the display was very neat and cute. What I really wanted to try was the completely strawberry menu that they had! I got a strawberry juice and a strawberry pancake :)

At the end of the tour we requested to be dropped off at the Brinchang night market that was happening that weekend instead of at the hotel. The space between the stalls were crowded with people and there was a lot of food, produce, and souvenirs sold. I tried apam betal for the first time and loved it. We also bought back murtabak and goreng satong to eat at the lodge. The 6 minute taxi ride from Brinchang to Tanah Rata cost RM 10 though the manager told us it would probably cost RM 6-7.

End of Day 3!

Read Day 1 here - Malacca
Read Day 2 here - Kuala Lumpur
Read Day 3 here - Cameron Highlands
Read Day 4 and 5 here - Georgetown, Penang

Malaysia 5-Day Itinerary: Day Two

5 Day Itinerary in Malaysia

Read Day 1 here - Malacca
Read Day 2 here - Kuala Lumpur
Read Day 3 here - Cameron Highlands
Read Day 4 and 5 here - Georgetown, Penang

View from stairs at Batu Caves

KL destinations

Day 2

To catch our 8am bus from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur we had to take a taxi from the hostel to Malacca Central bus terminal which was about 15 minutes and cost RM25 since it was a weekend.

We took Delima bus (RM 10) again and it was very punctual. We left on the dot at 8am and arrived at B'spadu Selatan bus terminal in KL at 10am. We took the LRT from Bandar Tasik Selatan station to Plaza Rakyat station and walked a short distance to Puduraya Sentral. 

Pudu Sentral

It was a bit overwhelming because staff of bus companies would stand in the lobby hassling you to buy a bus ticket from them. You will constantly hear, "Where do you want to go?" shouted at you. Anywho we got our bus tickets (RM 35) from Unititi Express on the second floor to Cameron Highlands the next morning. Don't recommend this bus company though, more on this in Day 3.

Our hostel, Irsia BnB, was conveniently located near Imbi Station. When you alight, walk towards the large hotel and on the street behind the hotel will be the hostel. We got a double room, no air conditioning, and shared bathroom for RM 70. It was okay clean but I did find some ants crawling over my water bottle and things.

Since we were only here for a day we didn't buy a MyRapid pass that locals use to tap for transit. But not all the train lines are owned by the same company hence the pass wouldn't work on all. It was still convenient to pay by cash since we weren't on the train at rush hour. 

We took the train to KL Sentral station then switched to the KTM Komuter line towards Batu Caves (RM 2). The journey took about 40 minutes and the train was empty, new, and nicely air conditioned.

Train to Batu Caves

There were a lot of tourists at Batu Caves but not too many on the 272 stairs that led up to the temple. The steps aren't very wide and the incline is slightly steep so if you have bigger feet it might be harder to keep your balance.

Batu Caves

We made it to the top in about 20 minutes with a detour in the middle to see the wild monkeys at the entrance of a cave on the left. You won't miss the cave because during the hot walk up there will be a sudden drop in temperature emitted from the dark cave.

Temple

Inside the cave

 The walk down was more nervewracking due to the height but nothing unmanageable. We were glad to sit in the train with air conditioning after walking in the sun. We took it to Kuala Lumpur Station and walked to Petaling Street which is Chinatown and then to Central Market. The indoor portion of the Market sells many souvenir goods and has a food court and individual coffee shops.

Finally we took the train to KLCC station to see the Petronas Twin Towers. Exiting the station led us to a huge mall located right under the towers. We just had to leave the mall and look up to see.

I liked both views of the tower and it was good that we went to KLCC in the late afternoon so we didn't have to wait too long before the sun set to see the night view as well.

Jinyee, a local in KL, showed us an air conditioned walkway that took us from the convention centre at KLCC to Bukit Bintang where there was a vibrant night scene with malls, bars, and restaurants. It's more convenient than switching train lines and the walk allowed us to see more of the city.

End of Day 2!

Read Day 1 here - Malacca
Read Day 2 here - Kuala Lumpur
Read Day 3 here - Cameron Highlands
Read Day 4 and 5 here - Georgetown, Penang

Malaysia 5-Day Itinerary: Day One

5 Day Itinerary in Malaysia

Read Day 1 here - Malacca
Read Day 2 here - Kuala Lumpur
Read Day 3 here - Cameron Highlands
Read Day 4 and 5 here - Georgetown, Penang

Overall trip destinations: Malacca, KL, Cameron Highlands, Penang

Malacca destinations

Day 1

Over 5 days, my travelling buddy, Brittney and I visited 4 places in Malaysia over 5 days. Although we only stayed a short period in each place, we had a jam-packed schedule and covered a lot of distance.

The first day we took a bus from Singapore to Malacca. We booked our ticket for SGD$21 via this website and went to City Plaza near Paya Lebar MRT where the bus company, Delima is located. This website is useful for checking bus schedules and costs. All the costs were correct except one leg from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur which was cheaper at the ticket stall but only by a few ringgits.

Our bus was scheduled for 8:30am but didn't depart until about 15 minutes later. The seats were large and comfortable but remember to bring a jacket because the air conditioning gets very cold.

It took about an hour before the bus reached the Singapore-Malaysia border. We all alighted to go through departure to exit Singapore borders then got back on the bus. But one group had trouble at the border and the entire bus waited for more than an hour for them. When everyone was back, the drive went ahead for less than 10 minutes to enter the Malaysian border. This time we had to bring all our luggage with us to go through the scanners.

Again we had to wait for a late group which greatly delayed the overall timing of our trip. A bus ride from Singapore to Malacca should be around 3-4 hours. Although we left City Plaza at 8:40am we didn't get to Malacca Central until 2:00pm! There was one snack and washroom stop in between.

Once we arrived at the Malacca Central bus station, we bought the bus ticket for tomorrow morning to Kuala Lumpur (RM 10). At the bus station, we took the public bus 17 to Dutch Square (RM 1.5). It was convenient and took us directly to the tourist area without having to pay for the taxi which would cost at least RM 20.

We stayed at Karim CT Guest House which was a short walk from Dutch Square but felt slightly long because the sun was strong. Our double room with air conditioning and shared bathroom cost RM 65. It was very simple with two beds, two towels, a small mirror and a small cabinet but it was clean and there was air conditioning so we were comfortable. The washroom was also clean.

After putting our things down we went to explore the tourist area but the museum I wanted to go to was already closed! If the bus wasn't so delayed we would've made it.

Nonetheless it was still nice to walk around and take in the sights. The extravagant rickshaws were a sight on its own! Upbeat music is played as the cyclists take tourists around the city.

There was a lot of food and small boutiques on Jonker Street. Most of the tourists seemed to be concentrated here. Since it was a weekend, there was a night market on Jonker Street and I noticed that some vendors were the same as the ones from the shops in the daytime.

Be sure to check out the Malacca River by day and by night. It is next to Jonker Street and across from Dutch Square so you will probably be in the area if you're sightseeing anyways. There are nice coffee shops facing the water to take a breather from the sunny rays.

Not only does the river transform at night but so do the rickshaws! As Brittney said, it was like a party of rickshaws with the lights and music!

End of Day 1!

Read Day 1 here - Malacca
Read Day 2 here - Kuala Lumpur
Read Day 3 here - Cameron Highlands
Read Day 4 and 5 here - Georgetown, Penang