Malaysia, Truly Asia

30th December

We reached KL early at 6.30hrs a.m. local time. Here began the package tour part of the trip, organised by S. And it was a smooth transition from the S’pore part of the holiday that was completely planned by A. The tour chap was there to pick us up at the station and help us check into Corus Hotel. The best feature of the hotel, apart from its 4 star status, is its location – we were bang in the central part of KL and almost opposite to the Petronas – the world renowned twin towers.

We were ahead of their check-in time, so had to make do with one room where we all crashed for a couple of hours until the other room was available. Refreshed, we were ready to hit the roads. Our focus in Malaysia was very clear – shopping and more shopping - with enough time to explore the shopper’s paradise Sungei Wang mall. After a quick stop to Avenue K mall - next door to our hotel, in search of money-changers - and an even quicker cab ride, we arrived at Sungei Wang - the place in KL for discounted shopping, sales, local merchandise and really, the best way to start shopping. Without much ado, we joined the sea of enthusiastic shoppers.

The mall is fairly large, with several sections and floors, filled with many shops, both small and medium, selling their own special niche range of products and a couple of large-format stores like Metro Jaya. Beautiful decorations for Christmas, New Year and also the Chinese New Year created a not inharmonious melange of themes that somehow blended splendidly and added to the festive feel.

We kept shopping right through the afternoon, stopping only for a late lunch – indulging in known sea-food dishes. We had planned to get back to the hotel in time to catch the complimentary daily evening shuttle to the famed Chinatown on Petaling Street at 5.30 p.m. However, being peak office traffic time, finding a cab and navigating through the jams threw our buffer of 15 minutes of getting to the hotel, completely into disarray.

We missed the shuttle! So, we took a cab to Chinatown, eyes all agog at the sights and hearts filled with glee at the prospect of commencing the second wave of shopping. Just as we reached the McDonalds entrance of Chinatown, it began to rain and within minutes, the gentle pitter-patter turned into a downpour. There was some distance to walk before getting into the shelter of the covered market of Chinatown and we were bound to get completely drenched. Just then, we sighted an umbrella vendor, turning up at an opportune moment to please us and his money pouch. Under the cover of 2 umbrellas, our group manoeuvred itself into the safety of the covered street and began shopping in all earnestness.

And we shopped and shopped, from shoes to bags, souvenirs to clothes, it was indeed a treasure trove of inexpensive stuff, very similar to the sprawled bargaining haunts we were used to back in India. We didn’t even stop at the closing time of 10 pm. We landed finally at a sneaker shack with some of the coolest designs of the best brands in the world, never mind the fact that they were all fakes.

What started as a search for a pair of pink Puma shoes for me finally turned into a family shopping event with everyone buying shoes from that particular shop. Notwithstanding the fact that each of us had bought many pairs of shoes earlier in the day! Completely happy with our community initiative, the shop folks were only too glad to make us all sit and take our snaps in very local settings. Finally, with firm resolutions of not shopping anymore there, we headed back to pick up dinner at McD. A cab ride back to the hotel and a quick see-the-shopping-session accompanied by us wolfing down our dinner later, we were completely beat on our first night in Malaysia, yet completely delighted with our haul of goodies. It’s a kind of high that only true shopoholics understand. Needless to say, we crashed to bed.

31st December

It is often said that whatever one does on the first day of the year will be experienced through the year. I’m beginning to believe that the corollary is also true. That whatever one has done through the year will be experienced on the last day of the year. Well, this last day of 2008, we had our share of mini disasters, starting early in the morning.

We started the day with a jolt - a mix-up of dates for the city-tour. The tour operator awoke us early, having organised the transport to take us for the ‘panoramic’ city tour – a totally unsettling feeling! Well, inspite of going over the itinerary with a fine-comb, we being the normal disaster attracting group that we are, had assumed that the city tour was on the 1st. Careful cajoling and negotiation by S managed to push the tour to the next day and we settled in to enjoy a huge breakfast and a lazy lie-in.

Shopping was on our minds and we found ourselves in Sungei Wang again, having used the hotel’s shuttle service to Bukit Bintang [road]. The getting-lost-episode of Singapore was still fresh in the mind. So, in KL, we planned to meet constantly at regular intervals at prominent spots within the mall. We had had mastered the art of shopping to the ‘T’ with this plan. Or so, we thought! At the fag end of our shopping for the day, we managed to again get lost and it was another 45 minutes before we all were united again, amidst flaring tempers and sullen moods.

We headed back to Corus and then to Watsons in Avenue Mall. The famed Suria KLCC mall, below the mighty Petronas towers and interconnected through sub-ways from Avenue mall, was the next stop and with the innumerable New Year discounts available, shopping there [again mainly shoes!] was indeed a treat.

We got back to Corus around 10 pm. After a hot bath and some great dîner à la Malaysienne, courtesy the room service in Corus, we relaxed during the last hour of the year. There were a number of parties in the various restaurants and bars that dotted the lane around our hotel. We went down at 11.45 pm to catch the midnight fireworks display and walked till the Petronas. And it was magnifique!

Nothing I’ve seen on TV comes even close to the spellbinding fireworks we saw as we welcomed the New Year 2009 in. The entire street had a carnival like feel to it – all the buildings were lit up with their dazzling lights, the twin towers completely illuminated and standing oh-so-tall like bastions of the world, thousands of people of all races and nationalities, many people inebriated and others just drunk with elation, dancing, hugging each other, wishing everyone, the ambience deliriously positive...an unbelievable experience...we loved it! Amply satisfied with photographs & videos to remember the occasion, we called it a night.

1st January

The first day of the year and we were ready for the day’s plan of sightseeing. After yet another hearty breakfast, we were in our rooms just awaiting the call from the tour chap regarding the pick-up when I had a mighty fall. I don’t remember too many details of it but there was a good deal of rolling, lunging and hitting myself hard at the hip on the sturdy wooden music station in our room. I screamed in pain and soon found a huge bruise on my upper hit, all red and angry.

After liberal applications of ‘Moove’ [long live our desi med-kit!], the pain eased off a bit but sitting and standing were mammoth affairs accompanied by shooting pain. Finally it was declared to be just a bruise, nothing broken and we soon began assembled near a Malaysian temple opposite Corus to begin the tour. With its charming oriental look and abundant splashes of red, beginning the tour at the temple did seem auspicious.

The tour bus first stopped at the Petronas - the 88-floors-high twin towers that used to be the tallest in the world – just the place for plenty of photos. Beryl’s Chocolate factory [where we met the huge Chinese family of 4 generations who were fascinated by M and insisted on taking 100’s of snaps with her], the Menara KL Tower, Independence Square, the War Memorial, the Batik factory, and the Negara Museum were next on the agenda – we completed the whirlwind tour by 2 pm, our digital cameras having been satisfactorily used at these important locales.

An afternoon free then and lo, shopping emerged as the frontrunner of activities. My bruise began to trouble me, so I decided to relax in the room. Our hotel had some great facilities and from our room, the pool looked so inviting. But with my bruise and need for sleep, it was out of the question. This was our last day in KL and I found myself really wishing we had another 2 days just to relax and enjoy the hotel amenities and luxury.

Finally, even A and M rested in the room while S and B proceeded in all natural progression to their 2nd home in KL – Sungei Wang. I must admit that though I kept pulling their leg about their shopping antics, I would have also joined them without a doubt, had I been bruise-and-pain-free. In the 3 hours that they shopped, they came back with lovely things, having visited an unexplored part of the mall.

Some refreshing chai and again we were off. This time to Tesco. But after folks told us it was outside the city, so we went to Mid-Valley mall. Another huge mall where we spent time at Harvey Nichols and Carrefour to do more shopping. Finally, we called it a ‘shopping-day’ at 10 pm and then picked up dinner and headed back to Corus. An hour later and we had to begin packing. We were checking out the next morning. Destination prochain was Genting Highlands, the mountain resort.

2nd January

The packing went on till early hours of 2nd and a few hours of sleep later, we were rushing to have breakfast. We luckily managed to postpone our Genting pick-up to 9.45 am and that gave us a breather to ease the pace. Checked out and ready, I also managed to call up some friends in KL whom I could not meet on this visit.

Enroute to Genting, we stopped at Batu caves - a limestone hill, which has a series of caves and cave temples. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, dedicated to Lord Murugan. Standing at the foothill of the stairs, it did seem like we were in Little India, wholly permeated with its desi flavours. Indian restaurants are found by the dozen around this site and the aromas of spices and deep frying infuse the air. S & I soon climbed the 275 steps up to the caves to catch a glimpse of what lies beyond. Not finding much artistically thrilling beyond the views from that height, just as our tour chap, Deva warned us, we trudged back.

We also stopped at a watch factory and retail outlet – part of the tour – and proceeded then to Genting. We were to take the cable car called Genting Skyway - the world's fastest and South East Asia's longest cable car while Deva followed in the car along the sloping mountainous route. The cable car ride up to the 6000 ft high resort in Genting Highlands was thrilling with a fantastic view. Genting Highlands is also home to a 100 million year old forest that we viewed from our cable car. We kept ascending at a sharp incline, higher and higher, above the clouds and soon couldn’t see anything beyond a foot.

Genting is a city of entertainment and dedicated to tourism. The highlands are divided into 2 entertainment parks – indoor and outdoor and myriad large hotels - all connected by walk-ways and sub-ways. Much needed given the climate of the area. It was very cold and raining continuously when we arrived at cable car station at the First World Hotel which used to be the world's largest hotel.

We went on to the Genting Highland Hotel where Deva met us and drove us to the Resort Hotel. The paysages were awesome. The only sad thing was that M was feeling unwell with the change in altitude and puked. The check-in process through a unique token system took some time. Queues and queues of guests waiting their turn for check-in seemed out of place in a hotel and more suited to a railway station. However, given the sheer turnaround in the number of guests, it was hardly surprising. We got our rooms on the 14th floor.

Looking out of our 14th floor window, mist enveloped everything and belied the sheer height of our rooms. Our first stop after freshening up was the Indoor Park. With the rain continuing, the outdoor park was not an option and we were hopeful that the weather cleared later or the next day to allow us to enjoy the outdoor park. M was feeling a little better but we certainly didn’t want to take any chances and get wet. Grabbing a quick lunch at McD, we soon entered the park.

From the Statue of Liberty on a bike suspended high above the ground to an elaborate Venetian canal complete with gondolas, the place was alive with lights, sparkles and shimmers, colours and excitement. Decorations galore, we had a roller coaster of a fabulous time – literally! - with the 4-D show, various rides, Rio float, Ripley’s, Venice gondola, Snow World, Baby train, archery zones...We also experimented with Fish Reflexology - something we missed in Sentosa. And gosh, chomp chomp, those fishes really went fast...& the feeling was Yuck! Literally something nibbling on your toes...

We wound up the fun and games at 10 pm and got down to dinner at a Malaysian restaurant in the park. The meal was again authentic Oriental and my pepper chicken hot pot was délicieux. It had become colder by the time we got back to our rooms and we settled into the snugly comfort of our blankets, bidding adieu to a great day.

3rd January

We awoke late, repacked out suitcases to be somewhere close to the 20 kg per head limit for check-in baggage and got down to a good breakfast. Back in our rooms, we sat by the window drinking some hot chai. Soon, the mist cleared and we saw the outdoor park in its entirety from our 14th floor window. There seemed to be some fairly complex rides down there. But later, when we went down to check out the sights, the outdoor park was closed due to bad weather. We roamed around, stopping by to shop at some souvenir shops.

At half past noon, we checked out and settled in at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf restaurant. It was A & S’s anniversary, so it was apt that we indulged in the cakes and goodies available there. At 3.30 pm, our airport pick-up had arrived. Catching up on sleep during the drive, we reached the airport quickly, stopping only at Times Square in KL to pick up another family. More shopping at the airport, this time chocolates, followed along with our farewell dinner at Burger King.

And we were soon on the Malayasian Airlines flight. We reached India at 11.30 p.m. local time. And by 1.30 a.m., we were home and asleep in our cosy-beds, already full of reminiscences and happy thoughts of shopping and Sungei Wang, shoes and the rides, Sentosa and Orchard Street, the twinkling lights and gorgeous Christmas trees...sigh!