kuala lumpur - singapore day 5 - april 26, 2009

10 April, 2009

Genting Highlands. First thing that came across my mind when I heard the name was the word ‘gamble’. Apparently, it was more than just casino and hotel; some friends told me that I’d, too, find rides like the ones in Dufan and Snow World—an indoor space covered with real snow, indeed something rare in this tropical area of the globe. “Bring your sweater …it’s chilly like Puncak,” they advised.

We took a taxi to KL Sentral, the main terminal of transportation in town, and went straight to the ticket station and purchased Genting Express bus tickets, which sell an economical price of RM 42 (including return ticket and entrance to the available rides). ‘Warung Kita’ was our selected site to have breakfast that morning. Feeling hungry, I ordered for ‘nasi lemak’ and ‘roti canai’ (been my favorite food since I arrived). Turned out they serve a big portion of the ‘nasi’ together with an overwhelming-sized fried chicken. The ‘roti canai’ came in pairs with ‘gulai ayam’. That’s not all…a waitress approached our table and brought ‘bihun goreng’ with (another) fried chicken on top. With a Malayan-and-a-hint-of-Javanese accent, she asked whether or not we ordered for the food. None of us nodded. With tensed expression, she whispered, “Ambil aja…” and pushed the tray to our table. The moment she walked back, we discussed the matter. Rully and Meme agreed that it meant we had to pay for it if we decided to ‘ambil’ the bihun, while Kikay and I agreed that since it’s her fault, we didn’t have to pay a dime for it ‘cause she’d be punished by her boss for taking the wrong order. After a while, she came back and said, “Makan aja…” I confirmed, “For free…?” She nodded nervously. If that wasn’t enough, we asked if she could wrap it for take-away. She came back with a transparent box and a plastic bag, and said, “Bungkus sendiri yaa…” Ah, another blessing…can’t thank enough.

The bus to Genting departed at 12.30, and we arrived an hour later. To reach the amusement park, we had to take a cable car that goes up through hills. Kikay, our travel mate isn’t really into of heights, so hopping on was probably like riding on a rollercoaster for him…and we’re not yet in the amusement park. Well, I get the chills whenever I’m in a tall building, so yeah, Ki…I know the feeling. Hehehe...As excruciating it was, we eventually survived!

We entered the first scene, the indoor amusement park and got a special wrist band as a sign that we’re entitled to enter most of the rides. Similar to Supermal Lippo Karawaci this one; with ferris wheel, small jet coasters, bumper car, mini train and carousel. In this area, we rode on the jet coaster and bumper car. Not bad for ‘warming up’. After that, we carried on outdoor, where the ‘real’ rides are located. The main ride’s called the Flying Coaster; unlike any other rollercoaster, this one is not equipped with seats, but the person’s body itself will be attached on the rail in the position of a flying Superman! I’d go for it if I wouldn’t have to pay extra for it *sigh*. Our first ride was a haunted house called ‘Pirate Train’. I had prepared myself for the worst, but it turned out that my fear was unreasonable. The ghosts looked fake, kindergarten stuff lah (I don’t understand why Rully closed his eyes from the beginning to the end…hahaha…) Our second ride was the Super Toboggan, sled-ride on a track that goes downhill. I thought I’ve seen these kinds of rides in ‘Extreme Sport’, and have always wanted to give it a shot. My dream came true…even though I had to drag Meme to have a go—she was worried because the track didn’t look safe. It did seem ‘tricky’ because the track itself is not like a roller coaster ride, instead it’s like spiral slides in swimming pools. But anyhow, we pulled it off…it was great! Kikay waited the whole time because he was unwell. His body temperature was high, and he looked pale and poorly wound up, so he just waited indoor. Sorry there, mate.

Like a sugar-high kid, I continued my quest for another adrenaline-pumping ride, and discovered ‘Space Shot’; the shape is like a tall and gigantic tube tower on which passengers are seated individually around it with feet flying on air. Then we’re raised up and up…so high ‘til we could see the ‘First World’ building way below us. Suddenly, we were fallen down as if the machine broke down….I swear I can feel my heart popped out at that time…unexpectedly, it stopped and almost threw us off our seats if it weren’t for the safety locks that held us. It happened so fast that we trembled badly when we got off, even got laughed at by a bunch of Indian people…in contrast with our happy, silly faces before getting on board, then all pale and shaky. When I watched them laugh, I couldn’t help myself to laugh too…it was hilarious indeed. Every time I think about the moment when I was up there, I’d giggle my heart out. Though my friends may not think the same, as they kept on saying, “I can’t believe you talked me into this!”

Afterwards, we wanted to go for go-kart, but unfortunately it rained. So we all went back to indoor and reunited with Kikay. After experiencing all those rides, we agreed to recharge our energy in the food court. Then, we all headed to a store called Padini, which sells Vincci and some other Malaysian brands. Each of us, except for Rully, walked out from the store with a shopping bag. Due to limited time, our plan to visit Snow World, had to be cancelled. We had to check departure location of our 9.30 pm bus. When we finally arrived there, 45 minutes before time, we were told by the ticketing lady that the bus has arrived and we needed to find a bus with a certain number—she wrote the number on  a piece of paper. There were around 50 buses there, and we couldn’t find the bus with the specific number given. When we finally did find it, we were welcomed with hostile greeting from the bus driver. We were sitting on a bench in front of the bus, me, Meme, and Kikay. Were trying to get a good angle for our picture, we put our feet up the bench while Rully stood across us with camera on. The bus driver, sat across our bench with a middle aged lady, also a passenger of the bus. Abruptly, he asked Rully, “Where do you come from?” After he found out that we’re from Indonesia, his facial expression changed harsh and he said words that’s considerably rude to be said to somewhat tourists like us. “Look at your friends, they’re sitting with their shoes on the bench…don’t you know that the bench is used for many people? Haven’t you been taught any manners?!?” Rully tried to explain, but he kept on blabbing even louder. To worsen the situation, he badmouthed more about us to the lady sitting next to him. If HE had MANNERS, he would have talked at us nicely and politely, wouldn’t he? It’s such a misfortune that a country so advanced must bear with such uncivilized bus driver in one of its most widely-known tourist sites. >>later on, however, I realized that it was in fact our fault. It's nothing to do with racism. It's a bench, for God sake...for sitting down. It is bad manners to stand on top of a bench with our dirty shoes. Ah, well...back in the days when we were young and foolish :p<<

Once arrived in KL Sentral, we booked a taxi and paid it forward in a counter; as practical as that. We stumbled upon a lady taxi driver, a middle-aged one too. She was friendly and talked a lot about how she’s been to Mangga Dua and all. In the middle of the conversation, suddenly she mentioned, “Saya ada appointment dengan teman saya di Times Square, kami mau nonton midnight. Kalian kan masih muda, masih strong untuk jalan…saya drop kalian di dekat Bukit Bintang saja tidak apa-apa ya?” GUBRAK!!! (we are young, but our strength has been used for so many things today, makcik...) Awww, we’re practically speechless, and simply nodded when she told us to open the door in front of a street sign that says ‘Bukit Bintang’.

We arrived at around 11.00 pm. Kikay went straight to bed, while Meme, Rully, and I planned to take another stroll around BB on our last night in KL. While we were sitting on the pavement and rested our feet, I caught a familiar sight of my neighbor slash junior high-to-college friend who’s also now known as teen pop idol, Aqi. He was on a promo tour with his band. It was exciting that we actually encountered each other during a stroll to nowhere. After chitchat, we moved on with our own companies. Along the way, Rully finally got what he was craving for, chocolate ice cream! I ordered one too, pistachio flavor. Yum! Meme wasn’t allowed to for her endless coughing. Meme got her thing going on, though. She made a request to stop by at a shisha place, where she could enjoy the view of Arabian-looking men. There, all of us had another scoop of two-flavored Turkish ice-cream; vanilla and mix fruit. Hmm, two ice creams in a row…life is good. We closed the evening by taking a visit to Arab Street, where we found a restaurant with a funny name, ‘Restoran Jangan Ketawa’, and also a hearty reunion with Rully’s soul mate, the orange Picanto. As our feet were almost ready to fall apart, we returned back to the hotel and said farewell to the night sky of Malaysia.