5] A Nice Welcome to Malaysia

5] A Nice Welcome to Malaysia

We were so much impressed by Singapore that we reluctant to leave. We had to as was time to go to Malayasia.  We checked out of Hotel Boss, Singapore  exactly at 7 am to catch our 9.55 flight to Kuala Lumpur.  Despite having to get one of our bags bubble-packed (we had received that bag in a damaged condition at Changi, Singapore. We do not how and when it got damaged- at Mumbai air port or at Kualalumpur. But that's another story), we did reach at terminal 2 well before time. Why not have some photos at the airport?

 Then my wife had this bright idea. To shoot the decor at the entrance.

Why not a video shoot!

 However, the flight MH604 was late, delayed would be an under -statement. As the luck would have it, the terminal 2 was split into sections A & B, entrances to both the gates being side by side. ‘A’ for Kuala Lumpur and terminal ‘B’ for Hong Kong flight. Boarding for our flight had started at 11 am. "First the business class passengers", was the announcement. It was being repeated. May be third or fourth time -"Business Class". I felt something was odd. How long it was taking, I thought. So I went and asked. "Business Class, I said", the lady at the counter, shouted almost curtly at me. So I went back and sat in a seat. Then came a gentleman looking for me. "Mr. Vinay Trilokekar," he was calling. I stood up and raised my hand. "Oh, we are waiting for you, sir." I narrated the whole story to him. He said something to that lady and apologized to me and took us like some VIPs leading us right into to the plane.

We reached Kaula Lumpur 12.30 pm, an hour and half behind schedule. A man with a placard which read

'Welcome to Malasia

Mr. & Mrs. Trilokekar

Mr. & Mrs. Patel'

He met us and took us to the waiting car and went back, may be to get the other couple.The driver, Sherry, was  a nice guy and quite informative. Soon the other couple joined in.  It was to take us to the cable car station. On the way, we covered Batu Caves, did some photo shoot and had veg. lunch there and then proceeded for our cable car ride. (It was only a one way ride for us.)

 Batu Caves, which is around 400 million year old limestone hill, takes its name the river Sungai Batu, which flows past the hill. The hill has a series of caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, they say, and is dedicated to Lord Murugan or Subramaniyam or Karthikeya (Kartik swami, as we Maharashtrians call).  It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia and it is referred to  as the tenth cave or hill or holy shrine for Lord Karthikeya. There are nine other such important holy shrines, six being in India and three in Malayasia as Kallumalai Temple in Ipoh, Tanneermalai Temple in Penang and Sannasimalai Temple in Malacca. Some of the cave entrances were used as shelters by the indigenous Temuan people (a tribe of Orang Asli). As early as 1860, Chinese settlers began excavating guano for fertilising their vegetable patches. However, they became famous only after the limestone hills were recorded by colonial authorities including Daly and Syers as well as American Naturalist, William Hornaday in 1878. Batu Caves was promoted as a place of worship by K. Thamboosamy Pillai, an Indian trader. He was inspired to dedicate a temple to Lord Murugan within the caves. In 1890, Pillai, who also founded the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur, installed the huge statue of 140 ft. tall of Sri Murugan Swami in what is today known as the Temple Cave. Since 1892, the Thaipusam festival in the Tamil month of Thai (which falls in late January/early February) is celebrated here. Wooden steps up to the Temple Cave, built in 1920, have since been replaced by 272 concrete steps. Of the various cave temples that comprise the site, the largest and best known is the Temple Cave, so named because it houses several Hindu shrines beneath its high vaulted ceiling. Rising almost 100 m above the ground, the Batu Caves temple complex consists of three main caves and a few smaller ones. The biggest, referred to as Cathedral Cave or Temple Cave, has a very high ceiling and features ornate Hindu shrines. To reach it, visitors must climb a steep flight of 272 steps. And it was simply beyond me to climb these 272 steps. So I just shot these photos:

 At the base of the hill are two more cave temples, Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave, both of which are full of Hindu statues and paintings. This complex was renovated and opened as the Cave Villa in 2008. Many of the shrines relate the story of Lord Murugan's victory over the demon Soorapadman. An audio tour is available to visitors. 

We came out, we just had our lunch in one of the restaurants there (all were serving only vegetarian food), when I spotted this vendor selling those fleshy pods ( फणसाचे गर, as we call them in Marathi ), the sweet edible parts of jack-fruits. They looked quite tempting – richly orangish- yellow and big 3 inches in length and quite thick too, and had the typical intense fragrance. In fact it was the sweet fragrance that drew my attention.  We bought them. For three ringgits we got plenty of those pods. They had reached the peak of their ripeness. We started devouring them. Hmm! Lovely! One, two… ten, all the ten I ate, were juicy, sugary and fleshy! My wife too must have eaten as many. The vendor was local, but spoke good English and some south Indian language, must be Malayalam. He was very informative. He was the one he told me about Batu Cave, Murugan (not all of it – some of it I got online) and jackfruits. “Sir, are you Indian? From the north? Jack-fruits are common in the South India, aren’t they?” He wasn’t waiting for my answers. “Here in Malaysia we call them nangka. Rich in vitamins A, B, C, and many more. Perhaps, all… How many vitamins in all, sir? If there are A to Z, all will be there in our nangka. Lots of minerals too – calcim (calcium) – good for bones, potasim (potassium) and iran (iron) for blood. Both of us had enough of these delicious pods and yet there were at least eight still remaining. We got them packed along with the seeds.  

 " चलो साहब, निकलें ?" Sherry asked. " अब हमें गोहटॉन्ग जया जाणा है - वहाँ आपको जेंटिंग स्कायव्हे केबल कारमें बिठाएंगेल l आधे घंटे में l " " शेर्री, आप पंजाबसे हो क्या?" "हाँजी, इसलिए ये पंजाबी गाना लगायियो l  मारे पास मराठी गाणा  तो नाही हो  ना इंग्लिश! और आप कहाँसे हो ? इंडियन हो ना? यू फ्रॉम व्हेर ?" he was asking the couple sitting behind in our couch, they too were picked up from the air port. " We are Patels, Gujaratis from England. This our first visit over here," said the man.This was the first time I heard him speak. Through out the drive both of them had remained silent and kept to themselves.  

We had reached the lower Genting Skyway station at Gohtong Jaya, which is 51 Km from Kuala Lumpur, so would take one about an hour's drive to reach here from the air port. It was a 5- storey station building. We had got the cable car cabin or the gondola just for the four of us, the Patel couple and two of us, though it has the capacity carry 8 people.

  This monocable gondola lift that would take us to the upper station located at Maxims Hotel of Genting Highlands Resort, which is situated at an average elevation of 1740 metres i.e.5710 ft within the Titiwangsa Mountains on the boarder between Pahang and Selangor and developed by Genting Group.. It is the world's fastest and South East Asia's longest gondola lift.

The 2 x 640 kW power of the main drive and the 54 mm diameter solid cable wire is among the most powerful and strongest monocable gondola installation in the world. The system, equipped with high-tech electronic equipment, was built in accordance with stringent Swiss regulations and it has a double safety circuit completely independent. It carries more than 2,000 people per hour with 8 passengers per gondola. At the maximum speed of 6 metres per second (21.6 km/h), the 3.38-kilometre (2.10 mi) journey up the mountain peak takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the weather. The system was designed by Leitner Ropeways Here are some snaps ( the scenic site as viewed from our cable car cabin):

 That's Mrs. Patel, who works as a chef in London and her husband has just retired. They seemed very reserved, but this cable car ride did open up them, but just a little.

 This is Chin Swee Caves Temple (a pagoda like structure) - a Taoist temple of a diety known for his supernatural powers. They say, he has the abilities to summon rain and drive away evil spirits.

 The picture above and the one below show a lot of constructions that are going on, a concrete jungle. Hopefully not! They shouldn't destroy and spoil the beauty around here.

 And a video:

 

It was easy and comfortable ride. (It was only one way ride, we knew.We were to drive down to Kuala Lumpur in a  car.) We alighted from the gondola and it was then that we realized we had left those packed jackfruit pods behind in Sherry’s couch. Anyway, Sherry had told us he would meet us here. So it was okay. But instead of Sherry, one Jasbir Singh met four of us at the upper Skyway station. (I hope someone did find them, ate them and blessed us for those sweet fleshy pods.) Jasbir Singh took care of our checking in at First World. 

Resorts World Genting has five hotels, Genting Grand Hotel, Maxim Hotel, Resort Hotel, Theme Park Hotel and First World Hotel. One of the five hotels, the First World Hotel, holds the Guinness World Record as the largest hotel in the world from 2006 until 2008, and again from 2015 onwards with a total of 7,351 rooms. 


We were in room number 1726 on the 17^th floor. Room was equipped with a fan to complement the cool mountain air.  In one corner there was a small table with tea and coffee making facilities. The window had a good view and next to the window was addressing table with three -four drawers and in one of which a safety deposit box was provided.

There were following facilities -  a flat screen TV with in-house Movies / Telephone / Safe Box / Tea & Coffee Making Facilities with Kettle /  Standing Shower in the bathroom / Two bottles of Mineral Water (complimentary) / Amenities Set / Coffee Table and  2-Seater Sofa.

First World Hotel is directly connected to First World Plaza, which houses a 500,000 square-foot indoor theme park, shopping centre and many dining options. The hotel is located within Resorts World Genting, an entertainment village housing leisure options including a cineplex, karaoke facilities and a theatre. The hotel has a business centre and offers laundry services. Self check-in kiosks and WiFi access are available at the lobby area. Lobby Café serves local Malaysian favourites all throughout the day. For a drink or two and live music, guests can head to The Patio Bar and Lounge. It also houses fitness centre. The First World Hotel has First World Plaza. There  are many places to visit in first world Plaza. There is casino, many restaurants, souvenir shop, snow world and many more. There is also some stage performance as well. There is a huge Christmas tree in the plaza this Christmas season, and was still there when we were there. This place is also a good place for photography. 


We had our dinner in one of the restaurants down there.  

 I was busy clicking photos and video shooting. We almost lost our way. Somehow we managed to reach the hotel. We visited the casino.

 
Ah Casino! We had two Slots Cards, one in my name and the other for my wife. I did have a look around the casino, but did not play. I’ve never done in my life. Gambling is not my cup of tea.  Similarly we got two Classic  membership cards from ‘Resorts World GENTINGS’. We got tickets for the Snow World.

 All set to venture into the Snow World.

 I am too ready. Let's go!

 And we went inside the Snow World.

A winter wonderland was waiting for us inside. We became kids and with enthusiasm of young we explored this magical world of glitter and snow. There were spectacular ice sculptures. We strolled down those artificial streets as fairy lights twinkled from above, reflecting in the windows of English tea shop. There were a French bakery, and an Italian pizzeria. There were some wines, may be from Spain lying behind frosted window panes and there were chocolates too, Swiss I believe. They were show casing the cultures of different countries. We ascended a flight of stairs, they were quite slippery. We stood on the parapet of a majestic castle. There was this young couple and they obliged us to take one shot of ours. We were truly amazed by the whole thing. We managed to three videos. Most of the people who came in with us, had already left. Now we had to leave.

 I have shot three videos inside the Snow World.: Finding them difficult to upload.

It was a hectic day. We went to our room, dead tired. No sooner we we had the bed than we dozed off. Some how I woke up quite early and eased out off the bed and my eyes fell on this:

The table with a kettle on it. My was stirring in the bed. I had an idea. "How can I make your day better?" I asked her, "would you like to have bed tea?"
" Would they sent it"
"No, I will make one for you and a coffee for me."
The look on her face said it all. I had never done it. But actually I did it! She couldn't believe and my children, nephews and and nieces couldn't either.
 But seeing is believing.

 Here the process starts.  In goes sugar powder.

 Let's pour the hot water. The tea bag ....and then dip, dip and dip. It's enough, I believe.

  Now time for the milk cream powder. It looks good!

 Here's your tea!

"Hmm! Lovely!", isn't that what she exclaimed. I did hear her.

All over again - a repeat process for my coffee.

We had breakfast in the hotel, quite sumptuous one at that. We then checked out - auto check out. The we had an hour's ride down to Kuala Lumpur.

It was fantastic ride. I've shot the video of the entire ride. You may watch video on:
https://www.facebook.com/vinay.trilokekar/videos/1459245880772822/

My Malaysia travelogue will continue. Until then 'Au Revoir'!

                                                                               Vinay Trilokekar