Often our local
politicians keep talking of making their city like Singapore and in the name of
study tour keep going to such places on tax payer’s money but never emulated!.
So, the idea of me going to Singapore was always there on back of my mind for a
long time. The long cherished dream of visiting Malaysia & Singapore became
a reality all of a sudden when 15 family members (all of whom are 50+ except 3)
decided and embarked upon 7 days sojourn on 1st of April 2015 from
Bangalore to Malaysia.
Day 1-
We were picked up by our tour guide
Parmeswari, a Malaysian born Tamilian. The airport is 65 Kms from Kuala Lumpur.
The climate was cool as it had rained the previous day. Before proceeding
straight to famous Genting Hill resort, the bus stopped at Putrajaya for photo
shoot at the Malaya King’s palace and Prime Minister’s office/residence
followed by Indian breakfast near a lakeside.
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In front of Prime Minister's Residence, Putrajaya & Guinness Record certificate for Genting Height Hotel
Genting hill
resort is a private resort promoted by a Chinese businessman late Sri Lim Goh
Tong at an elevation of 6000 feet above sea level. On the final leg to Genting
hills, we took a cable car which is the longest cable car route covering a
distance of 3.38 kms. This cable car is fastest in south Asia. It was a breath
taking exhilarating experience with thick rain forest below and dense fog
playing hide & seek with us inside the cable car. Our stay was at Genting
height hotel which has largest number of rooms (6118) in the world, a Guinness
world record!The hotel resort complex has everything under one roof one wished
for- Gaming station, Casino, shopping malls, snow city, bars & restaurants,
amusement rides and above all beautiful panoramic views from the hotel floors. |
Day 2-
After breakfast,
Left Genting heights next day once again
taking the cable car and onward journey by bus to Kuala Lumpur which is about
45 minutes’ drive from Genting. Our first stop was at Batu Caves where all
Indian temples of Lord Shiva, Murugan, Vishnu, Hanuman, Ganesha, Shanishwar are
situated. A very tall statue of Lord Murugan is situated at the foot of caves
and one has to climb steep 300 steps to reach the cave where Murugan temple is
situated.
Next on our
itinerary was KL Tower which is 420 meters high giving a panoramic view of the city.
This is world’s 7th tallest tower, top most floor being a revolving restaurant.
While travelling in the city, we could also see chaotic traffic & traffic
violation by two wheelers like going in wrong lane or moving on to footpath
during peak hour just like Namma Bangalore!
But looking at
the greenery and maintenance all around, I can confirm that our own Bangalore
is very far from getting a tag of garden or green city! In fact, inside the
city, a portion of forest has been preserved untouched. The day ended at Grand
Season Hotel for our night stay.
Day 3-
In the morning
visited the famous landmark of Kuala Lumpur ‘Petronas twin towers’. This entire
88 floors tower is constructed with stainless steel and glass. It has car
parking for 5400 on 5 level basements. One tower is occupied by the Petronas
group of companies while the other is occupied by many multinational companies.
There is a sky bridge at 41st level connecting the two towers while
at the 84th floor is observatory deck for viewing the entire city’s
landscape. Afternoon was free for shopping.
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Twin Tower of Patronas,Kuala Lumpur |
Day 4-
In the morning
we were dropped at the bus stand for our onward journey to Singapore by road.
It was a 4 & half hour journey including immigration check at the Singapore
border. As soon as we crossed the border, we were in Singapore city. This name
is derived from India only and it was earlier called Singha-pur (city of Lion)
but Britishers named it later to Singapore. Passing through several high rise
buildings and greenery all around, we were dropped at the Imperial Grand Hotel
in Little India area. In little India, one can feel at home with similar shops
& plenty of eateries from Tamilnadu like
Sarvana Bhavan, Komala Vilas, Sangeetha, Anjapaar etc.
Post lunch, we
were taken to Merlion plaza where the famous mascot of Singapore stand tall.
Merlion is a tall statue of fish cum lion and water gushing out of the lion’s
mouth on the bank of river. Later we went for River safari followed by Night
safari to enjoy the animals in their natural habitat. One can experience the
feel of being under the sea at the ‘Sea Aquarium’ where several kinds of giant mammals
& fishes keep moving overhead, of course behind glass panels!
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The Merlion, Singapore |
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Marina Bay sand Hotel, Singapore with Ship like deck on top |
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Universal Studio |
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KL Tower, Kuala Lumpur |
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Batu Cave, Kuala Lumpur |
Day 5-
Next day was a
full day trip to Sentosa Resort Island with several attractions like Butterfly Park,
Cable ride, Madam Tussad’s wax museum, Sea beach side, Segway ride, ropeway
slide, 3 D shows and laser show ‘Wings of Fire’ etc. Even full day is not
enough to see all the attractions.
Day 6-
Visit to the
Universal studio is a star attraction for children & adults alike. There
are several breathtaking rides in the Madagascar ride, Jurassic Park, Egypt,
Transformers, sci-fi city, water world etc. Steven Spielberg’s conceived
special effect section gives the visitor an idea about how special effects are
created in disaster movies. The visit to studio ends with a live model a-la
Merlyn Munroe greeting every one.
Post lunch was a
ride on ‘Singapore flyer’, Asia’s largest giant observation wheel (merry go
round) 165 meter high featuring several mini bus size capsules. It can carry
784 passengers at a time. It rotates very slowly (45 minutes to take one round)
so that people can enjoy the birds view of the Singapore sky line as well as
enjoy the illumination of tall buildings
in the night. Evening was the time for shopping at ‘Mustafa’, a huge 3
block shop in little India area where A to Z items is available 24x7!
Day 7-
On the final
half day trip, it was the time to take a tour of city and the river in what is called ‘Duck tour’, a bus cum boat
like vehicle which moves on road as well takes you in the river to show the
star hotels, parks and financial
district of Singapore. The last stop was at Sky park observatory deck at the
famous Marina Bay Sand Hotel. At the top 57th floor is a deck in the
shape of big ship resting on three towers of the hotel. It has world’s largest
rooftop swimming pool with palm trees around. It takes 57 seconds to reach the
deck at 57th floor!
Like all tours, our tour also came to an end and
we arrived back with sweet memories of the politician’s study city-Singapore
& Malaysia! Sayonara.