As an extension of our parents’ 25th wedding anniversary celebrations, we set on a tour of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with Kesari Tours.
As mentioned in my Singapore travelogue (You can read it here- http://feetonthemap.wordpress.com/overseas/singapore/), Singapore was our first stop. We hadn’t received our visas yet, which meant we were to get it on arrival. Surprisingly, we did not fly to Malaysia.
We reached Malaysia by road. En-route to the city, we had stopped at the customs post on road. In another twist of fate, I had a nightmarish experience. All my family and our co-passengers were in a straight queue, in front of the customs officer. Everyone was cleared, except for me. I had stood last in the queue and was given a blank stare by the customs officer. They stopped me and started asking me great deal of questions- about purpose of visit, what do I do, where do I work, what am I carrying in my bag. I had to explain them that I was a part of the larger travel group, but they wouldn’t budge! Eventually, my mother stood in front of the officer and said- “She is my daughter.” And Bang!
I was on my way to the bus again. Having stood in the queue for almost half an hour, the entire Kesari gang laughed off. As we neared the end of the day, we were set afree for the entire night. All of us were tired a lot and just slept. Next day, we began our journey for a dekko at the magnificent Petronas Towers. These striking towers- the creation of an Argentinian architecture, from what I heard have been constructed at a whopping cost of $1-2 billion. After soaking ourselves in the the huge shadows of the Petronas we went to a mall that’s close to the towers’ entrance for the Malaysian shopping experience. The mall was huge, royal and luxurious looking, daunted with women and kids flocking up the branded stores of Gucci, Versace, Armani, Rolex. While Malaysia is an Islamic state, what stuck me was that the women of Malaysia are quite liberally dressed with stylish trousseau, expensive footwear, decked up with high-end cosmetics.
After a long and tiring shopping round, we move on to visit the royal Istana Negara or the national palace. The architecture reflects a combination of malay and islamic elements. Interesting tidbit about the country is that it is ruled by a monarch.
Thereon we proceeded to Observatory deck, from where we could take a view of the entire city of Kuala Lampur or KL as it is popularly known. I was made to understand that inspite of the religious and political affiliations of the country, Malaysia is quiet a peaceful, caring and accommodating nation. The public life and night life of the country is quite a thing to experience!
Moving on, we geared up for two quite unusual and awesome tourist destinations of the country- Genting Highlands and Putra Jaya (the administrative capital of the country). What’s striking about Putra Jaya is its suave constructions, plus building, creative street lights, stylish bridges. To put things quite in perspective, let me share that each street-light on every turn, of every single road is distinctive in its design and structure. You won’t see one street light similar to the other.
Having viewed the astonishing Putra Jaya, we moved to Genting Highlands. Genting Highlands is Malayasia’s most sought after and largest adventure themed park. A delight for youngsters and old alike, the place is definitely a family or a group attraction that offers a variety of recreational indoor and outdoor activities. One of the things to keep in mind while visiting Genting Highlands is that it’s a hill station based amusement park and therefore can tend to get unbelievably cold. Therefore don’t forget to take jackets and warm clothes!
Oh yes, and don’t forget to take a pair of formals. You are going to find Malaysia’s single largest and official Casino ;)
To sum it all, Malaysia is definitely a country to visit! One of the few countries in the world, where you can soak yourself in the melting pot of fun!