I AM FOR ONE do not like to go anywhere for holiday during either school break or festive season, except of course Hari Raya (Eid) celebration. I could not escape most of the obligatory visits during Eid.
Anyway, mum has been asking both me and my nephew on where we should go for Chinese New Year break. She has been hinting of going to Langkawi Island actually, but it is not feasible for us to go there as it is only 3-day break. Plus, we are planning to go to Borneo, in April. (Planning aje).
So, in the end we decided to visit Genting Highlands, take a ride on the new skypark cable car and check out the Genting Premium Outlet. It’s going to be a relaxing day without any shopping and just makan-makan.
Oh boy! I have already anticipated the traffic but to be stuck in one since the Gombak Toll Plaza was tiring, but seeing some irresponsible drivers who were using the emergency lane to jump queue, it just made you boiling with anger. Luckily the traffic ease on the road up to Genting Highlands.
Okay, I had never driven up to Genting. Either someone was driving or I took a bus there. This was the first time to be driving up the hill. I am not kidding, my heart was pounding and I kept having heart to heart talk with Mr Vee.
I know my Vios is just 7 years old but I saw a few cars (almost the same age as Mr Vee) stopped on the roadside with overheated engine. And as I am not an expert driver, I kept switching low gears, praying hard that the car can drive up smoothly.
There are ample parking at Genting Premium Outlet and the parking rate is quite reasonable: RM2 per hour during weekdays and RM3 during weekends. If you opt to take a bus to Genting, there are three points for the buses: Gombak LRT Station, Pudu Sentral and KL Sentral. The ticket price vary between the three points, if I am not mistaken.
Tips: The bus ride from Gombak LRT Station is cheaper, nearer and there are also ample car parks at the station, especially during weekends.
We decided to take the cable ride up first and explore the Premium Outlet before going back. The new cable car can fit 6-10 people and the ride is longer than the old cable car. It also has special stop at Chin Swee Cave Temple for those who wanted to pay their respects to the Reverend Chin Swee there. Visitors can use the same ticket to take the cable car to continue their journey.
Of course, being Chinese New Year, many Chinese stop here either on the way up or down. The temple was quite busy with visitors. Either those who pay their respects there or just climb the nine-storey pagoda to enjoy the view of the hills.
We could see that the project for outdoor theme park is still ongoing. It is massive. For a kid growing in the 80s and 90s, it is quite melancholic to see the old theme park demolished and new one is being built to replace it. Those who are teenagers during these eras would remember the film Azura featuring Datuk Jamal Abdillah and Ogy Ahmad Daud and remember the evergreen OST song, that was shot here.
The opening of the 20th Century Fox World Theme Park has been delayed for several years. The initial date was 2016 but the latest news it may be opened either by end of this year or early next year. However, there are still a lot of things visitors could do apart from gambling of course.
The indoor entertainment outlets can keep both parents and children busy such as visiting The Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. It is a wild and wacky interactive museum that would appeal to both adults and children. The entry fee is RM22 for adult and RM18 for children.
If you don’t fancy spending that much of money, you can always enjoy the animatronic dinosaurs and elephants outside the museaum for free. Or be like Hilman, who are afraid of the dinosaurs but enjoy watching Minion dancing poco-poco to Barra-Barra song. Huh!
There are also stalls selling (overpriced) titbits and cut fruits.
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum is part of the First World Indoor Theme Park which also features Sky Venture, Genting Bowl, Snow World, Vision City and Funtasy World Video Game Park. There are also theme attractions for many European countries such as France, England, Italy, Switzerland including America and Malaysia itself.
Young couples could try the gondola ride while the wild at heart could try rock climbing. While those who just want to relax, there are many free shows or watch the latest movie at the cinema.
After spending some time here, it is time to go back on the cable car. The queue was looong. For elderly, disabled or pregnant women, they can either take a special lane or wait at a special waiting area while the rest of the family queue. Sigh… Yep, never go during holidays, the queue is sooo long.
This is us queuing to take the cable car to go down to Genting Premium Outlet.
If you’re always into designer brands, then Premium Outlets offer discounted prices for old season and for me most items are the same at all three Premium Outlets in Malaysia.
However, personally I prefer the Genting Premium Outlet, not just it is nearer to Kuala Lumpur (Well the one in Melaka is nearer too), but the weather in Genting is bit cooler. So, it is comfortable to browse all the stores at your leisure without breaking a sweat.
There are a lot of restaurants here to satisfy your palate. From the fine dining restaurants to food court. From Eastern cuisines to West, and everything in between. We decided to have a proper lunch and chose Absolute Thai Restaurant.
Overall it was a pleasant day to spend at Genting Premium Outlet. Despite the big board of 90% discount and long queue at Kate Spade boutique, we managed to get out of there unscathed. No major damage to the wallet except of course for food.
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