Jan. 24/13 – Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy in SE Asia. With a total land area of 329,800 sq km and total population of 28.8 million, Malaysia has 13 states and 3 federal territories. KL (Kuala Lumpur), the federal capital and the most popular city in Malaysia, has 1.6 million people populating its 243 sq km area. In comparison, the size of Canada is 9,985,000 sq km and its population is 35.4 million, while BC is 944,700 sq km with a population of 4.4 million.
I had a nice re-union with Uncle K who, with his wife, stayed with us on the first 3 nights there when we stayed in a nice hotel near the Twin Towers for $100/night. So that as soon as they left, we excitedly moved to a guesthouse for $38/night. This guesthouse is located in KL’s Golden Triangle, the most event-full area in the city and where, within walking distance, we were able to find lots of food, shopping places, night markets and massage parlors. I am so glad we moved here.
The highlight in Malaysia for us is not the city but the visit to Genting Highlands (雲頂高原) which is known as the “Fun City above the Cloud” or the “City of Entertainment” as it has round-the-clock excitement. It is nestled on a mountain at an elevation of about 1860 meters (6100 feet). This world-famous resort boasts of a huge indoor and outdoor theme park, Asia’s only free-fall indoor skydiving simulator, a golf course, casino and many other entertainment outlets. Even though Sentosa is way more popular, newer, bigger and cleaner, it is way hotter and more expensive therefore it’s not hard for us to justify visiting Genting Highlands. And the climate is much cooler than in Sentosa. We especially enjoyed our visit to “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” Museum plus the indoor skydiving.
I am fascinated to learn about one man’s vision of successfully converting into a holiday destination this mountain area that was once a thick virgin jungle with jagged topography. I can imagine how difficult it must have been especially back in 1965 (48 years ago) to turn the mountain into the Genting Highlands that it is today. Construction started in 1965 but the first hotel was opened only in 1971. I will definitely look into reading the biography of Lim Goh Tong, the founder of Resorts World, and to learn how he came to Malaysia from China with nothing yet turned himself into a multi-billionaire over the years.
We were in KL for a week: 2 nights in the 3-star First World Hotel in Genting Highlands because it had a sale for $35/night. We were debating whether or not to go to Sabah Island which is a nice sandy beach in KK (Kota Kinabalu), 2 hr flight from KL, but since we are already booked to be beach bums in Bali on Feb. 1/13, we decided to skip Sabah.
KL feels like a carbon copy of Singapore except that it is a lot less expensive here and so one shouldn’t expect the same kind of service that one would get in Singapore. On top of this, Singapore is also cleaner. Also, I see way more Muslims here than in Singapore. I was told that these 2 countries used to be the same and the reason that Singapore is more advanced is due to the different governments.
We are off to Cambodia now to start our backpacking lifestyle again….
Originally posted on Amy’s travel blog: TravelwithAmy.ca
Hello there! This blog post couldn’t be written any better!
Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this.
I most certainly will send this information to him. Pretty sure
he’s going to have a very good read. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for leaving me a comment!
Thanks for sharing my blog with your room-mate!