Malaysia & Singapore

It had just hit upon us (Rahul, Deepa and Myself) that we must take a vacation to Malaysia and Singapore during our summer break. We contacted SOTC a tour company we have been familiar with for a long time and post many discussions with their travel agents,Ms. Savita Verma helped us with an excellent tour which suited us the best.

After completing all the required formalities of relevant documents for Visa, No objection certificate,Monetary funds for the trip and our passports, the dream to travel started taking a concrete shape.Suddenly Deepa realized that the validity of her passport fell short of a few months for the visa requisites to travel to Malaysia. We had only few days in our hands and we began the formalities in a hurry. Using her contacts and seeking help from Rajeev (our cousin) Deepa was able to secure her renewed passport in a matter of few days. Our joy knew no bounds.

Day 1:

Finally the day had arrived for our departure for the trip.We took a flight from Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur via Colombo(SriLankan Airlines being the carrier.It was a very comfortable journey and we all were really excited.

We believe in the adage “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” definitely in experience. On reaching Kuala Lumpur we met with our tour manager Mr. Guru who was going to be our coordinate and be responsible of our entire trip.Our Accommodation was arranged in Hotel Pearl International. We had settled for a triple sharing room which was quite comfortable.We had lunch at a nearby South Indian veg restaurant where we enjoyed piping hot dosas and some refreshing orange juice.

In the evening we took a small city tour on our own.We visited the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Mall at Bukit Bintang. The display in the stalls and the cleanliness left us mesmerized. We returned to our Hotel where a sumptuous dinner awaited us.

Day 2:

Next morning few members of our group had chosen to visit Sunway Lagoon while we had opted to visit the Perdana Botanical Gardens.We first visited the famous Kuala Lumpur Bird Park which has lush greenery and World's largest free flight walk-in aviary. The beautiful birds all flying around in Zone 1 and Zone 2 and the peacock dancing just beside you is just a fantastic experience. It also had the flamingos sunbathing in beautifully landscaped pond with a scenic waterfall which would surely leave you spellbound. The Zone 3 has the Hornbill park which also includes a gift shop with three floor restaurant & cafe.

The Zone 4 takes you to the world of parrots.

Kuala Lumpur Bird Park

There were many birds in their natural habitat but the place was kept very neat and clean by the staff who were working tirelessly. We moved onto the Orchid park which is very beautiful, calm and peaceful. There were so many varieties of orchids  blooming around.We just relaxed and enjoyed the ambiance while sitting on one of the many benches. In the butterfly park We saw hundreds of butterflies flying around and we explored the beautifully landscaped gardens which had  waterfalls, viewing points and  even a water features.It took some time to soak in sheer unexpected delight. As we are vegetarians we again had dosa with orange juice for lunch and also did a little souvenir shopping from the shops in our hotel.

Independence Square & King’s Palace

In the evening we were joined by our tour guide Mr. Harry who took us for city orientation tour.We saw the the National Mosque,the National Monument and ASEAN gardens.We also saw the buildings at Independence Square and Parliament House with photo stop at King’s Palace. We visited the Chinese temple Thean Hou,then saw the Menara KL Tower along with Petronas twin towers which are one of the easily recognizable and most popular landmarks of Malaysia.The beauty of Petronas twin tower with the illumination at night left us speechless.

Petronas Twin Towers

Day 3:

We had an early breakfast and drove to visit Batu Caves.

Batu Caves

En route visiting the cocoa boutique, Harrison chocolate factory where we got a chance to buy Malaysian chocolates.We also visited the “G” watch factory where tourists were busy buying Swiss watches. The experience at Batu Caves is also unique. It is a limestone hill that has a series of caves with few temples in them. It is dedicated to Lord Murugan and we had to climb 272 steps to reach the deity inside and offer our prayers.We clicked a lot of pictures of the stalactites. We also purchased Batik t-shirts for our loved ones back home.

We Continued our Journey to Genting Highlands. The Genting Skyway is a cable car system which is one of the convenient ways to reach the peak. We had to carry an overnight bag only with us. It is a cool hill station which offers indoor and outdoor theme parks, a casino, an array of onsite eateries with all the luxurious facilities, impeccable services and guest rooms with breathtaking views.

Genting Sky Way

We enjoyed few of the rides in Resorts World Genting specially the Indoor aerial Gondola ride which was relaxing soaking in all the beauty around us. The highlight was the Casino where we played to our heart’s content. We called it quits when it was no win no lose situation though the person at casino wanted us to continue.I still remember the boyish charm and a radiant smile which reached his eyes playing with his scarf edging us to play more.It is always very captivating. He was trying to charm us ladies but thankfully we got up. We then went to have the lavish and delicious dinner spread out for us.

Day 4:

We proceeded to Singapore after an early breakfast at Genting. We thanked Mr. Harry, our tour guide in Malaysia and he briefed us about the cleanliness and fines in Singapore. All the formalities were completed at the checkpoint and we were taken to Oxford Hotel near Orchard Street where our accommodation was arranged in Singapore.

In the Evening we went for the Night Safari which had animals ranging from Indian Rhinoceros and Pangolin to Tangiers and Asian Elephants which were made visible by lighting that resembled moonlight. We had our dinner in the hotel.

Day 5:

Post our breakfast we went for a panoramic city tour of Parliament House, Supreme Court, City Hall, China Town and Little India. Visited the much famed Mustafa Mall and had our lunch nearby. Then our tour guide Mr. Jim took us to Singapore Gem Factory. Their collections are marvelous and the display of artworks is unbelievable.

Merlion at Marina Bay

In the Marina Bay area we spotted the Singapore Flyer which is Asia’s largest observation wheel which offered us with a bird’s eye view of the city. It moves at a slow speed so you do not feel the movement though it stands at a stunning 165m from the ground. We had a photo stop at Merlion Park.

S.E.A Aquarium

In the evening We had a thrilling experience at the S.E.A. Aquarium and saw marine life. Also Enjoyed seeing the Dolphin Show.

Later we also saw the musical laser show “ Songs of the Sea” at Sentosa Island. We were enthralled by it and the fire cracker show at the end was hypnotizing.

Day 6:

This day was reserved for Universal Studios, a theme park located in Sentosa Island. It features 28 rides, shows and attractions in seven themed zones. We enjoyed the fantastic world of Movie Magic. It was an incredible experience at the “Light, Camera,Action” show which had special effects as an empty sound stage became the setting for a major hurricane about to hit New York City. It seemed as if we were standing in a boathouse by the harbor and watched how a calm day suddenly turned stormy. The hurricane winds drove the cargo ship and debris towards the boathouse and it shook. After sometimes calm returned and the boathouse restored itself.

Universal Studios,Sentosa

In the show ‘Water world’ we witnessed death defying stunts awesome explosions and thrills at the sensational living  water show. The Shrek 4D adventure we could see,hear and feel the action right from our seat and join princess Fiona and Shrek in a fairy tale adventure.

The show ’Donkey Live’ show brings the crowd to its feet in the interactive show experience in an intimate theater setting. We could not muster courage to go on breathtaking drops and collisions in ‘ride the movies’.So the roller coasters were a big NO-NO for us.We had a lovely vegetarian lunch at Oasis spice cafe.We then told our guide that we would then go to the city on our own.Proceeded back to the city.

In the Evening, We took a river boat cruise which we thoroughly enjoyed.The audio session kept showing and guiding us all the scenic points,buildings,and bridges as we passed them.We went for shopping at Bugis street which was close to our hotel. At night after dinner,filled up the feedback form and were happy that we had given a real thumbs up for the wonderful arrangements made for us.

Day 7:

It being our last day of the trip, We had breakfast at the hotel and packed our luggage with all the lovely memories. We Proceeded to Changi Airport to experience the World's best airport which was a destination in itself. Did some last minute shopping at the airport and were ready to return home with wonderful memories.

Very often now when I have reminiscences of the lovely trip, though eight years have passed, the memory of the beauty of the places is still fresh in my mind. We visited Malaysia and Singapore from 3rd to 9th June 2012 during our summer vacations. It was a short and sweet trip of 7 days and 6 nights but nevertheless very enjoyable. I still feel that some places could not be visited and some major attractions have been added now so it is in my bucket list to venture again to this clean and wonderful city.