Highland Adventures

One thing which had been on our minds even days before we started the detailed itinerary planning for our Malaysia trip, was the visit to Genting Highlands. Initial research listed as one of the must visit places for a tourist in Kuala Lumpur. Stickler for amusement parks, it instantly made it to the top of our priorities while in Malaysia.

Genting Highlands, 52km away from KL, is situated at the peak of Mount Ulu Kali. It houses two theme parks (indoor and outdoor), casino, Ripley’s adventure park and plethora of options to eat and shop. First World Plaza is the largest hotel housing over 7000 rooms. Apart from this, multiple options are available to plan for a night stay.

One can reach Genting by road or can opt for a ropeway. We chose the latter. To beat the peak rush hour at the ropeway, we booked our bus tickets for Awana Skyway a day in advance. Staying in KL Sentral gave us the advantage of simply walking to the stop to catch the bus.

Awana Skyway base station was an hour’s drive from KL Sentral. Upon our arrival, we were pleased to see zero waiting time. From ticket kiosk we directly proceeded for us gondola ride to Genting Highlands. Skipping the mid-station of Chin Swee Caves Temple, we headed straight for Genting.

Our primary focus was Genting Skyworlds Outdoor theme park, the most happening part of Genting. P had spent a considerable amount of time in strategizing the order and number of rides we would take to avoid the long waiting queues and shorten wait time. This maximum utilization was possible after studying the wait time for various adventure rides available on the Skyworlds App.

This app gives a complete overview of the Skyworlds Outdoor Theme Park, including the actual wait time of every ride. Skyworlds has nine themed zones and greater the thrill of a ride, higher the waiting time. Waiting time could go up to 90 minutes in some rides, so you know why he planned way ahead. (He is a great planner anyway, it just came into benefit here.)

The Nine-themed zones of SkyWorlds are Andromeda Base, Central Park, Eagle Mountain, Epic, Ice Age, Liberty Lane, Rio, Robots Rivet Town, and Studio Plaza.

We marked our entry for the theme park around 10.30AM and headed straight to Rio, then Ice Age and then Andromeda. Most of the rides had a waiting time of less than 5 minutes. Leveraging the time benefits we enjoyed the most coveted rides multiple times. As more people started to trickle in, the queues started to grow bigger. Lockers were available on an hourly basis to secure valuables. This came as a great relief to put away the layers we had brought in case the weather shifted, which it did around lunch time when the clouds descended to join us.

One of the rides which deserved special mention, the one where we waited more than an hour, was Independence Day in the Andromeda zone. Independence Day: Defiance is a flying theatre attraction themed around the Independence Day film franchise. Guests are thrust into the role of Earth Space Defense recruits to go on a rookie mission with the task of defending Earth from an alien encounter. This immersive experience of this attraction stays with us until now.

Spending more than six hours as a kid and collecting memories, I half-heartedly pulled P back to the SkyAvenure, the mall at Genting Highland. My stomach did not just cry with hunger pangs, it also made me hangry. Wrapping up outdoor rides, we embarked on another adventure named Food Hunt!

Exhausted after exploring every floor for some viable food option, we followed the directions on the Happy Cow App, known to suggest vegetarian and vegan food outlets around you. What seemed to be an endless walk through the entire mall, we finally reached a part of a food court that offered local cuisine options. Amidst this stood a single option that the app validated as serving veg food.

I glanced at the menu to finally settle for an option which didn’t turn out to be friendly when it arrived. More on this struggle later.

We strolled around Ripley’s Adventureland and observed many fascinating oddities. Indoor Theme Park enticed us but we were too exhausted to try out further rides. We did however walk through the SkyCasino. It was overwhelming to see a small part of my work in existence, being a part of this industry.

With dopamine overdose, we made our way back through the gondola ride and waited for the bus to take us home.

Follow me this April as I take you on a journey through our unforgettable Malaysian adventures, chapter by chapter.