There are
times when I envisage the concept of all
play and no work. That is esp when I feel like a tiny li’l ant
under layyerrrrs of work. I desperately needed a break (oh btw, hope my future
employers don’t read this, but I do go on breaks every 4-5 months at least). So
after my co sucks out everything that’s left of me each and every single day –
on to top it all, points at me satirically laughing with the sad un-inspiring
salary slip- THIS is my way of laughing back at them. Getting lost. In some other world altogether. With
the damn cell phone switched off of course.
My kinna “ideal wonderland” is actually quite un-materialistic. Say taking
a river rafting trip and living in tents at rishikesh or simply lazing around
somewhere Sri Lanka
at the fabulous beaches, tea estates, coral gardens. The sweet memories of
those trips ensured my sanity for a while… they gave me the peace of mind that
I always seek for. So evidently, a trip to Kuala Lumpur & Genting Highlands was a change, and I
must say a welcome change! I fell in love with Malaysia when I watched DON so
suavely do the thing he does (pls refer to my review on DON--- ha ha, self
marketing). But its SOTC that pushed us over the edge, and voila!
The place is
MEANT TO breathe the fresh (air-conditioned) air of ……….shopping malls!
(do I see the Shantis and Debbies of the world sit up with there eyes wide
open). I dislike shopping malls in India. Cuz shopping malls in India= painful
parking tickets + painfully noisy over sized families walking around +
painfully slow cashiers + painfully over artificial sales staff + NO VARIETY.
I feel sheer agony just thinking of the no of times I’ve walked out empty
handed as I couldn’t get items in my size/ color / type. Sheer waste of time,
walking around aimlessly paying 40-50 bucks for the disorganised parking lots.
So much of pain for NOTHING. ZILCH. ZERO.
But the malls at KL are sheer joy! (So
heres describing my shallow, materialistic side). Be it the streets of Bukit Bintang, Sungei Wang, Low Yat
Plaza, BB Plaza, Suria KLConvention Center, the Mid-Valley mega mall,
or simply the string of dukaans at the famous KL international airport- they’re each a remarkable treat!
They instantly turned me – an avid mall-hater to an avid mall-fanatic! And how!
1. Friendly staff (& yes, despite
their accent you DO understand what they say)
2. Sanitation- every public loo I
stepped into was cleaner than my bedroom!
3. Variety- I’ve bought the 1st thing
I’d tried on (in clothes)- no problem with size/ color/ style. In the end
of the day you feel what you bought was WORTH
the credit card swipe!
- All brands of the world… you name it.
(guess the only brand I missed there was Elizabeth arden… wonder why it wasn’t
to be seen)
- Layout- extremely organized. Once you
get in, you know how to get out. It aint labyrinthine like phoenix mills/
nirmal lifestyle etc wherein sometimes you feel you’re trapped solving a
horribly irritating and banal version of da vinci code!
- Money changers – sprawled all across-
to help you spend more… and more… and more! Nothing should stop u!
So what did I
buy? Clothes! Shoes! Electronic items! Gadgets! Cosmetics! (eh! That’s all??)
Alright, putting aside my over- zealousness of justifying my credit card
expenditure (imagine, one card stopped working cuz they tot it was probably
being misused!!)-
Genting
Highlands…… the Las Vegas of Malaysia! Imagine a day in a
theme-park with the following- Casino, snow world, indoor theme park, outdoor
theme park, water park, with a few family and kiddie rides and most exciting
thrill rides (Intense, not for faint-hearted!!) such as the flying dragon,
Pirates ship, Cyclone, Flying coaster (I call it the spiderman ride). The best
being “space shot”
which is a Space Shot is a rapid vertical ascent and descent amusement ride
which goes up 185’ at the speed of 67 kmph!
We did skip Sky venture, Sky-way Cable ride, Ripley’s believe it or not
museum and a few rides, but were so much in awe with the rest that it didn’t
matter!
The
Petronas Twin Towers- we needed to get there by 8 am- to get the passes (free!!!)
to go to the skybridge. And the ooops of not getting a cab made us witness a
morning in the lives of busy office go-ers, we traveled by the sky-mono rail,
the subway rail, and managed to be late only by 1 hr, and we DID go up to the
skybridge!
Kuala
Lumpur Communications towers (the fifth tallest tower in the
world)- we went up some 300 m by lift to catch a 360 degree view of KL. Each
window was numbered, & each person was given a self-help walkman-thingie
with headphones- so we could hear & see the recorded version of “what we
can see from which window”
Eye on Malaysia- The
newest attraction. A slow giant wheel- from where you could take a look at KL
(like the London Eye)
China Market- like the
Hong-Kong lane in Pune…doesn’t require excellent bargaining skills to get the
rates down to 25-50%. Great for “fudji” bags/T-shirts/DVDs.
Misc around the city-
Kings palace, beautiful Chinese temples, Cocoa
Boutique
Night life- Did manage
to go to Hard Rock Café at Bukit Nanas … unlike Mumbai, the volume wasn’t
booming (whatta pity) cuz that it seems is the appropriate level for dinner
time… We were physically too exhausted to wait around till 11-11.30 for the
live band (so that’s the result of a whole day of walking till u felt yr feet
would break into pieces!)
General public- I don’t
know if it was cuz of my holiday mode, but on the overall basis I got a feel of
people being happy/ easy going/ with few or none hassles in the world. Even on
the roads, there were traffic jams but seldom any one honked or drove in
frenzy.
Things I didn’t do- 1.
Experiment with FOOD (very unlike ME)… I was busy munching away hot dogs …
sheesh, I look down upon myself. Although we did have good sushi 2. Go to nearby places like Lankawi—but we were bound with the
SOTC package of 5 days at KL tour… well, anyways. 3. Skipped the Lake Gardens-
would’ve loved to spend time there 4. Skipped Sunway Lagoon… but didn’t regret
that at all after GENTING!
What I brought back for people-
The collection of some 400 snaps I clicked!
Not too far away fm India-
Imagine the look on our faces when a friendly cabbie switched to bollywood
songs, or when SOTC organized a coupla FOC dinners with Indian cuisines! Who
misses your city/country being in just 5 days of being away!!!! I mean why
would we pay to get away anyways!!! Grrrr….
Weather- like
Mumbai. Hot, humid, although it does rain every few days which cools down the
place overall.
Public trpt- AC cabs, Subway Train
& the Sky- Mono rail--- way too easy and comfortable as compared to the
aggressive jungle-rule local trains in Mumbai (I remember fumbling with the
local train routes in the early days in Mumbai- trying to mug ‘em up like a
school girl!)
Tip- not an ideal place for
honey-mooners, cuz in a bid to please your new wifey there are good chances of
you coming back in yr (branded ofcourse) undies!