Chin Swee Cave Temple, Genting Highlands

8th December, 2009

Chin Swee Cave Temple Genting Highlands


Chin Swee Temple is a Taoist temple in Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. Officially opened on 29th March 1994, the beautifully crafted temple overlooks lush green slopes of the mountainside.


Cloud image from Chin Swee Temple

Beautiful view of the mountainside

Scenic view

Roof of temple in foreground

See the moutainside shrouded in clouds

View of Genting Highlands Hotels from Chin Swee Cave Temple

Situated in a peaceful and tranquil location, you can feel the peacefulness of the environment in the midst of the moving white clouds and gentle cool breeze at 4,600 feet above sea level. One of the most scenic sites of Genting Highlands and definitely considered as one of the Malaysia attractions, we had the opportunity to visit the Chin Swee Cave Temple during our latest Malaysia vacation.

Cave Temple

Roof of the temple

Nine Dragon Wall

The 28 acre plot on which Chin Swee Temple sits on is about 10 minutes’ drive from Highlands Hotel at the peak of the mountain. The brainchild of the Genting Group founder, the late Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Lim Goh Tong, the Chin Swee Cave Temple is his great legacy.

Goh Tong Hall

Benefactor & Genting group founder - Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Lim Goh Tong

Reverend Master Chin Swee has long been one of the more popular Chinese deities in Fujian Province and is known for his supernatural abilities to summon rain and drive away evil spirits. A popular place, this Cave Temple attracts many devotees from the region including Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand and China.

Resting area

Fairies dancing and singing

Cranes

You can admire the large white statues of Buddha as well as Kuan Yin, also known as the Goddess of Mercy, which are hard to miss. Many temple devotees also pray to Buddha as well as Kuan Yin whilst having the option to make your wishes on wooden tags and hang on the wishing racks in Fulin Pavilion.

Statue of Buddha

Statue of Kuan Yin Goddess of Mercy

The celestial Buddha also known as the Laughing Buddha, the Chinese deity of contentment and abundance, can also be seen here.

Laughing Buddha statue

The laughing Buddha statue usually depicts a stout, smiling or laughing bald man in robes with a largely exposed pot belly stomach, which symbolizes happiness, good luck, and plenitude.

The familiar pot-bellied laughing Buddha statue

Specially designed wood-made wishing tag

Fulin Pavilion wishing rack

God of Luck, Wisdom & Longevity

Meanwhile take the time to admire the handiwork of hundreds of skilled artists and embark on a journey of cultural exploration where you can travel from hell to heaven in the after life as depicted by the various scenes in accordance to ancient Chinese beliefs and mythology.

Stone sculptures

Depicting various Chinese beliefs

and Chinese mythology

More handiwork

Pagoda

Wishing pond

More handiwork

Chin Swee tomb

Beautiful...

The Journey To Enlightenment

- a place where our next generation can learn about moral principles and ethics, and to comprehend the meaning of karma.
- it encourage human beings to be kind hearted and law abiding persons.
- it teaches people to become ethical persons.
- it tells the story of 10 Hell Chambers where kind persons are awarded and evil persons are punished.
- it leads our next generation to perform charity and accumulate virtue, to make them understand good deeds will be awarded and evil will be recompensed with evil.

10 Hell Chambers

Boddhisattva Kslitigarbha - King of Hell in Chinese mythology

Registration Office

First Hell Chamber where the Book of Birth & Death is managed

Punishment

Second Hell Chamber - controller of reviving Hell

Punishment

Third Hell Chamber - Controller of Black-Line Hell

Fourth Hell Chamber Controller of Rounding Up & Crushing Hell

Fifth Hell Chamber - Controller of Howling Hell

Punishment

Sixth Hell Chamber - Controller of Howling Hell

Seventh Hell Chamber - Controller of Heating Hell

Eighth Hell Chamber - Controller of Intense Heating Hell

Ninth Hell Chamber - Controller of Hell of Ultimate Torment

Tenth Hell Chamber - All those who are sent here from other hells will be sent for reincarnation


18 Lohan or 18 Immortals

Lohans are followers of Buddhism's "Eightfold Path" who have achieved full spiritual fulfillment. They have reached "Nirvana," the state of absolute freedom from worldly cravings, and because of this they are no longer subject to reincarnation. Their eternal status makes them akin to guardian angels, adept at warding off evil. Figures or paintings of the 18 Lohan adorn the entranceway of Buddhist temples, protecting those within from evil and allowing them to open themselves to meditation and spiritual exploration.

Taming Tiger Lohan - Infinitely Resourceful, Vigorous & Powerful

Taming Dragon Lohan Full of Valor, Vigour & Awe-Inspiring Dignity

Doorman Lohan - Powerful, Husky & Tough

Long Eyebrow Lohan Compassionate Elder

Plantain Lohan - Carefree & Leisurely

Calico bag Lohan Happy & Contented

Scratched Ear Lohan - Full of Wit & Humor

Thinking Lohan Pondering & Meditating

Raised Hand Lohan - Easy & Comfortable

Open Heart Lohan Open the Heart & there is Buddha

Laughing Lion Lohan - Playful & Free of Inhibitions

Elephant Riding Lohan Riding and Elephant with Dignified Air

Oversea Lohan - Bearing the Sutras

Meditating Lohan Serene & Dignified

Raised Pagoda Lohan - Forceful without being Angry

Raised Bowl Lohan Glowing with Jubilance & Exultation

Happy Lohan - Decimating the Demons

Deer Sitting Lohan Contented with being Above Worldly Pursuits

You can access the Chin Swee Cave Temple either by road or by the Awana Skyway.

Purchasing tickets for the Awana Skyway

Awana Skyway


Not forgetting your stomach, you can also have a meal at the vegetarian restaurant in the grounds of the Chin Swee Temple where you can experience some of the finest healthy vegetarian food.

Vegetarian Restaurant

A little snack shop selling Malaysian local products




Bookmark & Share

Malaysia Vacation – Kuala Lumpur & Genting Highlands Day 3

8th Dec 2009 Day 3 Tuesday

Maxims Hotel Genting


The third day of our Malaysia vacation, we spent the day in one of the finest Malaysia resorts, Genting Highlands. Genting is also known as a casino resort, having a few casinos in this integrated resort destination that is set 2000 metres above sea level. Today we were blessed with some beautiful sunset images as well.

Theme Park Hotel

First World Hotel

Energizer

Part of the walkway system linking the whole integrated resort, which allows you to never have to venture outside

Our only full day in Genting Highlands, it was a free and easy period for all of us. We were free to do whatever we wished to. Those who preferred to test their luck in the casino could do so. Those who preferred to experience the recreational facilities at the indoor and outdoor theme parks were welcome. For us, we took the opportunity to visit the Chin Swee Cave Temple which we passed by on the way up to Highlands Hotel yesterday. Here we were entranced with the various Chinese mythology and Chinese traditions that were being practiced and believed. We even saw the Fu Lu Shou, deities which symbolise happiness, wealth and longevity.

Firstly, we accompanied the kids to the Outdoor Theme park. Today, they decided to purchase the ticket to both the Outdoor and Indoor Theme Park @ RM59 (USD17.15) since they have the whole day to make full use of the ticket. All rides are included in that price except for the Flying Coaster. This is good value for money if you have the full day ahead to ride as many rides as you want.

Welcome to the Outdoor Theme Park

Fun at the Park

Outdoor theme park in Genting Highlands Integrated Resort

Fun galore

More rides

In the park

Next we went to the driveway of Highlands Hotel. Here, complimentary shuttle buses are provided to our next destination, Chin Swee Temple at scheduled times of the day. We boarded the 1100 hrs shuttle which took a mere 10 minutes to reach Chin Swee Temple.

Free shuttle bus service from Highlands Hotel to Chin Swee Cave Temple

The beautifully constructed Chin Swee Caves Temple is a sanctuary of beauty and serenity. It houses the statue of Reverend Master Chin Swee, revered as a deity for his supernatural powers to summon rain and drive away evil spirits. You may seek out blessings of tranquility while enjoying the panoramic views of the beautiful mountainside.

King of Hell and his entourage

Buddha statue

One of the 18 lohan or 18 immortals

King of Hell

Chin Swee Cave Temple - pagoda

One of the many beautiful artworks depicting Chinese mythology

Fu Lu Shou - Gods of Blessings, Prosperity and Longevity

For more pictures on Chin Swee Caves Temple, visit Chin Swee Cave Temple, Genting Highlands.

Before leaving home for this Malaysia vacation, we had checked on Genting’s weather online. The website had showed Genting Highland’s temperature to be between 23 – 31 degrees Celcius. However, we were surprised to find that the temperature since we arrived reached 20 degrees C. Fortunately we had brought our jackets along with us.

TIP FOR TRAVEL
The temperature in Genting Highlands may vary depending on the time of the year. The last time I visited Genting Highlands a few years ago, I remember that it was not even cool. However this morning, the weather hit 19.5 degrees C. So be prepared with some warm clothes.

However whilst at Chin Swee Cave Temple when we were outdoors with no breeze, it was hot under the direct sun.

To get back to Highlands Hotel, we decided to take the Awana Skyway cable car @ RM3 (USD0.85). A nice and short ride from Chin Swee Cave Temple to Highlands Hotel, but be prepared that you may have to stand as there are just a few seats in the cable car. This is a great way to enjoy the panoramic tropical rainforest.

Awana Skyway


Genting Skyway For a relaxing, scenic ride up to Genting where you will be greeted with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills at a comfortable speed.

Clouds images in Genting Highlands

Hills shrouded in clouds


For lunch, we settled for Flavors at First World Plaza where the indoor theme park is located. We went for their value meals and tried some local food of Malaysia.

Rice in jar value meal– chicken with salted fish rice + soup + drink

Sizzler value meal – spicy chicken + drink + rice

Both set menu were equally good and the soup was especially tasty. We enjoyed our dinner here.

Flavors

This was followed by a coffee break at Starbucks coffee. Only when the staff asked us if we had a Jusco card did we realize we could get a 10% discount all the while without knowing it. It made the RM12 (USD3.50) application fee for the Jusco card worthwhile.

Jusco card

As recommended by one of our group members, we went to the Genting WorldCard counter in the casino to apply for the Genting WorldCard. The reason for doing this was to earn at least 1 Genting Point to upgrade our card to the ‘Green Card' so that we could redeem a 2010 calendar as well as some red packets (hong bao). When we converted to the ‘Green Card', also received a voucher where we could redeem one free superior room night in First World Hotel but which can only be used during low season and which would expire in 45 days’ time.

The Genting WorldCard

When you upgrade to the 'Green Card'


TIP FOR TRAVEL
Genting WorldCard is a loyalty program issued by the Genting group. The WorldCard is free and some of the benefits of membership include special membership rates, instant privileges, one-stop world reservations centre and 24 hour dedicated membership hotline for Genting Highlands Resort. You get to earn points and redeem them as well.

We then spent some time at the jackpot machines in Hollywood casino and ‘donated’ some money there. After donating a few hundred dollars to the casino, we decided to take a break and get some dinner.

Before we headed off to dinner, we managed to capture some beautiful sunset images.

Sunset images

More sunset images

We managed to meet some of our group members and agreed to go to Hot Pot for a buffet All U Can Eat & Drink steamboat cum bbq dinner @ RM19.90++ (USD5.80). Although the buffet spread was not that wide a variety, the quality was good as the meats were well marinated. All of us enjoyed the meal and were totally satisfied with it.

Hot Pot buffet steamboat cum bbq dinner

Long queue at Hot Pot

Collect your food

Then start cooking

& eating... Yummy yummy

After dinner, we did a little shopping at the indoor theme park before heading to Starbucks again. This time we finally hit the 11 drink stamps needed in order to redeem for a free 2010 year planner as part of their Christmas promotion. At the same time, we used our World Points that we had collected over the past few days to redeem for the drink.

Originally we had wanted to watch Dazzle – A Mystifying Journey at 2100 hrs which would have provided 60 minutes of sheer fun, pleasure and fantastic entertainment. However we were disappointed as we were told that today was their ‘day off’. What luck!



Since we were not fortunate enough to watch the show, we decided to go back to the casino and this time we managed to get a ‘good’ machine after a few tries and were fortunate enough to earn back all that we had donated earlier with some spare cash leftover. It was pretty fun seeing the machine adding more and more credits during each win.

Monte Carlo casino

It was a great day today and we especially enjoyed being in one of the wonderful Malaysia resorts, Genting Highlands, and especially had a great time in the casino resort this evening. The visit to Chin Swee Cave Temple was an interesting visit where we could see Chinese traditions and Chinese mythology picturesquely depicted. We were also very happy and satisfied with the food of Malaysia that we had filled our stomachs with today.



Bookmark & Share

Malaysia Vacation – Kuala Lumpur & Genting Highlands Day 2

7th Dec Day 2 Monday


This is the second day of our Malaysia vacation and already we are having a ball of a time. We spent last night in the KL hotel, Hotel Capitol Kuala Lumpur. Today, after lunch comprising dim sum food and not forgetting the dim sum pictures, we would be heading from our Kuala Lumpur accommodation up to one of the most popular Malaysia resorts, Genting Highlands, 6000 feet above sea level, where we would be staying at the Highlands Hotel. At the same time, as Christmas is just around the corner, we could admire the beautifully decorated artificial Christmas trees as well as the Christmas decor.


A leisurely day for us, we started with Bebe’s Kitchen on the Mezzanine Floor of Hotel Capital for breakfast. Although the hotel was full, it was not crowded at breakfast. Or maybe it was because we were there at almost 0900 hrs. Breakfast food comprised a variety of Western and local Malaysian dishes including your choice of eggs cooked on the spot.

Buffet Breakfast food

Nonya kuih

Juice corner

Salad

Variety of breakfast food selection

Porridge

Croissant with peanut butter & kaya (egg jam)

Ever popular eggs

Local roti canai (Indian bread) and curry

Colourful nonya cakes

Christmas decor

Bebe's

Our group at breakfast


TIPS FOR TRAVEL:-
If you like staying in the heart of the shopping district and enjoy some great travel deals, you can sign up for the FHI Privilege Club. For RM448 (USD132), the valued member can look forward to complimentary dining in any of the FHI Hotels which include Federal Hotel and Capitol Hotel when accompanied by at least one guest.

Other bonuses include:-
• 2x Complimentary Night Stay
• 5x Complimentary Room Upgrade
• 10x Complimentary Visits at The Federal KL’s Swimming Pool
• 2x Complimentary Welcome Drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
• 1x 50% Discount for Special Occasion
• 1x Complimentary Bottle of House Wine / Appetizer / Dessert
• 1x Complimentary One-kilogram Cake for Member’s Birthday
• 1x Complimentary Set Lunch or 1 hi tea for 2 persons
• 1x RM20 (USD5.90) Cash Voucher
• 1x RM30 (USD8.85) Cash Voucher
• 1x Birthday/Anniversary Benefit of 1 Complimentary Bottle of House Wine or 2 dessert

Since we have two FHI Privilege cards, we used up one complimentary voucher per card. This gave us a total of two complimentary rooms and we just needed to pay for another two rooms @ RM170 (USD 49.90) ++ per night.

Hotel Capitol artificial Christmas tree

Each room is entitled to one breakfast. So since we have 4 rooms, that meant 4 complimentary breakfasts. Thus we have another 4 persons in our group of 8 who would need to pay for breakfast @ RM28 (USD 8.20) ++. However since the FHI Privilege card allows 1 complimentary meal when dining with 1 or more guests, we made full use of the privilege by using the 2 cards for 2 complimentary breakfasts and only needed to pay for 2 breakfasts.

In addition, we also utilized the RM20 certificate for both cards to redeem for breakfast, thus ending up paying only RM32.80. A great deal indeed!

The only challenge that we faced was that our rooms were overlooking an area where there was some construction works going on all through the night. That caused one of our group members to lose sleep as he was a light sleeper.

After a slow breakfast, we made our way to Sungei Wang Plaza, less than a minute’s walk away.

Hanging Christmas decor


As it was still before 1000 hrs, most of the shops were still closed. Whilst lingering around and waiting for the shops to open, we came across the atrium of Sungei Wang Plaza where they had the Christmas decoration which was really beautiful. It was amazingly simple and nothing elaborate, yet so lovely to behold.

The lovely Christmas decor in Sungei Wang Plaza

A joy to admire

As the shops started to open, we began our shopping spree, buying clothes and even an Olympus camera for RM550 (USD 161.35). It was fun shopping in a group and seeing what bargains each managed to find.


Need a WC?

Shopping in a supermarket

Looking for a camera

Christmas decor in front of Bukit Bintang Plaza

Returning to Hotel Capitol Kuala Lumpur before 1200 hrs to check out, we then left our luggage at the hotel before walking a short distance away to Federal Hotel, another hotel in the FHI group, to have lunch at the Chinese Restaurant Mandarin Palace on Level 2.

Father Christmas at Federal Hotel

Simply decorated Christmas tree

Koi pond with waterfall in Federal Hotel

As we were not that hungry and since we were also using our Special Occasion certificate where we are entitled to 50% discount on the total food bill when dining at a table of 8 – 12 persons, we had to order from the a la carte menu and could not partake in the promotional dim sum food buffet.

The trolley for the dim sum buffet promotion

The Chinese word is 'fu' meaning good luck & prosperity


Nicely decorated and not too crowded being a Monday, we enjoyed our lunch of dim sum food. Some of the dishes that we ordered included egg tarts, char siew bao (BBQ pork bun), char siew shou (BBQ pork pastry), chee cheong fun (rice noodle roll), carrot cake, siew mai (traditional Chinese dumpling) and har kao (another traditional Chinese dumpling also known as shrimp bonnet). Check out the various dim sum pictures. Oooooh! They were just yummilicious! We enjoyed our meal and must admit that the dim sum food was of a high standard.

Mandarin Palace

Lovely egg tarts

Char Siew Shou

Prawn chee cheong fun

Char Siew Bao

Siew Mai

Char Siew (BBQ Pork) Chee Cheong Fun

Har Kao

Carrot cake

Sculptures


We also made use of the FHI Privilege Birthday/Wedding Anniversary benefit to get a 1 kg cake and the complimentary bottle of House Wine certificate.

The cake

After deducting the 50% discount, the cost for the dim sum lunch came up to a mere RM85.50 (USD 25.05). That was indeed a great deal!

Jade sculpture

Before going back to Hotel Capitol to retrieve our luggage, we made a stop at Low Yat Plaza, a place for IT fanatics. Here, you can find lots of the latest up-to-date electronics and IT related products. Low Yat Plaza is one of the well known and established IT related product shopping centre located in Kuala Lumpur. Each floor within the complex has its own speciality shops specializing in laptops, mobile phones, etc… After your shopping is done, you can grab a bite at the eateries on the lower ground floor of the complex.

Christmas tree in front of Low Yat Plaza

Christmas goodies

Our van driver with whom we had arranged to pick us up from Hotel Capitol to bring us up to Genting Highlands, also known as the City of Entertainment, or Resorts World Genting, arrived at 1430 hrs with the family van. It took us an hour to reach Highlands Hotel, our accommodation in Genting Highlands, Malaysia.

The road up to Genting Highlands was not as winding as what we remember as they have been widened, thus reducing the incidence of motion sickness and allows for a more pleasant travel up to Genting.

Genting Highlands is an integrated resort comprising 6 hotels with 10,000 rooms, casinos, theme parks with more than 50 fun rides, retail shopping outlets, Food & Beverage outlets, mega shows, business convention facilities and endless entertainment – all at one location. The 6 hotels at Genting Highlands Resort are Genting Hotel, Highlands Hotel, Theme Park Hotel, Resort Hotel, Awana Genting Highlands, Golf & Country Resort and First World Hotel, the world’s largest hotel with 6,118 rooms as acknowledged by the Guinness World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not in 2006.

Genting Highlands Resort was voted the World’s Leading Casino Resort (2005, 2007 and 2008) and Asia’s Leading Casino Resort from 2005 to 2008 by World Travel Awards.


On the way up to Genting Highlands

Chin Swee Temple

Upon reaching Highlands Hotel which is above the other hotels, the lobby was crowded and there was a long queue to check in as the check in time is at 1500 hrs. We had managed to book 2 premier rooms using the Genting Worldcard points.

Queuing at the lobby to check in

Christmas decor in Highlands Hotel

Highlands Hotel

After going up to our rooms, we discovered the spacious room with 2 queen beds which exuded a luxurious feel. The bathroom was large and has a toilet cubicle, a bathtub as well as a separate shower room. You could access the bedroom from the bathtub via the sliding windows.

The queen beds

Notice the bed from the window by the tub

Artificial Christmas tree in Highlands Hotel lift lobby

Having freshened up, the group then made their way to their various places of interest, namely the casino and the theme park. We brought the kids to the outdoor theme park. The various hotels in Genting World Resort are all inter-connected and you do not have to worry even if it rains. Neither do you need to worry about being out in the cold.

We could admire the beautiful Christmas decor along the way...

A golden Christmas tree

More Christmas decor

Santa in a spaceship?

Santa's helper, the reindeer

Snow flakes

Yet another Christmas tree and Snowman

Sculpture

Musical band


Entrance fee to the outdoor theme park was RM44 (USD 12.90) per adult (> 12 years of age). If you possess the World Card, you can earn 5x the amount in World Points.

The outdoor theme park

Christmas tree at the outdoor theme park

The bridge near the outdoor theme park

Some of the rides




Once we had settled the kids in the outdoor theme park, we took a walk around the Genting complex and explored the surroundings and enjoyed the freshness of the cool and crisp mountain air.

The colourful First World Hotel partly shrouded by the clouds

Beautiful flowers

There are numerous recreational facilities at the indoor and outdoor theme park. If you are adventurous, you can try the one and only sky diving simulator in Asia. Or you can enjoy great food at any of the eateries but prices are a little on the higher end as compared to other places in Malaysia. Or if you feel that Lady Luck is with you, you can try your hand at Blackjack, Roulette or a host of other casino games.


Indoor theme park

Eiffel tower a la Genting

There were also some pretty interesting kiosks including the following:-

Have your name cut out & framed

Chinese musical instruments








Lucky stone name engraving

Artist at work



Magic store

















Make your very own hand cast






Interesting things to do:-

Some of the indoor rides



Bowling










Rock climbing



Take a slow boat ride











Shop for some country stuff




Admire the sculptures












Statue of Liberty





Play in SnowWorld









Of course, not forgetting food!


Malaysian snacks





Chinese restaurant








RichDad Malaysian snacks


Lollipops and sweets












Enjoy the 1 meter teh tarik (pulling of tea)



Try the Fried banana









Eat all you can Steamboat promotion











Good Friends Restaurant


Christmas decor











The Flying Coaster @ RM10 (USD 2.95) per ride









Christmas decor at the lobby of Highlands Hotel


We had dinner at The Eatery, one of the hundreds of dining establishments located in the resort complex. The BBQ pork rice set @ RM12.90 (USD 3.80) came with a bowl of soup and was quite tasty although the pork was quite ‘fatty’. The belacan (shrimp paste) petai (stink bean) fried rice was a good choice with lots of flavour. However, it was not as spicy as expected.




The BBQ pork rice set


The belacan petai fried rice









Following dinner, we chilled off with a Starbucks coffee. Here again you can accumulate WorldCard points and enjoy the natural cool and fresh air from the open windows. If you are up in Genting Highlands just to enjoy the cool air and relax, the Starbucks coffeeshop offering free wifi is a great place to soak in the cool and crisp mountain air.

The oh-so-familiar Starbucks drink

Starbucks X'mas mugs


After Starbucks, we decided to try our hand in the Hollywood casino which is just above Highlands Hotel. The casino is huge and there are hundreds of jackpot machines you can choose from or if you prefer the table games, there is also a wide choice of casino games. Believe it or not, lady luck was shining upon us and we ended the night with more than what we had invested in. Thank you! At the same time, we managed to also earn Genting points on our WorldCard.

Highlands Hotel, our accommodation in Genting Highlands Resort

Hollywood Casino



A very Chinese looking Santa



18,000 free rooms being given away

Box office hit! The Casino


WOW! What a day! We thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful day. Up here in Genting Highlands, we can at least enjoy the cool weather which is not possible in Singapore, being a tropical country. We were also feeling quite euphoric about our win in the casino although it was a small amount. It was a most beautiful and lucky start to our Malaysia vacation in Genting Highlands casino resort. Coupled with the great value that we received for our dim sum food lunch, this is a holiday that we will not forget for a long time.




Bookmark & Share

Malaysia Vacation – Kuala Lumpur & Genting Highlands 6 Dec – 10 Dec 2009

6^th Dec 2009 Day 1 Sunday


Changi Airport Singapore Airport Tower

Beginning another 5 days, 4 nights Malaysia vacation today and going up to Genting Highlands for two nights, we started this holiday by booking with the budget airline, Air Asia. Travel to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore is convenient as there are many Singapore Kuala Lumpur bus companies that ply the route and you can get rates as low as S$30 (USD21.55) one way to S$98 for a return journey on board a much more comfortable bus. Paying just a few more dollars allowed us to travel by the budget airline at a total cost of S$1050.08 (USD754.90) for 8 persons inclusive of services and advance seat request fee so that all of us could be seated close to each other.

Changi Airport Singapore Terminal 1

Christmas in Changi Airport

Changi Airport Skytrain that connects Terminals 1, 2 & 3

Checking in for our Air Asia flight

Budget flights on Air Asia

Our flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL) was on AK750 which was scheduled to depart at 1820 hrs. On arrival at the Changi Airport Singapore at 1630 hrs, we checked in and proceeded through immigration into the departure area to await our boarding time.

Proceeding to the boarding gate

Air Asia flight

As the Air Asia flight was delayed in coming in, our outgoing flight only took off at 1845 hrs. A smooth journey, our travel time was just a short forty-five minutes. Here are some sunset images whilst amidst the clouds.

Sunset images

Clouds images

On arrival at the Kuala Lumpur Airport - LCC Terminal at 1930 hrs, we had to disembark from the Air Asia plane and walk from the tarmac to the arrival hall a distance away as there was no aerobridge.

After we cleared immigration in LCC Terminal and retrieved our luggage from the luggage belt, we had to decide how to get to our KL hotel for the night, Hotel Capitol, in Jalan Bukit Bintang.

Duty Free Shop in Kuala Lumpur Airport

Upon emerging from the arrival hall, we saw some transport counters and we managed to book a family van to Hotel Capitol for a total of RM154 (USD 45.30). The travel time from Kuala Lumpur Airport – LCC Terminal to Hotel Capitol took about an hour and we finally reached the hotel at 2120 hrs.

Official LCC Terminal Airport Taxi Coupon Counter

During the journey, we managed to communicate with the driver and realized that the price we had paid for the transport was a discounted rate and if we had come in by the main airport at KLIA, the price would have been higher.

The family van that we took

We also made a booking with the van driver, Syamsuddin, for our transport to and from Genting Highlands as well as back to KL Airport LCC Terminal on our last day.

One-way transport from KL to Genting Highlands RM250 (USD 73.50)

Return journey from KL to Genting Highlands RM450 (USD132.35)

Journey from Hotel Capitol to LCC Terminal RM150 (USD 44.10)

Since we were going to book him for all our transportation during our vacation in Malaysia, we managed to knock the rate down to RM550 (USD161.75) for the return journey from KL to Genting Highlands as well as the journey back to KL Airport.

Upon checking into the hotel and freshening up a little, our stomachs were calling and we took a five minute walk to Jalan Alor which was formerly known as the Red Light district of KL.

One of the attractions in Malaysia - KL Tower - lighted up at night


If you ever visit Kuala Lumpur, you simply have to try the food there. Some of the best food can be found in back street alleys like Jalan Alor where you will find stalls parked all along the street.

Where we had dinner

Our group hungrily waiting for our food

With the great variety of local Malaysia food to choose from, it is not surprising if you have difficulty deciding on what to eat and you will be spoiled for choice. The best is to try a little of everything and this is easily accomplished if you go in a bigger group.

We tried the local food such as prawn noodle, claypot bak kut teh (pork ribs), oyster omeletter, char kway teow (fried rice noodles) and cantonese yee mee (crispy noodle).

Prawn noodle

Claypot Bak Kut Teh

Oyster Omelette

Char Kway Teow

Cantonese Yee Mee

Lien Chee Kong, a sweet dessert

They were not too bad although the prices were a little steep as it is considered a tourist area where most Asian tourists will descend upon whilst in Kuala Lumpur. Total bill for 8 hungry stomachs:- RM140 (USD 41)

Jalan Alor where food abounds

Stalls on both sides of the street

Fruits, anyone?

Or some clothes?

By the time we finished savouring the local delights, it was already past 2300 hrs and the end of the first day of our Malaysia vacation. Traveling on budget flights such as Air Asia is more comfortable than via Singapore Kuala Lumpur bus and budget flights make it so much more affordable. Another benefit of traveling by flight is that you could do some shopping in Changi Airport Singapore whilst waiting for your flight. It was good to land at the LCC Terminal - Kuala Lumpur Airport as transportation is at a discounted price and it is definitely an advantage staying in a KL hotel in the heart of the city.

Bookmark & Share

Malaysia Vacation – One Week In Kuala Lumpur Day 8

27 Nov – Day 8 – Friday

KL Tower - one the Malaysia attractions

Today is the last day of our Malaysia vacation. As the saying goes, time flies even more quickly when you are having fun and enjoying yourself. In all our numerous holidays to Malaysia, this has been our longest stay. We have been pretty adventurous in going around and exploring some Malaysia attractions around Kuala Lumpur as well as doing quite a fair bit of great Malaysia shopping, not forgetting our favorite Tesco shopping this time round. We also tried out quite a number of the local food of Malaysia.

Somehow when we live with open hearts, things happen for a reason. We did not buy any breakfast as we had over the past few days for this morning. However for some reason, the Duty Manager of the Palace of the Golden Horses presented us with 2 breakfast vouchers for today. Thank you!

2 Breakfast vouchers

Buffet breakfast food was served at The Café Carousal, a buffet restaurant with pictures of the carousel giving it a bright and cheery ambience. With a good local breakfast spread with some Western breakfast food, it was a great dining location.

Cafe Carousal

Breakfast buffet counter

Assortment of breakfast food

Fried egg

Buffet breakfast

Cafe Carousal

We were fortunate to have three of the hotel management staff accompany us for the meal. There was intense discussion on how the hotel is run, their challenges as well as prestigious events and dignitaries whom they have hosted.

Some of the renowned names who have stayed in Asia’s Most Extraordinary Hotel include Queen Elizabeth, the late President Arafat, golf legend Tiger Wood, actor Jackie Chan, singer Alan Tam and countless others.

It was an educational as well as entertaining breakfast session with the Director of Rooms, Mr Andrew Satu, Manager on Duty cum acting General Manager for the day, Mr Lingam and Duty Manager Ms Michelle Jalleh. We highly recommend this resort-feel hotel with great architecture overlooking the lake with a 36-hole exclusive golf course just next to it.

Together with the management staff of the resort, Palace of the Golden Horses

Upon checking out from the hotel at 1400 hrs upon special request, we did another short tour of the Palace of the Golden Horses, a beautiful place we consider a resort within the city.

The public restroom

Somethin' Juicy

Healthy fruit juice bar

Seating are in the Juice Bar

A cute looking tree

TCM Treatment available in Palace of the Golden Horses

Art work on tiles

The Chinese Restaurant at the Palace of the Golden Horses, Kim Ma

More horses

Looking into the garden

The convention centre

Teh Tarik (Tea Pulling) at the Cafe

Teh Tarik is a hot tea beverage and the name is derived from the pouring process of "pulling" the drink during preparation as seen in the picture.

Kin No Uma Japanese Restaurant

Fancy an elaborate wedding in this resort?

Thereafter, we drove to UOG Plaza where we went next door to Central Hypermarket. You can find a wet market here that was still open at 1500 hrs in the afternoon. We bought some Chinese snacks, the baked char siew pao (barbequed pork bun), curry puff and egg tart.

The Chinese snack stall

The char siew bun filling was tasty and fragrant accompanied by pastry that was great. Same can be said for the curry puff where you could get a good portion of the chicken curry with a nice and crispy puff pastry.

Fruits galore

Wet market still on at 1500 hrs

Next we made our way to Low Yat Plaza in Bukit Bintang area to look for our favorite doughnut franchise Big Apple where we bought some doughnuts home for the family.

These doughnuts are a big hit at home!

We also bought some nonya cakes from Lulu Nonya Kuih in Sungei Wang Plaza before we started our journey back to Singapore at 1730 hrs.

Lulu Nonya Kuih

Delicious nonya kuih

Besides the heavy rain for part of the way, it was a smooth journey. We made a stop at Tesco Extra in Seremban to do some final Tesco shopping as well as look for dinner.

Tesco extra in Seremban

As there were not too many food and beverage outlets at Tesco Extra and a lack of seats at the Thai stall, we decided to have dinner at MacDonald’s. The ayam goreng (fried chicken) and McChicken Deluxe value meals cost RM20.70.


MacDonald's

Ayam Goreng - Fried Chicken

McChicken Deluxe

The Thai food stall where we could not find any seats

Kuih Bahulu kiosk
a traditional cake made from egg, sugar and flour


After dinner and more shopping to complete this vacation in Malaysia, we moved off again at 1840 hrs.

We were fortunate that the traffic all the way along the North South highway was smooth. With a final stop at Gelang Patah to top up petrol, we made our way into Singapore through the Tuas 2^nd Link at 2300 hrs with almost no queue.

This happened to be the longest Malaysia vacation we have taken and was made memorable with our stay at Asia’s Most Extraordinary Hotel or as we like to call it, a wonderful resort, Palace of the Golden Horses. If you like to return to a ‘resort-feel accommodation with lots of greenery at the end of our day after a tour to any of the wonderful Malaysia attractions or some Malaysia shopping, then the Palace of the Golden Horses would be a wonderful choice. Whilst enjoying your holiday in Malaysia, do try out the various delectable food of Malaysia as you will be amazed at the local cuisine they offer.

Bookmark & Share