So in the first week of January, Alaric and I went to Genting Highlands! I remember checking WikiTravel (if more people did, Formsprings worldwide/Singapore-wide would suffer less... harhar!) and it said:
"Officially known as Resorts World Genting and a self-proclaimed City of Entertainment, Genting is Malaysia's low-budget, family-friendly, sanitized attempt at Las Vegas".
And I literally LOL-ed (okay I only made a small giggle). It sounds bad - "self-proclaimed", "low-budget", "attempt"...
But anyway they really weren't kidding about the attempt to copy Las Vegas. Geez Genting is replete with all the miniature, miniature versions of the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower and etc. And these miniature monuments were listed under Theme Park Attractions -_-
No wonder they came up with a total of "50 attractions", when we only got to sit on a total of maybe 10 (including both Indoor and Outdoor Theme Parks). How the hell does staring at a replica of a replica of the original monument constitute part of any theme park-goer's quest for thrilling rides anyway?
Day 1
Our trip was planned pretty last-minute so we didn't have a whole array of options. We paid $70 each for 2-way coach, and around $40 each per night. We stayed at Theme Park Hotel which is very conveniently situated beside the Outdoor Theme Park. If we had gotten to go that is (we did, but only on the last day for less than 2 hours).
The coach was pretty good! It was comfortable and the coach drivers are super efficient. And I basically conked out the whole way. Could fall asleep within minutes.
The hotel is alright. The room is basic, but the service is not bad.
The bad part... was the WEATHER. We had checked weather forecasts beforehand and it predicted sunny, hot days so I packed my little shorts, my little crop tops, my little flip flops... and like 4 pairs of sunglasses. (Okay I bet some of y'all are rolling your eyes now but I simply put too much faith in the weather forecast).
It drizzled about 20 hours of each day and the sky was a perpetual dismal grey and it was about 19 degrees max.
The rides in the Outdoor Theme Park were continuously closed on-off-on-off-on-off-etc. But the thing is that... some rides would be open and some wouldn't? Like the staff would say the ride is closed because of the drizzle but errrrr why are some others open?! Or they'd say the ride is closed (very shortly) for safety checks, but there is NO ONE THERE even after ages. Does the ride check itself then? Just really totally disorganized. So frustrating!
Paying S$20+ (after discount) to sit on 3 rides is ridiculous. And FYI, one ride consisted of just sitting on a little monorail thing going past walls painted with pirates. WORST RIDE EVER.
By the 2nd day it was just like so super... ughhhh. Took the most photos on the first day where we spent it roaming around the Indoor Theme Park:
-_- why the hell does the Statue of Liberty have such messed up eyes anyway? Like... is it a joke or just a bad paint job?
Possibly the most interesting FUNCTIONING ride out of the Indoor + Outdoor Theme Parks combined. We actually sat on it twice because there was nothing else to do.
The Indoor Theme Park has like... 3-5 slow moving monorail rides. How many times do they think visitors want to spend gazing down at Miss Statue of Liberty With the Weird Eyes? Anyway we sat on ALL of them. Nothing else to do and we had paid for an all-pass ticket.
Wanted to sit on the carousel.
"Sorry for small only."
"But I am very small!" (okay lah I know I'm not small but hey it's not like the horse can't take my weight!)
"Cannot."
Queuing for some 4D ride, which basically consists of you wearing 3D glasses and the 4th dimension being them blowing wind in your face for every.single.effect.
Usually these 4D rides (e.g. at Singapore Science Center) are you hurtling through space, dodging meteorites etc. This was about a... cat. You saw things through that cat's perspective as it walked around a haunted house. Rather boring.
The answer is 9! In case you didn't get it haha.
Ubiquitous Starbucks, and the gondola ride non-functional (what's new).
This was the ride we sat on twice! Took this while we were sitting in one of the insanely slow monorail ones. I make the ride look cool. It looks like something from Tron in this photo!
Miss Statue of Liberty on a Motorbike.
Sat on the Ferris Wheel as well.
Hahaha I was a few seconds too late. Moments before this the woman was sleeping with her mouth wide open while waiting for her friend's caricature to be done.
Big Ben replica.
Eating waffles! Chocolate and peanut butter. It was pretty good!
HAHA playing the weird catch-fish/butterfly arcade game! We always saw people playing it in Singapore but couldn't figure out what it was. Wasted like... S$20/$30/$40/? on this.
A random girl's award stubs. She had a few thousand! You trade stubs the machines give you in exchange for a prize.
Feeding ours into the counter! We got a total of 600 I think.
Haha and this is what we got from the arcade! Okay lah the giraffe is quite cute but soooo not worth the money we spent on it. The catch-fish/butterfly game is mad addictive though! No wonder I see uncles and teens alike sitting on stools at arcades in Singapore playing it.
Day 2
Found the archery range by accident when we went to enquire on (another) of the Theme Park's closed rides. I don't know why the archery range is tucked in a totally secluded corner when it's one of the few things open and interesting! Quite cheap too.
I'm actually supposed to close my left eye and aim with my right I think (according to the staff), but it seemed to be making it worse.
Yes I know my legs are scary.
Omg my own legs creep me out. Hyper-extended or whatever it's called. Think I only stand like this sometimes.
Hahaha no prizes for guessing which is mine and which is Alaric's.
Notice than Alaric has a different bow from me? Halfway through the staff came over and "upgraded" him to a cooler-looking bow wahlao whyyyyyy.
Getting our spray-on tattoos! Alaric's is some weird Egyptian eye, but the stencil above turned out different than the design they had in their book. It's been almost two weeks and my spray-on snowflake is still there!
My mom said to me one day, "That's a real tattoo right? You bluff me! If it's fake why is it still there after so long?"
Hahahaha what a retarded way to try and conceal a real tattoo. Imagine if it's real and you tell your parents it's a fake one... The lie becomes quite obvious with a month or two right?!
Maybe I just haven't bathed in two weeks... kidding! I didn't scratch it and didn't put any oil-based lotion (moisturizer) on it so it's just still there. Might remove it soon but so far it isn't even deformed or anything.
Went to Ripley's Museum after that which was just kinda... gimmicky. Think the TV show is more interesting.
Hahahaha I found this to be the most interesting part of the entire museum! And you can basically find these deforming mirrors anywhere.
Also went to the Haunted House (waste of time and money), and this laser maze thing.
Have you guys seen that movie with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones? In the movie Catherine's character practices every day in a remake of a laser maze so that she can move through it undetected in the real room where they're stealing some jewel.
Same concept, and the maze thing rings an alarm every time you touch a laser beam. I made it through without touching any woohoo!
Okay I Googled it, the movie is called Entrapment (1999).
Day 3
Our last day, and we finally woke up in time to check out the complimentary breakfast. It was kind of weird cause they had eggs, fries, baked beans... but no meats at all. And they'd have like the rice from Nasi Lemak, but with Indian curry?
Anyway our coach back to Singapore would only be leaving at 3.30pm so we had quite a bit of time to kill. Watched The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on my laptop in the room and waited to see if the Outdoor Theme Park would FINALLY be functional.
Our hotel room overlooks right into the theme park! The mist is crazy. Sat on that spinning-seat carousel thing. It's one of my favourite rides of all time!
Crazy clouds/mist.
Finally paid to enter the Outdoor Theme Park but... everything started closing -_-
Final picture for this post: one of a very dilapidated giant Energizer figurine. No idea why on earth it is even there.
Anyway Genting was pretty much a huge waste of time. I was looking forward to trying the theme park rides but that was just so FAIL. Food up at Genting Highlands SUCKED and it wasn't even cheap.
We did go to the casino a few times, and combined we lost a total of S$200. Good job to us haha. The casino was probably the most interesting thing for this whole trip (although the air inside is really really bad - I must have gotten 5 year's worth of secondhand smoke in one night alone).
You should probably only go up to Genting to gamble, and consider investing in a nice room so it still feels like a getaway. Everything else there is a massive fail.
Should have just gone to Batam or something! The ferry costs $40 I think? And a meal with crabs and other dishes only costs like S$7/per person. I want to go for a beach holiday next :D
"Officially known as Resorts World Genting and a self-proclaimed City of Entertainment, Genting is Malaysia's low-budget, family-friendly, sanitized attempt at Las Vegas".
And I literally LOL-ed (okay I only made a small giggle). It sounds bad - "self-proclaimed", "low-budget", "attempt"...
But anyway they really weren't kidding about the attempt to copy Las Vegas. Geez Genting is replete with all the miniature, miniature versions of the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower and etc. And these miniature monuments were listed under Theme Park Attractions -_-
No wonder they came up with a total of "50 attractions", when we only got to sit on a total of maybe 10 (including both Indoor and Outdoor Theme Parks). How the hell does staring at a replica of a replica of the original monument constitute part of any theme park-goer's quest for thrilling rides anyway?
Day 1
Our trip was planned pretty last-minute so we didn't have a whole array of options. We paid $70 each for 2-way coach, and around $40 each per night. We stayed at Theme Park Hotel which is very conveniently situated beside the Outdoor Theme Park. If we had gotten to go that is (we did, but only on the last day for less than 2 hours).
The coach was pretty good! It was comfortable and the coach drivers are super efficient. And I basically conked out the whole way. Could fall asleep within minutes.
The hotel is alright. The room is basic, but the service is not bad.
The bad part... was the WEATHER. We had checked weather forecasts beforehand and it predicted sunny, hot days so I packed my little shorts, my little crop tops, my little flip flops... and like 4 pairs of sunglasses. (Okay I bet some of y'all are rolling your eyes now but I simply put too much faith in the weather forecast).
It drizzled about 20 hours of each day and the sky was a perpetual dismal grey and it was about 19 degrees max.
The rides in the Outdoor Theme Park were continuously closed on-off-on-off-on-off-etc. But the thing is that... some rides would be open and some wouldn't? Like the staff would say the ride is closed because of the drizzle but errrrr why are some others open?! Or they'd say the ride is closed (very shortly) for safety checks, but there is NO ONE THERE even after ages. Does the ride check itself then? Just really totally disorganized. So frustrating!
Paying S$20+ (after discount) to sit on 3 rides is ridiculous. And FYI, one ride consisted of just sitting on a little monorail thing going past walls painted with pirates. WORST RIDE EVER.
By the 2nd day it was just like so super... ughhhh. Took the most photos on the first day where we spent it roaming around the Indoor Theme Park:
-_- why the hell does the Statue of Liberty have such messed up eyes anyway? Like... is it a joke or just a bad paint job?
Possibly the most interesting FUNCTIONING ride out of the Indoor + Outdoor Theme Parks combined. We actually sat on it twice because there was nothing else to do.
The Indoor Theme Park has like... 3-5 slow moving monorail rides. How many times do they think visitors want to spend gazing down at Miss Statue of Liberty With the Weird Eyes? Anyway we sat on ALL of them. Nothing else to do and we had paid for an all-pass ticket.
Wanted to sit on the carousel.
"Sorry for small only."
"But I am very small!" (okay lah I know I'm not small but hey it's not like the horse can't take my weight!)
"Cannot."
Queuing for some 4D ride, which basically consists of you wearing 3D glasses and the 4th dimension being them blowing wind in your face for every.single.effect.
Usually these 4D rides (e.g. at Singapore Science Center) are you hurtling through space, dodging meteorites etc. This was about a... cat. You saw things through that cat's perspective as it walked around a haunted house. Rather boring.
The answer is 9! In case you didn't get it haha.
Ubiquitous Starbucks, and the gondola ride non-functional (what's new).
This was the ride we sat on twice! Took this while we were sitting in one of the insanely slow monorail ones. I make the ride look cool. It looks like something from Tron in this photo!
Miss Statue of Liberty on a Motorbike.
Sat on the Ferris Wheel as well.
Hahaha I was a few seconds too late. Moments before this the woman was sleeping with her mouth wide open while waiting for her friend's caricature to be done.
Big Ben replica.
Eating waffles! Chocolate and peanut butter. It was pretty good!
HAHA playing the weird catch-fish/butterfly arcade game! We always saw people playing it in Singapore but couldn't figure out what it was. Wasted like... S$20/$30/$40/? on this.
A random girl's award stubs. She had a few thousand! You trade stubs the machines give you in exchange for a prize.
Feeding ours into the counter! We got a total of 600 I think.
Haha and this is what we got from the arcade! Okay lah the giraffe is quite cute but soooo not worth the money we spent on it. The catch-fish/butterfly game is mad addictive though! No wonder I see uncles and teens alike sitting on stools at arcades in Singapore playing it.
Day 2
Found the archery range by accident when we went to enquire on (another) of the Theme Park's closed rides. I don't know why the archery range is tucked in a totally secluded corner when it's one of the few things open and interesting! Quite cheap too.
I'm actually supposed to close my left eye and aim with my right I think (according to the staff), but it seemed to be making it worse.
Yes I know my legs are scary.
Omg my own legs creep me out. Hyper-extended or whatever it's called. Think I only stand like this sometimes.
Hahaha no prizes for guessing which is mine and which is Alaric's.
Notice than Alaric has a different bow from me? Halfway through the staff came over and "upgraded" him to a cooler-looking bow wahlao whyyyyyy.
Getting our spray-on tattoos! Alaric's is some weird Egyptian eye, but the stencil above turned out different than the design they had in their book. It's been almost two weeks and my spray-on snowflake is still there!
My mom said to me one day, "That's a real tattoo right? You bluff me! If it's fake why is it still there after so long?"
Hahahaha what a retarded way to try and conceal a real tattoo. Imagine if it's real and you tell your parents it's a fake one... The lie becomes quite obvious with a month or two right?!
Maybe I just haven't bathed in two weeks... kidding! I didn't scratch it and didn't put any oil-based lotion (moisturizer) on it so it's just still there. Might remove it soon but so far it isn't even deformed or anything.
Went to Ripley's Museum after that which was just kinda... gimmicky. Think the TV show is more interesting.
Hahahaha I found this to be the most interesting part of the entire museum! And you can basically find these deforming mirrors anywhere.
Also went to the Haunted House (waste of time and money), and this laser maze thing.
Have you guys seen that movie with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones? In the movie Catherine's character practices every day in a remake of a laser maze so that she can move through it undetected in the real room where they're stealing some jewel.
Same concept, and the maze thing rings an alarm every time you touch a laser beam. I made it through without touching any woohoo!
Okay I Googled it, the movie is called Entrapment (1999).
Day 3
Our last day, and we finally woke up in time to check out the complimentary breakfast. It was kind of weird cause they had eggs, fries, baked beans... but no meats at all. And they'd have like the rice from Nasi Lemak, but with Indian curry?
Anyway our coach back to Singapore would only be leaving at 3.30pm so we had quite a bit of time to kill. Watched The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on my laptop in the room and waited to see if the Outdoor Theme Park would FINALLY be functional.
Our hotel room overlooks right into the theme park! The mist is crazy. Sat on that spinning-seat carousel thing. It's one of my favourite rides of all time!
Crazy clouds/mist.
Finally paid to enter the Outdoor Theme Park but... everything started closing -_-
Final picture for this post: one of a very dilapidated giant Energizer figurine. No idea why on earth it is even there.
Anyway Genting was pretty much a huge waste of time. I was looking forward to trying the theme park rides but that was just so FAIL. Food up at Genting Highlands SUCKED and it wasn't even cheap.
We did go to the casino a few times, and combined we lost a total of S$200. Good job to us haha. The casino was probably the most interesting thing for this whole trip (although the air inside is really really bad - I must have gotten 5 year's worth of secondhand smoke in one night alone).
You should probably only go up to Genting to gamble, and consider investing in a nice room so it still feels like a getaway. Everything else there is a massive fail.
Should have just gone to Batam or something! The ferry costs $40 I think? And a meal with crabs and other dishes only costs like S$7/per person. I want to go for a beach holiday next :D
hey genting doesnt look as bad as u make it out to be.. just my 2cents..
ReplyDeleteI wanted to ask you some queries regarding genting but everytime I posted a question on your formspring and click send, it, a pop up appears saying its an 'invalid request: bad token'. Any idea why ?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: If it's once or twice it's probably Formspring being buggy, but if it's all the time then I don't know... What's browser are you using? Anyway you can leave a comment or email me! (:
ReplyDeletewhere did you get the floral dress from? :)
ReplyDelete