Archives for March 2012

Also known as Genting

We had one last day in Kuala Lumpur so we decided to check out Genting Highlands, home of the only legal land-based casino in Malaysia! This adventure was more for Mike than for me but I was happy enough to tag along. Besides, you get to ride a gondola…which sounded like fun (despite my fear of heights).

Well… the approximately one hour trip outside the city actually took more like three? And we just happened to arrive on the first day of the two week maintenance closure for the gondola. That meant a very long line for the shuttle bus.

The casino and theme parks were a bit run down but still amusing. Everyone likes giant reproductions of random famous things, right?

Mike played the slot machines but wasn’t quite as successful as his jaunt in Vienna. By the time he was finished, I was ready to go.

The plus side to this disappointing trip is that the air in the Highlands is much cooler than in the city down below. I was actually chilly at times.

Early the next morning we headed back to Abu Dhabi, via Sri Lanka. I think we were ready.

xo, jill

And a bit of KL

Our second day in Malacca we set out early to explore a bit more of the city and enjoy breakfast in the cooler weather.

We stopped by the Malacca Fort and walked down to the Naval Museum and back through the main square.

Then we returned to our hostel, picked up our bags, and got back on the bus headed for Kuala Lumpur.

During our first stay in KL we didn’t realize how close we were to a major shopping district. With nothing much to do, we decided to head to the mall to have a nice meal and see a movie. Outside the mall we found the Buddy Bears! I had previously seen them in Helsinki so it was fun to bump into them again.

After the movie we headed back to our hotel and caught a glimpse of the Petronas Towers on the way.

xo, jill

Getting away from KL

After staying the bulk of our trip in Vietnam, we had a few more days to spend in Malaysia. We knew we didn’t want to spend much time in Kuala Lumpur, so I asked Flora for advice on where to visit. She suggested Malacca. It sounded good to us so after spending the night in KL we jumped on a bus and headed out of the city.

The hot and sticky weather in Malaysia was certainly a change from the dry and chilly weather in northern Vietnam. I did not enjoy the long and sweaty walk to our hostel in Malacca. We stayed at a $5 place that was nice enough but definitely not luxurious. Or near our bus stop. Oh well.

We spent most of the day walking around the historical streets of Malacca and visiting a museum. The city definitely has a unique vibe due to the combination of several very different influences. For example, it was once a colony of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. Plus, you can’t forget the local Malay and Chinese populations. It all comes together to form Malacca.

We got caught in a very wet downpour that night which was actually more delightful than anything else. Living in a desert will do that to you.