Issie's Random Musings: Up on a Mountain

Went for a 3 day 2 night vacay up to a mountain called Genting Highlands that I've been umpteen times ever since I was a kid. But it'd been three years since I last visited so I guess I didn't mind that much! Plus, we would get to eat at one of my fave restaurants of all time there, since my mother and brother's birthday fall then! It's a pity though - I won't receive as many red packets this year since I'd have lost one day of the lunar new year to go visiting. Oh wells.

We were supposed to leave at 5 in the morning on Saturday, but everyone woke up at 6 plus, and it dragged till we only managed to reach the checkpoint at 8! The first checkpoint we crossed was not as heavily congested as we thought. But after that... the checkpoint into Malaysia was waaay congested. We were stuck in a jam from the highway all the way to the checkpoint. We took an hour plus to get there. It was hell.

After that it was a pretty long drive. But a pretty interesting one. We saw a Lamborghini that we saw previously at the checkpoint in Singapore, and my father tried to overtake the glamowheels a coupla times (and succeeded). It was hilarious to see. In the end, he joked that we should give the man in the Lamborghini some "face". Haha! I hope I get a Lamborghini in the future. But what are the odds?

We had a rest stop, then we stopped in Jonker Street in Malacca to eat chicken rice (um. It wasn't even that nice, even though it's pretty famous). It's funny how ridiculous that latter sentence sounded. I'd been there before, and how it looks in the day and at night is extraordinarily different.

The wooden ship structure I managed to snap a photo of as we left Jonker Street and headed for Genting!

Shophouses lined along the streets of Melaka/Malacca.

Some building in Malacca.

A Herbie Volkswagen my brother pointed out to me while we stopped for petrol.

On the road again! Angry Birds merch are annoyingly sold everywhere in Malaysia.

After awhile, about an hour away from Genting, we were stuck in a jam again! Dayuuum. My father was pretty smart. He drove along the left side of the road, while other drivers obediently followed the vehicles in front of theirs (the result of the jam). Finally, a split in the road, and we were much closer to scaling the mountain on wheels (I always loved the dangerous winding roads up the mountain - it'd be fun to drive), and away from the traffic jam! Turns out most of the cars in the jam were headed elsewhere. Thank goodness.

The traffic jam.

We finally reached and parked our car close to the ledge. It was terrifying to look down (but I did anyway). Still, the view even from the parking lot was amazing! The sky was beautiful and we could see cable cars in the distance.

Okay that's enough for now. It must get really boring looking at pictures of scenery.

We checked in and immediately checked for wifi at the hotel lobby (we were staying in Hotel Highlands - the second best one out of the many hotels in Genting). There was Starbucks in the lobby, and there was wifi that I never did get a chance to try out during my entire stay there. Damn. Plus the counter lady told us there was no wifi in the hotel rooms at all (except on the 12th floor - we stayed on the 11th, how unfortch is that?!)

Beautiful illustrations and statues on the counter in the hotel lobby!

We got connecting rooms! My mother and father in one, and my bro and I in the other. The view from our hotel room was amazing. We were so close to the clouds, even though we were only on the 11th floor! And the mist was so pretty to see.

And now photos of how the hotel room looks!

The gridded square opens to reveal the bathroom! It's not locked. LOL.

A pretty hand-painted portrait!

We rested for a bit in our rooms, and only went out for dinner at 8 plus! We decided to eat Chinese (something nice since it was my mother's birthday!). We had fresh oysters, which I think gave me a stomachache for the rest of the night... It tasted good, regardless!

Our messy remains.

We had a bit of spare time after we ate, and the shops don't close too early! I had time to try on and buy some clothes! Yippee! From Padini Authentics, I bought:

A Christmas-type pull sweater with a brown patch at the elbow sleeve! So cute!

Squirrels!

And a tri-colored knitted buttoned cape!

The second day arrives! We all woke up pretty late, and ate our breakfast together with our lunch at Genting's most expensive restaurant, which wasn't too far from our hotel! It was my brother's birthday.

The pretty leather-bound menu.

We had a free appetizer! A salmon sashimi, laden with white cheese (I think), salmon roe and a tiny leaf. I dont usually eat salmon raw, but I have to admit, this one was really good. I finished every last scrap of it.

The empty restaurant in the afternoon. It gets crowded for dinner though! Plus the prices on the menu are waaay enough for them to earn their keep.

More appetizers! The black bread was good! I've no idea what it's called though.

I ordered Pont L'évêque (a type of cheese from France, if it's not already obvious!) It was really good, when eaten together with the crackers and nuts! I ate most of the grapes too.

Wild Mushroom in Porcini Powder, Truffled Foam.

Was feeling up to eating more French delicacies, so I ordered Escargot with Herbed Garlic Butter too! They were good (much better than the ones sold in second-grade restaurants in Singapore). The green garlic wasn't as good as the ones in France though.

My main dish! It was creamy, with cheese and mushrooms in each piece of pasta wrapped in a shape of a cup. Thank God they didn't give too many. I was almost sick to my stomach by the time I gobbled up the last one.

My brother's Chilean Sea Bass Mushroom Ragout, Chili Chutney, Asparagus & Ponzu

My father's beef dish. The waiter came out with a huge box filled with different types of knives for him to choose to cut his beef. It was hilarious.

My mother's salmon dish.

Nice mineral water from the alps of Tuscany, Italy. They charged us for it, naturally.

My tri-sorbet for dessert! Yummers!

That night, we watched a single show movie at 7PM! Journey 2: Mysterious Island! It was awesome. Loved Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens and Dwayne Johnson's performance in it! And also, the tiny elephants.

On the road down the mountain after our stay... we travelled down the winding turns of the road again. Fun!