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Highlands, caves, and Petronas on a postcard in Malaysia


I had always been taught in school that our language has striking similarities to that of the Malaysians. When in Malaysia, it feels good to validate this textbook teaching through first-hand information. Peeking out the window of our bus while traveling to the city from the airport, I saw huge street signs with the words, “Selamat Datang." Doing a little tweaking of the letters, a Filipino could easily tell it means the warm greeting of “Welcome," which in Filipino could sound like, “Salamat sa Pagdating (Thank you for coming)." Outside 24-hour convenient stores, there is usually a sign that reads “Buka 24 jam." Taking from our own “Bukas," a Filipino could deduce its meaning as “Open 24 hours." While eating out at one of the McDonald’s chains, I noticed a promotional poster on the glass window offering customers 10 items to choose from. “Baru: 10 Pilihan" Now that’s easy: “Bago: 10 Pagpipilian (New: 10 Choices)." Once I got into the habit of being my own translator and etymologist, I just couldn’t stop. Looking at a flurry of words in billboards or even in newspapers, I made an effort to decipher the ones that sound most Filipino-like. I learned that they call their taxis, “teksi;" their tickets, “tiket;" and their restaurants, “restoran." By the end of the day, despite their seeming overuse of Ks, Gs, and Ys, I concluded that their tongue was not as different from ours as I once thought it was. Fun in the clouds And so, with the help of the good ‘ole teksi, we made our way to the nearest station to take a bus that would bring us to the Genting Highlands. Nestled on one of the highest points of the Titiwangsa Mountains, almost 60 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur, the Highlands is home of the Taman Tema Genting or the Genting Theme Park. It took about an hour to negotiate the winding road that led up the Titiwangsa Mountains. And just when we thought we had already gone high enough, we realized we were not there just yet. We still had to ride a cable car to go further up the mountains before reaching the theme park. With fingers crossed, we embarked on the 3.38-kilometer ascent to the Genting Theme Park. The trip started off a little bumpy. We could hear metal scraping above us from time to time – sending my mom into a “silent" frenzy. Surprisingly, as our altitude increased by increments, our panic-meter gradually dropped as we began enjoying the sight outside and got used to the jarring sound of the cable car. We were told to leave the glass windows of the car open “to let the clouds in and pass through us." It was like science fiction. Clouds have never been that close to my face. My jacket finally served its purpose as the cool breeze swept through our bodies. Temperatures at Genting Highlands can drop as low as 16 degrees Celsius. After around 20 minutes suspended in the air while traveling at high speed (the Genting cable cars are the world’s fastest), we finally arrived at our destination – a leisure center perched on top of a section of the mountain that was blanketed by thick clouds.

Thick clouds cover the outdoor theme park at the Genting Highlands. Mark Merueñas
With dozens of attractions scattered all over the place, one could easily proclaim the site as the Disneyland of Malaysia or, for Filipinos based in Manila, the Enchanted Kingdom of Malaysia – but definitely 10 times bigger and better. All we needed was 75 MYR each (roughly PhP 950) to enjoy a ride-all-you-can pass to the theme park. The outdoor park came with the usual carousel, roller coaster, bump cars, and “tea cup" rides (the one where you board a giant spinning cup). Inside the covered area of the theme park, more attractions awaited us. We got a feel of the arctic region at Snow World. There was also a cinema house, a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum, restaurants, scores of designer shops and boutiques, and would you believe, a casino? Talk about gambling in the clouds. There are several hotels around the theme park, as 24 hours is simply not enough for eager visitors to try every ride. Batu Caves Our next stop was the famous Batu Caves of Gombak District – home of the world’s biggest statue of the Hindu deity, Lord Murugan. Accessible from the city proper by train and then by taxi, the Batu Caves is a famous Hindu shrine. It is the venue for the Thaipusam Festival – one of the largest Hindu gatherings in the world held between late January and early February. We went to the caves a day after the festival. Walking around the foot of the caves, there were two noticeable mounds in the vicinity: Either heaps of garbage or, surprisingly, piles of shoes and sandals. As I would later learn, thousands of participants in the Thaipusam Festival would not only leave garbage as they climb to the entrance of the caves; most would also abandon anything they are wearing on their feet and climb the flight of stairs barefoot.
To get from the ground to the mouth of one of the caves, you have to scale a very steep, three-lane flight of concrete stairs with 272 steps (nope, I didn’t cheat or consult the travel books; I counted the steps myself). If you think climbing the famous stairs of Baguio City’s Wright Park is exhausting, try going up the Batu Caves. Motivated by the sight of portly devotees who, although visibly exhausted, were climbing the stairs enthusiastically, I started inching my way up as well, carefully pacing my steps to save every last bit of energy that I had. Upon reaching the top, I was greeted by a high-ceilinged cave entrance. I proceeded into the dimly lit cave. Candles and sunlight streaming from an opening above were the only sources of light. Inside, several altars scattered around different corners of the cave held statues of Hindu gods, and devotees in deep worship were in front of them. Twin towers Our last stop was the Petronas Towers in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, an imposing 88-storey twin structure that has undeniably become Malaysia’s most popular and recognizable symbol. It’s best to visit the architectural gem at night, with bright lights beaming up and illuminating the structure, making it the brightest thing for several kilometers around. We entered the Petronas through the Kuala Lumpur Commercial Center or KLCC Shopping Mall, located at the base of the structure. As we walked around, we were greeted by a familiar spot in the mall: hungry shoppers bustling around a line-up of food stalls and queuing with trays in tow. I quipped: “Uso din pala food court dito (I didn’t know they also have food courts here)." Down below, near the expansive parking area, is the Aquaria – just like our Ocean Park – complete with manta rays, sea horses, sharks and even aquatic animals that are endemic in the great Amazon of South America. You guessed right, that would include piranhas! We would have wanted to stay on but we had a flight to catch, and so we exited the Petronas towers, but not without taking a few snapshots in front of the towers. Of all the places we visited in Singapore and Malaysia, the Petronas Towers were the only ones that did not look real to me in the sense that, looking up the buildings from down below, it seemed like I was only staring at a photograph. Literally, it was like looking at a postcard that was blown up to 400 feet. If only I could put a stamp behind that big “postcard" and send it directly back home! – YA, GMANews.TV SINGAPORE
Part 1: In Singapore, it’s easy to get lost in translation In late January, GMANews.TV’s Mark D. Merueñas traveled with his family to Singapore and Malaysia, two of the Philippines’ closest neighbors and among the most popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia. Read about his trip to Singapore here.
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