On 15th December 2008, a group of eight began their 6 day journey along the west coast of Malaysia. Students had to travel the unconventional way of backpacking, which they handled with much ease. The journey started from Johor Bahru where we made our way to our first pit stop – Melaka. Before making our way to the historic city of Melaka, we settled for lunch at a Hong Kong Café at City Square, Johor Bahru. Due to the tight schedule, we were unable to stay long in City Square.
Melaka
We boarded the bus to Melaka at around 1.30pm only to arrive at around 4pm.We met up with our ESPian local guide of the day, Mr Lee Gah Hung who showed us around the heritage city of Melaka. We checked into our hostel for the night – Ringo’s Foyer. We were greeted with warmth by the owner of the hostel, Mr Howard, which was really friendly. After check-in, Gah Hung showed us around the key destinations around Melaka which included A’Farmosa and Dutch Square. As the night befall on us, we were treated to a sumptuous dinner of Satay Jeluk at a popular restaurant, Capitol Satay, which was near the Dutch Square. We feasted on the humungous variety of food in the restaurant. The most popular food was the huge tiger prawn which was simply too tempting. After dinner, we proceeded back to our hostel where some engaged on card games, while some chose to surf net, while some decided to take a rest.
Penang
We departed for the food haven of Penang at 10 am from Melaka Sentral Bus terminal. We had to endure an approximate of 8 hour journey to the northern island of the Malay Peninsula. We only arrived at Penang at around 6pm as we checked into our hostel for this leg of the trip, Hutton Lodge. It was an interesting experience as the hostel was revamped from a former colonial building. Most of its colonial characteristics were still very much prominent. We met up with our ESPian local guide for Penang, Ms Foo Chuang Ning, who showed us around the food haven of Gurney Drive as well as took us to a pub named QE II. Though the weather didn’t favor us, it didn’t stop us from ordering food from the stalls. Some were totally drenched after getting the food, while some remained under the shelter of the huge umbrella. We were treated to an enormous variety of hawker food. Penang Laksa, Char Kway Teow, oyster omelette are merely some examples of the food we tried at Gurney Drive. To say that the food was delicious would be a complete understatement. After dinner, we headed to the nearby Gurney Plaza where we took some time to walk around before heading to QE II where we sat down at chat and relax. It was about 12am that we finally decided to go back and round up the day. The next morning, we proceeded to visit one of the finest Buddhist temple, Kek Lok Si Temple. It was an eye-opening experience for some as some were impressed by the delicate architecture. Some took the chance to pray to the Gods while some took the chance to obtain divine lots to ask for their personal matters. After which, we took some time to take the inclined elevator to the top of the temple where we took pictures of the view of Penang. After which, our local guide took us to the beach, Batu Ferringhi, where some of us decide to spend a lazy afternoon by the beach while some took the chance to try out jet skiing which was a memorable moment for some. As dusk nears, it was time to get back to Georgetown for dinner before heading to Genting on an overnight bus. We had the Malaysia’s version of Bah Kut Teh (Meat Bone Tea) for dinner before some of us hitched a ride from Chuang Ning back to the hostel while some risked getting lost by walking back to the hostel which we eventually managed to do it. Kudoz! Due to the lack of time, we had to pack up and shower in preparation for the overnight bus to Genting.
Genting
We headed to Sungei Nibong Bus terminal where we took the 10pm bus to Genting only to reach there at an unearthly hour of 4am. Some of us then decided to have our cold KFC bought from Penang for breakfast at 4am, some decided to take a short rest, while some decided to take off our overcoats to walk around the outdoors of Genting without any jackets on. Everyone was exhausted due to the overnight bus as we took a 3 hour break after checking in at around 6.30am. We proceeded to the theme park for a fun filled day. Some chose the exciting path of attempting rides like the Space shot, Corkscrew, while some took the relaxing path of just taking rides like the merry go horse. After dinner, we parted ways for free and easy around Genting.
Kuala Lumpur
After checking out of Genting First World Hotel, we took a cable ride down to the foothill to take a bus to the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Due to the simplicity of navigating around Kuala Lumpur, Mr Tang Muzhi led this leg of the journey despite having 2 locals, Mr Low Han Wuen and Mr Ang Shan Zheng, present during this leg of the trip. It was a great learning experience as we learn how to navigate and travel around an area totally clueless to some. It was simply a test of adaptability for some. After check in, we bought our bus tickets from Puduraya Bus terminal for our trip back to Singapore. After which, we proceeded to the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Bintang for a free and easy afternoon. Eventually, most of us ended up in a KTV which I would say was really cheap as we only paid RM 12 for an afternoon in the KTV. The rest decided to do their own shopping at the shopping haven of Kuala Lumpur. After KTV, we went for dinner before heading to the iconic Petronas Twin Tower for the night view. Many were amazed by the sheer size of the twin tower as we spent the night taking photographs of the majestic 2nd tallest building in the world just behind Taipei’s 101 tower. We ended the photograph taking session at around 10.30pm where we headed back to Petaling Street for the night market. Unfortunately, we could not make it for the night market in time as most of the stalls were packing up for the night. As fatigue sets in, some decided to engage in their deep slumber for the very last night of the arduous journey, while some decided to have Hokkien Mee for supper at a nearby stall. To round it up, most of us headed to the Petronas Tower the next morning to get tickets to enter the sky bridge of Petronas Tower. We spent some time taking photographs yet again before heading back to the hotel for check out. We rounded up the trip at 4pm when we boarded the bus for our journey back to Singapore.
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