Genting Highlands
How to get there: Take the LRT train and alight from Terminal Putra Gombak. Purchase tickets from the Genting Ticket Booth located in the ground floor of the terminal for a bus and cable car ride up to Genting Highlands.
Entrance fee: We paid MYR 26.00 (~USD 8.00) per person for Genting promo package last 2007. This includes bus ride and cable car ride to and from Genting Highlands with Terminal Putra Gombak as starting point. The package also includes your choice of Outdoor Theme Park Ride or simple lunch.
2014 Update – the package price already increased to MYR 50 (~USD 15) but with an upgraded offer. The MYR 50 Genting promo package now covers return bus and Skyway cable car transfers and, your choice between Indoor Theme Park & Snow World Pass or a Buffet Lunch at First World Cafe. If you do not want to take a package, the one-way bus and cable car transfer costs only MYR 9.40 (~USD 3). Whatever your choice, I think all options deliver value for money.
It’s the third day of our trip and we are now craving for some adventure outside the city center. We headed out early for the day to avoid the morning commute rush. From KLCC Station, we rode LRT to Terminal Putra Gombak which costed us not more than MYR4 (USD 1.50) per person. The train ride was quite pleasant and there’s not much people since it’s early in the morning. Definitely, the price was not bad for a 30-minute ride.
We found the Genting ticket booth at the ground floor of Terminal Putra Gombak and purchased a Genting package consisting of bus and cable car ride. Unfortunately, the cable car is out of service on the day we arrived and we were transported via bus all the way. It took us 30 minutes to reach the top of Genting Highlands from the terminal. The cable car Skyway ride remains to be in our dreams and we hope to experience it next time we go back to KL. It looks like a very thrilling ride based on the photo below.
When we got out of the bus, we were caught unprepared by the cold chill high up in the mountains. We did not have jackets with us – we did not expect it to be that cold since the place is only 3o minutes away from Kuala Lumpur. The temperature in Genting is colder than aircon temperature but we still managed to take a few rides in the outdoor park since we’re already there anyway. To me, the greatest attraction of Genting is the cold temperature especially for South East Asians who consider a cold weather experience a treat. The theme park is just secondary. In fact, the outdoor theme park in Genting Highlands is one of the oldest which I’ve seen and it could have seen better days decades ago.
Update 2014 – After 35 years in operation, the Genting Outdoor Theme Park has finally closed effective September 2013 to give way to a new development. It will be closed for the next 3 years according to their website. However, other attractions in Genting remain to be open like the Indoor Theme Park.
We did not spent much time in Genting as we felt that it was too touristy. The Genting bus took us back to Terminal Putra Gombak early in the afternoon.
Batu Caves
How to get there: Take a cab from Terminal Putra Gombak from the lower grounds of Genting. Cab cost for a 10 minute ride from Terminal Putra Gombak to Batu Caves is approximately MYR 6 (less than USD 2) without traffic.
Entrance fee: Free
Batu Cave is located along a major highway and is accessible by cab. The majestic statue of the Hindu God in Batu Caves is so huge that you can see it from afar along the highway. The 272 steps are quite even and should be an easy climb for a fit person. We met some monkeys along the stairs and they should be best left alone. Later you will know why.
We nearly had a disastrous encounter with the monkeys on top of Batu Caves. While we prepared to take pictures of shrines and temples, my mom left our bag of chips temporarily on the ground. Guess what happened next? The monkeys immediately grabbed the bag and fled. We tried to get it back from but the money was already in a mode of attack, shouting with its mouth wide open. We felt very threatened. Good thing there was a Hindu monk passing by who shooed the monkey away. So this monkey went away with a complete snack – some bag of chips and bottles of water. After visiting Batu Caves, we flagged down a cab along the highway. Cab fare is around MYR20.00 (~USD 6) to KL City Center. Whew! What a day! This is definitely a day to remember and a lot to be thankful for – we escaped the attack of Batu Cave monkeys!
Asiatravelbug Tips:
1. Bring a jacket to Genting Highlands to ensure a comfortable stay.
2. To avoid unwanted and dangerous encounter with monkeys in Batu Caves, do not tempt them with food and do not leave your things unguarded. Do not pet the monkeys.
Click here for Day 4 (Bayview Hotel Singapore and 2 Day Singapore Pass)
Go to:
Day 1: Singapore to Kuala Lumpur by Bus from Harbour Front Centre
Day 2: Petronas Twin Towers, Merdeka Square & Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur
Day 3: Genting Highlands and Batu Caves
Day 4: Bayview Hotel Singapore and 2 Day Singapore Pass
Day 5: Duck Tours Singapore, Heritage Hippo Tour & Moonlight Adventure
Day 6: Singapore River Cruise, Clark Quay & Sentosa
Day 7: Singapore Zoo and Night Safari
Day 8: Things to Do in Singapore in Less Than a Day
Hi! Thank you for dropping by my blog. As soon as you arrive in KL, I would suggest you to try your luck in getting advance tickets for Petronas Twin Towers. By 10am, it is highly likely that the tickets for the twin towers are already sold out for the day. Do also note that the towers are closed on Mondays and they now charge 50 ringgit per ticket.
You can spend the afternoon in Genting and Batu Caves. Next day, you can check-out early from your Genting hotel and transfer immediately to Kuala Lumpur. Visit Petronas towers (if you are lucky to have advance tickets), Suria KLCC, Bukit Bintang Area for shopping and Merdaka square. If your hotel booking is not yet final, I would suggest that you book your hotel within Kuala Lumpur instead of Genting to allow more flexibility in your itinerary.
Good luck and I wish you a pleasant trip to Malaysia! I’m sure you will have fun!
Hi Its a nice blog.. We have booked our return air tickets from singapore to Kl and a hotel in genting.. can u please advice the best itenary we can follow. we will reach kl mornong around 10 and next day night 10 is our dep from KL
hi.. i would like to ask if it’s possible to go to genting highlands from Kuala Lumpur early morning? around 5 am> because our estimated time of arrival Singapore to Kuala Lumpur is 2am and our hotel check in time is 2pm.. so we are planning to go first Genting hIghlands before the Petronas twin tower.
Excellent update… REally helped…
This is good..thanks…keep on blogging! 🙂
Hi, thanks for the information. It is very helpful =)
Was planning to go to Batu Caves from KL. Do you know the time taken to drive from KL to Batu Caves?
Hi Joey!
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
It is possible but time may be too tight. I would suggest you do petronas in the morning, genting highlands and batu cave in the afternoon and spend sometime in Suria KLCC/Bukit Bintang area in the evening. You can catch 6am aeroline bus the next day from KL and arrive at noon time in SG. Better yet, go aeroline.com.sg and check their bus schedule. Be sure to book online in advance to ensure you have seats.
I hope this helps and have a nice trip ahead. =)
hi, do you think it’s possible to see petronas, genting highlands and batu cave in one whole day and still catch the last bus trip back to singapore?
thanks!really need help planning our not so long stay in sg and kl.
Thanks for the info. Your blog has been very helpful.