Batu Caves and Sunway Lagoon

We came back from Genting Highlands to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and on the way stopped at Batu Caves.

Batu Caves

Batu Caves is a major tourist attraction in Malaysia and most of the tour operators ensure that you stop at Batu caves enroute to Genting or while coming back. There is a huge Shiv (a hindu god) idol in front of the caves. The insides of the caves is Ok. It could have been better if they had not built so many temples inside. I am sure without the temples, the place would have looked awesome.

Climbing the 170 odd stairs is no big deal but beware of hundreds of monkeys who will pounce on anything edible in your hand. If you have small kids with you, be extra careful. On the left you can see a picture of the shiv idol and behind the idol, stairs taking you up to the entrance of Batu caves.


The best part about Batu caves are the few shops/restaurants near the parking area which serve South Indian food at very reasonable prices. If you want to have reasonably good (not so spicy) and pretty cheap Indian food, do dig in.

From Batu caves we went directly to the exotic Sunway Lagoon.

Sunway Lagoon
Sunway Lagoon is a nice place to spend time with your family or even if you are on a honeymoon. The water park in Sunway Lagoon is simply wonderful. Its more of a theme park, with a huge wooden bridge crossing the various water parks and leading to some thrilling rides.
The major attractions of Sunway Lagoon are:

• There are two hotels - Sunway Hotel Resort and Spa where we stayed and the more expensive Sunway Pyramid. Both the hotels are very good in terms of rooms and services
• Theme Parks - Water parks with surf beach, water rides, extreme park etc.
• Shopping Mall - There is a shopping Mall right next to Sunway Hotel Resort, in fact it's internally connected and there are many good restaurants in the mall

The photo on the right is that of theme park (water park) from my hotel room. You must enjoy the water park if you are there. Some tips for the same:

• If you are staying at the hotel, make sure you carry towels from your hotel room (yes you can take those)
• But make sure you take some cash with you, as you would need to rent a locker to keep your clothes etc. Each locker is 5 Rn each.

We took dinner at a restaurant in the Sunway Shopping mall called as 'Mantra'. The food is very good and the ambiance is excellent, but the prices are slightly on a higher side. But I would strongly recommend the restaurant if you want to have good Indian food in Malaysia.

The next morning we got a very good breakfast buffet spread at the hotel. Then we moved on to KL from there.

Genting Highlands

On the same trip (to Malaysia) we went to Genting Highland near KualaLumpur(KL). Genting is basically a hill top entertainment weekend getaway for the Malays and there is not much for tourists really. Genting has three primary attractions:

1. Casinos: Casino de Genting is a nice place to burn some money :). It offers all international games be it Roulette, Blackjack, Poker etc. But the only problem is that there is nothing special to offer for the tourists. If you have been to casinos elsewhere, you can easily give it a skip.
   
2. Theme parks: There are two theme parks in Genting: Indoor and Outdoor. The theme parks are opened from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (outdoor). The indoor one is opened until 12:00 midnight. The theme parks are really good and there is a lot to do for the kids. Even the adults can have their share of fun with a few thrill rides. But if you have been to any of the Disney parks' or to a good amusement/ theme park around the world, you can easily give this a skip.
3. Ropeway: We took the ropeway to the top (even then you have to travel half of the distance by car) but took the car all the way down the next day. The ropeway journey is very scenic indeed and a delight for a photographer. But we were unlucky as it was a very cloudy day and the clouds were really low, so we couldn't enjoy the ropeway as much as we could have enjoyed otherwise.
   

Picture of the beautiful rope-way ride.

Otherwise, there is nothing much to do in Genting. Even if you plan to make a trip, make sure it is a single day trip. There are 5 good hotels (we stayed in the The First World Hotel), but if you can , do avoid staying over night, unless of course you wanna play at the casino all night long.
People on Honeymoon can give Genting a skip.

Tips for Genting:

• It rains there most of the time - take umbrellas, raincoats etc.
• Most of the places our interconnected in Genting... even the hotels you can move from one hotel to another easily but some places are not covered hence the umbrella is necessary
• You need not stay overnight - best plan to go early morning and come back to KL in evening
• Vegetarians - Do carry something, you might find it difficult to get something to eat
• Ropeway is highly recommended but you need to take a call looking at the weather - the weather in Genting can be very different to that of KL, so be prepared!

Happy Traveling.

For more info on Genting, visit: http://www.genting.com.my/

Langkawi - Malaysia Day 2

I will began day 2 with this beautiful pic I took on day2 sunset:












But before I write about day 2, at the end of day 1 we had our dinner at a fabulous Thai restaurant "Barn Thai". The setting is unique as the restaurant is in the middle of a mangrove swamp. It's completely surrounded by marsh land and there is a wooden bridge connecting the restaurant to the main road. You have to walk (around 450 mts) on the bridge to get to it.

The swamp has a dense cover of large and small trees, shrubs and bushes all around. The trees are literally up-rooted - the roots are coming out on the surface, giving the whole place a creepy sort of a feel. For adventure lovers, this place is heaven. The restaurant has been built in such a manner that it really merges with its natural suroundings. You can see trees inside the place with even nests on it which means they haven't touched the flora at all. They have rather built the restaurant around it.

The food is good and they serve drinks as well. Though we are vegetarians and there was not much for us, but I am sure the non veggies will love the place. But even if you are a veggie you should go to the restaurant for the experience.

The next day we went for an Island hopping tour. We booked the tour through concierge at Berjaya. The tour picked us from the hotel at 10 and it took an hours drive close to Cenang beach (we also picked a couple of people from other hotels). Near the beach we boarded a Speed boat ( there were about 8 other people on the boat). We were told that we will go to two islands, the first of which is called "The Island of Pregnant Maiden" apparently because of the shape. The island has a fresh water lake and locals believe that a lady unable to conceive would be able to do so if she takes a dip in the lake. The second island is called "Pulau Payar" where we sent swimming in the sea. In between we also did Eagle Feeding.

Island of Pregnant Maiden
The island of pregnant maiden is a scenic island in the midst of all the 100 islands of Langkawi. It took us approx 40 mins to reach there by speed boat. The lake is beautiful and you may want to take your swimming gear, though if you dont want to take a dip, you can go pedal boating. The only problem on this island is there are lots of monkeys enroute from where the boat drops you to the lake. The monkeys will snatch at bags and eatables you carry. So I suggest you to take everything in a backpack and not to take out anything unless you reach the lake and same for the route back to the boat. Here are some pics:

Now you know why it's name! :)









Pulau Payar

We stayed at the beach and took a dip. You will get temporary beach shops which serve cold beer and drinks. So even if you don't carry anything to eat you can get chips, chocolates etc. Some pics:

Whenever I see this pic, it makes me want to go back and take a dip in the clear, cool sea water. :)








We came back from the Island hopping tour at lunch time (it took about 4 hours in all). The remaining half day we just roamed about in Langkawi, driving leisurely. We went to the Black sand beach where they have a small market as well and we bought some stuff there ( Yes, you can bargain hard!). Then we went to a beach on which we have the Four Seasons hotel. We spent some time on its beautiful white sand walking together hand in hand collecting shells and talking. It felt beautiful and so romantic. :)
Then later in the evening we went to the Cenang market. The entire street was lit up in beautiful lights. We had dinner at the Indian restaurant called as "Tulsi". The food was just ok. I would Tulsi a 2 on a scale of 5. Then we went back to Berjaya and left the rented car in Berjaya's parking.

Next day morning we had our breakfast and deposited the car keys at the reception. Our pickup was there to take us to the airport and then to KL. I did not want to leave Langkawi, for some reason I had fallen in love with the place. If given a chance I would love to go back and spent a week just lazying around at the beautiful beaches of Langkawi.

Langkawi Malaysia - Day 1

I went to Langkawi in November 2007 last year and it was one of the most memorable journeys of my life. We had taken an all inclusive (except meals) customized package tour.

But first a few currency exchange tips to keep in mind before planning a trip to Malaysia - Langkawi:

1. Carry U.S. Dollars - they take the dollars everywhere and you get a better rate
2. Do not carry INR - they may take it but you will get a poor exchange rate for them
3. If possible carry some Malaysian Currency - Ringgit(RM) with you as you will require it to hire cab/eat at the airport and the exchange rate at the airport is very poor
4. You will get the worst exchange rate at the cafes/retail stores/hotels etc, then at official exchangers at airport, then the national and international banks in Malaysia in that order
5. But you will get the best exchange rates at the small currency exchange shops within the city (KL or Langkawi). You will find these shops in malls and all major markets.
   
6. Take bigger U.S. dollar notes (50,100,500 denomination is preferred) to get a good exchange rate. A few agents do not accept U.S. $10 or 20 but those who will accept will give a poor exchange rate. Though you will get the same rate for all denominations at the banks.

Now continuing on our trip... From India we took the Malaysian Airlines (not the best airline to take though - I will let you know about an unpleasant experience which happened with us in another post) from New Delhi. The flight is at around 11.00 pm and reaches KualaLumpur (KL) early morning at around 06.00 am.
The KL International Airport is excellent. Its been nominated the best airport for 2005 and 2006 and you will know why once you land there. The airport has three huge terminals with more than 35 gates. Whatz more, there is a train connecting terminal A and C. There is plenty of seating space to rest. The rest rooms are neat and clean and there is so much to see at the airport. You can actually indulge in a massage to kill your time and to rejuvenate yourself for further journey.

We had a connecting flight to Langkawi at 11 am (there is an earlier flight at 9 am and I recommend that if possible, you should take that one), so after freshing up at the airport we had a cup of steaming hot Milo (you will get tonnes of Milo everywhere in Malaysia... the Malays love it!) at one of the airport cafe's. We reached the terminal for our domestic departure to Langkawi and slept for sometime. The flight for Langkawi was right on time and 45 mins later we landed at the beautiful island of Langkawi. I would strongly suggest a window seat from KL to Langkawi as the approach to Langkawi airport is breathtaking.

The greenery in and around the airport is stunning. Our package included a pickup from the airport and we found our man waiting for us. We were going to stay in Berjaya Resorts and were going directly there. But I asked the driver to stop at a local shop where I could buy a SIM card. I wanted a SIM card because of three reasons:

• Connectivity at all times, your family can contact you any time
  
• Much Cheaper than hotel phone
• Easily available to tourists in Malaysia. You simply have to give a photocopy of your passport.
  
• Incoming is free
  

There are more than a couple of telecom companies in Malaysia and you can buy SIM of anyone. It will cost you less than 10 RM. Then I bought a recharge card called "i card", got it for 10 RM with International talktime of around 20 mins. You can find these recharge cards in almost all the retail shops around Malaysia.

When we reached Berjaya, we found the place to be quite good. We had one secluded cottage for our own, though it wasn't sea facing. The sea facing cottages are very expensive, but you can always stay put in them for at least one night.
Berjaya has everything you would want from a Resort. It has it's own private beach, you can do a lot of water sport activities or else simply laze around in the sun and if the sea water doesn't suit you, dive in the fabulous swimming pool that Berjaya has. Whats more, you have a pool bar to serve you drinks when you tire from swimming. The breakfast at Berjaya is complimentary and is quite a spread. You can even get dal-roti (a typical Indian curry and bread) in breakfast as we did, but there are so many things to choose from, you wouldn't want to eat dal-roti.
Here are some pictures of Berjaya:























Staying in Berjaya is an experience in itself. You can get a spa massage, arrange a island hopping tour or a Langkawi tour from Berjaya. We did not take the Langkawi tour, but preferred to rent a car and self-drive through the beautiful roads of Langkawi since we had just two days and also because its very convenient. I would say its the preferable mode of transport because then you are on your own to explore the small but beautiful island. We rented a Kia Optima (automatic) for 120 RM (Rs 1440 or $36) per day. But if you wake up early you can get a small passenger car for as low as 70 RM as well. So depending upon your need and availability you can rent a car from 70-140 RM per day. You can also rent a bike/scootie in Langkawi for as low as 50 RM per day. Its a right hand drive (same as India/UK) and roads are very good. The island is very safe even late at nights. In addition the petrol is very cheap (approx Rs 21 per lt or $0.5 per lt)











After renting the car (Berjaya can help you contact the rental agency/person) you can get a map of Langkawi from Berjaya. We picked up a lot of tourist guides/maps/documents from Langkawi airport tourist information. In addition we found a map in the car itself probably left by some other tourist. You will find that the island roads are clearly marked and directions are very simple to follow. We never lost our way in the two days (we rented the car) and explored most of the island (about 90%) including a half day island hopping trip which was on day 2.

But first the places we visited on day1 - We started off driving to a waterfall, then to an artificial cave build on the road. The cave has a beautiful scenery from the top. Then we stopped at a beach on our way to the famous Eagle Square in Kuah town. On our way to the city we also went to a bird sanctuary which had variety of birds from all over the world including beautiful colored parrots, the Ostrich and the elegant peacock from India.

So the places we visited on day 1:
1) Waterfall - I forgot the name
2) The artificial caves near the waterfall
3) Cenang Beach and Black Sand Beach
4) Langkawi Birds Paradise
5) Hot Spring Village
6) Eagle Square
7) Oriental Village

Here are all the pics:

The waterfall















The artificial cave: View from top of the cave:












Beaches:












Bird Sanctuary (Langkawi Bird Paradise):












Eagle Square:












Hot Spring:
The Hot Spring in Langkawi, is a natural hot water spring which has been converted into a tourist attraction. You can go to the place for a relaxing foot and body massage which is really cheap. Foot massage: 5 RM and body massage: 10 RM. Also the person who does the massage is a really good masuse. He can diagnose medical problems (stomach related) you have while giving you a foot massage. Here are the pics of the hot spring:















Towards the end of day 1 when we returned from Kuah town, we went to a great Thai restaurant known as "Barn Thai". I will write about day 2 - including Island hopping tour and about Barn Thai in another post.

Vizag - Araku Valley - Tyda- Part II

Continuing from the previous post...

... Next day early at 6 AM we reached the Vizag railway station for APTDC's Rail cum Road (RR) Tour to Araku valley. This is a one day tour which starts by reporting to APTDC's counter at Vizag station. You can buy the ticket for this tour from this counter as well, but I would advice you to book in advance as the tickets are limited and seats fill up pretty quickly. The ticket is Rs 600 (for one day tour) per person including all meals, train and bus tickets as well as tickets to Tribal Museum, Park and Borra Caves.

The train (VK1) leaves Vizag at 6:50 AM. Make sure to reach station at 6 AM, because even with a ticket in hand, you might not get a seat as happened with a family which arrived after 6:30 AM. The train is a disappointment though because firstly its a passenger train and secondly the compartment is the General (Unreserved) compartment which means the seats are very uncomfortable for a 4.5 hr journey. Its a strict no-no for people with back problem and might become intolerable during summers (May-June). Once the train starts, breakfast is served (2 idlis+1 vada+ 1 bottle of mineral water) per . The journey to Araku in the train can get a little boring so make sure if you go by train, go in a large group. The journey though uncomfortable, but is a beautiful one and if you can go in a big group I would suggest it's a must. The train goes through beautiful mountains, where you can see greenery till as far as the eye sees. There are many (more than 20) tunnels on the way and a lot of springs flowing through the mountains. You will not see these sites if you travel by road (road journey though is 3 hrs only). Anyways take a look at the pics and decide for yourself:











I have been told that you can see lots of water streams through the mountains during rainy season. The train reaches Araku at 11:20 AM where APTDC buses wait for the passengers. These buses are ordinary semi confortable (non A/c) buses which was the next big disappointment. Our bus was in fact late by 20-25 mins and the time spent waiting for buses was very miserable with nothing to do, no where to sit and most people very tired. After the buses came, we were directly taken to a Tribal museum in Araku which was another big dissapointment. The museum entry is a very nominal Rs 10 (adult) but its still not worth it. We were given 15 mins for the museum (yes its that small) but we came out in only 10 mins. Then we were taken to a park in Araku which also has an entry ticket of Rs 10 and the tour guide will tell you to take a toy train ride (Rs 8 per person) inside the park because he will say its a huge park and cannot be covered on foot. But personally the park is rubbish, I have seen much better parks in almost all the cities I have lived in/ visited. The toy train ride can be given a miss. We stopped at the park for about 20 mins.

Except the beautiful valleys to see during the train travel, the remaining tour was a big disappointment till then and the same continued. After the park we were taken to APTDC resort for lunch. The resort is beautiful (and in case you take a two day tour for Rs 2100 per person for A/c room you will be put up for a night in this resort) but the lunch was not good at all. With almost two hundred people to feed in one go, the arrangement was chaotic and there was not enough seating. The food was typical Andhra cuisine which not everyone relishes as its very spicy. But there is a restaurant in the resort which has a decent menu and you might want to try it out (you have to pay seperately for it). After the lunch there was a traditional tribal dance at the resort lawns (at 2:00 PM) which made no sense at all. It felt like we were being rushed through to complete all that was part of the tour package. Tribal dance at 2:00 in the afternoon doesn't make sense to me!

Anyways we left the place at 2:15 and then stopped at another APTDC resort at Ananthgiri for snacks at 3:00 PM. I couldn't believe this!! We had lunch just an hour back and now we are stopping again for snacks. But you could clearly see that the stoppage was deliberate to get the Ananthgiri resort a part of the pie of the tour. The snack was two chilli bhajji's each! Anyways after stopping for 15 mins at the resort and then traveling for another 30 mins we reached Borra Caves. This was the best part of the whole tour. Borra caves with 410 steps (up and down) are really beautiful (and should not be missed). You can clearly see the Stalagmites and Stalactites in the caves. There is a small temple at the top as well. Pics of Borra Caves:



After the Borra Caves the bus left back for Vishakhapatnam but on the way we saw the coffee plantations and stopped at a place (name of which I forgot) for a photoshoot. The place was 1500 feet above sea level and we could click some nice pictures. This stop was another good part of the tour.

After this stop the bus headed towards Vizag but we had different plans. We had booked ourselves for overnight stay at Tyda which is on the way to Vizag (75 kms from Vizag). The bus dropped us at the resort - Jungle Bells. I must say the resort is beautiful and we stayed in "The Bridge Cottage" which is Rs 1890 (approx $50) per room per night. It reminded of our stay at the Barjaya Resort in Langkawi last year (I will write about my Malaysia trip soon). The price includes breakfast (which is again idli/vada and tea/coffee). You can order lunch/dinner in advance and the canteen has a very reasonable priced menu as is with all government resorts. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the resort. Some pics:











We had the same tribal dance again at this resort, but this time at 7 PM in evening in much cooler temperatures it looked much better.

Overall, I would suggest you can give RR tour of APTDC a miss, in fact you can give Araku valley a miss as well, because there is nothing much to do there, but a visit to Borra Caves is a must. Also I would highly recommend a stay at the Jungle Bells resort at Tyda. They have different cottages and camps which you can find out about by giving a call to the resort at: +91-891-2713135 , 2746446