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We traveled mostly Subcontinental Asian countries before this Malaysia trip. I and Ema were so excited because we had planned and saved money to visit Malaysia for the first time. It was one of those tours in abroad that we didn’t take any tour operator’s assistance from Dhaka. We explored and scheduled everything from Kuala Lumpur itself. That’s why it was even more thrilling for us let alone 6 year’s old Ibti. Nonetheless according to my better half, Malaysia trip had been the sense of being in foreign country. I laughed out loud at her remark. Overnight journey by Malindo Air took us Kuala Lumpur at the right time before the sunrise.
So far I recall, I talked a reasonable rated hotel in KL from Dhaka but didn’t book. We reached that hotel by Taxi Cab from KLIA in Maharajalela area according to my route map. Unfortunately I didn’t like the hotel room. So we waited for couple of hours in the hotel lobby area till I search for another hotel in the same vicinity. I was little tense because I didn’t have smart phone that time. It was all happening in the early morning around 6AM. I went to look for hotel option close to that hotel; luckily I found iHotel but we had to check in around 8AM.
WELCOME TO MALAYSIA
Thank god, it was all good in my second try though we had initial glitch to settle ourselves in the city of Kuala Lumpur. That’s the beauty of traveling when you resolve your real life problem as you go along. You have to adopt all the sense of being foreign in country.
After taking rest for couple of hours with shower and all, with a refreshing mood we went to have late breakfast in nearby popular Indian restaurant. This street food type Dhaba restaurant was a great finding besides our hotel. We really relished our morning breakfast followed by masala tea.
HALF DAY TOUR PLAN
It has become a habit whenever I visit any new place, frstly I talk to when I talk to hotel manager. I listen to them carefully and rely on their opinion. I never turned down my gut feel when I had to depend on them much. So we decided to take a half day KL signature tour which is called Hop On Hop Off (HOHO).
It was absolutely worth taking this ride. We covered most of the notable places within the city route and garden route. I tried to collect my memories from google research after long 8 years of the journey. But I love doing this travel research. It’s like discovering the place with storytelling. My strategy is to look at the photos in a systematic order with deep thinking for those long lost tours. Then I talk to Ema for her reminiscing memory. Of course my long hour of google search gives me the desired information.
HOHO TOUR
We have had the wonderful ‘sightseeing’ experiences in Kuala Lumpur on the double decker open hooded bus. A guided tour of HOHO appeared to be the most stress-free option, especially for us. This city tour stops at 27 major attractions lately but we covered not all of that. During our tour, it operated 21 places. In my recalling memory, we covered 14 places that included Bukit Bintang, KLCC, Matic, KL City Walk, Aquaria, Changkat, Chinatown in city route. Thereafter, we covered KL Sentral, National Museum, National Palace, Lake Garden, Bird Park, National Mosque, Merdeka Square. Everything we had a glimpse from the double decker open hooded bus. After enjoying the HOHO tour, we dropped down in front of the Petronas Tower. As we walk along, we also enjoyed couple of famous places in KL which were all nearby distance.
ICONIC PETRONAS TOWER
We took so many pictures from different perspective of this landmark while walking. We really enjoyed the view of both in daylight and nightlight. This building structure really holds Malaysia’s pride high. People visit this iconic building for the sense of being in foreign country.
AQUARIA KLCC
We were so excited when we had seen this underground aquarium. It was full of sea creatures including big Shark, Sting Ray, Eel fish, many unknown sea fishes. All and sundry must like this place. It was unbelievable. This is a highly recommended tourist place for the first timer in KL. After such an exciting and fun filled day of activity, we came back to the hotel early to take rest. We had lunch and dinner on the go from the 7-Eleven which is my personal favorite brand. I wish I could own one of them.
GENTING HIGHLAND IN FOREIGN COUNTRY
Last night it was all decided to go in the Resorts World Genting Highland. It was only 35km and just 45 minutes away from KL City. Genting Highlands is a hillside resort city in Malaysia comprising of luxury hotels, casinos, theme parks, entertainment activities, games arenas & shopping malls. Genting Highlands is a cool hill station set amidst the cool mountain air and a majestic 100 million-year-old rainforest. We opted for a direct bus to Genting Highlands i.e. the Aerobus service which is very reasonable and comfortable.
While ascending to the GH, we awed by the breathtaking & scenic beauty that unfolded in front of us. The thin mist in the air which added much more beauty to the valleys covered with green trees and bushes. The cable car travels a distance about 3.5km and climbs to a height of about 6000ft above ground level. This ride was definitely an amazing experience.
A FUN PARADISE FOR KIDS IN FOREIGN COUNTRY
Ibti had a great time with so many rides. Enjoying the special dinosaur show, fun time in the Snow World and indulging in fun games were worth mentioning. So we did all enjoy the day in indoor activities in the Genting Highland. Every kid must visit this theme park along with their parents. We visited in October. It was raining though it supposed not to rain during this month. So if you are planning to visit during those months you will have to stuff your bags with raincoats & umbrellas.
There is an attraction of Genting Highland which I want to share with my readers. Being a Muslim country, Resorts World Genting has the only legal land-based casino. One is Genting Casino and another one is SkyCasino. When any visitors come across this Casino, it gives a sense of being in foreign country. I visited Genting Casino for taking a picture because in Bangladesh it is not allowed to run a casino business.
AN IDEAL PLACE FOR SECOND HOME IN FOREIGN COUNTRY
We just fell in love with this foreign country. Sometimes I think of Malaysia as my second home if I could retire earlier of my blogging career. In fact for me I can think of anytime because there is no early retiring age in blogging. Should you have financial freedom, give it a second thought!