Arnab Nandy went the rounds in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and can’t wait for the next trip
Yes, I was pretty excited! After all, this was my first international tour. Well, I’d visited Bhutan long back but I didn’t consider that a real “foreign tour”, if you know what I mean! From Chennai to Singapore is a three-hour and 50-minute flight and we spent most of it eating and fell asleep when we grew tired of the midnight meals! I and my family were to tour Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the Genting highlands in Malaysia and, finally, Pattaya and Bangkok in Thailand before returning back to you know where!
We adjusted our watches as we got down in Singapore but Dad found the adjustment knob of his watch totally jammed, so it travelled faithfully in a suitcase, a true follower of dear IST! Lots of people had told me that Changi airport in Singapore was very beautiful. As I got in, I realised how right they were. It’s totally carpeted and the greenish lighting creates an almost enchanting atmosphere.
Any Indian visiting Singapore for the first time is sure to be wonderstruck at the cleanliness all around in this city state. Nothing out of place. “We have zero toleration for corruption”, our Singaporean guide informed us. Plus, the laws here are extremely stringent and you are fined heavily for jaywalking and awarded the death penalty if you’re found carrying drugs. And if you are in love with chewing gum, beware! It’s banned here.
The bus took us on a conducted tour of the city We visited the Merlion, Singapore’s national symbol, along with a temple, which doesn’t belong to a specific faith and some other places Our guide pointed out the place where some sequences of Krrish were shot. We spent the evening and the next morning at Mustapha Shopping Mall, a favourite haunt for Indian tourists, and Orchard Road. Most Indians spend all their time shopping at Mustapha and never explore the other options. But we actually found some better deals at Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road.
We went to Sentosa Island in the afternoon. A cable car ride with a fantastic view took us to this fun-filled place. There, we visited the Underwater World; which has different kinds of amazing sea creatures, including huge sharks. You can even touch the sting rays and some harmless sharks. Then there’s a dolphin show, 3D and 4D movie shows and a mesmerising show called “Songs of the Sea” with a live cast and dramatic effects like pyrotechnics, water jets, brilliant lasers, special computer imaging, stunning flame bursts and captivating music.
The next day, we left early for Malaysia by bus. The times zones in Singapore and Malaysia are the same so we didn’t need to adjust our watches yet again. It was past 2 pm when we entered Kuala Lumpur, but we could see the world famous Petronas twin towers long before we were there. We were to stay at
Genting Highlands that night and we proceeded that way after lunch. The longest cable car ride in the world took us to Genting, where we were to stay at the world’s largest hotel. It is an incredible 3.4 km ride over lush rain forests.
Genting is amazing. It consists of three hotels, two casinos, malls, one indoor theme park and an outdoor theme park. Everything is connected by escalators, so it’s like you can walk up and down escalators for 20 minutes and go from one hotel to another. But you’re not allowed inside the casinos unless you are 21-plus. The lobby of First World Hotel, the largest in the world with 6,118 rooms, seemed as big as that of any international airport.
The next morning was a fun-filled one with us enjoying ourselves at the Outdoor Theme Park. Some of the rides were amazing and the best one is called Spaceshot. It’s a huge tower and you get to sit on seats all around it. The seats lift you up slowly to the very top of the tower from where you get an excellent view of all of Genting. And then it’s a free fall that stops just before you think you’re going to smash against the ground! I found myself floating six feet above my seat during the fall! It’s super- thrilling and definitely not for the faint-hearted. Though I enjoyed it, I wouldn’t go for it again!
Next, we had lunch and were totally spoilt for choice among the thousands of available varieties. Can you guess what I didn’t have that afternoon? Well, I’ll tell you what I had – chicken, mutton, lamb, beef, pork and squid,
among other thing Okay, can call me a glutton, I don’t mind.
We descended to Kuala Lumpur from Genting Highlands after lunch and put up at Hotel Grand Continental. Just as I got into my room on the 13th floor a spontaneous “wow” escaped my lips. Just beyond the huge windows stood the grand Petronas twin towers, glowing in the afternoon sun. As night descended, the towers were brilliantly lit up and – you know what I did? – I made myself a mug of coffee, switched off the lights, turned on a jazz station on the FM and sat on my bed looking at the towers. It was an amazing feeling…all these years I’ve seen the world’s tallest twin towers innumerable times in magazines, billboards, television and a hundred other places and it was so enchanting to have them there, right before my eyes, just beyond my window, as if they stood there for my personal viewing!
We spent the next day sightseeing at Kuala Lumpur. We saw the King’s palace. Tourists aren’t allowed to enter the premises, but we were lucky enough to witness the guard changing ceremony. We also made a stop at Independence Square, which has the highest flagpole in the country. Then we had a ride on the Eye of Malaysia, a 60-metre high wheel with small enclosures along its rim that goes around slowly giving riders a panoramic view of the capital city. The government has especially rented this for a few months to celebrate Malaysia’s 50th year of independence. We had lunch on the second floor of the fourth tallest tower in the world and headed back to our hotel. I spent some time at the pool before packing for the next day. We were to fly to Bangkok in the morning.
The international airport near Kuala Lumpur was voted the best airport in 2005 and 2006. It’s huge and splendid. The most unusual thing is that we had to take a train to go from the check in area to the final lounge!
Thailand time is one hour behind Malaysia and we adjusted our watches as we landed at Subarnabhoomi airport, Bangkok. We left for Pattaya by bus from the airport and after a ride of two and a half hours, with a lunch break in the middle, we found ourselves at the seaside town. We checked into our hotel right beside the beach and went out to explore. It was already around 7:30 pm and it was a totally festive atmosphere! We later found out that it’s always that way in Pattaya. If you want to party, this is the place to be in! There is no end of fun that you can have here- be it partying and water sports or, if you’re the reserved kind, you can enjoy a cup of coffee by the sea at night. And most importantly and surprisingly, prices are quite reasonable.
After an early breakfast the next morning, we headed out to sea by speed boat for a day of fun! Our first stop was a parasailing station in the middle of the sea. You can pay 350 baht (one baht equals Rs 1.3’approx) and fly for about five minutes, and they ask you if you want a dip in the sea while parasailing, and the choice is yours. I got two dips and it’s super- exciting! Then we made a little round in a glass- bottomed boat but couldn’t even see one fish! Finally our super-fast speed boat took us to a wonderful beach where we enjoyed splashing about and swimming for a few hours.
Pattaya was an amazing experience and I was sorry I couldn’t stay another day or two there, as our bus left for Bangkok. We didn’t go straight to Bangkok though; we spent most of the day at Safari World, which is an extraordinary place. It’s got lots of wild animals, mostly roaming free, and then there are different shows featuring chimps, birds, elephants, sea lions and dolphins. I can’t help mentioning one incident here: while we were waiting for the dolphin show to start, there was some Thai music playing, then another English song started and once the next song started, all Indians sat up straight! Guess what? Himesh Reshammiya’s nose has attacked Thailand too. But no one seemed to mind and all Indians- present danced all through Jhalak Dikhlaja and everyone else enjoyed the little party. Plus, there are also stunt shows where you feel like you’re inside a Bond movie! It’s all very exciting.
There isn’t much to see at Bangkok except a couple of Buddhist temples, so we shopped till we dropped the next day and caught the flight back home the day after. Though a bit hurried, we enjoyed every bit of the tour. I’d love to revisit some of the places again.