Genting’s wild side
The hour-long van ride is uneventful, but while we slowly make our way to the top, the view outside the window slowly changes as the elevation gets higher. Rows of fir trees sway in the slight drizzle and beyond the trunks are glimpses of vast canopies of green as far as the eye can see. With all that’s been said about weekenders not being here for nature so much as the cool air and buzzing indoor entertainment, while environmentalists mourn the development of this once-majestic landscape, there’s still a hidden part of this place that remains to be explored and appreciated.
The First World Resort where we’re to stay the night is as glitzy as it comes. Scores of people, mostly tourists from mainland China and Taiwan by the looks of it, fill the vast lobby. It’s undeniable the highlands are especially famous for the gaming public but the local population also look towards this place as a refuge to escape the heat and dust from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding towns. Amusement parks, casinos and shopping arcades fill this sprawling complex of hotels and there’s something for everybody, especially families in search of thrills and excitement all contained in one large glittering space.
Our rooms are functional to say the least and reasonably clean. Given the cool temperatures, there’s no air-conditioner, just a ceiling fan. There’s just enough time to put my bursting-at-the-seams knapsack down, grab my binoculars, head back to regroup with the rest, and make our way back down below to the Awana Hotel. “We’ll be taking the cable car!” announces Deena Marzuki, the public relations executive who’s playing host to us, and that’s enough to put a spring to my step. The ride is thrilling. Stepping into the gondola, we settle ourselves for a breathtaking view of the mountain landscape as it slowly descends from the SkyAvenue station.
There are two stops for passengers to disembark. You could alight at the Chin Swee station to visit the iconic nine-storey pagoda perched on a sharp rocky slope near the peak, and view the 15-metre high statue of Buddha. The second and final stop leads you down to the Awana station. With amusement parks, malls and casinos deluging the senses of visitors, it’s easy to overlook the rippling valleys and forests that thrive on the periphery of this mas-