8th July 2010, 17:35
| #76 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Bangalore \ Singara Chennai
Posts: 247
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8th July 2010, 18:49
| #77 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Batu Caves and Genting Highlands Am up by 7am and the street is already quite busy with vehicles making a dash for their destination.I have a pretty good view of Jalan Bukit Bintang from my room. Spot a ferrari and this is the same car I spotted last night at Petronas. We plan to be back by 4/5pm tops today to do some shopping. Both of us have agreed and ruled out taking a bus/the mono rail to get to any place and decide on a taxi. By 9am we are done with breakfast and walk up to the reception. Speak to gentleman at the reception and our conversation goes something like this. Me : Good Morning, how are you today ? Receptionist : Good morning Sir , am very well and how are you ?....... Me : Listen mate I want to know how much does a taxi cost for a return trip to Genting. Receptionist : Should cost you close to 180 Ringgits for a return trip from Genting lah. They will wait for you at Genting and bring you back back blah blah. Receptionist : See lah, do one thing. You take a different taxi on your way back. So you can bargain on both trips. Me : Ok call for taxi Lah. Receptionist : Is full of smiles coz I said Lah. He calls teksi for me and then their(driver and him) convo' starts of in Malay. The teksi driver arrives at a price of 100 Ringgits for a one way trip. Expensive uh !! I bargain hard again and bring it down to 80 and it works. We are off to Batu Caves 1st and then Genting Highlands. The teksi driver looks like he is in his 60's and is a brilliant driver. Perfect driving lines on the curves and is blasting off at 120+ every other time. Dude's were shades and listening to the radio and humming every other track. We are Batu Caves and the teksi driver says " I wait you come soon lah " I reply " ok lah". The very sight of that staircase to the cave gets me thinking. My backpack with the camera, 2 lenses, a few packs of cookies and drinking water is quite heavy. Dump it or carry !! I decide on the former and put my digicam into my pocket and start the daunting task of climbing the steps.Two stops en-route the climb , both me and my better half are at the cave.    The structure looks amazing but yeah you need a DSLR with a powerful flash to capture the sheer beauty of the cave.    View of KL from Batu Caves.  Wifey visits the temple at cave and the base offers her prayers and we are off to Genting. Our driver pretty young at heart and he looks 60.The drive to Genting is simply amazing perfect cornering , doesn't jump lanes and is doing 3 digits speeds. Being a petrol head myself I cant resist but every now and then check if he misses his lines at the curve. The dude is a little surprised and wondering what I was trying to see every time he takes a curve. We are Genting Highlands in about 40 mins from Batu.Teksi driver asks , you want me to wait lah ? I say nopes carry on. Pick up tickets for the amusement park and put away our belongings in a locker. Made the best use of our P&S and if you plan to do the water rides its best you put your DSLR in the locker. If you want to enjoy the outdoor theme park it takes good 3 hours or so and add the casino visit to the list if you intend to play poker there ) . You could spend a whole day Genting if you wished to.      Lunch is from Marry Brown at Genting and we go for the Genting Skyway cable car ride. We are told its a 3.3kms ride to and fro and I pick up return tickets. Was amazed at the magnificent view of mountains and rainforest scenery with the clouds occasionally making its presence felt.    Bollywood in Genting .  By now its already 5pm and back at the taxi stand.Next round of bargaining and we manage to get a taxi back for 60 Ringgit. Not a bad deal and this Proton sounds like a car with a FFE and rattling to every small screw. We get there in about an hour. Have a quick shower and today am gonna try the street food here. But then BB plaza needs a visit for shopping. Well most shops are open till 12am and hence no problems. Wifey decides to go all out on shopping and spends a good amount of time at Jukebox and a few other retail stores picking up whatever suits her taste. Next post more of shopping in the Golden Triangle. |
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8th July 2010, 18:53
| #78 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands.
Posts: 2,877
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9th July 2010, 10:09
| #79 | |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42
Posts: 2,005
Thanked: 334 Times
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2] When we were at genting, taxi driver was crazy, driving the car at 120-140 in the ghat.[ i mentioned this in my rajababu story]. 3] Not bad but very good deal. In the evening, there is always shortage of taxies at genting skyway cable ride base station. 4]I feel that it is wise to visit first petaling street for shopping and then other malls. One of rajababu bought a fancy purse at petaling street for bargain price of 57 mr and the same purse at retail shop in bukit bintang was quoted for 350rm.  Last edited by ASHISHPALLOD : 9th July 2010 at 10:12. | |
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9th July 2010, 10:16
| #80 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Riju, snaps from the flight is just awesome. And taxi story is interesting to know, never thought of travelling in a rattling taxi outside India  . |
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14th July 2010, 09:30
| #81 |
| Senior - BHPian | Shopping in Malaysia The Golden Triangle in KL has quite a few malls and these include one stop shopping malls, fashionable department stores, trendy boutiques, electronic gadgets etc. To name a few in the Bukit Bintang area
China Town sells anything and everything available. You have brands ranging from CK, Escada, Gucci, Lacoste, Armani, Prada, Ben Sherman etc. Please dont fall for it coz none of them are genuine and you ought to have some good skills to bargain. Be ready to get abused and learn to use terima kasih (the indian way) every-time some one abuses you. But yeah watch out there are a few people out there who can understand Hindi pretty well. As for me I got abused a few times in Malay by a few shopkeepers and I see that they don't have a liking towards Indians as such. They quote 150 Ringgit for a fake Prada ladies vanity bag and you start your stakes from 50 Ringgit. You could end up buying that for about 75-80 Ringitts.  Central Market is one place you would want to visit to buy your souvenirs. You find some of the best malaysian made batik items ranging from clothes, shoes, bags to home finishing.Pretty reasonable pricing too since batik clothes aren't cheap. Jalan Masjid India also known as KL's Little India has quite a lot to offer.The have these pre-war looking shops selling a profusion of authentic Indian items like the traditional costumes, surprised eh ? So was I !! You find beautifully crafted ornaments and most malay's flock this place for their traditional attires and headgear. So you’ll want to hone your bargaining skills before you plunge into both these markets. Plaza Low Yat is a mall which sells only electronic goods and nothing else. Prices in India are cheaper there , but this place is a MECCA of electronic brands ranging from cameras to binoculars, digital frames , projectors etc. Most of the other malls are expensive coz they only sell top brands. The Pavilion Mall was just next door for us and the evenings at the place was simply wonderful. Almost everyday they had some band playing at the entrance.    This was parked inside the Pavilion and looked like some Yokohoma promo.    I never missed the baleno in Malaysia  . Jalan Bukit Bintang street too has quite a few shops and is again a bustling hub of a massage parlors and retail stores. Jukebox a footwear store is quite famous out there and they have offers/discount sales on almost everyday.   These fellas stood there motionless for close to 45 mins and I was surprised. They simply continued to stand there and were charging 2 Ringgits or so per pic.   And I thought TIME WAS MONEY   Finally caught the Ferrari and before I could focus for the next shot he was gone.  Eating is almost the best thing to do in Kuala Lumpur, there's so much selection, from the gourmet in high class restaurants to the cheap food in markets. Hawker food is the best choice if you want to get a variety of the Asian cuisines. There's just SO SO many places to get good hawker food in KL. For all the folks who really wanna see the night life of KL then go to Jalan P Ramalee. |
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14th July 2010, 09:48
| #82 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands.
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14th July 2010, 09:59
| #83 |
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14th July 2010, 10:17
| #84 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42
Posts: 2,005
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14th July 2010, 10:20
| #85 |
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14th July 2010, 13:50
| #86 | ||||||
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16th July 2010, 16:43
| #87 |
| Senior - BHPian | Putrajaya and the city tour We decided to do Putrajaya and the city tour on our last day at KL. I had spoken to Mr.Becker the previous night about taking us to Putrajaya and a few other places in KL. He was the same gentleman who had initially dropped us off at the hotel from KL Sentral. Mr.Becker was waiting at the hotel lobby at 9am itself. We were done with breakfast and then it was time for me to put to use my bargaining skills. Mr.Becker says : I will take you to Putrajaya and for the city tour for 180 Ringgits. Will drop you off at the hotel by 4pm . Me says : Listen I want to visit the batik factory, India Masjid ,Istana Negara, Thean Thou Temple and a few other places. Mr.Becker : ok lah no problems but you pay me 160 ringitts ok ? Me : Listen I will give you 100 Ringgits is it ok ? He withdraws and then starts saying he makes 30 ringitts per hour blah blah blah.... Me : Ok I will give you 120 Ringgits and you don't have to stay around till 4pm I will let you go by 3pm. What say lah ? Mr.Becker is the next victim who has fallen for the lah and says ok. So deal done we are off in his shiny Proton. Our 1st stop was at Istana Negara the kings palace.Our teksi driver was pretty enthusiastic and gave us loads of gyan about the history of Malaysia and the procedure for electing a new king. Well this is just the start and for the rest of the day Mr.Becker turned out to be a wonderful guide. Reach the palace as early as 9:45am and its already crowded. I couldnt click too many pics even though I had the wide angle mounted. People simply refused to make way to click pictures and I decided that we take a few personal snaps of ours .  Our next destination was Thean Hou Temple which was a few kms from the city en-route Putrajaya. This is a spectacular place and a first class example of the beauty of Chinese architecture.Thean Hou Temple is a perfect place to just sit down and relax and watch the majestic Kuala Lumpur skyline behind the spectacular pagoda roofs of the temple. The temple is very popular among newly married couples to take their wedding photos. Surprisingly I saw a chinese couple wearing a black wedding dress(bride and the groom) here in KL and taking pictures. Dint want to invade their privacy and hence never clicked any pictures of them.   In the small garden at the front of the temple are interesting statues of Guan Yin and the Three Wise Men. * The God of Longevity, he holds a staff and a peach * The God of Wealth, he holds a scepter sword * The God of Happiness and Prosperity, he holds a child I only got the God of Longevity, the rest of the gods had people leaning all over them, something I really dint appreciate.  Inside the temple..         At the basement of this temple there are a few souvenir shops and are a tad bit expensive worth a visit though. We spent about an hour at this place and head straight to Putrajaya. More about Putrajaya in my next post... |
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16th July 2010, 17:28
| #88 | |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42
Posts: 2,005
Thanked: 334 Times
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you got very good deal lah. For putrajaya trip, we paid rm 55 per person for putrajaya, kings palace, bird park, merdeka square and drop point of central market for 7 hour trip included all waiting time. Though putrjaya is modern place, i find it too small to explore. | |
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22nd July 2010, 08:40
| #89 |
| Senior - BHPian | Putrajaya Named after the first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra the city is situated towards the south of KL. Putrajaya was formerly known as Perang Basar and is located enroute the KL airport at Sepang. Its was about a 25kms drive to get there from Bukit Bintang. Situated next to a lake, it incorporates Islamic architecture which is very evident in its buildings. The boulevard has been designed wonderfully with beautiful lampposts and yeah its simply beautiful. Make sure you carry your umbrellas with you just in case you plan to explore the place on foot. Gets really warm out here. I was a little excited after seeing the architecture and the cleanliness of the place and was having a causal chat with my teksi driver Mr.Becker. The conversation was something like this Me : No corruption here eh ? I see there is a lot of money been put into infrastructure projects and cant see debris or broken roads anywhere. Mr.Becker : no lah that ways the govt is very good and ensures most work is completed in time without causing inconvenience to the locals or tourists. Me : In my country if 5 million is allocated for an public infrastructure project , our politicians steal 4 million and spend the remaining 1 million for the work. Mr. Becker : See lah here also there is corruption, but its different they steal 1 million and spend the remaining 4 million on infrastructure. He laughs and says I know lots about India coz my dad is Punjabi lah. Seri Wawasan Bridge    In the distance you can see the Putra mosque and the Prime Ministers office.  By now Mr.Becker has become our official guide and drops us off near the Putra Mosque and says he'll be back in 45mins time. He heads off to fill gas for his car, while me and my better half spend time exploring the place. The Ministry of Finance  Prime ministers office   Putra Mosque      Putrajaya Convention Center  Mr.Becker was back as promised and he found us all by himself. Our teksi driver cum guide is a really enthusiastic gentleman showing us different buildings and what office is located in every building. He pulls over at almost every place and asks " You want to take a picture lah " ? . Me says " No lah , you keep driving and stop only when I ask you to " .     A mean and purposeful looking Toyota  We spend close 3 hours or so here and I am left in complete awe seeing the architecture and the cleanliness of the place. We take a stroll around the Putrajaya lake and check with my better half if she wants to go boating. With the sweltering heat she decides against it and we spend some time under the shade of the trees near the PM's office. By now both of us are hungry and all our stock of candies and biscuits are over. I pick up a bottle of coke and asks Mr.Becker to take us back to the city. Enroute we stop at the Batik Factory, Leather Factory , ICE Cream Factory and a chocolate factory.I decide to skip the Ice cream and chocolate factory , but Mr.Becker again comes to the rescue. See lah you must be feeling hungry rite, you simply go inside they will give you free samples. You can have them at least for starters before lunch lah . I was like  .First stop chocolate factory and we end up filling almost half our stomach's with sample chocolates. Mr.Becker was rite , but am not all that found of chocolates. We pick up quite a few boxes chocolates and leave to the ice cream factory. At the ice cream factory I pay about 5 Ringgits each and pick up ice cream for all of us. Mr.Becker is a little hesitant to accept the ice cream. He denies the offer and eventually I tell him " see lah I will pay you 120 ringgits and I promise I wont minus the ice creams cost from the final bill. " he laughs aloud and accepts the ice cream. For those of you traveling to KL dont miss the Batik and Leather factory. They are expensive but I saw some of the best looking leather and batik goods here. In Petaling street they charge you about 160 Ringitts for a fake Prada/CK ladies vanity bag and here you can get yourself a pure genuine leather bag from 99 Ringgits onwards. We are off to Abdul Samad Bulding or popularly known as India Masjid. |
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22nd July 2010, 09:54
| #90 |
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