Genting Highland: Riding high in the sky

From the window of the Theme Park Hotel in Genting Highland of Malaysia, I saw some patches of clouds just passing below me. Located just 5,700 feet above sea level, the hotel was offering us a pleasant living high in the sky. Windy breeze was coming from the hillside and entering through the window in the form of moisture. A view of the mountains from the hotel lobby was just eye-catching and superb.
After a three-day tour to Kuala Lumpur last week, I, along with my family, was whisked by a car to this hotel by a tour operator of the Asia Overland Tour of Malaysia (in joint collaboration with Amazing Tours of Bangladesh) for an overnight stay there. Built in 1971, the hotel, renovated just recently, offers state-of-the-art facilities.
Also, the outdoor theme park is Genting Highland's largest family attraction, offering recreational activities and amusement rides in a cooling environment high up the mountain slopes. However, the outdoor theme park is now closed for renovation. It is scheduled to be opened in 2016.
In the outdoor park, there was a provision of exploring over 50 types of rides, including roller coasters, ferry wheels, swings, carousels, trains, cars and ships that tumble through the air, barrel down water channels or crawl slowly along a steel track. Boating, archery and go-karts are more activity choices, while mini concerts and performances by clowns and mascots provide crowd entertainment on holiday weekends.
Thrill rides are designed for adults with minimum height and age requirements, along with safety belts and harnesses, to prevent early or unwanted deaths. The most popular of these rides include the Spinner, Space Shot, Flying Dragon, Corkscrew and Flying Coaster -- all designed to maximise excitement through wild motion and crazy speeds.
Family rides are much more. These are catered for children and parents to sit together and enjoy the fun. Some examples include the Astrofighter, Monorail, Pirate Train and Tea Cup. Then there is Beryl's Chocolate Wonderland, a cheesy imitation of Willy Wonka's original factory with shopping racks full of chocolates.
At the lake, visitors could ride around on paddle boats, soaking in a view of the colourful surroundings. There are several playpens around the amusement park, including a day centre for kids, where parents can leave small children to occupy themselves. Another activity for children is the Rainforest Splash Pool, an indoor heated water park that faces the Sungai Rejang Flume Ride and wave pool. There is also an indoor section of the theme park housed in the First World Plaza, which offers a smaller and much milder range of rides.
Genting Highland resort, now competing with newer, glitzier offerings in Singapore, is partnering with Hollywood studio Twentieth Century Fox as part of a revamp of the 42-year-old hilltop resort. A US$158 million theme park is now being built on the site of the current one. When it reopens in 2016, it will feature more than 25 thrill rides, children's rides and water rides with themes from hit movies such as Predator.
Genting authorities now hope the new attractions will help double the number of visitors to the theme park to 6.0 million a year. It will also add 1,300 hotel rooms and explore other developments in an overhaul that is expected to cost at least RM3.0 billion over the next five years. The revamped resort could become a more serious competitor to Singapore's Resorts World Sentosa - which is owned by Genting Singapore - and its Universal Studios theme park.
Malaysian leaders believe that a revamp of the outdoor theme park was long overdue. The last major capital expenditure for the resort was made in 2006, when Genting added the First World Hotel and convention centre. The renovation activities may also help Genting boost its casino business across the country.
While Genting Highlands had an advantage with its cooler weather and more affordable prices, Fox, which as developing the new theme park, is still not the 'brand name' that Universal Studios or Disneyland are. This is Fox's second venture into branded theme parks. Many analysts think that such venture might end in failure.
On the contrary, many believe the new Genting Highlands is an 'upgrade' for the benefit of the local population. Previously, Genting Highlands could get away with spending less and still pull in the crowd because it was a monopoly. Now more and more Malaysians have travelled across the world and made more money. As the emerging white-collar class working in the Klang Valley are interested in quality of the commodities, they think the new venture is bound to click.
The history of Genting Highlands, otherwise known as Resorts World Genting, is tremendously overblown. It's a hill resort in Malaysia developed by Genting Group, at an average elevation of 5,710 feet within the Titiwangsa Mountains on the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor of Malaysia. Resorts World Genting is operated by Genting Malaysia Berhad. It is accessible by car from Kuala Lumpur in one hour, or also accessible by a cable car which at its opening used to be the world's fastest and South East Asia's longest gondola lift.
The idea of creating a hill resort located in proximity to Kuala Lumpur came up in the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong's mind during a business trip to the Cameron Highlands in 1964. He mooted this idea while enjoying the fresh and crisp air from the balcony at his hotel room. A private company called Genting Highlands Berhad was set up in 1965, with the late Tan Sri Haji Mohammed Noah bin Omar. Tan Sri Lim successfully obtained approval for the alienation of 12,000 acres and 2,800 acres of land from the Pahang and Selangor State Government respectively between the years 1965 and 1970.
In 1965, a technical and construction team began the Herculean task that took four years to complete the access road from Genting Sempah to the peak of Gunung Ulu Kali. In 1969, late Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the company's pioneer hotel, the then Highlands Hotel, marking the completion of the access road to Genting Highlands Resort.
In 1971, the first hotel at Genting Highlands was successfully completed and was then named Highlands Hotel (now renamed Theme Park Hotel). The Genting Highlands Resort continued to expand since the opening of the first hotel in 1971. Development of the area continued with care taken to ensure the maintenance of the natural beauty of the rainforest of the region.
In 1997, Genting Highlands Resort further boosted its facility attraction with Genting Skyway cable car system that transports to the hilltop. Genting Skyway is also recognised as the world's fastest mono cable car with a maximum speed of 21.6 kilometres per hour. As I rode on the skyway cable car, it looked like that I was just flying high in the sky.
szkhan@dhaka.net