So off we go, along with his other rider friend, L, to the nearest MotoGP from the Philippines - where else but in Malaysia! The actual event happened on October 23-25 but we decided to extend our stay to October 21-26 for us to explore the rest of Kuala Lumpur also. Or so I thought. Hehe
The next posts will be photo heavy. If you are not up for it, I suggest you close this window now. :P
Here's a pic of us in the plane bound for KL. Mas ako pa ang excited dito. Hahaha!
First glimpse of Malaysia. And look how pretty those clouds were!
We landed around 5pm in KLIA2 and then rode an express transit train from the airport to KL Sentral. This was D's first trademark pose in Malay land. We were at the KL Sentral here. It's the hub of all rail transport in Kuala Lumpur. I was so amazed! It's very efficient! We can copy this Philippines!
Before heading to our hotel, we bought tickets muna for Genting Highlands for the next day. I read somewhere in Girltalk that if you buy your tickets on the actual day you will get a later bus schedule pa. Like if you buy around 9am, the next available train will be at 1pm. Oh we hit the jackpot there cause we were able to choose our preferred time. The ticket station pala is just below the KL Sentral station. Very near na sa Little India daw.
After settling in our hotel and resting for a bit, we visited one of KL's most famous streets - Jalan Petaling or more commonly known as the Chinatown. Parang Divisoria levelz lang natin ito. At night, the street is closed and is full of vendors. Alam nyo ung mga Class A stuff? Ganern! Marami ring food trip stations.
What to try first? Of course, Chicken Satay!! Very different from what we have here. Pinaka-bet ko ung sauce that comes with it. It's like sweet and spicy peanut sauce with something else. I cannot really specify kasi ang rich pala ng spice culture sa Malaysia. Also in the picture, our favorite drink in KL. Apple juice! Amazing ang juices nila dito ha. As in juicer kung juicer. Unlike here sa Pinas na parang lahat galing sa tetra pack. Etong apple juice nila pure Granny Smith apple Juice. I lurve it!
TIP: Eto pala, our hotel, Hotel Prescott, was just about 5 minutes walking distance from KL Sentral. Most of the times, during our trip, naglalakad lang kami to KL Sentral where we can ride na train to anywhere we want to go. But since pagod kami from the flight, we decided to take the cab from the hotel going to Jalan Petaling. Our meter was around 7 RM lang. Divide that by 3, so keri diba? Nung pauwe na kami we tried hailing a cab. Aba lekat yung mga nakatambay na taxi sa labas ng Jalan Petaling! Pinepresyuhan kami ng 20RM! E josko parang 1km lang ung distance ng hotel namin. What we did, tip na rin for other travellers, naglakad kami ng slight palayo sa street then we waited for a cab while walking. Ayun may tumigil and guess how much we paid - 3.75 RM. Can you believe that?
After nyan, borlogan na. Busog na e! Beauty rest na for our 10am Genting Highland trip. So ayun na umaga na, bilis no? Hehe. We ate breakfast muna sa KL Sentral then went down to the ticket station ng Go Genting. Dun din sa area magpapark ung bus. We were early pala, as in 9:20 andun na kami. May nakapark na Go Genting bus na nagpapapasok na ng utao so we tried baka pwede na. But hindi pa daw. Wait for 10am daw. Hahaha!
And so after almost 1hr bus ride we reached the first stopover - Genting Skyway. Before you reach the Genting Highlands itself, you need to ride this cable car. Mga 20mins din sya. Meron yata other options to go up kasi we saw a lot of cars sa taas but then this is one of the highlights of this trip so better experience this na din. Well, not our first time to ride a cable car but it's my first to ride this high and this fast. Sa Great Wall kasi very banayad. Here mejo bumpy.
But with a view like this, it's all worth it.
So ganto yan, Genting Highlands is equal to Resorts World Genting. Same concept of Resorts World we have here in NewPort. Collection of hotels din sya. We entered Genting Highlands via Maxim's Hotel. From there, we were a little bit lost kasi mejo kulang sila sa signage. What we did was we got out of the hotel first so we can get an idea where we are. From there konting common sense at basa-basa to find the Indoor Theme Park. Then finally after some minutes of walking, we reached our target place.
I was contemplating what part of the Go Genting package I'll avail that time but then my two companions preferred to eat than to see the theme park. Which after some observations mejo good decision rin. Why? The Go Genting Package will cost you 70RM. This is inclusive of:
1. Bus ride from KL Sentral to Genting Skyway
2. Cable car going up to Resorts World
3. Choose between the two:
3a. Indoor Theme Park + Snow World
3b. Lunch at Ho Mei Restaurant in Resort Hotel
4. Cable car going down
5. Bus ride to KL Sentral
First reason, you can go around the Indoor Theme Park for free. Upon observation, most of the rides are for kids talaga. Some attractions naman like Ripley's Believe it or not, you have to pay extra. Mejo nakakapanghinayang lang ung Snow World kasi I never experienced it pa (Oo na! Hindi pa ako nakakapag Star City!). Other than that, masaya na ako sa tingin tingin lang around. Mas masaya siguro kung open na ung Outdoor Theme Park kaya lang 2016 pa daw.
TIP: Mejo mura yung Nike Factory Outlet nila sa loob. Nanghinayang ung friend namin na di pa nya binili ung shoes na hawak nya. 4k daw un sa pinas, 1k+ lang dun.
So after namin magsawa magwindow shopping sa theme park, we went to look for the Ho Mei Resto. Slightly disappointing lang dun. I thought kasi buffet pero pipili ka lang pala ng one main course, one dessert and one drink. Then the choices super unti lang. Pero if you look at the price parang sulit na rin kasi that resto pala e membership levelz. Anyhoo, sakto lang sya. Nothing extravagant.
Bilang hindi kami nag theme park, around 2pm wala na kami magawa. So we went outside ulit to take pictures. Maganda!
Tumambay na lang kami sa Starbucks. Mejo mahal dun ha. Yung 170 na drinks natin nasa 200+ sa kanila. Pero before that, tumawa muna kami sa mga local signs nila na in our language e very funny.
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| Wala naman iba tao e, sige mag-awas na muna jan. :P |
Back to KL Sentral, we rode KTM Commuter naman going to Pasar Seni station. Apparently, yun ang LRT station to reach Chinatown. Try lang para hindi naman taxi always. Ticket was just 1RM or 12php. Mura ah! Tapos ang cute ng ticket/token.
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| Nag-MRT na ung mga artista para umabot sa Showtime. Char!! |
Friday is one of the days na the boys I'm with are super excited about. It's the first day of the MotoGP Malaysia leg. Practice lang naman to ng riders pero better nga to explore the site this day than makigulo sa dagsa ng tao ng Sat or Sun. First, bumili muna kami ng bus ticket sa KL Sentral. Ang pila ay sa gilid mga kuya, dun sa exit na malapit sa bilihan ng tickets to KLIA. Standing na pero ok lang.
Shempre photo op muna si mamang maitim!
We were there to support Valentino Rossi nga pala guys. #ForzaVale
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| That's one happy kid |
I told you photoshoot ni kuya diba? Ayan professional cam pa ang gusto!
Maganda din dun. Hazy lang! May scare pa na baka di matuloy ang race because of the haze. Buti naman natuloy kundi andami siguro beast mode.
E shempre me photoshoot din ang lola nyo :)
Eto talaga guys ang ipinunta namin. Look!! The doctor!
That's the closest we can get. Pwede sana kami pumila for autograph signing kaya lang super haba ng line mga ateng. So uwi na kami after lunch, di na namin inantay yung second practice.
Back at the hotel, our friend decided na magstay na lang sya sa hotel to edit the pictures he took. Kami ni D nasasayangan sa time so we explored the area around the hotel.
Here's D eating some random street food. Masarap din ha! Maarte yan sa food so that's an #achievementunlocked
We went to the NU Sentral mall (which is connected to KL Sentral) din to buy pasalubong. We saw na they have Nando's so we tried it. Infer, masarap nga sya!
At the grocery, we saw this Indian lady doing some artwork on the floor. Gawa sya sa parang colored sand particles. I can't help but notice also na parang half ng population na nakita ko sa KL e puro mga Indian. I wonder why. Isa pang observation ko, parang andaming blind dun. In every time na lumalabas kami sa hotel lagi na lang kami nakakakita ng ilan. They are everywhere. Bakit kaya ulit?
Later that night, we decided to explore more of the city. We rode the green line of the LRT to Bukit Nanas. Then naglakad kami ng bongga going to Petronas Twin Towers. Pero before pala kami nakarating dun, we saw this on the way. The very famous KL Tower. Di na namin nalapitan but my Gad! Kahit malayo ang stunning diba? Hindi nacapture ng camera phone ko ang shinning shimmering splendid. But believe me, amazing talaga!
After maybe 15mins of walking, we reached the twin towers. Kung naamaze ako sa KL Tower, jaw-dropping naman for me ang twin towers. Ang galing lang!
We found a perfect slot kahit na super dami din turista dun.
E shempre dapat magawa ang famous pose ni D.
Saturday, may event sana sa MotoGP. Qualifying race to determine yung placing sa actual race on Sunday. Our friend decided to skip this na lang para pahinga din daw for Sunday. No choice kami. :P By around late morning aba nakahiga pa rin ang dalawang boys even after I took a bath na. Nung maglulunch na I urge D na to move kasi nasasayangan ako sa one day abroad without exploring our options. It's not everyday that we can visit other countries ha. So yun na, after lunch, our friend went back to the hotel while D and I decided to go to Jalan Alor. From my research, we need to take the green line of LRT again but we have to get off Bukit Bintang station.
Ohh sounds family! Yup that's where the famous Bintang Walk is. So before heading to Jalan Alor, we explored Bukit Bintang first. There's a lot of stores din ha. After we get tired of window-shopping, we walked again to find Jalan Alor. Mga konting tumbling lang naman from the train station. And then BOOM!
Ok, for those who don't know, Jalan Alor is a famous hawker place in KL. As in andami food choices - Malaysian, Indian, Western, may Filipino pa! Most stores are open in the morning pero usually night market sya talaga. Parang Mercato natin. At night, maglalabasan na ung mga chairs and ibablock na nila ung street. Going back, napaaga yata kami. Around 4pm, andun na kami. Sarado pa ibang stores so tumambay muna kami sa 7-11 until 5:30pm. After walking the whole stretch, we narrowed our choices to Dragon View and WAW. We chose Dragon View because of the curry. Fave kasi yan ni D but he was somewhat unsatisfied.
This naman is my fave part. Alam nyo naman comfort food ko ang ICE CREAM!! The first one we tried was the Turkish Ice Cream. A little bit different to kasi stick ang gamit na pangscoop ni kuya. Then ibabaligtad nya parang sa DQ. Haha!
They have 3 flavors that time - Durian, Cheese and Dark Chocolate. We chose the later. How was it? I like it initially. But after a while may after taste sya na I don't like. Parang malangis?
Anyhoot, I was actually looking for another ice cream. That was the reason why we waited for so long kasi 6pm pa daw magoopen ang Sangkaya Coconut Ice Cream. And then finally.. nakapagpapicture din kay ate. Char!!
Masarap sya in fairness. May kamahalan lang - 10.50RM for one huskful. Inclusive of the real coconut meat under the scoops of Coconut Ice Cream and any toppings you like. I chose corn and toasted coconut. Meron din corn flakes, sprinkles, chocolates and others.
After that, pwede ka pa humingi ng free buko juice! Unlimited yan! Winner!
I wanted to wait sana to get dark para makita ko ang colors of Jalan Alor kaya lang 7pm na maliwanag pa rin? Grabe sya! I took this shot na lang before leaving. Try to find D. :P
Sunday was the day. Eto talaga ang ipinunta namin dito. So early on pila mode ulit kami sa bus. Aba much worse nga than Friday. Pero all smiles pa rin ang mga pinoy.
Pictures galore ulit. Wala to nung Friday.
Ganto yung mga bet na picturan ng asawa ko. Game naman ako sa ganto. :D
See that happy kid? He can't control his arms. Laging nakataas! Indication yan na he really is happy.
We were seated right behind these Boyoyong clowns aka Rossi supporters. Mas masaya pala kasi nasa area namin ang center of cheer. And we were seated right in front of Rossi's pit.
And you know what happened to that MotoGP leg. If not, well, there's a controversy. To summarize, Lorenzo and Rossi (who are Yamaha Movistar teammates) were competing for the overall championship title. Rossi is ahead of that standing before the race started. Rossi needs to finish ahead of Lorenzo in that race to secure the championship. But for some reasons, during the race, Rossi was only playing around the 3rd and the 4th slot. In my observation, which was backed up by my companions' and my seatmates' opinions, Marquez was deliberately making Rossi slow down to give way to Lorenzo. In one of the early turns, Marquez did a wide turn that made Lorenzo pass. A series of Marquez and Rossi racing with each other followed. This is unusual for Marquez since we know that the kid can go faster than that. If you watched the Saturday's qualifying round, you'll wonder why the kid was slow on that day also. Then after passing Marquez in one of the turns, Rossi looked back and warned Marquez. Maybe the kid touched him a million of times and he got irritated already? That's how I read it. Then the climax happened. While Rossi was ahead, he made a wide turn that slowed Marquez down. The kid tried to catch up and eventually bumped into Rossi and then he crashed. From the first camera angle, it looked like Rossi kicked him because his foot moved the same time as when Marquez crashed. That's what Marquez fans believed. But after watching several replays and from different angles, it was obvious that Marquez' helmet bumped into Rossi's foot. Rossi's reaction was to move his foot to avoid colliding along with Marquez. This was the alledged kick. For me, no kick happened, just a natural reaction from Rossi.
Marquez wasn't able to finish the race. He went straight back to his pit. We were observing him the whole time. Our friend mentioned that he was unusually cool about it when knowing Marquez (sila na ang close!), laging galit yan pag nagkakacrash sya. It was like he really planned this one along. I hope it's not true. Oh well, just so you know, the kid is not running for the championship title anymore and in one of his interviews, he mentioned that he would like Lorenzo to win. Wait, what??
As expected, Rossi finished third. But us, his supporters, specially these clowns were not happy. He might be given penalties for what happened.
And true enough, Race Direction decided to give him 3-point penalty and last start in the race in Valencia. What?? That means goodbye championship to Rossi for this year. And mind you, Marquez didn't even get a penalty. People were outraged! Including us! But we have to take a picture of our couple shirt first. :)
And a solo shot of D before boarding the bus back to the city.
The next day, Monday, was boring because we just waited for our 9:40pm plane in the airport. We just savored every last second of Malaysia and tried every food (which most Indian food I don't like by the way).
What I learned from Malaysia?
- Bring your most comfortable shoes kasi lakad galore talaga. I brought mine but then it's not comfortable enough so in the middle of our stay I had to buy shoes pa again.
- The food and most things are cheap (or cheaper than the Philippines). We only exhanged 444 USD for the two of us for 6 days. That's 1776 RM. Sobrang gastos na namin nyan sa food ha? Pero sobra pa ng 37RM. Parang local Philippine destination lang for 3D2N. Siguro around 2 days lang itatagal nyan sa SG.
- To make the above point work for you also, utilize their train system. Imagine 1-2RM lang anlayo na ng mararating mo. Very convenient naman, unline our MRT na imbey sa sikip.
- If pagod na talaga and you want to be at peace sa taxi, always choose the red one over the blue one. Budget taxi nila ung red. And kahit red na sya, always ask na magmetro. If ayaw pumayag, walk away. Andami pa taxi sa paligid.
- You can skip the fast food chains also like McDo and Burger King and opt for local food. Mas mura na, mas healthy pa. Try Mee Goreng and Chicken Satay!
- Nagtatraffic din sa kanila but not like Manila traffic. Imba tayo!
Here's the last shot I took of this trip. A proof of how dirty Air Asia planes are. I thought I was just unlucky to be seated on the dirty side of the plane from MNL-KL. But when I experienced it again from KL-MNL, wow! This calls for a call-out. Partida mga ate ha, pinagpag ko na ung chair nyan pero check out the floor. Di lang kita sa picture pero may candy wrapper pa jan. To think na Air Asia moved our flight to a later time without informing us. Yup, a few weeks before the flight, just when I was printing our travel tickets, I noticed na from 12:40pm naging 9:40pm ung alis namin from Malaysia. I asked D if Air Asia sent him an email since we used his name to book. Wala daw. We also asked his friend who booked his flight separately if ganun din sa kanya. Same case, NO ALERT FROM AIR ASIA! So if hindi pala kami careful, dun na namin malalaman? I asked the boys to call Air Asia but super calm sila e, they let it pass. Hayy sige na nga GV na lang. But mental note to self, never ride AIR ASIA again. Grrrr
With heart still racing fast,
Yosh
