Cuti-Cuti Malaysia. Our 2Days 1Night Trip to Genting Highlands

It's been 5 years since I last visited Genting Highlands. The last trip was back in 2010.  

Obviously, this trip was intentionally made to catch Sammi Cheng’s Touch Mi Live in Malaysia concert. I love her and have been following her actively. Needless to say, it was really a good show and again, she impressed me always. It was full house that night and the atmosphere was really good. Too awesome for words.

We made this trip on 24 April 2015 morning from Penang and arrived at Genting Highlands around 2.00 p.m. It was a long 6-hour tortuous bus ride. We later proceeded for hotel check-in via the e-kiosk system. We spent the entire afternoon exploring the First World Plaza before we dash our way to the concert in the evening. It was rather different experience this time as compared to the previous trips. 

For this trip, we made field visits to Chin Swee Cave Temple and the Strawberry Leisure Farm on the following day (25 April 2015) since the theme park and major spots at First World Plaza is now under renovation/major construction for the World's First 20th Century Fox Theme Park which is set to open in 2016.  

Ok, we’ll share more about our visits to Chin Swee Cave Temple and the Strawberry Leisure Farm here:

Chin Swee Cave Temple

Address: Genting Highland, 69000, Genting Highland, Pahang, 69000, Malaysia

Telephone: +603 – 2718 1113

Website: http://www.csc.org.my/ 
Entrance fee: FOC 

After our morning breakfast at First World Hotel, we then depart to Chin Swee Cave Temple via the Resorts World shuttle bus. The weather was just nice before we went downhill. We took the earliest shuttle bus from Genting First World Hotel (Platform 3) and arrived there at 9.15 a.m.

The 15-meter high Giant Buddha Statue

The 15-meter high Giant Buddha Statue

One for the album

Located 4,600 feet above sea level, the Chin Swee Caves Temple is situated in the most scenic site of Genting Highlands.  The grounds and temple are very well-kept and clean. It was very cool up the hill and we really enjoyed the fresh air. The statues are interesting and the carved pillars inside the cave temple are amazingly beautiful. “Chin Swee” literally means very beautiful in the local Chinese dialect. We were greeted by many statues of different deities/goddess as it is a Taoist temple. There is also statue of Guan Yin-God of Mercy and a statue of Buddha seated at the serene corner of temple.  

Peaceful and Serene

The temple was built by the founder of Genting (Lim Goh Tong) to venerate Buddhist figure Chin Swee, a year after he constructed the first resort and casino in 1975. Originally a cave temple, years of development have produced an expansive physical complex that extends far beyond the altar chamber, rooted in traditional Chinese architecture expressed by ornate prayer halls, colourful statues, opulent archways and its iconic pagoda tower.

Some of the prominent structures to explore include the iconic nine-storey pagoda lit by lamps, Sky Terrace - a vast square on top the complex with a view of the valley, 'Ten Chambers of Hell' - a sloping hilltop walk past story-telling statues built into small cave recesses, and finally, a giant 15-meter high Buddha statue wedged between the jungle canopy across the hill. Lim Goh Tong Hall provides temple accommodation for visitors while a vegetarian restaurant serves meals. Source: gentinghighlandsinfo.com   

The various steps in the legend

The Story of Hell

The various steps in the legend

The various steps in the legend

Attractions at Chin Swee Cave Temple:

◊ Reverend Chin Swee

◊ 15-meter high Giant Buddha Statue  

◊ Kuan-Yin Large White Statue

◊ Nine-storey Pagoda decorated with many figurines of the Buddha

◊ Small Buddhist temple at …

◊ Statue of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong

◊ Statues of ‘the Eight Deities’ playing a friendly game of chess

◊ Statues of ten Chambers of Hell

◊ “Seven Fairies” descending from heaven

◊ Statues of Gods of Fook-Lok-Sou (Luck, Wisdom and Longevity)

◊ Statues of Wang-mo-liang-liang (Mother Goddess)

◊ The Journey to the West legend (Sun Wukong/ Monkey God, Buddhist Monk, Zhu Bajie/   Eight Precepts Pig and Sha Wujing/River Ogre 

The Journey to the West legend

The Monkey God

Statues of ‘the Eight Deities’ playing a friendly game of chess

Complimentary daily shuttle bus service is available at First World Hotel (Platform 3) to transport visitors to and fro Chin Swee Caves Temple. The bus ride from First World Hotel to Chin Swee Caves Temple is approximately 10 – 15 minutes journey.

First World Hotel – Chin Swee Temple daily shuttle service:

From First World Hotel	From Chin Swee Temple
09.00 am	09.15 am
10.00 am	10.15 am
11.00 am	11.15 am
12.00 noon	12.15 am
-	13.15 pm
2.00 pm	2.15 pm
3.00 pm	3.15 pm
4.00 pm	4. 15 pm
5.00 pm	5. 15 pm
6.00 pm	6.15 pm
7.00 pm	7.15 pm
8.00 pm	8.15 pm
9.00 pm	9.15 pm

Genting Strawberry Leisure Farm 

(Strawberry + Lavender + Mushroom Farms)

Address: No.1, Lot 3707, Jalan Jati 2, Bandar Gohtong Jaya, 69000 Genting Highlands,

Pahang Darul Makmur, Malaysia

Telephone: + 603-6100 1121 / + 603-6100 1152

Opening Hours:  9.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.  

Entrance fee:  RM8.00/pax/entry & RM8.00 for entrance to PYO (Pick-Your-Own) strawberries (100gram)

How to get there: From First World Plaza (follow directions/ signage to Genting Sky Train), take Genting Sky Train Cable Car to Genting Skyway Complex Station. From the station take Resorts World shuttle bus (frequency: 20 minutes/bus) to Gohtong Jaya bus stop. Walk for 5 minutes to the strawberry leisure farm.

Genting Sky Train (First World Plaza) → Genting Skyway Complex → Gohtong Jaya bus stop (roundabout) → Strawberry Leisure Farm 

The Genting Highlands Strawberry Leisure Farm is a popular tourist attraction in Gohtong Jaya, nestled directly at town opposite the Mawar and Bunga Raya Apartments. The farm can easily be reached by taking left from the roundabout near to the main bus stop.

The premises housed a strawberry farm, lavender farm, vegetables (hydroponic lettuce & passion fruits) farm, mushroom growing facility, a cafe and some retail shops. The entire farm was huge and we spent hours there. 

These are real strawberries 

You can pick as many strawberries as you like

Rows and rows of strawberries are grown hydroponically

Juicy Strawberries

The highlight was the strawberry and lavender farm. We started exploring the strawberry farm and along the way there was a counter selling fresh strawberries, boxes of dried strawberries, strawberry jams and juices; all available for a price. We found the prices to be quite expensive compare to the ones selling at the hypermarket. There is also an entrance fee chargeable for you to enter the strawberry fields and for you to pluck ’em freely! Besides, there are also many other products made from strawberries.

Couldn't get enough of these romantic flowers

Couldn't get enough of these romantic flowers

Couldn't get enough of these romantic flowers

The 2^nd part of our visit was my favourite. The lavender farm. It just felt more lively and pretty! We spent nearly an hour there taking hundreds of photographs. You will also find a lot of yellow daisies, roses as well as trumpet flowers here.

White oyster mushroom

White oyster mushroom

The mushroom farm was our next destination along the exit route.  I am a stranger to mushroom farm. It was my first time seeing how fresh mushrooms are grown / cultivate in such facility.  Overall, it was a fruitful trip. We explored every little corner of this farm and spent about  2-3 hours there.  

♥ We had so much fun. Thank you for the awesome concert and awesome trip ♥

Touch Mi Live in Malaysia 2015 (Genting Highlands Arena of Stars)

Touch Mi Live in Malaysia 2015 (Genting Highlands Arena of Stars)

Touch Mi Live in Malaysia 2015 (Genting Highlands Arena of Stars)

Touch Mi Live in Malaysia 2015 (Genting Highlands Arena of Stars)

Transportation:

(i) Genting Sky Train Cable Car Ride

Fares: RM6.4 / person / one-way (Price is inclusive of 6% GST)

RM12.80 / person / return (Price is inclusive of 6% GST)

Operation hours: 7.30am – 12.00am (daily)

Duration: 10-15 minutes ride

Point: First World Plaza – Genting Skyway Complex – First World Plaza

Resorts World Genting Skyway Cable Cars Website 

The wonders of nature's creations

We booked our bus tickets from Penang through Sin-Pen Travel Sdn. Bhd.

(ii)Penang – Genting Highlands – Penang

Fares: RM75.00/person (return tickets)

Departure Time (Penang – Genting Highlands <Mushroom Farm>) : 7.15 a.m.

Departure Time (Genting Highlands <Mushroom Farm> – Penang) : 4.00 p.m.

Pick-up / Drop-off point: Sungai Nibong bus terminal (Petron petrol station)  / Genting Mushroom Farm

Contact Agent: +60 4-226 6161 (Ms Ng, Sin-Pen Travel Sdn. Bhd.) 

Accommodation:

First World Hotel, Genting Highlands  

Address: First World Hotel, Genting Highland Resort, 69000 Genting Highlands, Malaysia

Booking Website: http://www.rwgenting.com/

Room type: Standard Room

Room rate: RM138/night (inclusive of 6% GST)

Note: Self check-in at the e-Kiosk located at the main lobby. Please be reminded to bring along your original IC / Passport (for foreigners), credit card and confirmation e-mail.

Note: All entrance / transportation fees and accommodation rates/charges listed on this post are based on our (chengywong.blogspot.com) travel dates (2015) and therefore subject to change(s). ©chengywong.blogspot.com is not responsible for content on external web sites. 

**Stay tuned for our next travel episode - Eat, Pray, Love in Bali** 

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move” - Robert Louis Stevenson

Welcome to Small World! This blog is not a travel agency, but rather a personal site which allows us to share our past travel experiences in a straightforward and far-reaching way. We often made great use of other peoples travel blogs and sites every time we plan for our travel itinerary as they often contained most updated information and invaluable resources from their past travel experiences.  We hope that you will find every piece of information & images contained within our blog handy and useful. Thank you very much for reading our post(s) and feel free to leave a comment/testimonial or click "Like/Share" if you love reading them all. xoxo The writers are passionate travelers who enjoy speaking to young keen travelers about the freedom to get cultured and to taste the fullness of life. Feel free to contact the us if you need any travel advice, guidance or tips or if you have any burning questions with regards to your upcoming trip (s) / journey

- Be inspired but more importantly be inspiring -