Malaysia's Highland Getaways - Genting Highlands

Malaysia's Titiwangsa mountain range not only serves as the backbone of the peninsular which is an important water catchment area rich in flora and fauna. The main range as it is also known, is an important tourism draw which generates millions of tourists dollars as revenue to the country's economy. Situated close to the equator, Malaysia enjoys warm tropical climate all year round. However for some Malaysians, they would like to get away from the hot and sticky climate to experience cooler climes. These mountains serve as the ideal getaway close to home without having to travel overseas and lose out on the exchange rate in view of the drastically depreciating ringgit. A retreat to the mountains also gives people the opportunity to clear their lungs from all that choking city smog and breathe fresh oxygen rich mountain air.

I will be writing about 3 of the most popular highland getaways in Peninsular Malaysia which I happen to have also visited recently starting with the most popular one, Genting Highlands.

Genting Highlands

View of the surroundings at Genting Highlands from the Awana Resort.

The Genting Highlands resort is undoubtedly the most popular in terms of number of visitors (both domestic and foreign) as its proximity to the Klang Valley results in only an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur. It also has the best infrastructure among the other highland resorts such as good quality and wide roads leading up to the peak (dual carriageways from foothill to top). This is a very important factor to cater for mass tourism as big buses and larger vehicles usually have problems navigating up narrow and winding mountain roads which are single lane. In addition to good roads, cable cars are another option of getting to the top of Genting. 

The biggest draw to the Genting Highlands is obviously the casino and theme park. Most tourists come up here for either one or both of these reasons. The entire Genting Highlands resort was a project started by its founder, the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong who was a migrant from Fujian province in China between the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, people were laughing at his idea of building a resort on top of a remote and inaccessible mountain and deemed it doomed to fail. However it is clearly evident today that he has proven his critics wrong with Genting Highlands being a huge tourist magnate. The casino at the peak of Genting Highlands is Malaysia's one and only up till now as the Malaysian government has never granted anymore casino licenses ever since. 

Memorial of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, the founder of Genting Highlands located at Gohtong Jaya.

If you are not so much of a gambler or a theme park enthusiast then you might be hugely disappointed with a visit to Genting Highlands as the hordes of tourists bumping into you doesn't differ much from the feeling of being in a busy city center. There are not that many pristine hiking trails around the Genting Highlands with the exception of Gunung Bunga Buah which is one of the nearby peaks. Its trailhead is accessed from the midway town of Gohtong Jaya behind the Seri Malaysia hotel. A hike up and down this peak typically takes between 5-8 hours depending on your level of fitness and the weather of the day. 

The busy and vibrant city of entertainment at the top of Genting Highland resort.

  There are also many hotel resorts to choose about in Genting Highlands ranging from very expensive luxury ones to the mid range and budget options. While I was there, I stayed in the Awana Genting Highlands resort which is a very old signature hotel of the Genting Highlands. It is also the only hotel in Genting Highlands that has a 18-hole golf course. To be honest, it wasn't a very pleasant stay as the rooms were very dusty and I kept sneezing as a result of that. The dust came from the curtains and carpet which were probably not washed in a very long time. I also find that the hotel rates are rather exorbitant for the value they offer. Just 4 years back they offered around RM180 per night for a double room but this time when I was there, for the same room the price has gone up to RM600 per night! That's a price hike of more than 3 times in a span of 4 years! Not to mention, the quality of the breakfast this time around has significantly disimproved. 

At the Awana Genting Highlands Resort.

 Anyway, being the nature loving person I am, I wasn't there for the casino nor the theme park. The nature walk in a nearby trail close to the Awana resort was the highlight of my trip to the Genting Highlands. This was also a good reason for a quick escape from the hazy air of Kuala Lumpur during the dry season. My wife and I did the jungle trek within 3 hours which is about the average time taken for the trail. It is basically a loop trail that starts from the Awana resort's team building camp site. With Awana resort being located at midway up the mountain, it is relatively low in elevation hence trekking at this level would be together with the company of mosquitoes and leeches. My wife in particular is not a big fan of leeches and would literally jump and yell at the sight of it. For most part of the nature walk, I was occupied with the job of removing leeches from my wife's feet. As for me, I am used to leeches feasting on my blood. 

Going up the nature trail closeby to Awana Genting Highlands resort.

 The trail is of moderate difficulty whereby it starts off as a descend into a valley where a small stream flows. The stream was evidently murky as a result of nearby construction. In fact the noise from the construction could be heard throughout the nature walk. Apparently there is a boom in vacation property throughout the Genting Highlands to cater for the expected increase in tourist arrivals once the Fox Studios theme park is open hence a number of apartments have been mushrooming around the area. As always, development will take its ugly toll on nature and the losers in this case is the pristine jungles of the highlands.

At a stream along the trail. However the water was evidently murky as a result of nearby construction.

Sounds of the gibbons calling echo throughout the jungle although we couldn't see them. But the question is for how long more if all these development continue encroaching into the virgin jungle? The last portion of the trail was a strenuous hike upwards all the way back to the starting point. 

This jungle trek just did not seem as pristine as those that I have previously done in other parts of the Titiwangsa mountain range. The Genting Highlands is at a point where the tourism boom is starting to take a toll on the natural environment. Once the Fox Studios theme park officially opens in 2017/2018, it will undoubtedly draw larger crowds of tourists to the highlands which will mean more revenue for the Genting Group and its chain of beneficiaries. Already we can see more vacation apartments such as Windmills Upon the Hills and Ion Delemen just to name a few, sprouting up to tap the spike in property demand there. There is indeed a lot of money to be made for these property developers but a fine balance between modern development and preserving the environment is crucial to ensure that our delicate highland ecosystem remains healthy and sustainable for the benefit of everyone.