Get Ready: Genting Highlands trip with family (1-3 May) Part I

We had a fun family trip during the labor day weekend. Coincidentally, this was also Rachel's first holiday trip ever out of Penang. Understandably, I was real panicky about the packing and the itinerary. The easiest way to go to Genting Highlands from Penang is to take a bus-cum-hotel package offered by Sin-Pen. But I didn't want to choose this one because I wanted enough breaks in between to let Rachel stretch her legs and breathe fresh air. Also, the timing of the bus travel would mean changing her diaper inside the bus after her poo-poo session ... I wouldn't want to ruin other passengers' appetite.

So, I insisted that we drive there. "We" meant - Rueben, Rachel, my parents, and myself. All my friends and colleagues had a shock. "You mean your kancil???" No, no ... we borrowed Rueben's bro's Iswara. He's in UK, he wouldn't mind :P

We started our journey at 6.30am and reached the top of Genting Highlands around 1.30pm. We had about an hour's break at the Tapah R&R for breakfast and some running around for Rachel to release all her pent-up energy. We were pleasantly surprised by her very good travelling behavior. I was worried she might get fussy and refused to rest, but she fell back to sleep (along with my father) not long after we crossed the Penang Bridge. After the Tapah stop, she took her nen nen and took a nap till when we passed the exit to Genting Highlands. Her only discomfort was when we were driving up Batang Kali. The winding road caused the poor girl to get motion sickness and she vommitted a few times. So, we rested at Gohtong Jaya for a while to let her walk around a bit. She wasn't upset or fussy at all. We assured her that it's okay for her to vomit, and she also said "okay". Haha ...

After we reached Genting, we drove around for a hour or so because we couldn't find a parking spot! It was THAT packed. Finally Rueben dropped us off at the Theme Park Hotel (where we would be staying for the 2 nights) lobby with all our luggages and continued looking for a parking space. I went ahead to check in and requested the 9th floor (based on the customers' feedbacks on the Internet). We were fortunate that our room window faced the garden, which meant no screaming noises during the day. The opposite room's window faced the theme park itself.

After unpacking our stuff, Rueben proceeded to nap (poor guy) so the rest took the opportunity to check out the area a bit. We came back in time for Rachel's porridge to cook (erm, yes, we brought a mini slow cooker along). After packing her food, we went to First World Plaza's Hainan Kitchen to eat. Bad food, bad, bad, food ... ugh! I never wanted to go back there again. We went back to our hotel room soon after in time for Rachel's bedtime. While we prepared for bed, my parents prepared to be gods of gamblers. They actually came back at 5am!

(to be continued ...)