2 Days 1 Night Amazing Getaway at Sky High Genting Highlands @ Genting Premium Outlet & Sky Avenue, Pahang (Part 1)

To be honest, Genting Highlands really have no much appeal to Ipoh Boy (who has ventured across the West and East, LOL, not bragging ). But, since my parents were the member of the Sky Avenue Casino, they were offered two free rooms! Therefore, since I am currently unemployed a free thinker [Do hope that you all support my ads a bit, kekekeke], I could join them and my aunt as the drebar (Driver in Malay). And, seriously, the newly opened and renovated Sky Avenue Genting Highlands, really changed my perspective after my recent visit! Yes, it has become very international!

Brief History of Genting Highlands
The man behind the success, or the pioneer of Genting Highlands, was Tan Sri Dato Seri (Dr.) Lim Goh Tong (林梧桐). Opened in 1965, with the great effort by him (aged 47), Genting Highlands has established itself to be one of the greatest companies as well as casinos, in Malaysia and around the world. You are never too old to try realising your dream! In around 2013, Genting Highlands basically temporary closed down its amusement park and selected facilities for further renovation. In around 2017, the re-opening of Genting Highlands with the extreme face lift of the amusement park to 20th Century Fox World Theme Park, the new Arena Star capable of housing 10,000 seats, the expansion of 1300 new First World Hotel rooms and the introduction of the Genting Premium Outlet, stuns both local and international tourists. In 2007, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong passed away and currently buried at Gohtong Memorial Park, though he could not see the success himself, but surely, he would have felt it. While his wife, Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua unfortunately passed away recently in 2017.  Indeed, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong was and is an inspirational figure, who endured hardship before his success, starting from nothing to everything, as an immigrant from China.

Itinerary for Two Days One Night Amazing Getaway
The table below details the very leisure form of travelling up to the Sky High Genting Highlands. Though driving can be thrilling and exhausting and sometimes very dangerous if the foggy mist blocks your view. If you don't like to drive, the new cable car system which can take you up up and away, can be your affordable choice. You can check the price and schedule here.

Day 1
Time	Activity
12.00pm	Driving from Kuala Lumpur after lunch
1.30 pm	Reached Genting Premium Outlet
3.30 pm	Self-check in at First World Hotel
5.00 pm	Rested in the room
5.30 pm	Enjoyed high tea @ Starbucks
6.00 pm	Explored Sky Avenue Shopping Mall
7.00 pm	Dinner at Burger & Lobster (^^)
8.30 pm	To the Sky Avenue Casino!
10.30 pm	The elderly bed time
11.30 pm	Ventured to the outer area (^^)
12.00am	Went to bed
Day 2
Time	Activity
7.30 am	Woke up and headed inside the casino for breakfast
8.30 am	Jalan Jalan around the hotel area
9.30 am	Self-check out
9.45 am	Reached Chin Swee Caves Temple
11.00 am	Left Genting Highland and on the way back to Ipoh

We booked our rooms from Monday to Tuesday. Before that, we were spending a splendid weekend in Kuala Lumpur. After having our lunch in Petaling Jaya, we embarked on a slow and steady drive up to the Genting Highlands. To our surprise, we thought that Genting Premium Outlet was just integrated with First World Hotel, but boy, how wrong we were. It was actually located slightly further before the hotel area, as an independent premise on the hill.

Actually, we were not into the fancy stuffs, though we did hope to get some posh items at a reasonable price. Yet, to our dismay, the items were not really priced that nicely. In fact, for extra discount, you need to be a member for Johor Premium Outlet. Remember to check the deal with the customer service.

In fact, the design of the outlet is almost like a replica as JPO. However, due to the weathers in Genting to be rainy, humid and wet, the design was kinda inappropriate because of the open-air concept, which the rain could simply soak the people and the pathway! There were also too less of eateries available on GPO. Nonetheless, since it was newly opened, hopefully, it could be improved further.

[Genting Premium Outlet 1: The rainy weather; The cow in the Hershey chocolate show; Coach] 

[Genting Premium Outlet 2: The exterior; The panorama of the GPO] 

Around 3pm, we drove ourselves up to the First World Hotel (World's Largest Hotel). Oh yeah, I did not know about this record, until seeing the signboard at the entrance of the hotel. And, the crowd on a Monday was simply unbelievable because I could see all walks of lives from local and international. Instead of queuing up for check-in, we did our own procedure via the kiosks, which was relatively simple! You just need your Genting member card and I.C/ passport ready, and follow the screen instruction. Thereafter, a card-key will be provided, should you required more keys, another I.C/ passport is required.

[First World Hotel 1]

[First World Hotel 2: Self check-in; Room Key]

The self-check-in system was pretty awesome actually, and very much environmentally-friendly. As we went up to our rooms, the simple decoration and clean environment of the room were more than satisfying! And, lastly, compared to our last visit, the toilet was actually more spacious and the water pressure was definitely higher. (hahahahaha)

[First World Hotel 3: Hotel Room]

Actually, the old amusement area was closed for renovation. Therefore, not much sight-seeing at that site. Thus, instead of walking around doing nothing or going to the casino at this early hour, we decided to enjoy some nice cups of coffee from Starbucks. If your mobile data is not working properly at high altitude, Starbucks internet is relatively fast and stable, but relatively expensive too compared to lower grounds!

[Starbucks: Posh outlet]

After the coffee, with some time left before dinner, we finally stepped foot into the Sky Avenue Shopping area. My whole family and I were in a state of shock and excitement because the whole premise had been transformed into infinite screen-walls, showing high resolution of animations!  Well, not sure about what I am saying! Check the photos below:

[Sky Avenue Shopping Mall, amazing!]

As you can see, the LED-like interior was simply eye-catching, in minutes, more than thousands of pictures were taken by handphones and professional cameras! We did not have much time on exploring the Sky Avenue Shopping mall, as most of the shops there now are on the luxurious side, and closed quite early. The restaurants there however closed relatively late, and most of them were not on the cheap side. hahahaha! Just two words for Sky Avenue - High-Class. After exploring and having our dinner (Burger & Lobster), we proceeded to the Casino! Yup, me in front of the Sky Casino iconic wall! After spending hours in the casino, my mom was the luckiest one, which she won a handsome before ending the night around 1030pm.

[Sky Casino: Me, the luxurious entrance]

As for me, I was a late owl! So, when the elders were in bed, I sneaked out and brought along my unfamiliar DSLR (didn't touch for 2 years) and walked around the hotel area. Anyway, nothing much to take anyway since a lot of areas was still closed for renovation. You can check the album as below for more images. I sneaked back around 1230 am and went to bed directly under the cool environment of Genting Highlands.

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Part 1 Ended