First trip to Genting Highlands

With the school holidays here, we decided to take the girls up to Genting Highlands for the first time. And we're staying at Awana with one of my Sister in law and her family. It would be very interesting to see how the two girls would react to the cold up there and the new environment. But more importantly, we are also interested in seeing how the 1.5 Avanza performs when going up the Genting slopes.

Our trip began at 11AM (originally, it was 9AM) after making sure everything that is to be packed, is packed and put into the car. Driving the Avanza in something very different for me. I was so used to driving my Satria, changing or dropping gears at every corner. By now, I am quite used to driving an Auto except for the occasional panic where I would shift the Auto from Drive to Park effectively bringing the car to a halt (and destroying the gears in the process)

The trip from Genting Sempah up to the Police checkpoint (slightly after Gohtong Jaya) was a bit too difficult for me as I kept expecting the road to be an uphill route. So, I found myself shifting between [O/D OFF] auto to 2nd when cornering. I was doing this because I wanted the car to be always in the "forward push" (I don't know how to describe this) so that its momentum helps in getting the car move better. Only when Kaelynn started to vomit did I slow down for the rest of the journey. And going downhill, it was gear "2" all the way as I hate to use the brakes all the time. Maybe its not a good idea at all. I mean, a new set of brake pads would set us back about a few hundred ringgit compared to a new gearbox.

Anyway, while we were there, the girls did have a lot of fun. Most of the time we were indoors as it was raining intermittently. Which was great as it created a lot of mists. I was happy as Kaelynn starts to warm up with my Mother in Law.

Wakey, wakey! Kristine has started to brush her teeth
every morning and also before she goes to bed.

Kaelynn wondering why everyone was so busy all of a sudden

While waiting for Mommy to pack and freshen up, Kristine
took Kaelynn for a ride

The room at Awana costs us RM250 for two days. But
I like it there although I had to sleep in the couch as it
was so cool, I did not need to have the fan on but just
the glass doors opened a wee bit to let the night air in

It was Kristine and Kaelynn's first time
in a cable car. I was a bit afraid due to
the heights. And when it stopped in the
middle of the mists, my mind was thinking
about disasters in a cable car. There was a
long queue (beyond 30 minutes) to get into
the cable car. Luckily the ticket was free when
we got the Hotel room.

I was a bit jealous when I saw this car parked outside

But then, I felt pity for their stupidity in showing off.
A lot of people leaned on them when having their
pictures taken. I can bet you by the end of the day,
the cars would be slightly dented and has a lot of
fingerprints.

Kristine making sure her sister is well protected from the cold

There was a long line when we boarded the cable cars to to up and
it was the same when we wanted to go back down. Luckily, a kind
gentleman used his Worldcard to let us cut the whole queue and
straight into the main gate. We were thankful for his generosity
as both of us were already tired from waiting in line while carrying
the two girls.

I was still afraid in the cable car and watching things going
away from you did not help either. Luckily, taking photos
helped me calm down but wife was threatening to throw
my D50 out of the window as I was clicking away like mad

Still, the girls we enjoying themselves, thanks to the
Lollipops too.

For dinner, all the adults went to the Casino leaving us to
being the kids out for dinner. We ended up at the Japan-
Korean restaurant which was quite OK. I loved the kimchi

Since the bed was quite high up and we did not want
to move the girls, moving the heavy mattress on to
the floor was out of the question. And so, we all the
pillows and cushions we could find. This was a very
difficult shot for me since I took it in the early morning
with very little light and no tripod

Buffet Breakfast finds the two girls in jovial mood

They were so happy, they went up to the stage and did
some dancing there.

Since its school holidays, we have to make sure Kristine
knows here stuff as evident in her handiwork here. sigh

And while everyone was packing up to checkout.....

For the rest of the afternoon, we were inside here, walking about.
I saw this China sifu making model likeness from dough. Here, he
is starting to shape a customer's head

Kristine and I took a boat ride. Of all the rides, this was the
safest we could find. No ferris wheels, roller coasters, high
floats or even bumper cars for her in case she really freaks
out and we cannot stop the ride.

Just before we go home, Kristine was dancing again
for one last time