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Time stands still under some unknown magic spell in Scottish writer J M Barry’s Imaginary Island called ‘wonder land’. The island has no future, no present, and no past and children remain the same forever in the magic land. They never grow old. They never lose their happiness. Barry’s Never Land, the utopia of innocence and timelessness in his famous play Peter Pan, is a piece of literary marvel of all times.

' High Lands is the only tourist place with Casino licence in the entire Malaysia, which in return gave the archipelago the nick name, the Las Vegas of South East Asia. 'The magic term Never Land was a much loved term since then. In 19th century, the uninhabited regions of Australia were called Never-Never Lands. Even today, some places in the northern region and parts of the Queens Land still sport the name. Perhaps those places might have inspired Barry to pen his beautiful piece of imagination. In the Johny Depp starrer Hollywood film, Finding Never Land (2004), Barry and his Peter Pan appear again. Pop wonder Michael Jackson, for instance, named his infamous California estate after J M Barry’s Never Land, where he alleged to have abused minor children.

Thoughts of the island of endless joy were ushered back in to our memory as we entered the Malaysian valley destination, Genting Highlands. The high lands can rightly be called a Never Land, a land of infinite pleasure, the ultimate of luxury.

Situated 2000 meters above sea level, near Kuala Lumpur, the High Lands is the only tourist place with Casino license in the entire Malaysia, which in return gave the archipelago the nick name, the Las Vegas of South East Asia. Only non-Muslim millionaires are allowed inside the casinos of Genting High Lands. Never mind if you are not a millionaire, for there are infinite options for kids and elders to rejoice. Wonderful theme parks, amusement centres and of course, never ending shopping experience waits you and me, who fortunately or unfortunately happened to be in the non-millionaire category. (Oops! How come you presume that millionaires wouldn’t read this?).

Take a Bus and Take Off…

We started off to our Never Land in a luxury bus from Singapore. It is always the most economical option to take a bus to Malaysia from Singapore. Any other means - the train, taxi, or air- is dearer. If you have the patience to stand customs and immigration checks at both ends of the bridge that connects the two nations, you can have a wonderful on-the-bus experience enjoying the way side drama all the way up to Genting Highlands.You cross over to the pristine beauty of native Malaysian villages leaving behind the huge concrete structures of Singapore city. On both sides of the six lane high way, green orchards are in full vigour. Some times you witness the thick teak plantations that reach up to the highway. Palm trees, coconut groves, plantain gardens and rubber- the tropical illusion is in full swing.

It took us four hours to reach Kuala Lumpur and in the meantime, we had our lunch of rice, shrimps, fish and fresh vegetables. From Kuala Lumpur, we’ve to take another bus to the High Lands, 51Kms north-east of the city. The four lane highland road brought us at Gotong Jaya where we have to get in to the cable car service that takes us to further heights. The Genting Sky opened up for traffic in 1997 by Premier Dr. Mahatir Mohammed, can carry 2000 passengers upstream in an hour. The skyway is 3.38 km long and cars move in a smooth 6km/hr pace to reach the High Land Hotel in 11mts. The service, South East Asia’s longest and world’s fastest sky-line, have carried more than 50 million passengers on board till now.

' the Cable Car Service, South East Asia’s longest and world’s fastest sky-line, have carried more than 50 million passengers on board till now. 'The cable car dangles down on a steel cable of five and a half centimetre diameter, with eight passengers on board, at a height of more than 100ft. Down below, the thick green canopy of 100 million year old tropical rainforests overpowers a vast expanse.  'the Cable Car Service, South East Asia’s longest and world’s fastest sky-line, have carried more than 50 million passengers on board till now. ' Flocks of fluffy cloud graze across the green pastures below. As we drew up to the cool palatial environs of the resort complex atop, foggy clouds had almost drowned the green woods below. The Highland was under heavy fog and we were ushered inside the luxurious casinos that glittered in yellow, red, green and neon. Casinos, restaurants, shopping malls, cultural exhibitions, curio shops, disco, convention centres and theme parks- it’s excitement of the highest order as one is offered so many treasured options altogether.

As the mist slowly started to thaw out, the sprawling outdoor theme park emerged like the Bond Girl coming out of the waters. Endless row of rides and happy excited cries of children resounded in the environs. Beyond the theme park, the mighty heights of the Hotel First World came out of the haze. The luxurious hotel with 6118 rooms is the biggest hotel on earth.

The tourist destination is the private property of Lingoh Tong, a Chinese who came to the island nation as a scrap vendor and then became a construction worker and rose up the ladder to become the employer of 36000 strong work forces whose business empire spread all over the world. In 2005 Lingoh retired and his son Limcok Thay took the mantle of the CEO.

Sun down, Genting erupted in lights and glitter. Now begins the electrifying night life on the High Lands. We entered the First World Plaza with six theme park areas. Time Square, Universal walk, London, Venice, Champs Elysees, Genting Walk and all the world is out here with replicas of major cities. We started from the Statue of Liberty and moved on to London, circled Italy and then to Paris before we lost ourselves in shopping. The First World has another surprise called the Genting International Conventional Centre that can seat 6000 people

' The very sight of these fast and furious rides made me dizzy and I never had the guts to get in to one. 'The next morning we went to the out door theme park with the Unlimited Ride wrist-bands that was part of the package. Our initial enthusiasm gave way to an intimidating call somewhere from with in as we witnessed the Turbo Drop that went 165 feet down- a sharp and sudden drop in five seconds. The next one was Malaysia’s only double loop roller coaster Cork Screw that went circling up to 90 ft. in a split of the moment. Super Toboggan the meandering super sonic ride with no brakes at all! Rainforest Flash pool! The very sight of these fast and furious rides made me dizzy. I never had the guts for such fetes. So better go for a slow six bogy train that circle round the theme park to get a full view of the terrific beauty of the whooshing rides.

After the lunch, we started our journey back to Kuala Lumpur by road. A little rest, a stroll in the Chinese and Indian streets and then back to Mandarin Court Hotel in the Mahaaja Lela Road. It was already dark and we could see the Towers of Petronas in full glare.

Never Miss

When in Kaula Lumpur never miss a ride in the city. A quick ride in the city will show you the Supreme Court building, Police Head Quarters, the biggest covered bird sanctuary in the world, the mosque that can occupy 8000 people at a time, the old railway station, the palace of the King, and many more. In front of the palace, people throng to take a souvenir photograph along with the majestic gate keepers on horse back and the huge palace gates in the backdrop.

Batu Caves

Batu Caves, a beautiful natural Lime Stone cave is at the top of a mountain at Gombak near the city. Climbing 273 steps we reached the caves, fully exhausted. The cave is said to have been discovered by William Honabey, an American explorer. Now the cave has a temple inside and every year thousands of devotees gather here to celebrate Thaippooyam, a colourful Hindu Festival.

The Twin Wonder

If you are in Kaula Lumpur, there’s no question of missing the Petraunas, the world's highest twin towers. As we reached below the twin wonders, the sun was squarely on us and the towers seemed to reach ways beyond the solar circle. Travellers are allowed to get on top of the building for free, only that they have to take entry pass from the reception. The entry is limited to 1500 visitors a day and they can have a quite look at the city from the bridge that connects the two towers, way up at 41st and 42nd floors of the 88 storied building.

The concept of the twin skyscrapers to mark the Malaysian might, was presented before the then Premier Mahatir Mohammed by T. Ananthakrishnan, a millionaire of Srilankan-Tamil origin, an idea readily seconded by the PM who is credited to have raised Malaysia in to a financial biggie. Petraunas was designed by world renowned architect Caesar Pelly and was completed in 1998, making the entire Asia proud.

The massive steel and glass building will leave every onlooker with a sigh of disbelief. But for some, it is not just a look-at-and-gape thing, and especially for guys like Alan Spider Man Robert. He just couldn’t stand the glassy finish and couldn’t resist the temptation to do a spiderman stunt. And he did climb up to 60 storeys with his bare hands before the police arrested him.

© travelbird

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