I had always wanted to put my thought into a blog post but kept on procrastinating as I don't really have time to articulate the thoughts and feelings into words and I am glad here I am.

A month back I visited the renowned Genting Highlands with my family and friends together for a one day trip. I am delighted to be able to visit Genting once again after a two years of lock down thanks to the pandemic. It is the place that I had so so so much fun when I was a kid back in 2000s and 2010s and I really cherish the moments I had over there. I am also captivated on how the chilly wind gently caressing my skin. I can't wait to experience it all over again!

Me and my family departed from Melaka at around 8 in the morning and it took around 2 hours to reach KL. I was the driver for the trip and I this was my very first time driving up the hills. It was a tough experience indeed. As soon as we entered Karak Highway, the road become more crooked and twisted all the way up and I had to navigate through the road with extreme caution.

Finally, I was able to heave a sigh of relieve as we reached the First World Hotel after a long and arduous driving session. As soon as I get out of the car, I felt invigorating and exhilarating as the cold atmosphere exuded good vibes that I truly love.

We met up with my mom's friend shortly after and head for lunch together. It was an inevitable expensive lunch to say the least. After we finished our lunch, we started to hang around the vicinity exploring places that amazes us. We walk around the shopping complex, passing by one premium shop after the other. After strolling around the area aimlessly for quite some time, I felt a bit tired and need to take a seat to recuperate my energy. However, there is no bench around and I eventually settled down myself on the stool within an arcade park.

At this point, something has been bothering me. I felt that something inherent is missing. I realized that I am not as joyful as I think I should be. As a grown up adult that neither gamble nor a shopaholic, there are literally nothing that I can do here besides eating some ridiculously pricey meal that doesn't taste that good either. This is not the place where it used to be.

Genting Highlands had a major renovation and rework back in 2016 and completed on 2018 that changed the entire indoor layout including the shops and the majestic, old indoor theme park. I vividly remember that there is a statue of liberty standing proud in the middle of the park, surrounded by the twisted roller coaster tracks; A haunted house that crept countless people crying out their lungs with horror; A snow house that is freaking cold inside where people throws the artificial snow to each other, running around and have fun; A river cruise that goes around a jazz bar where people drink and enjoy the sentimental tunes; Some superhero like the Hulk, Superman, and automobiles such as motorbike and cars popping out from the roof of the shops with splash effect; A mini cinema complex where I enjoyed with my friends together back then; An underground McDonalds that tries to hide itself from the public; A chicken rice shop after coming up directly from the escalator of the hotel lobby; A Ripleys Believe it or not's banner with a person with two pairs of pupil in his eyes at the far end when coming down from the second floor's escalator. This is nostalgic indeed but the list goes on. I guess I can have a dedicated post for this in the future.

Now, everything is GONE. Not a single aspect that I am familiar with remained. They overhauled each and everything that I love about the indoor theme park and I am sad. Walking around the new Skytropolis theme park just felt alienating. The entire area is being covered by the ugly blue light emanating from the LED monitors attached the roof. I really missed the old theme park design where natural light was prevalent in the theme park.

Things inside the casino is not that great either. After Genting was allowed to operate after the pandemic, they imposed strict rules such that one table can only have a maximum of 5 players, and spectators are not allowed to get too close to the table. I have no idea what is going on at the table as I can't see clearly at this distance. There is no hype at all compared to my previous visit where tens of players and spectators flock to a single table, cheering and cursing as they play. That is the only time that is so enjoyable to spectate. The worst thing is, there is no free drinks anymore, what a letdown! The casino previously serves plain water, coffee and orange juice for free. We came out of the casino as soon as we went in because it was really boring.

The outdoor theme park was off-limits for us as well as we did not purchase the ticket for it. We don't even have the chance to take a look on what are the amenities looks like without paying for the ticket. What's the point to pay for the ticket when we clearly don't intend to get the rides?

Things have changed. Genting Highlands is not the place that it used to, the place that I mesmerized with, the place that I had indelible memories with my friends and family. Having a vacation in Genting nowadays is just like visiting any shopping mall out there, where I only felt the urge to sit and rest after hours of walk. There is not much to do here and it is really boring. Will I visit Genting again? Yes, I will visit just to enjoy the cold atmosphere but definitely not as frequent as it should be.