MESMERISING MALAYSIA

Upon arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, you will be met at the arrivals hall by a representative and transferred to your hotel for the next four nights. Overnight on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Kuala Lumpur. 

After a leisurely breakfast at the inn, start your day on a high with a visit to Malaysia’s tallest building, the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers. This futuristic 88-storey structure rises to a dizzying height of 452 metres above the city and was the world’s highest building when it was built. Begin your tour with interactive displays that showcase its construction, from concept to completion. Scale 170 metres in a lift with a futuristic edge and hold your breath as the doors open at the double-decker sky bridge, which connects the towers. The sky bridge holds a record of its own as the world’s highest two-story bridge! Continue the ascent to the 86th floor, which is at 360 metres, where the story of modern Malaysia’s vision unfolds before your very eyes as you take in the awe-inspiring views of Kuala Lumpur and the hills in the horizon. Having seen Kuala Lumpur from the top, now it’s time to see what lies beneath with an amazing underwater experience at Aquaria KLCC. This magical aquarium showcases animals and marine life from all over the country and around the world. Explore exotic tropical waters and wade through steamy rainforests during a spellbinding journey of discovery. Explore exhibits such as the Malaysian Flooded Forest and the Rocky Shore Touch Pool among others. The oceanarium features more than 5,000 examples of aquatic and land-bound creatures in a vast, sprawling complex located in the concourse level of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. There’s a break for lunch (on own accounts) at the food court at the Suria KLCC shopping centre. The evening is at your own leisure. Overnight on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Kuala Lumpur. 

Fill up with a big breakfast to power your way through a morning exploring two of Kuala Lumpur’s most colourful attractions. The KL Bird Park is just a 10-minute drive from the city centre but it feels like another planet. Located in the lush, landscaped Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens, it is the home to more than 3,000 birds from some 200 species, both native and foreign. This serene and scenic natural retreat is divided into four aviary zones, with the birds free to fly in three of them, which encourages them to breed naturally. Observe the courtship ritual of the Indian blue peacock with its magnificent, colourful, 150cm train. Be amazed by the sheer size of the crowned pigeon, the largest pigeon species in the world, which has a body the size of a turkey. Catch a glimpse of doves, egrets and ibises feeding. Head over to the Flamingo Pond, and watch pelicans and flamingos frolic in the shimmering waters. At the Hornbill Park, visit a true tropical Malaysian rainforest, with its towering evergreen trees, some soaring up to the height of a 10-storey building, and see the magnificent rhinoceros hornbill, with its shiny ebony plumage, huge bill and upward-curved casque of vermilion, orange and yellow hues. Break for lunch (on own accounts) at one of the many local coffee shops before catching the scheduled Bird Show. Return to the hotel after the tour. Rest of the day at your leisure.  Overnight on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Kuala Lumpur. 

The action comes thick and fast today, with eight hours spent in the sensational Sunway Lagoon theme park. After breakfast, you will be transferred to the south-western outskirts of Kuala Lumpur for what promises to be a day full of thrills and spills. There are more than 80 attractions to keep you occupied from water, amusement, wildlife, extreme and scream parks. At Waters of Africa, make a splash at one of the largest manmade surf beaches in the world. Over in the Amusement Park, shriek your way into the Lost City of Gold Scream Coaster. Explore the Jungle Trail, Aviary, Tiger Land and more at the Wildlife Park. In the Extreme area, you can ride ATVs and go-karts or load up for a game of paintball while in the Scream Park, Kuala Lumpur becomes the ground zero of World War Z Live. Whatever you’re up for, you’ll find it at Sunway Lagoon! Purchase an e-wallet for lunch (at own expense) in the theme park. Please bring your own towel and a change of clothes. Return to hotel in the afternoon. The evening is at your own leisure.  Overnight on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Kuala Lumpur.

Bid farewell to KL after breakfast with pick-up from the inn at 09:00 hours for departure to Penang. Enjoy a pleasant drive towards Malaysia’s north-western coast, crossing three states along the way. Pass through beautiful, pastoral countryside with palm oil and rubber plantations and the dramatic Cameron Highlands on the horizon to the right. Stop along the way for lunch (on own accounts). Cross the Selatan Strait to Penang via the 13.5km-long Penang Bridge, an awe-inspiring feat of engineering, and check-in to your accommodation for the next four nights. The rest of the day is all to yourself.  Overnight on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Penang.

Enjoy your first breakfast in Penang before heading to George Town for an alternative take on this historic city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Begin the fun at the 3D Trick Gallery, where three-dimensional exhibitions will have you feeling like an integral part of the murals on display. Your eyes will deceive you more than once before heading to the popular Camera Museum. Nowadays, a camera has become an extension of our hands but just a few generations ago, it was a source of wonderment – a revolutionary device that allowed our ancestors to record and portray a disappearing world. Here you’ll find out who invented photography, who made the first camera and much, much more. There are also displays of classic cameras, which you will have the opportunity to handle. Break for lunch for some local favourites, quell your growling stomach by tucking into Penang’s ‘national dish’, char koay teow (flat noodles fried with bean sprouts and prawns), and other delectable hawker fare (on own accounts). Return to the hotel after the tour. The evening is at your own leisure.  Overnight on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Penang. 

Breakfast at the hotel is followed by a short hop down the road to visit Malaysia’s oldest toy museum. Admire the more than 100,000 toys and over 100 life-sized figures as well as a wide range of exhibits of dolls and miniatures, collectables from famous movies and much, much more. Then it’s time for some hands-on action at Break The Code, where you experience a real-life version of the popular point-and-click escape-the-room computer game. It requires quick, analytical thinking, strong observation skills, logic and plenty of imagination. You are locked in a dark room with other players and given a number of clues and puzzles to solve, armed with only a torchlight and your wits. There are four themes to choose from and you have one hour to escape or else.......you could be trapped inside forever! Break for a tasty hawker’s lunch at a local food court (on own accounts). Return to hotel after the activity. The evening is at your own leisure.  Overnight on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Penang. 

Another day of activity awaits after a leisurely breakfast in the hotel. Pick up your bike for the day and cycle into town for an open-air, almost impromptu, art exhibition and a heritage trail of George Town’s historic core. Every now and then, you’ll happen upon evocative and eye-catching – and often three-dimensional – murals painted on walls and street furniture such as phone booths. It’s not graffiti but rather a ground-breaking and thought-provoking project, known as Mirrors of George Town, which was part of the 2012 George Town Festival. The murals, which depict humorous paintings of subjects such as children at play, toys, animals and other surreal images, are the handiwork of young Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic. Many feel his work has added a new dimension to the inner city and now you can judge for yourself if he is deserving of such plaudits. More Zacharevic creations can also be seen at the next destination, Chew Jetty, though here the attraction is actually the homes themselves, which are built on stilts and hover over the sea. These clusters of wooden houses were built by the poor Chinese immigrants who worked near the port during the 19th century. Drop the bikes back to the shop and proceed for local Indian lunch (on own accounts), try the tandoori chicken, roti canai (Indian flat bread) or mee goreng (fried noodles). Later, you will get the chance to savour popular local desserts (on own accounts): chendol, a cold dessert made from shaved ice with coconut milk, red beans and green starch jelly noodles, or ais kacang, which is made from shaved ice with sweet corn, jelly, peanuts and red beans, all drenched in syrup and milk. Return to hotel after eating and enjoy a free afternoon and evening.  Overnight on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Penang. 

Savour one last breakfast in the resort before being transferred to the airport for your onward flight.