First World Hotel stinks!

I probably lost 5 years of my life from all that smoke inhaled. But I’ll come back to that later.

I travelled to Genting Highlands over the Good Friday weekend via coach. By Five Stars Tours Pte Ltd. On a 1st Class coach.

It was a truly enjoyable ride. My seat seemed to be able to accommodate two of me, and there was a wide choice of (Nintendo-typed)games and videos to choose from. And since we traveled on Thursday night, it was nice to be able to catch forty winks on a reclining seat that opens to 150 degrees (I think). Pity the thigh massager in my seat wasn’t functioning, otherwise I could have a complete massage. I never thought I would be able to enjoy such VIP treatment (though apparently, they offer all the above, complemented by in-bus stewardess to provide refreshments; ironically, their VIP coaches are one rung below the 1st Class coaches).

We had a very fast and efficient driver who got us to First World Hotel in less than four hours, excluding a half hour stop in Yong Peng for toilet break and refreshments. It was surprising to learn that the hotel holds the Guiness World Record for the most number of hotel rooms. Another surprise was meeting Meng Keong at the lobby. The poor guy had to wait in queue for his room while I was able to check in straight away, having paid a little more in booking fees.
The hotel is pretty huge, and it takes quite a while to orientate myself around the myriad of shops. There is a good mix of retail, F&B, and entertainment outlets around, on top of the usual outdoor theme park, but there is a dearth of signage and directories. I missed out on some indoor rides, as I was not able to locate them on the first day, when I got a day pass for unlimited rides. I was also disappointed with the exorbitant fees for the LAN shops. 12RM an hour would have provided me with six times as much entertainment in Singapore! The pool/billiard and bowling are set at decent prices though, at 12RM per hour and 6RM per game respectively. Watching a movie costs only 10RM, but tickets to Mr Bean’s Holiday were sold out when I wanted to watch it.

The trip was generally fun, but it would have been better if smoking were not allowed in the hotel. I had thought the casino would be the only haven for smokers – how wrong I was to be. Whether one is in the toilet, in the lift, queuing for tickets or taking photos with the mock Statue of Liberty, there’s just no escaping the smoke. Even in the few areas where smoking is banned, regulation is lax. The no-smoking signs did not stop smokers in the billiard shop; neither did the counter girl, who probably has eyes on her feet, and nose in her hair. Similarly, signs that restrict smoking in the hotel passageways were ignored. I was not surprised though; nobody would be. Not when you provide rubbish bins with ashtrays on the lift landings of every floor! So what if you have an anti-smoking sign above the bin?

I’m glad Singapore is largely smoke-free.


Another surprise was the great disparity in cigarette prices compared to Singapore. While cigarettes in Singapore typically cost S$10 – S$11 per pack, in Malaysia, they only cost around RM$7! I know our cigarette tax is huge, but it is only now that I realise how significant it is.