MANILA, Philippines - Sure, you can build a casino…up there.†I imagined this was how Resorts World founder Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong got a go signal to construct an entire development anchored on a casino in predominantly Muslim Malaysia.
“Challenge accepted!†he must’ve said. After all, there ain’t no mountain high enough for a businessman with a plan.
But here’s what really happened: In 1964, Tan Sri Lim first conceived the idea of building a highland resort. His construction company took on a Hydroelectric Power Project in Cameron Highlands and he thought of building a resort where everybody could enjoy the cooler climate. He identified a 1,800-meter high mountain plateau that straddled the border between Selangor and Pahang, and overlooked Kuala Lumpur. There he developed Genting Highlands, which in 1989 became Resorts World Bhd, now known as the Genting Malaysia Berhad, a global empire of resorts, cruise ships, plantations, power generation, and oil and gas exploration and production.
On Genting Highlands stands the first- ever Resorts World complex –– a whirlwind of rides, hotels, gaming facilities, restaurants, shops and bars topped with a blanket of clouds and cool air. Our group, led by Resorts World Manila’s Joy Andrade, Archie Nicasio and Francis Cabidog, checked in to First World Hotel, which is the world’s fourth largest hotel with 6,118 rooms, and the largest in Malaysia. This made it especially odd when, while napping after a four-hour flight and two-hour drive to Genting, I was awakened by a sound that came from the window. I heard something slap against something and saw a key card fall from the window’s ledge to the floor. I mustered the courage to pick it up and do a little investigation. On the back of the card was a number written in blue ink: 6516. After coming up with every possible explanation that would account for my high-flying visitor, I decided that it must have been used as a wedge for some part of the window and that I had somehow disturbed its peaceful lodging when I cracked a slide open to get myself some 14-degree mountain air. It must’ve been! Suddenly jumpy, I gave up on my disco nap and explored the complex.
Resorts World Genting is an explosion of color, from our hotel, a massive two-tower structure painted red, yellow, blue, purple and green on the outside, to the indoor theme park and entertainment zone, to the massive outdoor rides. The weather, like the complex’s vibrant, busy disposition, is a pleasant contrast to Kuala Lumpur’s 34 degrees, and rather subdued, monochromatic state. I can see why Tan Sri Lim chose to build his first Resorts World on this mountain –– this made it unique and worth the drive, especially for locals of Malaysia. The city’s dry heat can get to you. It makes walking around KLCC an exercise in tanning. In Genting, the sun is a lot milder, kinder, and though it stays up past seven in the evening, it offers a welcome warmth.
Since many Asian countries share similar topographies, Genting bears a slight resemblance to Baguio, strawberry farm (singular) and all. We visited one via the scenic route –– a 20-minute cable car ride through the rainforests of Malaysia. Height seems to be Genting’s key attraction. Height, mass and variety. I’m not particularly good with heights; I tend to freeze in high altitudes, especially if wind is involved. But inside the cozy, sturdy and warm cable car, which is one of the cheapest and fastest ways to get to Genting, I was able to relax and enjoy the scenery, clammy hands and feet notwithstanding. After sipping on fresh, unsweetened strawberry shake, we headed to Chin Swee Caves Temple, which sits on a 28-acre lot of rocky, forested land donated by Tan Sri Lim. At 4,600 feet above sea level is the Sky Terrace, a 35,000-square-meter deck also known as the Place for Heavenly Offerings. Crowning the temple is a nine-story pagoda decorated with 10,000 Buddhas. I braved the Journey to Enlightenment that led me through 10 Chambers of Hell, but the stone sculptures were just too graphic –– heads facing up in a pool of red stuff, heads sticking out of stalagmites, heads on pitchforks… By the second chamber I’ve had enough of heads and kooky-looking demons. Enlightenment can wait.
Like our own Resorts World, Genting also had regular performances showing at Genting International Showroom. We caught the night performance of Freeze 2, an acrobatic, magic show set on ice. Another cool place we visited was Genting Grand, a luxury hotel that is exclusive to Genting Club members from all over the world. To book a VIP suite here, a member has to bet a minimum of RM10,000 or roughly P13,000. Some of the staff shared that many guests flew in via their personal helicopters. I asked a friend who frequents Resorts World Manila exactly how high bets can go in the Philippines? He replied, “In a small table in Manila, that’s the average bet.†No surprise, Malaysia is not known for gambling, or partying, or even social drinking. It offers fun in other ways –– its several expansive theme parks scattered in provinces and cities all over the country, for one. All Instagram-worthy. Every night, those of us who felt Internet-starved would go to a coffee shop and hang out outside to mooch WiFi. If Genting, or at least more establishments at Genting, were WiFi capable, then it would truly have everything.
It has establishments for Malaysian Muslims, who are not allowed anywhere near casinos –– whether to work or play, an indoor amusement park with kid-friendly games and rides, family restaurants and cigar bars, places of worship and places of legal, regulated sin, hotels exclusive to high rollers, and affordable but decent accommodations. Even with all these, there is a noticeable imbalance between infrastructure and nature –– nature is clearly favored at Genting. Tan Sri Lim, who always observed sustainable practices with all his projects, made a decision to develop only four percent of the land. So as old as it is (it is, after all, the first-ever Resorts World in the world), it remains a sustainable and safe mountaintop development.
Enlightenment came on our last day in Malaysia. We went to KLCC where it was 34 degrees. As we played tourists in the burning heat, it made sense how, despite not being able to play at the casino, which is what Resorts World properties are best known for, Genting still attracts about 150,000 visitors on a regular Monday. Up there, it’s 14 degrees, the sun doesn’t set until 7:30 p.m., and even when it does, most of Genting remains wide awake.
Wouldn’t you drive up a mountain, too, if this is what awaits you?
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For more information about Resorts World, visit resortsworld.com or rwmanila.com, or follow @rwmanila on Twitter.