Malaysia and Singapore 2026

Perhaps this is the first time I am writing about a personal tour experience. Since my childhood, I have travelled to multiple places in India, but this was the first time I travelled abroad. I would have travelled to the UAE last year as well, but since I had joined office very recently, I hesitated to ask for a week-long leave and, damn, we had severe resource shortage at that time. But this time, I had worked enough for more than a year to have a week-long leave approved, is what I feel, my manager wouldn't. 😉

So let's get back to business. It was 01st May 2026, which is celebrated as Maharashtra Din here, but destiny had different plans this time, to take me and my family not just out of Maharashtra, but out of India. We boarded a Malaysian Airlines plane from T2 CSMIA at night and at least I was awestruck, for I had never sat in a plane having 3 rows. It was a five-hour-long flight. We had had dinner at the airport itself and then had it again in the flight as well. Well, I forgot to mention, for this tour we had gone with Veena World, based on the good experience my family had with them during last year's Dubai tour. Our tour manager, Mr. Balaji Kamble, was an extremely helpful and enthusiastic person and had a great sense of humor.

Finally, we landed at Kuala Lumpur airport in the morning at 7:00 A.M., and then from there we took a train/metro that took us to the airport exit. There, we had our local guide Mr. Kalai (70 yrs old) waiting for us. He guided us to our bus and, in the bus, explained a lot about Malaysia's history and culture. The ethnicity there is divided in the following way: 60% original Malaysians (native speakers of Bahasa Malaysia), 30% Chinese, and the remaining 10% Indians and others. Mr. Kalai was a Malay Indian. Malaysia is the largest exporter of palm oil in the world. On the first day, we visited multiple sites even before checking into our hotel. Some of those places were Pink Mosque, Visionary Bridge, Prime Minister Office, King's Palace, then after lunch we visited the Kuala Lumpur Tower (KL Tower) and went up to the observation deck. Then we checked into our hotel and were amazed by the view from our hotel. We could clearly see the Twin Towers, the Merdeka 118 Tower (second largest in the world after Burj Khalifa). Then, in the evening, we left for the iconic Twin Towers and clicked a hell lot of pictures there.

On day two, we went to a local chocolate outlet, followed by a local watch outlet, and then headed for Genting Highlands. I forgot to mention, weather in both Malaysia and Singapore is highly unpredictable. Sometimes the sun shines bright and all of a sudden, it starts raining heavily. Genting Highlands was originally built by Li Gotham, who had travelled from China to Malaysia. He worked as a carpenter in his uncle's workshop, but he was extremely talented. His uncle noticed this and set him free, stating that, "You are good at your work, you don't need my guidance anymore." Slowly and gradually, he expanded his construction businesses and finally sought permission from the Malaysian Government to build a casino on the hills. The Malaysian Government hesitantly accepted his proposal. Foreign tourists just require to show their passports to get in, but Malaysian citizens aren't even allowed to get in. For children and youngsters, he built an amusement park called "Skyworld", where we went. It was an amazing experience. We went on multiple rides like the Independence, Gladiator, Ice Age Roller Coaster, etc., and from there, in the evening, we went to the Batu Caves, where there's a Lord Kartikeya's (Murghan's) temple in trillions-of-years-old caves. One has to climb 270 stairs to reach up to the temple. Bought some fridge magnets from shopkeepers there and that was the end of day 2. Oh yes, forgot to mention about the coconut water we drank there, the coconuts there are really huge. When you go there, you must try once.

On the third day, oh gosh, we travelled a hell lot. We left Kuala Lumpur towards Melaka (Malacca). We first visited the Harmony Street, where we visited a Chinese temple, a mosque, and a Ganesh temple. Next, we went in for a trishaw ride and then we went in for a boat ride, then boarded our bus and carried on our journey to Johor Bahru (the current King of Malaysia is from here). We stayed there for one night.

Next day morning, the fourth day, we were to leave for Legoland. Before heading here, I would want to mention that this entire trip was planned for my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, which was to fall on 06th May 2026. We are a day before that one. On this day, my mother realised that my father had lost his ring, it was not in its designated finger. It was a moment of panic. All four of us and our tour manager were searching for it, but to no avail. Finally, we left disappointed. We went to Legoland. Most of the activities are there for kids, but adults can enjoy too. Had a pizza there, trust me, we have way better pizzas here in India. Then from there, in the afternoon, we left for Singapore. After immigration, it was time to say goodbye to Mr. Kalai. Then we checked into our hotel in Singapore and then, in the evening, went to a local store, then went on for a city tour, went on to a cruise ride as well. It was drizzling a little. Visited the iconic Merlion (the half fish-half lion portraying Singapore's humble beginning as a fishing village to how now they have a dominating position in the world). Here our local guide was Miss Agnes. Her accent was so different from ours, yet I understood that Singapore was earlier a part of Malaysia itself. However, it was separated due to some political mismatches, like Malaysia primarily was Malay-ruled, however Singapore wanted races to co-exist, but what I felt in my short stint in Malaysia is, people from different races co-exist there as well, peacefully. Ah, I forgot to mention, at night we were taken to Lau Pa Sat, nothing but a khau gully serving international cuisine. Ah, I forgot to mention, at night we were taken to to Lau Pa Sat, nothing but a khau gully serving international cuisine. Me being a vegetarian had no choice but to eat Indian cuisine. I had Chhole Bhature and Paneer Pulao there and, trust me, it was tasty.

Now on the fifth day, it was my parents' 25th wedding anniversary. Thanks to Veena World for the chocolates they gave. My father had arranged a cake to be cut in the night with the help of Mr. Balaji. By the way, the lost ring was found the previous day, in one of my parents' bags itself, thankfully. In the morning, we went to Sentosa Island by cable car. There, we went in for the Luge Ride three times, then went in for Sky Helix and hurriedly visited the Madam Tussauds Wax Museum. Then we had lunch and went into the Singapore Flyer, which during its initial days used to rotate anti-clockwise, but then started rotating clockwise as they thought the anti-clockwise direction was responsible for draining the city's fortune and causing financial loss. Whatever it may be, we went into the Flyer. The four of us luckily got a single cabin and then we saw the mesmerizing Singapore skyline, the Marina Bay Sands, the Merlion, Gardens by the Bay, it was a wonderful experience. I wish each one of you reading this blog gets to experience it once in a lifetime and I am sure you will. Next, we clicked some photos at the river bank and then headed to Gardens by the Bay. The first dome had flowers, variety of flowers, a hell lot of flowers and plants. The second dome was Jurassic-themed and had live dinosaur models. It was indeed an amazing experience. We had to walk so much, legs started paining to be honest, but all that was worth it. Everything was so unique and grand, you couldn't afford to miss anything. Next, we saw the light show on the Supertrees, it was a mesmerizing experience as well. Then during dinner, we celebrated my parents' wedding anniversary, cut cake, clicked photos, etc., and that was the end of day five.

Next day, we went to the iconic Universal Studios in Singapore. Took individual and group photos in front of that rotating globe. Then we visited the Oceanarium, it was huge, really very huge. I haven't visited the Dubai Aquarium, but my family said this one was smaller than the Dubai one, nevertheless, will visit Dubai as well sometime in life 🤞. Next, we went into the amusement park. Unfortunately, both major roller coasters, the Human and the Cyclon, were shut down for maintenance, yet we managed to find out a smaller one and rode in it. We also sat in many other rides like "The Mummy", "Enchanted Airways", "Transformers", and many more. After spending the entire day there, we went on to see the iconic "Wings of Time" show. It was amazingly amazing, I don't have words to express how mesmerizing it was, it can only be experienced.

Then came the unfortunate last day. In the morning, we visited the Bird Paradise, saw multiple species of birds, saw a show where the trained birds were actually showing their skills, but one has to always return to their motherland, so we too, took a plane from Changi Airport, saw "The Jewel" there and landed at Kuala Lumpur Airport, had a layover there and then boarded the Malaysian Airlines plane and finally, late at night, reached the CSMIA airport in Mumbai.

Some things that we should learn from Malaysia and Singapore:

1. Everyone, literally everyone, follows lane discipline there.

2. Rarely, quite rarely, someone honks.

3. Scooters have huge tyres to prevent skidding, so why don't we implement the same thing?

4. Not to fall prey to lust. They have casinos. In Malaysia, Malaysian citizens can't even enter and in Singapore, Singapore citizens have to pay $150 for 24 hours. However, in both these countries, foreigners can just show their passports and enter free of cost. They know very well gambling is a risk, so they just allow foreign inflow.

5. Zero tolerance towards corruption. In Malaysia, a former PM is under arrest for corruption charges, basically, no one is spared.

6. No one litters in public, literally no one. There are fines, but without even those, no one litters in public. Designated dustbins are in place.

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