Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012 Countdown - in Genting Highlands

By Anthony Tan

I relished the idea of ushering in 2012 up in Genting Highlands as the theme of Resorts World Genting is the “Coolest Countdown Celebration”.

I balked when I learnt that it would be held in three separate venues starting at 10pm simultaneously. It was a tough choice trying to choose which one to go first.

After my dinner at the Coffee Terrace, which not only had a wide buffet spread prepared by the different open kitchens but also all-time Christmas and New Year favourites,
I ploughed through the crowds to arrive at the Arena of Stars (AoS) for the Classic Golden Melody New Year Countdown Show.

As the entry tickets are issued free, the 6,000-seat capacity hall was almost full when I went in past 10pm. It had a mixed crowd of the young and the old. Among the performers for the night were the top three winners of Astro Classic Golden Melody for 2011, How Kim Foong, Law Siew Yin, Wong Kwee Chin and 2010’s top two winners, Tam Sien Yeong and Wong Choong Weng.

Being an OCBC (Orang Cina bukan Cina), I enjoyed the ever popular Teresa Teng numbers sung by the artistes as I recognised their tunes but not so much the lyrics.

Curious to find out what was happening over at Times Square at the First World Plaza, I made my exit at around 11.15 pm.

As the Genting Outdoor Theme Park is sited next to Arena of Stars exit gates, I could see lots of people already gathered in there to secure for the best spots to watch the firework display scheduled at midnight.

It was very misty. I was.
wondering if we
would be able to
see the fireworks display



At Times Square where the Astro All Stars Party Music Countdown Show was held, the target was more towards the younger crowd. Although the crowd here was not as big as the AoS, it was more heated and noisier.

Performing on the open stage were local artistes like Kay (郭小微), Juztin (刘界辉), Danny Boy and the top two winners of Astro Star Quest 2011, Geraldine Gan (颜慧萍) and Tha Kien Ying (赵洁莹).

Also present were The Battle Ground finalists Chique de Luxe and Fix to entertain the crowd with songs and dances.

I did not stay long here as I didn’t want to miss the firework display. My room, which faces the Genting Outdoor Theme Park, offers a spectacular view and one of the “best seats” for the night.

At the Merdeka Square of the Genting Outdoor Theme Park, the programmes lined up for the night included concerts and stage activities such as clown and singing performances, cheer leading and stage games. The last big bang would be the fireworks.

At the count of 12 midnight, I could hear whistles, cheers and people screaming “Happy New Year” from my room but alas, there were no fireworks due to the heavy mist.

The emcee on stage announced the fireworks would be postponed to 12.30 am. Hopefully by then, the misty clouds would have been blown over by then.

Covered by thick mists, I could not see the outdoor theme park at all. At 12.30am, I heard the emcee announcing the fireworks would be postponed to New Year’s Day at 8pm.
Many of us felt disappointed as we had not planned to stay back for another day in Genting Highlands.

The visibility of the outdoor theme park returned at about 1.30 am. I could see the vehicles jammed up as many of the visitors were making their descent.

This hill resort is always fully booked during festive periods despite it has about 10,000 rooms’ capacity.

Enjoy my selections from the performance at the Arena of Stars

If you are thinking about spending your Chinese New Year here, better plan early and book your rooms.







To all my blog followers, here’s wishing you a “Happy New Year and may all your wishes come true”.

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