‘Traveling in groups to Pahang might be a concern, as different people mean different wants. Some would prefer to swim, while some may like to go on a nature trip or others just want to have a cozy feel of a comfortable hotel.
This challenging mix can all be solved in one place in Pahang, the Bukit Gambang Resort City, one place with multiple attractions. Bukit Gambang Resort City is a 294 hectares (727 acres) of property located in Kuantan, capital city of Pahang, sporting an integration of nature and modern architecture. It is located 218 km from Kuala Lumpur. In an overnight stay at the resort city, I was able to see some of its attractions: Water Park, Safari Park, White Lion Restaurant, Global Heritage and Arabian Bay Resort.
ARABIAN BAY RESORT
The Arabian Bay Resort is an all-deluxe suite that has 546 suites (320 Family Deluxe Suites, 216 Studio Deluxe Suites, 8 Arabian Suites and 2 Penthouse Suites).
I stayed at a Family Deluxe Suite, a two-bedroom suite with a common living room, pantry and balcony. Each of the rooms has its own toilet and bathroom, TV and two junior queen beds.
The Arabian Bay Resort has different facilities like pool, gym, gift shop, restaurants, KTV, snooker and business center. Pets are not allowed so is cooking inside the rooms. Check-in time is 3pm while check-out is 12nn.
GLOBAL HERITAGE
Newest accommodation area inside the vast Bukit Gambang Resort City is the Global Heritage. It is a premier villa-living built for people who wants more privacy and space when in Kuantan. The Global Heritage is a village comprised of 126 villa accommodation which designs are inspired by iconic cities in the world (San Francisco, Amsterdam and Venice).
Each villa sports of either two or three-storey structure with living room, kitchen, bedrooms (3 to 5) and garage. Global Heritage is equipped with its own badminton court, swimming pool and gym. When we visited, the Global Heritage site was still on its finishing touches. Thus, all the electrical wirings and unfinished design. But, very soon, this area will be open for accommodation already.
BUKIT GAMBANG WATER PARK
Bukit Gambang Water Park was probably the busiest part of the tour during the time I was there since it was quite hot in Pahang and a very inviting for some water fun.
The Bukit Gambang Water Park is a 45.8 acres (18.5 hectares) space designed for each visitor the best time with slides, waves and water. Upon entry, you will be getting a waterproof prepaid wristband. This is your electronic purse where you can store money for any transactions inside the Water Park. This makes sure that you don\’t need to carry around your wallet and money in areas that can get it wet.
Plus, it is a safe way to store money for your kids who can purchase things as long as their wristbands have credits for food, water rental of tubes or any other things inside the water park. Take note that any amount remaining on the wristband is refundable.
Entrance Rates for Bukit Gambang Water Park:
- Adult: RM 35.00 13 years and above
- Child: RM 25.00 Child above 90cm until 12 years old
- Child below 90cm entrance is FREE
COCO BEACH
No need to go to the beach, as the Coco Beach is a man-made white sand beach inside the water park. So there\’s no debate anymore for a divided group wanting to go to the beach or to the pool.
AQUA PLAY
One of the attractions in the water park that’s initially intended for kids, but, surprisingly, the giant piranha that pours gallons of water, is a an attraction to kids “of all ages.”
PENGUIN ISLAND
Strictly for kids, the Penguin Island is a replica of adult slides, so kids can also enjoy the slides without the risk of getting into the long, big slides for adults.
GLACIER ICE
The widest river float in Malaysia is a floating journey around the Penguin Island. The river float is an experience of both calm and turbulent water.
TREE TOP HILLS SLIDES
The Bukit Gambang Water Park has lots of slides inclusive int heir Tree Top Hills Slides which features:
- Longest Family Raft Ride in Malaysia – max of 4-5 people in a raft
- Longest Canopy Slide in Malaysia – single or double tube
- Galaxy Slide – slide in darkness
- Crystal Slide
- 6-Lane Racer
6-LANE RACER
Race with your friends and loved ones down the longest 6-Lane Racer slide and see who times in first at the end of the slide.
The Bukit Gambang Water Park is open:
- Wednesday & Thursday From 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Malaysia School & Public Holidays From 9:30 AM – 6:30 PM
- Park is CLOSED every Monday & Tuesday EXCEPT during Malaysia School & Public Holidays
BUKIT GAMBANG SAFARI PARK
The Bukit Gambang Safari Park is the biggest in Malaysia 138 acres (55 hectares) of animal facility housing more than 300 species of animals, most are foreign in the country. Some of the animals are freely roaming in select areas.
WALKING ZONES (Simba Hill, Night Jungle, Foreign Village, Forest Land)
There are walking zones for visitors to wander around and see the animals in their designated places either you are overlooking them, protected or handled by a person. Some of the animals you will find during the walk through can be touched and fed personally.
One thing to check is their Discovery Centre inside the Forest Land wherein you can get to see up close and even touch some of the animals they showcase. During my visit, I was able to see a python and a gibbon.
Another attraction that I personally liked, also in Forest Land, is getting to feed the Ring-Tailed Lemur, an animal more popularly known for the role of King Julian in the animation Madagascar
Be sure also to catch the different animal shows and activities on schedule during the day. You will be entertained while learning things about the animals they feature. (For the schedule read this link)
I even got to see, for the first time, this close, a bunch of flamingos – the “Sexy Ladies” of Buking Gambang. Hahaha
It was nice knowing that one of the actors in their show “Tarsan Adventure” (8:15pm) is a Pinoy (Hakeem, his Muslim name,). Hakeem is one of the villains hunting Tarsan. On the picture below he is the one with the headband making a thumbs up. I was glad that I was able to watch their show. It is a funny, stunt-filled educational show.
TRAM DRIVE THRU ZONE AT WILD SAVANNAH
And if you want a more “fierce” tour, the Tram Drive in the Wild Savannah is THE thing for you. As the bigger and more ferocious animals that we know from books, are wildly wandering in the area. But no worries, as the area is fenced securely and that you are inside an air-conditioned vehicle designed specifically for the tour.
The Wild Savannah is an exciting and educational trip through a vast area of free-roaming animals, seeing them in a virtually natural behavior. There is a guide that will go with the tour to explain during stops on each group of animals.
Some of the animals in the Wild Savannah are the lions, cheetahs, tiger, hyenas, ostriches, and assorted big birds and cattles.
Ticket Prices for Bukit Gambang Safari Park
| Ticket Price | Mykad (RM) | Non Mykad (RM) | ||
| ADMISSION | Adult | Child Senior Citizen | Adult | Child Senior Citizen |
| Safari park (Wild Savannah + Night Jungle) | 48 | 38 | 68 | 48 |
| Safari Park (Night Jungle) | 28 | 20 | 48 | 28 |
NOTES:
- (RM) Ringgit Malaysia
- Child rate applies to children above of height of 90cm to 12 years of age
- FREE Admission for children below the height of 90cm
- Kindly present Mykad / Mykid during purchase of tickets
- Prices are inclusive of 6% GST
DINING WITH THE LIONS
One of the MUST-DO at the Simba Hill is dining at the White Lion Restaurant as while eating you can gaze at the white lions roaming at the other side of the restaurant.
A glass is separating the dining area and the lions\’ den. You can see the lions just doing what they do while you are waiting for your orders or even while eating. Clearly, a one-of-a-kind dining experience.
To be honest, I was excited seeing the white lions in their dens, I forgot to eat some of the food I ordered for dinner. Hahaha.
FOOD IN BUKIT GAMBANG CITY RESORT
ARABIAN COFFEE HOUSE
For breakfast, I was able to try the Arabian Coffee House\’s Fried Noodles (RM 18) is made of mee hoon cooked in soy and chili paste with shrimp, egg, vegetable and chicken.
ORIENTAL OASIS
The Oriental Oasis is a Chinese restaurant in the Arabian Bay Resort. As for lunch, we were treated to dine in a sumptuous oriental feast. My instant favorites are the mongolia beef, steamed fish and honey chicken. The longgan jelly is a refreshing dessert after a long walk that we had before lunch.
I am certain that it was not just me who enjoyed the lunch specially prepared for us. As the whole group, including Ms. Karen Tan, Marketing and Communications Manager of Bukit Gambang Resort City, feasted at the time. (L-R: Mohamad Razeli, Cristelle Torres, Me, Karen Tan, Siti Munira, Jolo Luarca, Kate Gaspay)
WHITE LION RESTAURANT
The dining experience in the White Lion Restaurant is clearly unique, with lions, literally, viewable from your table. But that is not to undermine the food that they served. Though, honestly, my attention for my dinner at the time was a bit divided, due to waiting for the white lions to come out, it is not to say that the food there is not good. I like the soup, salad and the pasta that they offered.
The good thing about the Bukit Gambang in general is that, they have different restaurants, offering different types of food. Thus, giving you more selections.
FINAL THOUGHTS
An overnight stay is not enough to cover the many activities you can do in Bukit Gambang Resort City. Best if you stay for three days in the resort city to get the most out of a short stay. As for me, how I wish I had more time to stay in the resort to fully enjoy the stay. Plus, there are other activities that I wasn\’t able to do, which is another reason why I should go back to Bukit Gambang Resort City for a longer stay. :-)
Bukit Gambang Resort City
26300 Gambang Pahang Darul Makmur
Tel: +609-548 8000 Fax: +609-548 6158
http://www.bgrc.com.my/
HOW TO GET TO BUKIT GAMBANG RESORT CITY
By air to Kuantan, the flight to Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport is approximately 40 minutes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), 90 minutes from Penang International Airport and 65 minutes from Singapore Changi Airport. By land, it is 2 hours away from Kuala Lumpur.
Pahang is accessible via Kuala Lumpur. There are flights going to Kuala Lumpur from the Philippines. AirAsia currently has two (2) flights daily to Kuala Lumpur from Manila. But starting Ocober 29, AirAsia will have Manila-Kuala Lumpur flights 3x daily while 4x weekly Cebu -Kuala Lumpur flights 4x starting Oct 30, 2016.
So any trips going to Kuala Lumpur, Pahang or any other Malaysian destination from the Philippines can be connected via Manila-Kuala Lumpur or Cebu-Kuala Lumpur trips. And to know more about Pahang or any other destinations in Malaysia, you can always check out the Tourism Malaysia official website.
