Sweet escape to water parks to beat the heat

Cooling off: The heat wave is driving many people to scenic water spots such as Hulu Terengganu’s Sekayu Falls over the weekend. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: The hills beckoned to them. For others, they jumped into the pool.

Malaysians seeking a respite from the sweltering heat have opted for a holiday at Genting Highlands or visits to the water parks during the Hari Raya break.

Housewife Shirley Khoo said her family spent three days and two nights at the highlands to escape the heat in Penang where they lived.

“It was too hot in Penang a while ago. It had only been raining occasionally of late. So I booked a hotel a while ago since it would be my daughter’s school holiday,” said Khoo, 45.

“In Genting, it was cooling. But we were worried that my 10-year-old daughter could not adapt to the sudden change in weather. So I brought medicine and tried to get her to drink as much water as possible,” she added.

Businessman Jason Yap, 42, took his daughter to a water park.

The family from Ipoh booked a four-day, three-night stay at a hotel.

“We lingered in the pool in the hot days and went to the water park on one of those days,” he said. “In the afternoons, when there was the occasional rain, we shopped at a mall.”

Malaysian Association of Theme Park and Family Attractions (Matfa) president Tan Sri Richard Koh said the number of visitors to water and amusement parks had seen an increase during the hot weather.

“Yes, attendance at water parks has gone up, though not very significantly, during the Raya holiday,” he said, explaining that it had not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Legoland Malaysia Resort divisional director Lim Choong Sean reported an uptick in the number of visitors.

Cameron Highlands homestay operators said they saw an increase in visitors during this period, with people taking advantage of the hot weather to escape to a cool environment.

One of the operators, Alex Chua, said the scorching sun and the festive season had led to many local visitors “escaping” to the highlands to avoid the heat at home.

Another operator, who wished to be known only as Lee, said his place was packed during this period.