My Travel Adventures Part 2.2 - Singapore

As promised in my previous post, Part 2.2 will be about Universal Studios Singapore. I have been there 3 times already and to be honest, 3 times is not enough. There are just way too many rides and shows and activities to do that 1 visit is never enough and every year, there is always something new. And the really fun rides are not enough to experience just once. The tickets are a bit expensive after converting to Malaysian Ringgit but it's still worth it. You can go here for more official info about the entrance fees.

The first time I went to Universal Studios Singapore was in February 2014 with Wani. Wani took a long break from work and decided to escape Miri and she came to Johor Bahru to meet up with me. It was her suggestion to go to USS and I immediately agreed because I have never been there before. Wani has been there once with her friends before. They stayed at a hotel in JB. This was way before I started working in JB so now that I had a place in JB, accommodation wasn't an issue for us.

My passport had already expired at that time. And being the procrastinated person I am, I renewed my passport just one day before our trip to USS. Which is never a good idea. I renewed my passport on a Sunday at Pekan Rabu which is in Tampoi, Johor Bahru and damn. There was so many people. I arrived at 7.30 am and was the second last person to receive a number before they closed the registration. At 7.30 am and they had already closed the registration! Good thing I made it just on time or Wani would have killed me.

So I picked up Wani from the airport that day, she stayed overnight at my place and the next morning, we were all set to go to USS.

Except we didn't exactly planned so well on how we were going to get there. By my car was a big no no, because I was scared my car was already blacklisted in Singapore as how I had written before in my previous post here. Last time Wani went with her friends, they went by bus from JB Sentral into Singapore and once in Singapore they took the MRT to Sentosa Island.

I Googled it up and realised that Tune Hotel Danga Bay had shuttle services going from JB directly to USS daily and so I suggested that we just used the shuttle service as it was faster than having to make a lot of stops on the MRT. Our mistake was that we just assumed that the shuttles were available, like, every half hour and we could just buy the tickets on the spot. So we arrived at Tunes Hotel Danga Bay at around 10am (I know, we should have woken up earlier) and when we asked the receptionist regarding the shuttle services, she told us that the buses had already left and the next shuttle service will only be available the very next morning.

Damn.

We still didn't want to give up. We were pumped up and excited for USS, nothing was going to stop us from getting there. So we decided to ride the bus from JB Sentral to Singapore and from there, the MRT, until to Sentosa Island. It was almost 11.00 am when we finally got to JB Sentral and I had to park in City Square instead, which has a bridge connecting to JB Sentral, because the parking in Sentral was already full.

So we managed to catch a bus to Singapore, which I should mention there are many, many buses that comes to and fro Singapore like almost every half hour and costs only RM1. The buses will go through the custom and everything which is a little bit of a hassle because you'll be hopping on from JB Sentral and from there the bus will stop at the JB customs where you have to hop off and scan your passport and then you hop back on the bus and from the JB customs they will drive to the Singapore customs where you have to hop off again and fill in the white form and scan your passport and everything and finally you hop on the bus again until finally you reach the Kranji MRT Station, which is the nearest MRT station to the Woodlands custom. And you have to make sure to get on the same bus or then your ticket wouldn't be approved.

When it was only me and Wani, it wasn't such a hassle because it was just the both of us. The third time I went to USS was with Ruhil, her husband, and her 1 in a half years old baby, and that time I decided we should just ride the shuttle from Tunes Hotel because Ruhil was bringing her baby and I didn't want to cause much hassle for them having to make many stops on the MRT, so I had prepared earlier and bought the tickets and everything. I was pretty proud of myself but I had forgotten the fact that we still have to hop on and off from the bus to go through the immigration and customs and all and dragging a stroller everywhere was really tiring and we haven't even reach Singapore yet. Lol.

Wani and me on the bus, excited like little kids. Haha

So when we finally reached Kranji MRT Station, I was pretty confident that Wani would know which train we were suppose to ride on that would get us to Sentosa Island, because she has done all this before.

Ha! I was WRONG!

Wani didn't remember anything. She kept claiming it was because her friend was the one that led the way and all she did was follow.

Yeah, ok, fine Wani. Thanks for your help.

So we asked this really nice MRT staff at the counter and she gave us a map of the MRT trains and circled all the stations we were supposed to stop at until we finally reach Sentosa Island. It's a very useful map if you know where you're going. I kept that particular map and used it the second time I went to USS with my boyfriend. Which I was very proud of because for the first time my navigation skills were better than his, even though I kind of cheated because I've done it before, but still. Lol. I still keep the map until today.

Before reaching Sentosa Island, our last MRT stop was at VivoCity, which is this huge shopping mall. We bought our entrance ticket to USS in VivoCity, which is available at level 3 of the mall. From VivoCity, there are 3 ways you can get to Sentosa Island:

1. By cable car, which I think is the most exciting way to get there and a lot of tourists with money would pick this option. The problem was, Wani and I didn't have enough money because our money was from Ringgit Malaysia currency so we converted just enough to buy the ticket entrance to USS. Haha. We even brought along bread we bought the day before because we were determined not to spend any money on food in USS. Lol. So sad, right. The cable car costs S$29 per adult and S$18 per child. So yeah. Riding the cable car was out of the question for us.

2. By Sentosa Express, which is like the Singapore version of Malaysia's monorail. It was only S$4 per adult for a return trip. This choice was considerable.

3. By foot via the Sentosa Boardwalk from VivoCity to Sentosa Island. This was for free. As tempting as the free sounds, Wani and I were already so tired from our journey on the bus and MRT and it was almost 1.00 pm so we decided against walking. When I went with my boyfriend, he immediately chose the boardwalk because he is supposedly such a health and exercise freak. Ha! Yeah, right.

So me and Wani chose the Sentosa Express and finally we made it to USS. And all of our energy suddenly came rushing back.

Now, if you are planning on going to USS on a school holiday with the kids, well then you have no choice but to encounter the massive crowds and long queue to all the main attractions but if you are a couple of single grown adults like Wani and me, then it is advisable to go on a non-school holiday weekdays. Because queuing up for the rides are really such a waste of precious time and there are so many other things to do there.

Wani and I went on a Monday of a non-school holiday and the queues for most of the rides were still okay, except for the really popular rides like the Transformer. We waited over an hour in the queue for that ride. And imagine if it was a school holiday.

But it was SOOOOOOO worth it because it was one of the best rides there! But my favourite ride was The Mummy. THAT RIDE WAS FREAKIN' AWESOME I COULD RIDE IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. But I think Wani disagreed with me. She cried beside me all through the ride and the whole time I was laughing, so I didn't feel so scared. Haha. Just kidding, Wani. Don't hate me.

When I went with Ruhil and her small family, we wanted to ride the Transformers ride many times so Ruhil came up with the idea of queuing up in the single rider line so we didn't have to wait long. If you're not going with a group of friends and want to save time, queuing up as a single rider is a good idea as it saves A LOT of time. The only downside is you don't get to sit beside your friend or sometimes not even in the same motorcar if you're not lucky. But it doesn't really matter actually because once you're actually on the ride, you totally forget about the person sitting beside you because the ride is just that FREAKIN' AWESOME.

I wanted to go on one of the larger rollercoasters in USS which was in the Far Far Away Land section under the Shrek theme but Wani didn't want to and I didn't want to ride as a single rider. I practically dragged Wani to the queue of the rollercoaster and she kept  begging me to stop so I gave in. When I went the second time with my boyfriend, the rollercoaster was closed due to maintenance so I guess I was never meant to ride that ride.

We took a photo with Pinocchio instead since Wani was too scared to ride the rollercoaster. Haha.

And there are so many shows to watch there but make sure to take the pamphlet written the schedule and timings of all the shows and manage your time properly so you don't miss the shows you want to watch. When I went with my boyfriend, we managed to catch this water show at the Lost World section which was so cool. They showed off a lot of water stunts and if you sit really close to the front you will definitely get soaking wet.

The water show where the stuntmen/women put on a play of how this damsel in distress was kidnapped by a gang of bandits and the hero came and saved her.

When I was with Ruhil and her small family, we waited in front of the line to see a Sesame Street show because her baby was a HUGE fan of Elmo. We even went in two times because the first time we didn't know what time the show started and came in late and had to sit at the way back so after that we found out the show was going to be played again at another time, we managed to get front seats. Her baby was super excited, he started dancing at the bottom of the stage along with Elmo. So cute.

Oops. No Elmo in this pic. Sorry, Elmo.

By the end of the day you will be so worn out and the next morning you will have muscle sore all over your body so it's a good idea to also take leave one day after your USS adventure. Totally worth the money, in my opinion. Me and Wani were totally famished when we came back to JB that night because all we ate the whole day was bread. Haha. Yeah. We were that much of a cheapskate until the point we would rather starve than spend money on food. >.<

My Travel Adventures Part 2.1 - Singapore

Continuing on with my not so big but meaningful travelling adventures..Part 2 I'll be talking about Universal Studios Singapore because I have been there 3 times and because living in Johor Bahru for 3 years, it is a crime not to go there every year. Haha.

The very first time I went to Singapore was with my family when I was in Standard 4, I think. There wasn't much I can recall from that trip except I remember I was visiting some relatives from my father's side. Now, the very first time I went to Singapore after working in Johor Bahru was in December 2012. I remember this exact month and year because Christmas lights were all up and running in Singapore that time and it was the year I was really stressed out, what with moving away so far from my family for the first time and just starting a really stressful job. So because of the stress I was in, when Yana told me she would be going to Singapore with her family for a short stay and asked me to visit her there, I immediately said yes. 

So I went there. Alone. By car. Without researching first on what documentations I needed to go into Singapore. Or a functioning GPS.

Which, when I think about it now, was a really dumb and careless thing for me to do, but I was stressed and I needed to get out of my apartment and out of JB stat.

The thing is, just because Singapore is nothing foreign to Malaysians and is only divided by a bridge crossing the Straits of Johor (Selat Tebrau), and just because there are hundreds of commuters daily between Johor Bahru and Singapore, it doesn't mean going there is as easy as taking your purse and car keys, driving over to the customs, and BOOM--you're miraculously in the Singapore borders. No, it's not that easy. I learnt it the hard way.

There are a few things you need to know before entering Singapore by car:

1) You need a passport, duh. At least I wasn't too dumb to know this.

2) You need to fill up what the general public calls "borang putih" or in English "white form". It's this small slip of paper where you need to fill up your particulars and passport number and all, where are you coming from, where are you headed to in Singapore, and where are you staying while you are in Singapore, how many days will you be in Singapore, and where is your next destination after Singapore. Yeah, you can't hide from the Singapore customs. They are practically stalking you (I'm joking. Peace.) 

Ideally, fill up this form before arriving at the customs. You can get this form practically at any public transportation outlets in Johor Bahru. And it's free so just take a whole bunch of it and save it for next time you decide to visit Singapore again. You can also get it when you arrive at the custom but it is such a hassle for you to fill it up on the spot while many other cars are waiting patiently (or impatiently) behind you. If you are alone, its still considerable, but imagine if you have a group of 5 people in the car with only one pen. Not everyone is as patient as you think.

So that was my mistake. I didn't know there was such thing as this "borang putih" and thank goodness I was alone so I just had to fill it up very quickly at the customs.

3) If you are going by car, you need an Autopass, which is something like a Singapore version of a Smartag. Without this Autopass, you cannot enter the Singapore borders because the Autopass is the only way to pay tolls in Singapore. Also, in Singapore, ALL parking places are paid by using this Autopass. There is no such thing as paying by cash, like we do in Malaysia. It's not as if they have options like pay using Autopass or by cash, like in Malaysia we have options of either paying by cash or Touch'n'Go. No no no. In Singapore, it's all Autopass.

I didn't have the slightest idea about this. After going through the Malaysian customs and arriving at the Singapore customs, the Singapore custom officer asked me if I had an Autopass. I was like, "A what?" He told me if I didn't have one, I could pull over for a while up in front so I could go into the custom building where they sell the Autopass.

Omg. Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking. The custom officer let me move forward, where I was supposedly supposed to pull over, park my car, and buy the Autopass. But when I reached the front, I kind of panicked because I didn't know where to park my car and I thought, wth, maybe I won't need the Autopass anyway. I'll just be wasting my money if I buy it and I don't use it. I'm only coming here to visit Yana.

So I didn't pull over. And I didn't buy the Autopass.

Stop laughing. Keep in mind, this was the very first time I went into Singapore and I was all alone. Gosh.

Miraculously, I entered Singapore without a problem. I don't know how. I got passed the Singapore customs and into the highway without a problem, just cruising along, totally oblivious with the fact I could have gotten in jail if I was caught. 

So that was my first obstacle. Then came my second obstacle. GPS.

In December 2012, I did not own a smartphone. Yes, I have been working for almost 6 months by then. Yes, it was the era where everyone had a smartphone. The thing was, I previously owned a Samsung smartphone (secondhand from my sister. I forgot the model. I think it was Diamond? If there is such thing as a Samsung Diamond) but one fine day, it fell on the road and the screen broke into millions of pieces and I brought it to the store to fix it, unfortunately, they said it was such an old model that they didn't make the proper screen to replace it with anymore. So instead of buying a new smartphone, like any reasonable person would, I bought a Nokia 1280. Again. What was I thinking???

You see that purple Nokia? Yeah, that was the phone I was using. The other 2 Samsung smartphones were already broken. I took this picture the first time I got my iPhone. Overexcited. Lol.

So back to my story, I did not own a smartphone. Therefore, I did not have Google maps or Waze to help me find my way around in Singapore. I did have a Proton GPS which came as a free gift when I first bought my car (not built-in though). I did not know that this GPS could not be internationally used and was only useful on Malaysian roads.

Basically, I was dead. I did not know my way around Singapore at all and I had the task of finding Orchard Road where Yana was waiting for me. I thought it would be easy. I thought there would be obvious road signs leading the way to Orchard Road. I mean, Orchard Road was a popular tourist destination, right? They should have signs from the Woodlands customs all the way to Orchard Road showing the way, right?

Wrong.

Man, was I lost. Like really, really lost. I did't recognised the names of the highways and the roads and there were so many names. I even got lost all the way until Jurong Bird Park. I think it took me almost four to five hours from Woodlands until I finally made it to Orchard Road. And it was only after I surrendered and stopped at a gas station and asked this one really nice uncle how do I get to Orchard Road and he gave me the names of the highway and roads I should follow until finally I saw a sign that said Orchard Road.

And then came the third obstacle. Miraculously, the four to five hours of my driving trying to find Orchard Road, I passed by numerous roads and highways without an Autopass. Maybe it's because it was my first time there and Singapore has a rule where first time foreign vehicles are free? Or maybe it was the weekend? I'm not so sure. I still am not exactly clear on the rules and regulations of the roads in Singapore. But I do know I was zipping through the Singapore roads smoothly without an Autopass. 

But it became a problem when I wanted to stop my car. Yana told me she and her family were staying at Grand Hyatt Hotel nearby Orchard Road and that I could meet her there. So I planned to park in the Grand Hyatt Hotel parking. Except when I reached the barrier of the parking entrance, I was prepared to take a parking ticket, however there was no button for me to press to expel a ticket. There was only a scanner to scan a card.

S**t. That went through my mind. This guard, this old uncle, came by and asked me do I have an Autopass. When he mentioned it, there was a vague memory running through my mind about a custom officer asking me the same thing earlier on that day. Hahaha.

So I looked innocently at the uncle at said;

"No one told me about an Autopass."

"Not even the custom officer?"

"Nope."

I think luck was a lot on my side that day. I guess the uncle really pitied me and he thought I was some innocent small kid just wanting to have a little fun in Singapore. So he said to me that he will allow me to come inside and park my car near his guardhouse and to be sure I will come back before 11pm to take my car out because 11pm is when his shift ended.

I loved that uncle so much. Really. Singaporean uncles are really, really great people.

So I got to meet with Yana in the end and we hung out and ate dinner at Orchard Road. Since it was a weekend near to Christmas, there were lots of people and the sidewalk was so pretty with Christmas trees and Christmas lights everywhere and I used to have pictures but now I can't find them. The only picture I could find is the one that Yana uploaded on Instagram.

Haha. Don't I look innocent?

So we went to have dinner and did a little shopping around Orchard Road. And then came Obstacle Number 4. Getting back to Johor Bahru.

At least this time wasn't so bad because Yana told her parents about how I did't have a GPS and how I wasn't familiar with my way around Singapore. So her dad drew out a map for me with all the names of the road of which I should take that would lead me back safely to Woodlands and back to JB. 

Unfortunately, I'm not a really good at navigation so I wasn't really good at reading maps. In the end, I still got lost. Which was even scarier this time because it was almost midnight and there were hardly any cars left on the road. Somehow, I ended up near Marina Bay and started crying and thought I was lost for good and I would be stuck in Singapore for the rest of my life and never be able to step foot again in Malaysia.

Drama, much? I know.

And then, taa-daaa! I managed to enter a highway where there were signs and signs of Johor Bahru, so I just followed those road signs and it led me into a very heavy traffic jam at the Woodlands custom but I was just so happy because all around me were Johor-plated cars. Lol. And I made it through the Singapore custom without having to scan an Autopass. Another miracle.

So ever since then, I have never entered Singapore with my car again. I told my friend about it and he scared me and said that my car was probably blacklisted if I ever tried to enter Singapore again so I dared not to until today. Haha. Since then, I have entered Singapore either by bus or somebody else's car but never my own.

I know this entry was suppose to be about Universal Studios Singapore but I guess I got overexcited in telling my story of my first experience being lost in Singapore. Haha. So I will break down this entry into multiple parts instead. So this will be My Travel Adventures Part 2.1 - Singapore. I promise Part 2.2 will be about Universal Studios Singapore. Hehe.