What do you say? Anybody up for a hobo adventure?
It was a semi-impromptu vacation. I say 'semi' because when I tried to book train tickets a couple of days before the last weekend in March, they were fully booked. And there was no other free days for this to happen after that weekend. Maybank ran a promotion on USS entrance ticket at that time until the end of April. I thought it would be awesome to utilise it, but alas.
Also, my passport will be expiring soon. I note that there was only ONE stamp in it wtf. Thus, the itch to go somewhere was already there. I also thought it would be fun to let Mira experience taking a ride on a real train, especially the sleeper one.
Semua itu adalah alasan belaka.
Nevertheless, I have forgotten about Wesak day holiday until I saw a note posted on Mira's ballet school notice board to let us know that they're closed that Saturday. Suddenly, it gave me an idea. And it must be a sign because there were only 3 vacant spots left in the train on both return journey!
I quickly grabbed those and purchased Universal Studios Singapore tickets right after that, and we're set to go for a day trip. There's no turning back!
We took the night train on Friday. I chose the Premier sleeper cabin because the first and second class was sold out. Little did I know that the cabin comes with an ensuite toilet and shower! Thank goodness, because I couldn't find any information on public showers except the one in Changi Airport and some obscure parks.
Reached Woodlands at about 7:30AM on Saturday, all freshen up and geared for what's in store for us in USS. We took a cab to Vivo City. Initial plan was to take the MRT but you need to get on a bus to the nearest MRT station and it was drizzling when we arrived.
We had breakfast at Vivo and proceeded to Level 3 to get on the Sentosa Express. DH wanted to check out the beach, so we headed straight to the Beach Station instead of disembarking at Waterfront Station. It was half past nine and nothing much to see there, really. I couldn't find a way to the beach (didn't try hard enough lah). After walking around for a bit, we went back to the station to go down to the next one, Imbiah.
That's where we took photos of the Merlion.
Kalau dah sampai Singapore tak ambik gambar dengan Merlion, mana boleh. It's like visiting KL and not taking a photo of the Petronas Twin Towers gitu kan. LOL.
Once I'm satisfied we've done the tourist thingy, we took the monorail to Waterfront Station to go to USS.
We were there from, maybe at 11AM right until 8:30PM. We rode almost all the rides and saw all the shows there. At the Hollywood Boulevard, we took photos with the Woodpeckers and Po the Kung Fu Panda. Then, instead of turning left towards Madagascar, we took on New York first. Saw Betty Boop, this lady in purple whom I don't know who she was supposed to be and Beetlejuice, took photos with all of them.
Our first ride was Transformers The Ride. I can't say enough how awesome this ride was, we rode it twice. On the first round, Mira was scared of the Decepticon. It was in 3D, everything was very real in your face kinda thing. It didn't help that we sat at the front row, so we got to 'experience' them real close.
However, she was game to go for the second round. We got the last row seat and rode with a bunch of enthusiastic teens who were also fans of Transformers I guess, so it became fun for Mira, too. Oh, she took off her 3D glasses, refused to see the Bots in 3D. Less intimidating, perhaps. LOL.
DH went on the Cylon rollercoaster alone. I refused to ride it because I can't take the loopy thingies. Tried it once at Sunway long time ago, the dizziness didn't go away until I puked. So no thanks, I know my limits. Haha. He had fun, though.
After that we joined the queue for Revenge of the Mummy ride. OMG, this ride was pretty scary! Mira waiiiiiiiled as soon as we hit the wall and the car drop backwards in high speed. But once we're out of the place, she nonchallantly walk out as if nothing happens. Can also asked me why am I laughing at her.
We headed to the Lost World after that. I wanted to ride the Canopy Flyer, but took a wrong turn and ended up queueing for Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure instead. Oh my goodness, I hated that ride! It made me dizzy plus we were soaked (although, the soaking part was fun because it kinda helped freshen you up). The circular raft just berpusing-pusing macam gasing and very quickly at that. It went round and round and round and at one point, you're spinning endlessly in darkness.
Of course, it was lunch time and that doesn't help with my dizziness either -- I was hungry. We had our lunch right away at Discovery Food Court and for me to restore some balance :-p
For that reason, we also missed the Water World show, Dino-soaring and the Canopy Flyer as well. I just wanted to walk off the dizzy spell. So we adjourned to Far Far Away leisurely.
Mira loved Shrek's 4D Adventure. When we got ushered inside the auditorium, both DH and I thought we'd be able to rest our laurels for a bit... WRONG! I'm not going to spoil it here, suffice to say you were given a 3D glass and the effects made the whole experience 4D ;-)
We caught Donkey's Live show and after that, Mira wanted to ride the Enchanted Airways. It's a rollercoaster rides for kids. After the 2 massive rides, this one was pretty mild for Miss Mira, I must say.
We sat down to enjoy the scenery for abit before heading out to Madagascar. Took Mira to ride the carousel. Yes, I rode on one too. We missed a couple of rides here as well. I wanted to check out the Lights! Camera! Action! show and DH wanted to see the Monster Rock. We could have visited it after the parade, but... entah, we never did it.
We didn't wait for the fireworks at 9PM, either. We went shopping instead; bought some things for Mira and my nephews back home. It was already 8PM so we took out our bags from the locker (S$20 for 1 day and you can unlock it many times until your day is done) and headed outside to take the monorail back to Vivo City.
From there, we took a cab to Woodlands Train station. Our train departs at half past eleven from Singapore, reached KL Sentral at half past seven on Sunday.
It was a bit tiring at the end of the day, but we had lots of fun so it was worth it. If you're thinking of taking up the same day trip like this, three things I'd like to suggest:
That is all.
xoxo
Also, my passport will be expiring soon. I note that there was only ONE stamp in it wtf. Thus, the itch to go somewhere was already there. I also thought it would be fun to let Mira experience taking a ride on a real train, especially the sleeper one.
Semua itu adalah alasan belaka.
Nevertheless, I have forgotten about Wesak day holiday until I saw a note posted on Mira's ballet school notice board to let us know that they're closed that Saturday. Suddenly, it gave me an idea. And it must be a sign because there were only 3 vacant spots left in the train on both return journey!
I quickly grabbed those and purchased Universal Studios Singapore tickets right after that, and we're set to go for a day trip. There's no turning back!
 |
| Universal Studios Singapore |
We took the night train on Friday. I chose the Premier sleeper cabin because the first and second class was sold out. Little did I know that the cabin comes with an ensuite toilet and shower! Thank goodness, because I couldn't find any information on public showers except the one in Changi Airport and some obscure parks.
Reached Woodlands at about 7:30AM on Saturday, all freshen up and geared for what's in store for us in USS. We took a cab to Vivo City. Initial plan was to take the MRT but you need to get on a bus to the nearest MRT station and it was drizzling when we arrived.
We had breakfast at Vivo and proceeded to Level 3 to get on the Sentosa Express. DH wanted to check out the beach, so we headed straight to the Beach Station instead of disembarking at Waterfront Station. It was half past nine and nothing much to see there, really. I couldn't find a way to the beach (didn't try hard enough lah). After walking around for a bit, we went back to the station to go down to the next one, Imbiah.
That's where we took photos of the Merlion.
Kalau dah sampai Singapore tak ambik gambar dengan Merlion, mana boleh. It's like visiting KL and not taking a photo of the Petronas Twin Towers gitu kan. LOL.
Once I'm satisfied we've done the tourist thingy, we took the monorail to Waterfront Station to go to USS.
We were there from, maybe at 11AM right until 8:30PM. We rode almost all the rides and saw all the shows there. At the Hollywood Boulevard, we took photos with the Woodpeckers and Po the Kung Fu Panda. Then, instead of turning left towards Madagascar, we took on New York first. Saw Betty Boop, this lady in purple whom I don't know who she was supposed to be and Beetlejuice, took photos with all of them.
Our first ride was Transformers The Ride. I can't say enough how awesome this ride was, we rode it twice. On the first round, Mira was scared of the Decepticon. It was in 3D, everything was very real in your face kinda thing. It didn't help that we sat at the front row, so we got to 'experience' them real close.
However, she was game to go for the second round. We got the last row seat and rode with a bunch of enthusiastic teens who were also fans of Transformers I guess, so it became fun for Mira, too. Oh, she took off her 3D glasses, refused to see the Bots in 3D. Less intimidating, perhaps. LOL.
DH went on the Cylon rollercoaster alone. I refused to ride it because I can't take the loopy thingies. Tried it once at Sunway long time ago, the dizziness didn't go away until I puked. So no thanks, I know my limits. Haha. He had fun, though.
After that we joined the queue for Revenge of the Mummy ride. OMG, this ride was pretty scary! Mira waiiiiiiiled as soon as we hit the wall and the car drop backwards in high speed. But once we're out of the place, she nonchallantly walk out as if nothing happens. Can also asked me why am I laughing at her.
We headed to the Lost World after that. I wanted to ride the Canopy Flyer, but took a wrong turn and ended up queueing for Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure instead. Oh my goodness, I hated that ride! It made me dizzy plus we were soaked (although, the soaking part was fun because it kinda helped freshen you up). The circular raft just berpusing-pusing macam gasing and very quickly at that. It went round and round and round and at one point, you're spinning endlessly in darkness.
Of course, it was lunch time and that doesn't help with my dizziness either -- I was hungry. We had our lunch right away at Discovery Food Court and for me to restore some balance :-p
For that reason, we also missed the Water World show, Dino-soaring and the Canopy Flyer as well. I just wanted to walk off the dizzy spell. So we adjourned to Far Far Away leisurely.
Mira loved Shrek's 4D Adventure. When we got ushered inside the auditorium, both DH and I thought we'd be able to rest our laurels for a bit... WRONG! I'm not going to spoil it here, suffice to say you were given a 3D glass and the effects made the whole experience 4D ;-)
We caught Donkey's Live show and after that, Mira wanted to ride the Enchanted Airways. It's a rollercoaster rides for kids. After the 2 massive rides, this one was pretty mild for Miss Mira, I must say.
We sat down to enjoy the scenery for abit before heading out to Madagascar. Took Mira to ride the carousel. Yes, I rode on one too. We missed a couple of rides here as well. I wanted to check out the Lights! Camera! Action! show and DH wanted to see the Monster Rock. We could have visited it after the parade, but... entah, we never did it.
We didn't wait for the fireworks at 9PM, either. We went shopping instead; bought some things for Mira and my nephews back home. It was already 8PM so we took out our bags from the locker (S$20 for 1 day and you can unlock it many times until your day is done) and headed outside to take the monorail back to Vivo City.
From there, we took a cab to Woodlands Train station. Our train departs at half past eleven from Singapore, reached KL Sentral at half past seven on Sunday.
It was a bit tiring at the end of the day, but we had lots of fun so it was worth it. If you're thinking of taking up the same day trip like this, three things I'd like to suggest:
- Wear comfy and airy walking shoes. Preferably one that will not soak because you're going to get wet. I wore sandals... I desperately needed a massage by the time we've done a complete round of the park -_-'
- You can relax at the many benches and tables around the park. The best is to catch the Monster Rock show at the Pantages. Nice, cool, auditorium with comfy chairs. But please be aware that the show was pretty loud, you won't be able to snooze once it started. Heh heh.
- If you plan to take the train, just go with the Premium cabin for both ways. Why? It comes with an ensuite and it has a SHOWER stall. You need that after walking the whole day in USS. Unless you choose to fly, there's a public shower at Changi Airport. We took the 2nd class sleeper for our return trip and the 'public' toilet was... yucky!
That is all.
xoxo
Comments
How much is the premier cabin fare uols? mcm menariks. Dpt budak2 mrasa naik train kan..
For us hari tu, Mira and I shared a room at one end, DH got a room to himself at the other end of the coach -_-'