Istighasah, boleh ke tak?
1 week ago
This entry is soo.... long overdue. I attended a conference in Singapore last month. I usually have one or two outstation conferences in a year and when affordable, the family goes with me. So, we went to Singapore despite 2 of my kids having exams in their agama schools. Ibu mithali sungguh…
We decided going by bus. The Aeroline bus. The bus pick-up is at the front of Corus Hotel in Jalan Ampang. For one-way trip, the tickets are priced at RM90 for adults and RM65 for kids. However, on Wednesdays, there's a discounted price for adults, ie RM69.
We decided going by bus. The Aeroline bus. The bus pick-up is at the front of Corus Hotel in Jalan Ampang. For one-way trip, the tickets are priced at RM90 for adults and RM65 for kids. However, on Wednesdays, there's a discounted price for adults, ie RM69.
For more relaxing sitting, there’s a lounge area on the lower deck but can only accommodate 6 people.
The passengers are attended by a cabin crew (just like on a plane) who serves drinks, meals and offer blankets. This was what I had on the journey to Singapore.
The journey took about 5 hours with one stop in Pagoh and we faced some delay at the Singapore’s immigration check point. Ramai betul manusia.
In Singapore, we embarked at the Harbour Front Center. Here, you can see cruise ships and there's a boarding terminal for the passengers going for a cruise.
And we got something to eat over there before heading to the hotel. The food court is divided into 2 areas. The halal and the non-halal place. One of my kids ordered this char kue tiau.
The conference that I attended was held in National University of Singapore so a few weeks before the conference dates, hubby and I surfed for hotels in the NUS vicinity. We were considering hotels in Orchard Road as well as hotels in Sentosa Island. Since we have no intention to shop and Sentosa Island sounds more exciting especially for the kids, Orchard Road was vetoed out. And of all the hotels in the Sentosa Island, we chose Hard Rock Hotel. Sebab yang lain, either dah penuh or terlalu mahal or tak menarik sangat… Well, my main choice of hotels, must be one with a swimming pool, for the sake of the children. So, some hotels are ruled out just because they don't have one.
Hard Rock Hotel is one of the hotels in the cluster of four. The other 3 hotels are Festive Hotel, Michael Hotel and Crockford Hotel. Harbour Front Center is just minutes away from the hotel. (but then again, Singapore kan… pegi mana2 pun tak le jauh sangat 
).
). The room has two queen beds. One of the beds has an extra bed underneath. Just nice for my family yang dah mcm gerabak keretapi ni 
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) 
The view from the balcony. We were lucky to have this view, because some rooms may only get to see construction works. Yeah… looks like the whole of Sentosa Island is under construction. No la, kidding, some parts je la .
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There are buses which we can hop in from the hotel for free to Vivo City, a shopping complex which is located next to the Harbour Front Center. The hotel also provided free monorail tickets and you get free rides for 3 days.
We strolled around the Vivo City area.
At the hotel, kalau tak berendam kat pool tak sah budak2 ni. Err… bapak budak also?? I think the pool is shared by the four hotels I mentioned earlier. Lucky for us, since we don’t have to walk very far to get to the pool compared to the other hotels. Very nice place. Got jacuzzi pool, got slide as well, got man-made beach. Boleh kata pagi petang the kids went to the pool.
Ok now, why was I in Singapore again? Oh… the conference . A colleague, Nur Azlina Mohd Fahami aka Lin, who attended the same conference, also stayed at the same hotel, so we shared a taxi going to NUS during the conference. The conference was held in the University Cultural Center (UCC).
. A colleague, Nur Azlina Mohd Fahami aka Lin, who attended the same conference, also stayed at the same hotel, so we shared a taxi going to NUS during the conference. The conference was held in the University Cultural Center (UCC).
During one lunch hour, we managed to go for a tour to the Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty of NUS. One word: IMPRESSIVE!!
I was amused by this poem which is pasted on the wall of one of the labs there.
I found a similar version of the poem here.
Ten little lab workers, Feeling fit and fine,
One smoked in the solvent room... Then there were nine,
Nine little lab workers, Thought they'd be late,
One cut through the magazine…Then there were eight,
One cut through the magazine…Then there were eight,
Eight little lab workers, Dreaming about heaven,
One didn't use a safety shower..Then there were seven
Seven little lab workers, Liked to watch magic tricks,
One poured water into acid…Then there were six,
Six little lab workers, Happy to be alive
One did not wear eye protection…Then there were five,
Five little lab workers, Wasted gloves by the score,
One couldn't find a pair... Then there were four,
Four little lab workers, Could not find the SOP,
Mixed incompatible chemicals... Then there were three,
Three little lab workers, With lots of work to do,
One skipped reading the MSDS... Then there were two,
Two little lab workers, Liked to have fun,
One ducked the training program... Then there was one,
One little lab worker, Thought of the other nine,
Began to practice safety... Now he's doing fine!
This photo was taken outside the UCC. The words actually said I WAS HERE. But the tree blocked the view of the last E so jadi I WAS HER. Hmm…
controversial sungguh statement itu. 
Ok, enough about the work. Now the fun part. Err… don't remind me of my objectives going to Singapore.. I forgot already.
The most correct thing to do if you are staying in Sentosa Island or you are in Singapore, is of course visit the Universal Studios. It is within walking distance from the hotel we stayed in.
Make sure you get the tickets earlier, buy online if possible or you will face this.
Ticket's price is more expensive on weekends. We paid SGD72 per adult and SGD52 per child aged 4-12. But for each ticket, you get a meal voucher at SGD10 and a gift voucher at SGD5. So, not a bad deal at all. Visitors who bought 1-day pass are allowed to re-enter on the same day eg you arrived at 10 am and wished to take a break at 12 pm and relax for a while in your hotel room (esp if you are staying nearby) you are able to do so and then come again later, maybe at 2 pm, using the same pass.
Our first stop in the Universal Studios was the Madagascar. Too bad the Crate Adventure place was closed for renovation. Thus, we headed for King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round. The queue was unbelievably long even though we were there as early as the gate opens
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Then as we walked to our next stop, we saw Puss in Boots getting ready for photo shoot. Not wanting to waste our time queuing to snap photos, I just took this photo from outside the castle.
And coincidentally, the Penguins and Lion characters of Madagascar were getting ready for their street show. Snap je gambar mana sempat. Tak kuasa nak tunggu untuk beratur.
It was a blazing hot day. We stopped for ice-cream at this food outlet. The Universal Studios brochure clearly indicates which outlets are halal.
We then moved on to Far Far Away section. We watched Donkey LIVE interactive show. It is a Donkey animation show which involves some interaction with the audience.
And we went up the Magic Potion Spin ferris wheel.
We skipped a couple of attractions here due to the long queue ie Shrek 4-D Adventure and Enchanted Airways roller coaster. That’s the cost of going there on weekends. The crowd was extremely large. Weekdays should be a better option.
Next we went to the Waterworld.
We were just in time to see the 1 pm show. The show was also scheduled at 3 and 5 pm. It was extremely exciting and enjoyable. The bad vs the good. The bad guys abducted a woman and the good guy came to the rescue. There were explosions, shootings and fist-fightings. The kids loved it. And thanks to Hemy, a friend who has just visited Universal Studio recently, I knew what to expect especially about the water cannon and about getting wet. Luckily we were standing at the very top of the arena thus far from the centre stage. Those who were sitting in the front came prepared with umbrellas. I don’t think the umbrellas did any good.
Dah duduk jauh kat belakang, gambar pun dapat ambik sayup2 je. Dah abis zoom dah ni.
We got the chance to take a picture with 2 of the casts from the Waterworld. My elder kids, Syakila and Syahirah, refused to join us in the picture. Takut agaknya..
We then stopped for lunch at Oasis Spice Café over at the Ancient Egypt section. We used up all of the meal vouchers there and had to top up a little with our own money. We had briyani rice set with chicken and briyani rice with bread.
All of us went up this Dino-Soarin ride. During the ride, there's a button you need to press so that the Dino soars up. 
The kids and hubby tried out the Accelerator. Just looking at it made me dizzy so I opted out.
There were also these desserts included in that set which I don’t even know what. I had one spoonful of both desserts and that was all I could take. Too sweet, tak tertelan.
After lunch, we entered the Jurassic Park.
All of us went up this Dino-Soarin ride. During the ride, there's a button you need to press so that the Dino soars up.
We skipped the Canopy Flyer. I don't remember why. The kids don't want to, if I'm not mistaken. Ke mak dia pun takut gak? Anyhow, just look at the queue. Bercinta...
But we tried out the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. Visitors travelled in a raft along a river and the ride was bumpy at some places and the water may splashed into the raft. Sangat sesuai untuk yang belum mandi coz you may ended up soaking wet . Along the river, there are replicas of dinosaurs which may shoot water at you. Double wet. And towards the end of the journey, the raft climbed up towards a dinosaur which was roaring at the top. Don't forget to smile, your pic is taken at this point and you can buy the photo at a certain price. Then the raft underwent a sudden drop from that certain height and landed back onto the water. Major splash this time. My 3rd daughter, Syahidah, was quite terrified from the experience. I don't ever dare to take out my camera during this ride. Tak pasal2 basah ke, jatuh ke... naya je...
. Along the river, there are replicas of dinosaurs which may shoot water at you. Double wet. And towards the end of the journey, the raft climbed up towards a dinosaur which was roaring at the top. Don't forget to smile, your pic is taken at this point and you can buy the photo at a certain price. Then the raft underwent a sudden drop from that certain height and landed back onto the water. Major splash this time. My 3rd daughter, Syahidah, was quite terrified from the experience. I don't ever dare to take out my camera during this ride. Tak pasal2 basah ke, jatuh ke... naya je... 
By the way, we waited more than an hour for this. And since my youngest daughter is not allowed to ride, I had to wait for my husband to go first before I had my turn. But there's a Child Swap service so you don't have to queue all over again and can immediately go once your partner has completed the ride. And I repeat, going to Universal Studios on a weekday is definitely a very good idea.
In the Ancient Egypt section, the roller coaster Revenge of the Mummy is not suitable for small kids. So we skipped this as well. That's the entrance at the back. Ambik gambar pintu masuk pun jadi la..
In the Ancient Egypt section, the roller coaster Revenge of the Mummy is not suitable for small kids. So we skipped this as well. That's the entrance at the back. Ambik gambar pintu masuk pun jadi la..
We settled for Treasure Hunters ride instead. We rode in jeeps through Egyptian excavation site. Note: This is a 3-minute with 45-minute waiting time. Sheesh...
Along the ride, you will encounter this
and this... and other things that you may see in Indiana Jones movies.
Next, at the Sci-Fi City, both the Battlestar Galacticas (Human and Cylon) were closed.Kalau bukak pun, I don't think I would go for a ride.
Along the way, we took photos with these characters which I don’t know from what film or what they are.
Finally, we stopped by the New York section and went into the Lights, Camera, Action set.
There is a stage where they set up a hurricane in kengkononnya New York City. Nice set-up. Got heavy rain, thunder, lightning and boat crashing. Again, some people may get wet in the process.
We sighted Kung Fu Panda but the queue was very long so I just made do with this photo. Isyh... blur la pulak...
We also had our pictures taken with Frankenstein.
And what’s his name?
And acted silly by trying out these hats at The Brown Derby outlet.
That's the end of our Universal Studios journey. We went back to our hotel exhausted.
Before we went back to home sweet home, hubby bought some T-shirts from here.
These are some of the souvenirs on display.
On the departure day, again we had lunch at the food court at Harbour Front Center. I had this dish, Crispy Noodle something. Forgot the name already.
Interesting fact in the food court: most of the staffs that cleared the tables are elderly people. As opposed to Malaysia, the staffs are dominated by you know who. Hmm…
Overall, we had fun in Singapore. Anyhow, I had my own grumbles:
1. No surau or praying place in the shopping complex. I’m not sure whether this is a global phenomenon throughout Singapore but none is available in the Harbour Front Center.
2. No water hose or bidet in the toilet at the hotel. Something that does not fulfil our hygienic satisfaction.
3. No water hose or bidet in the toilets at the shopping complex either. And imagine my despair when my youngest, Syafiqah, did her no. 2 while we were there. Jenuh beb… Maybe I should change the title of this entry to ‘From Singapore with Lap’ instead. Get it?? Lap, the Bahasa Melayu word for Wipes? Ha ha…
No offense to Singaporeans.However, I would very much like to visit Singapore again next time. And I am going to make sure that the visit to Universal Studios is on a weekday. Rugi je bayar mahal2 tapi tak dapat enjoy some of the attractions.
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hi. just wondering how long(time) is the queue for shrek 4d and jurassic park rides when u were there? thanks.
Hi Anonymous,
We missed Shrek 4D because of the long queue so we decided to skip it. For the jurassic park rapids adventure, we had to wait more than an hour. Very tiring. We were there on a Saturday. That's bad enough. What makes it worse, the schools in Singapore have just been closed for semester break. But despite that, we had fun. I'm sure you're going to have fun too if you're going.