Malaysia - Singapore 2013: Zoo Day!

September 19, 2013
Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari

After a long, tiring day in USS, we are prepared for another day in our Singapore leg. :) We are very excited on this one since we will be kids (again) for a zoo tour. We feel like little kids (without their parents of course) having their field trips. Brings back very, very old memories.

Anyways, on route to the Zoos we took the following:

1. A 10 minute walk to Mountbatten MRT Station.
2. Took Mountbatten to Bishan and change trains in Bishan to Ang Mo Kio.
3. Inside the mall, make your way to the bus terminal and take Bus 138A to Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari.

Getting Tickets

This time, we didn't get tickets online and decided to just buy them at the Zoo Ticket Counter. We bought the 4-park hopper tickets which covers Singapore Zoo, River Safari, Night Safari and Jurong Bird Park. You don't need to visit them in one day. You may visit them in one week duration.

How to Park Hop

We asked the ticket attendant which zoo should we take first in order to make the most of our time. She recommended that we take the River Safari first before Singapore Zoo since it will only take us 2-3 hours to cover it.

River Safari
This park is dedicated to the river animals, mostly made up of aquariums and terrariums.

This park's main attraction is the Singapore's Panda Village where you can see two breeds of Panda's - the Red Panda and the Giant Panda (aka Kung Fu Panda).

You should not miss out the cute Panda Buns being sold in the Panda restaurant inside the River Safari. Not only it looks like little panda heads, they actually tastes delicious! I love the chocolate buns.

The boat ride is closed during our visit and the only way to cover every meter of the River Safari is to walk. :)

Next Entry: Singapore Zoo

Malaysia - Singapore 2013: Universal Studios Singapore

September 18, 2013
Sentosa and Universal Studios Singapore

We arrived late in our hotel the night before and we started our day late again. Our first stop for this day was Universal Studios. Though we (Coeli and I) are not really fans of extreme rides, the moment that we entered USSg is really something worth while.


GETTING THERE (From Hotel 101 Geylang)
1. Walk to Kallang MRT.
2. Change trains in Outram Station to Harbourpoint Station.
3. Take bus RWS from Vivo City

GETTING TICKETS
We got our tickets online thru Asiatravel. We got our tickets at SGD 74 with SGD 10 meal coupon and free SGD 5 retail discount for every SGD 30 purchases in USSg store.

From the Vivo City Bus Drop off, make your way downstairs to the parking area. Asiatravel booth is located here where you will claim your actual tickets.

COVERING UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

A Map is required when you get inside, just as to cover properly the whole of Universal Studios. For the three of us, we decided to take this route: Left from the Main Avenue covering Hollywood, Madagascar, Far Far Away, Lost World, Ancient Egypt, Sci-fi City and New York.

One that would greet you in the entrance: Popcorn Truck!

Madagascar

Shrek and the Far Far Away

Lost World

Lost World rides. I didn't ride the Canopy flyer. 

Treasure Hunter's ride before the Ancient World

Ra's kingdom at the Ancient World

More of Ra's statues

Revenge of the Mummy Ride. Amae tried this and she looked like a happy
little girl after. She even wanted a second time!

Sci-fi City: Battlestar Gallactica (Permanently closed), Transformers (not to miss)
and the dizzy Accelerator ride.

I have to take this roller coaster shot with Far, far away kingdom at the back. 

Cookie Monster Cookie Truck!

Musical Theater

What not to miss:

Waterworld. Amazing! But be prepared
to be wet (especially when you are sitting in front).

More of Waterworld stunts. Fire and Water. 

The Rockefellas aka The Streetboys. 

WAAAH!!! Bumblebee. He is for real.
We are lucky we were able to take pics with him.

Marilyn Monroe (cute little lady) and Betty Boop. 

Singers and Dancers. All time american. 

We finished our USSg day at around 7pm and decided to walk back to Vivo City via Sentoso boardwalk.

Malaysia - Singapore 2013: Crossing Borders from JB to Singapore

September 17, 2014
Crossing from Malaysia to Singapore

After our Legoland adventure, we were bound for Singapore on the same day. We went back to Larkin Bus Terminal and took CW1 bus to Johor Bahru checkpoint or the Malaysian Immigration.

The bus will drop you off the basement of the Malaysian Immigration building. Do not forget to bring your bag along with you since you will be transferring from one country na to another. Carry them with you as you will go to security checks on both borders.

No cameras allowed in the Immigration building so bear with me as I only document our border crossing by merely words. :)

After your Malaysian immigration clearance, walk your way to the basement again for your transfer to the Singaporean border. No worries, you do not have to pay the driver as long as you have your bus ticket (from Malaysia) with you.

Upon arrival to the Singapore Immigration building and passing through the IOs, make your way to the bus station and get on bus CW1, show your tickets if it will be checked and you're bound for the nearest MRT - Kranji Station.

Our Singapore hotel is located at Geylang Road, known to be the red light district in Singapore. It was a 10 minute walk from the station and you will pass by several restaurants and pub houses. Though we were all girls, we were able to walk safely to our hotel every night.

Malaysia - Singapore 2013: Route to Johor Bahru and Legoland Malaysia

September 17, 2014
Our Last City in Malaysia

We are on our last leg of our Malaysian trip before we finally settle down in Singapore. :) Our day started a bit earlier than usual, since we have to be in the first bus bound for Johor Bahru. We arranged our service at our hostel's front desk for a pick up at 5:30 in the morning. After several minutes, we were back in Melaka Central Terminal and looked for a ticket booth that would bring us to Johor Bahru.

Travel time from Melaka to Johor Bahru is about 3 hours. We managed to be on the road a little after 8:00 (the first trip of De Lima bus). We were in Johor Bahru at 11 in the morning. Since our itinerary for the day is Legoland, we decided to leave our bags at JB Larkin Bus Terminal for a fee of SGD 4 for big luggages and SGD 2 for a bag.


ON ROUTE TO LEGOLAND

You just have to take Bus CW1 to Legoland which would take you directly to Legoland. Our initial plan is to visit Hello Kitty Town as well, but it is closed on Tuesdays. The bus will drop you off the Legoland Park and you just have to walk towards the entrances. Legoland is open from 10:00am to 5:30pm.

Legoland has lockers as well. But in very limited numbers. 

LEGOLAND MALAYSIA

We didn't miss Legoland for this trip because we have been fans of Legos. And we would love to see the famous landmarks made up of Legos. Though the park is seemingly for kids, when you are kids at heart, why not?

After a quick visit to Legoland, since it was not yet complete during our trip, it just took us about 4 hours and we were bound for JB Larkin bus terminal, using the same bus, CW1 before 5 in the afternoon. Our last road transfer to Singapore.