26 hours in Singapore.. but it's fun !

This Chinese New Year of 2006 is not as usual as the past few years. Ask you a question, do you know Orchid is the national flower of which country? When I mention Merlion, which word firstly come to your mind ? Definitely, It’s Singapore , the country that situated below our Big Potato ( Malaysia ). Singapore , or maybe Sin-ga-pu-ra , is a country that quite emphasize on cleanliness , but the spirit of Singaporean is more famous , which is KIASU !! ( Who in this world is not KIASU ? weird right ? ) Haha .. Yeah , Horray ! Long time didn’t go to Singapore since 1997. 9 years already ! The exchange rate is RM2.32 for 1 Singapore Dollar.

On the 2nd day of CNY, in the very early morning , 10 o’clock ( consider early ? ) , we start our journey , drive from Selangor to Johor , approximately 320 Km. And we take about 4 hours to reach there. And the funniest thing is I promise my friend , let it be X , to call X when I am in the state of Johor. At the time, X is in the state of Malacca. Then I am below of X ( I think only X know what am I saying ). Back to the trip , my dad is the driver of this journey and my mum is the map navigator. After some wrong turnings here and there, lastly we reach our hotel , which is Eden Garden ( name change into Regency Hotel already ). Eden Hotel is in the Zone of the Duty Free, everything in the shop in the zone is all duty-free , like a shopping paradise. According to the internet , Eden hotel is a 5-stars hotel, but I give the hotel only 3 stars. Why ? Firstly, the check-in is very slow. Secondly, the staffs’ communication skills have some problems. Thirdly, the card-sensor on the door of our room is not sensitive enough to sense the card.. etc .

After we check in the hotel , we settle ourselves down and have our 3 o’clock lunch. Next, about 6 something, we decide to go Singapore and visit the Night Safari. After parking our car in a City Plaza, we walk to the Malaysian & Singapore Immigration centre and hand our passports to the officer.( Yeah , first time using my own passport , my lil bro too ).Then we need to fill in the white form in a hurry. ( Plan before you go to Singapore!). And we travel Bus 170 to Krangi MRT Station. And from there, we go to Chua Chu Kang and travel bus 927 to Night Safari. The process of buying tickets is different in Singapore. You have to pay extra 1 dollar for each ticket you have bought from the ticket machines, but the 1 dollar is refundable when you reach your destination. My little bro likes to travel MRT very much because he can use the ticket just like Touch N Go. And when it comes to claim our 1 dollar back from the machine, it’s my little brother’s responsibility.

I think we are not prepared ourselves well to free-and-easy in Singapore. On the way to night safari, we need to ask peoples for directions. At the night safari, our stomach growled and we eat some fish burger and chicken burger. The workers there are mostly youngsters and they work fast and effectively. The food in Singapore consider quite expensive (if convert it into Malaysia Ringgit). The entrance fees also cost quite much. The workers are polite and they work very systemically. They divide the visitors into many lines before the tram comes. This can smooth the process for the visitors to get into the tram. We use the 45 minutes tram ride to go around the whole night safari. It’s a fancy ride across a landscape that dramatically changes from one of the Himalayan foothills to the jungles of Southeast Asia and Africa. The 45-minute tram ride covering 3.2km can let us to catch endearing antics of rhinos, elephants, giraffes, tapirs , tigers and lions, along with a variety of birds. The setting is bathed in shadowy half-light, so the creatures are largely oblivious to a visitor’s presence. In addition, the conductor of the tram uses his voice to create an atmosphere, so that we are eager to know what animals we are going to see next. Applause for his hard work and proficiency in English! Outside of the Night Safari, there are many big lanterns which are made into different kinds of animals, so that the visitors can catch some photos with all the animals.

Looking at the watch, it’s already 10 something. Then we take the same bus back to the Chua Chu Kang MRT station, and follow the same route back to Malaysia. But now my mind is totally confused. Why I can receive calls and messages when I am in Singapore? My hand phone is no longer showing MY MAXIS, but SINGTEL OR STARHUB. My mum is using maxis too, but why she can’t receive calls and messages in Singapore? Now my passports have stamped twice. Yeah! Back to the hotel, when I switch on the TV, the TV just like planting a spell on me, making me addicted to watch all the Singapore TV programmes and I watch it until 2. Staying in Johor is quite good because I can watch Singapore programmes. zzzzzZZZZzzzZZZZ

On the 2nd day , when I wake up, I straight go and switch on the TV and watch those Singapore programmes ( hardly to watch Singapore programme at PJ). You can easily watch the CNY advertisement which few Singapore artists sing grouply. And the advertisement just repeat and repeat and repeat ( every 30 minutes once ).

After that, we go to checkpoint again. Giving the passport to the Malaysia and Singapore officer for stamping ( you need to fill in a white form in order to get into Singapore), then we travel Bus 950 to Woodlands Bus Terminal. There are many different numbers of buses to go to different places. Today, we are going to Sentosa Island, so we need to go by Bus 963. The bus journey from Woodlands to Harbour Front takes about 1 hour.

Sometimes going a country by yourself (not by tour) is quite good because u can experience the lifestyle of the people there (which is going places by buses or MRT or walk) and see the whole environment of Singapore. Everyone in Singapore has a card (Ez-Link), is just like our Touch N Go, and they use the card when they travel by bus and MRT (is quite convenient and advanced). But I am quite curious because the bus driver don’t really care you pay the bus fares or not, because the bus driver believe that Singaporean is honest and wont cheat for a dollar. I notice that everyone pays for their bus fares.

If you ask me what thing exists the most in Singapore? My answer is Bus- Stop. The bus stop just like every 500 m got one. And in front of every flat definitely got one bus-stop. Due to this reason, on the way to Harbour Front, the bus has stopped for at least 30 times. And the environment of Singapore is so clean and they have big field and the buildings are just like painted every year. (Who dare to throw rubbish in Singapore?).

On the way to Harbour Front, we pass the National University of Singapore (NUS). NUS is considered the top University in the world, while our UM has dropped until position 168 in the world ranking. At first, UM and NUS is a same university. Why after NUS is separated from UM, the standard of UM is keep on dropping, but the standard of NUS is keep on increasing and recognized by worldwide? From outside of NUS, you can know what a university should look like!

At the Harbour Front, we eat some Singapore hawker food to fill our stomach. All the price of the food increases because of CNY. Then we decide to go to Sentosa Island by cable car. At the cable car centre, I notice there are some packages for the tourists. We take the package 4 (which is 2 way cable car journeys, entrance to underwater world and dolphin lagoon and Cinemania). This is the first time my little bro travel by cable car and he enjoys very much. The cable cars are just like what we have in Genting. Sometimes, I really salute the engineers for creating so many services by using their physics mindset.

Sentosa Island is considered a big island in Singapore; therefore the Sentosa Island has prepared bus service for the peoples in order to get to the places they want to go in the Island (u see, without bus, Singapore will die!). There are Blue Line, Yellow Line, Green Line and Red Line, Siloso Beach Line and Beach Tram. We Travel Blue Line to the Underwater world. The underwater world is just like the one at the KLCC. In the underwater world, you have a chance to touch the sea creatures using your hands. And the underwater world got special sections for crab and jellyfish. After learning Biology , I know that crab is arthropod and I have a chance to see corals and horse-shoe crab. In addition , we just like enter the world of sharks, stingrays, eels and other sea creatures via a moving travellator that ferries us through an 83-metre-long acrylic tunnel right into the depths of the ocean. Some of the fishes are so so BIG, until I think that they may exist for at least a century already.

After that we go to the Dolphin Lagoon to watch the Dolphin show. Dolphin is considered an intelligent sea-creature and they are so CUTE when they wave their fins to say hello to us and do the acrobatic action. Next, the host asks for 2 volunteers who don’t mind getting wet till the chest part, having a close touch with the dolphins. A young guy from Norway and a old lady from Washington volunteer themselves ( wow , I am sure all the peoples in the Lagoon come from different countries, but we have the chance to watch the dolphin show together , and this is because of the dolphins .. thankx Mr and Mrs Dolphin ). Then weird thought comes to my mind again. If a person from Malaysia volunteers, will some of the audiences still clueless where is Malaysia or maybe didn’t hear of the country, Malaysia. Hopefully this won’t happen.

After the show, we need to reach Cinemania and go for the ultimate armchair adventure, taking a ride through tunnels & survive steep drops at breakneck speed. My little bro is so brave and I think he enjoys the most in the Cinemania. The whole Cinemania is full of his screaming and shouting voices. My mum is so frightened that she closes her eyes from the beginning until the end of the show.

Sentosa Flower Carnival 2006 is back! Let a million flowers bloom! It’s a truly a feast for the eyes and a colour- drenced delight for photo hunters everywhere, with a quirky floral sculptures, delightful arrays of exotic flora and stunning thematic flower displays at every turn. There are Herb and Medicine flowers, bizarre flowers, Poisonous flowers and Food flowers. Simply your spring celebration wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Sentosa Flowers! Must come again next year! Because the time does not allow us to stay too long in Sentosa Island, we have to miss the Magical Sentosa Show at the Musical Fountain.

In Sentosa Island, you can meet many foreigners and listen to different languages spoken by the people. Got Japanese, Korean, Australian, Canadian, Tibetan, and the people come from different parts of the world. After that, we take the cable car back to Singapore. You can enjoy the scenic beauties of Singapore at night. Then I notice that the workers for the cable car service are mostly old peoples (No such workers from Thailand, Indonesia or Bangladesh). That’s why only 2.5% of Singaporean can’t find jobs. (Malaysia has many people jobless!)

This time, we are not going to travel by bus again, and we use the MRT service. We are prohibited to eat, drink and smoke in the MRT, or else we’ll be fined. In order to get back to Woodlands, we need to travel the North East line and change to North South line at Dhoby Ghaut. And this amazes me again. In Singapore, you can buy tickets directly to the place you are going; no matter you have to change from this line to another line. And the interchange station is in the same building and it’s air-conditioned. Because there are some distances between the two lines , the Singapore MRT station prepare some escalators and the one we use when we are in the airport ( flat one for us to go from one place to another place ).

Then we travel from Dhoby Ghaut back to Woodlands, in between got 13 stations. Novena , one of the name of the MRT station , attracts me so much. Don’t know why Novena means so pleasant to me. I just like the word, Novena! For me, Admiralty, Newton, Orchard, Somerset, Toa Payoh are beautiful words too. Did I mention before that traveling MRT can let me experience the lifestyle of the Singaporean? Yup, definitely it can. I can see many things happen in the MRT.

Firstly are a father and a 3 years old son. They are going to Newton and the father asks the son to listen to the “Next Station” announcement. Wow, this is the Singaporean Education! All the children are trained up from childhood to be alert and independent. Applause! Is this Kiasu ? Or maybe the Singapore is too small and the people are getting more. Therefore, the competition is getting serious and everyone needs to prepare well to solve the challenges to earn a living. Then I see a couple. Although in the MRT and many peoples are around them, they just touch here n there, hug here n there, kiss here n there. No wonder got a saying, “Love is blind”. Whoever in love hardly can sense the third party beside them. At first, I think that Singaporean is quite conservative, but I know I am wrong now. Then two guys catch my attention. They are just standing beside me. They speak fluently in English and one of them is listening to MP3.And this reflects the lifestyle of Singaporean. Why Singaporean can speak so well in English. This is because the main language they use is English and they know English is the international language and in order to survive in this competitive world, English plays an important role. Therefore, the government emphasizes on education based on English, but not BM. And their technology (IT) is quite advanced. You can easily see a person listening to MP3 in Singapore because MP3 is their main entertainment electrical appliance for them. They need to travel here and there in Singapore and listening songs will be the best entertainment for them. It’s lucky to born in Singapore and being Singaporean, especially the young one is a blessing too. The government prepares them well to work in the society and they are influenced by multimedia and fashion. They are good in academies and emphasize on sports too. The Education in Singapore is English-based and this will help when it comes to globalization.Then another girl catches my attention again. She is a girl that didn’t really speak well in English, but she tried her very best to communicate with other people in English. She speaks just like our Malaysians, but I salute her because she dares to speak in English in public. She can be the role model of Malaysian, which is “Just speak and don’t cares whether it is correct or wrong, if u doesn’t speak, u never know whether you are correct or wrong. That’s the spirit that we should learn from her.

It’s already 10 o’clock now. But the numbers of people in the MRT is not on the decrease. In Malaysia, at this hour, the people travels by LRT are getting less. Most of the Malaysians prefer to drive to their destination. But it’s different here in Singapore. Owning a car in Singapore is not an easy task. Therefore MRT is their only way to travel besides buses and taxis. We are lucky to have a car, and we no need always travel by LRT. Due to this reason, the health of Singaporean is better than Malaysian because they always walk and exercise. Sometimes, in Malaysia, we complain when we are asked to walk for even kilometers. But if u staying in Singapore, you have to walk everyday after you leave your house. My legs are so painful after walking for a day. Singaporean likes nightlife very much. For some of them, night is the beginning part of their day. For some of them, they are rushing back from work. No doubt, Singapore can become an improved and advanced country in a short time because the hard work of the government and the Singaporean. Back to Malaysia and Hotel again.

On the 3rd day, as usual, switch on the TV after wake up. Singapore programmes are totally interesting. Does u know Singapore now is having many competitions for the youngsters, like Singapore Idol, Singapore Superstar, Singapore Super Host, Singapore Super band, Singapore Campus Star. I like the song of the advertisement of the Campus Star. Campus Star is a competition for the talented students from different schools competes against each other. Beside that, the top 5 finalists for guys and girls for the last season of superstar sing a brand new CNY songs together at the beachside in CNY advertisement. They look more stylish , fashionable, sunny and matured. I notice that 2 guys cut short their hairs. I am sure that they are going for their Singapore army service, which is our Khidmat Negara. We, as Malaysian, are quite lucky that not everyone is compulsory to attend army service. But if you think twice, army service is good for us too.

Today, we are going to Orchard Road. It’s abit similar to our Bintang Walk. How we go there? Definitely by MRT! And it’s only need 34 minutes to get there. The students in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur are lucky again. Today, the Singaporeans are back to works and schools. And it’s a golden chance for me to see the lifestyle of students in Singapore. No such things like school buses in Singapore, every student needs to travel public buses or walk back to their houses because the schools are quite near to their houses. Only those who are lucky to have their own driver, no need to walk or travel MRT. The schools in Singapore are mushrooming. You can see a school in every residential area. Amazing things come again! Their uniforms are different; every school has their own school uniforms. Some are whole uniform light blue; some are blue shirts with dark-blue trousers and skirts, some are yellow shirts with green trousers and skirt, even got some like marine soldiers. Yellow! Green! White! Blue! If you are in the MRT, you can see students wearing different school uniform at different MRT Station. In addition, their bags are so fancy and light ( just like no thing to bring to school ) , some even branded.

Why hand phones are prohibited to bring to school? The Malaysian government and the public mentioned that we are not ready for hand phones in schools. Jealousy? Stealing ? Interruption while study? Misuse of hand phones? That’s all non-sense! Please refer to the Singaporean students, they are allowed to bring hand phones to schools. Are you saying that although we are in the same age, but they are more matured compared to us? We know when the most suitable time to use hand phones is and we are not 3 years old children. I am so envious of them. Furthermore, I notice something, which is their school shoe. Some of them wear white shoes, just like us. Some wear black and some wear Sport shoes like Nike, Adidas and Reebok, and Puma. Therefore, there are varieties of school uniforms exist in Singapore. Besides that, I also notice a slogan in the MRT Station, “Value Life, Act Responsibly”. Why put such slogan in the MRT station?

Back to Orchard Road , Orchard Road is crowded with many people, including students. Maybe it’s CNY; no one wants to go home so early. You can see students walking on the street, wearing different school uniforms. So it’s shopping time! The weather is just like Malaysia, always sunny. Luckily I remember to bring my cap! Orchard Road is a shopping paradise, and u can find anything you want from there. The people in Singapore wear quite fashionable, just like KL and PJ. Branded shops are available there too. But the only thing is the shopping complex there are not as big as 1 Utama , Sunway Pyramid and MidValley. Next, the people are quite busy and yet they obey the traffic rules. The pedestrians walk across the road when the signal is given. Suddenly, I think of Hong Kong. I think the situation in Hong Kong is quite similar to Orchard Road. The prices of the goods there are quite cheap, if you don’t want to convert it into Malaysia Ringgit. But Orchard Road is a shopping paradise; you shouldn’t go back with empty hands. I manage to buy few clothes and CD there. The toilets are extremely clean; the tiles are shinning and no odour (not like what we have in Malaysia).

After shopping few shopping complex like Paragon and Tangs, suddenly a few alphabets on the window of the building attract my attention.“ Salvatore Ferragamo” , yup , is the brand that Jing Wen guessed correctly when a HangMan is given by Dickson. After that , we go to the Chinatown in Singapore by traveling the North East MRT line.

Chinatown is just like our Petaling Street and Sungai Wang. Why this place is calling Chinatown? If u translates directly from Chinese to English, it should be “Cow Car Water”, funny right? Nothing much can shop here. The travel agencies are mushrooming here. Then after walking the whole Chinatown , it’s time for us to go back to Malaysia again. This time, we travel MRT to Krangi and by bus back to the Checkpoint. Yeah! In these three days , my passport has been stamped 6 times. And this is the end of my 26 hours trip of Singapore.

First day: 6 hours
Second day: 12 hours
Third day: 8 hours

On the 4th day , we shop in the Zone of Duty Free and buy some chocolates and wines. Then we check out and back to Petaling Jaya. On the way back , we stop at Kajang and eat satay. Then go home. Home is the best place ever in this world because Home sweet home.