On the 10th December, my family drove me to my uncle house at around 8pm. On the way to my uncle's, we saw an accident involving a motorcycle and a car. The two motorcyclist, the rider and the passenger died on the spot. Maybe they were suffering a head injuries. The car driver escape with minor injuries. I saw two bodies covered with a piece of cloth. It was a scary scenery. Condolences to those two families. May their soul rest in peace.
We arrived at my uncle's around 9pm. We went in and have a cup of tea then my parent went home. At around 11pm, we start our journey to Singapore. We didn't headed straight to Singapore, we stopped at Muar, Johor to take a rest before continuing our journey the next morning.
On our way to Singapore, we stopped at Pagoh to pay a visit to my aunty aunt. Around 10.30am, we resuming our journey to Johor Bahru. From Pagoh to Johor Bahru takes around 1 hour 59 min which is about 159 km. We arrived at Johor Bahru at 1pm. We take a break at my relative house, uncle Yumi. He treated us for lunch. After lunch, we rest for a while and resume our journey at 3.30pm. We decided to wandering around Johor Bahru while waiting for our relative in Singapore returning from their office.
We went to Plaza Angsana. My aunt recommend a noodle store. She said the noodle serves there is delicious. The store name was Hj. Wahid's Mee Rebus. The store specialty is their Mee Rebus. So, we tried the mee rebus and it was tasty. If you went to Johor Bahru, don't forget to stop by at Hj. Wahid's Mee Rebus to taste its mee rebus.
We left Plaza Angsana at 4.30pm and headed to our next destination, the Tambak Johor. Entrance to the lion city. The road was packed with vehicles going into Singapore. We have to queued for about 1 hour before passing the Johor Bahru Checkpoint. Then we make our way across the national border, the Tambak Johor. At the end of Tambak Johor, is Woodlands Checkpoint. After passing the Woodlands Checkpoint, we are officially entered the lion city, Singapore. Let me give a brief introduction to Singapore:
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 707.1 km2 (273.0 sq mi), Singapore is one of four remaining true city-states in the world. It is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia.
The population of Singapore is approximately 4.84 million. Though Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and diverse, ethnic Chinese form the majority of the population. English is the administrative and main language of the country.
Singapore consists of 63 islands, including mainland Singapore. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia — Johor-Singapore Causeway in the north, and Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's many smaller islands. The highest natural point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill at 166 m (545 ft).
Singapore is a popular travel destination, making tourism one of its largest industries. About 9.7 million tourists visited Singapore in 2006. The Orchard Road shopping district is one of Singapore's most well-known and popular tourist draws. To attract more tourists, the government decided to legalise gambling and to allow two casino resorts (euphemistically called Integrated Resorts) to be developed at Marina South and Sentosa in 2005. To compete with regional rivals like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, the government has announced that the city area would be transformed into a more exciting place by lighting up the civic and commercial buildings. Cuisine has also been heavily promoted as an attraction for tourists, with the Singapore Food Festival in July organized annually to celebrate Singapore's cuisine.
Well, that's my brief introduction to Singapore. It is my first time here in Singapore. Its the second time for my uncle's. Traveling along the road in a unknown land can lead us to a path of unknown. In simpler word, lost. Thankfully, i had my GPS with me. I key in our current position and the destination we wanted to go, then the GPS will do the rest. So off we go to find our relative house, Abg Ann and Kak Ai.
They live in The Malaysia High Commission Resident Complex situated in Nathan Rd. We arrived at around 7.30 pm. They giving us a very warm welcome and told us to make ourselves at home. We take a rest for a while after the long journey. At 8.30 pm, we went out for dinner. Abg Ann drive us to the dinner location situated at Baghdad St. It was a cafe called Kampung Glam Cafe. We sit and i ordered a Nasi Goreng Pattaya and lychee drink. Well, it tasted like Malaysian. It was a very nice cafe at the corner of the street.
After filling our stomach, we went to a 24 Hour shopping complex, Mustafar. Mustafar is like the Malaysia Mydin Wholesale Store but with more quality, branded but cheap stuff unlike Mydin that sale no quality and not branded item which will be broken after a few time of usage. Night scene at Singapore is the new experience. Its very beautiful. We return home at a round 12 am. Once returned, we all take a rest, to store our energy for tomorrow.
Today (12th December 2008) was my first daylight at Singapore. I have 1 mission to accomplished here in Singapore. I am looking for the PlayStation Network Prepaid Card for the usage in the PlayStation Store to purchase games, and add-ons for my PlayStation 3 games. That thing only sold here in Singapore. It was no where to be found here in Malaysia. Well, in term of gaming industries, Malaysia is very slow. The PlayStation 3 already being officially launch around 2 years ago in the United States, Japan, Singapore and around the world. But it just landed here in Malaysia last month (November 2008). But i have purchase an imported Singapore version of PlayStation 3.
I ask Abg Ann is there any video game store or Sony store that he know. Then he said to go and check out at Sim Lim Square. Its an electronic store. So, on the evening, me and my uncle when there by the direction of my Gps. On the way there, i saw that there is many luxury and exotic cars here in Singapore. And some of the cars that i have never seen before in Malaysia. According to my uncle, the cars here are cheap and the Singaporean have so many unspent money in their pocket. There are many BMW's, Mercedes, Porsche, Lexus, Mazda, Jaguar, and some Ferrari's and Lamborghini.
Once we arrived at the Sim Lim Square, we went to the Sony Style store there and ask them if their have the prepaid card. Then the staff there told me that the card is on sale at Sony Center in Wisma Atria. So we left Sim Lim Square and headed to Wisma Atria which is situated at Orchard Rd. Orchard Rd is their main shopping square.
Arrived at Orchard Rd, we are having trouble trying to find the parking. So we drive around the Orchard Rd. Then we decided to park at Paragon Shopping Center. There are so many soul there. Its packed with people. Its a very happening district. From Paragon, we have to walk a little to Wisma Atria. We have to cross the road by using the underground passageway. The passageway also linked to the MRT Station. People in Singapore is very civil. If they want to cross the road, they line up at the traffic light and wait until the light for people crossing turned green, only then they will cross the road and there is no garbage or dirt on the path way. In Singapore, littering will be compound SGD1000 and chewing gums SGD500. So the area is very clean.
Once we arrived at Wisma Atria, we went straight to the Sony Center which is located in Isetan on the 4th floor. I asked the staff there and he said yes, they have the prepaid card. I was very enlightened. I bought 2 of those. Each of the prepaid card cost me SGD32. I was expecting it to be SGD40. I dont mind since it cannot be bought or found in Malaysia. Mission Accomplished. Then we went back home and rest.
The next day (13th December 2008), Kak Ai, my aunt and her son are going to watch a theater entitled Tooth Fairy. So left me, my uncle and Abg An. While waiting for them, we went to Liang Court since its near the theater. Upon arriving at Liang Court, we saw many people are dragging a brand new Toshiba LCD tv. Its like they are giving the tv for free. Everyone we saw, was dragging the tv. So we went to the electrical store to find out. They were having a big sale for Christmas. Every item was given a discount up to SGD300! Its very cheap. Abg An bought a new home theater system. He is very into audio and video stuff.
Around 1 pm, my aunt called and said that the theater is already end. So we went to pick them up and then when to Orchard Rd to do our shopping. I got nothing else to buy so i just window shopping and watch the scenery.
Other than Paragon and Wisma Atria, they also have Takashimaya Shopping Center. I started to like this place. After that, we went to Vivo City.
Another biggest and the latest shopping mall in Singapore. Around 5 pm, we went to the KTM Station to eat and then we returned home and rest since tomorrow will be another big day.
The next day (14th December 2008) was my last day in Singapore since we will returned to Malaysia the next day. Today, we went to Jurong Bird Park. There are so many species of bird kept there. From humming bird to eagle. The bird park was well managed. Its not smelly and dirty. It was very clean and nice. The staff there also very nice and polite. We spend 4 hours in there. That night we went to Mustafar again to buy some souvenir for our family left in Malaysia.
On the 15th December 2008, Monday, we ended our trip in Singapore and returned home to Malaysia. We arrived at Subang Jaya around 4 pm. It was a very good experience in Singapore. I got to learn their rules, the people culture, and i got to watch beautiful scenery. I wish to come back to Singapore some day since i like it there. It have been my favorite country after Japan.
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