Singapore - The South East Asia Trip part 3

(At this point there can be no excuse for not writing this part of the trip, a good three months after it happened. So I'll ignore verbal abuses and move on like nothing ever happened, or as it's happening in Delhi these days - send you an SMS for your opinion later)

Read Part 1 - Malaysia

Read Part 2 - Langkawi 

Now the third leg of our journey was to the magical city of Singapore. Magical because for some reason, I had made the connection that Mickey Mouse was born here. I know, its ridiculous. We all know that a mouse that big can only be born in Chennai.

We had the good fortune of having a few juniors of BC (yes its a name) in Singapore, which made us more comfortable. Except for the part where my learned friend couldn't figure out how to use a pay phone, a credit card, a travel card, an English speaking Human being and a phone number, to reach his junior waiting outside the airport. Changi Airport is like UB city mall (Bangalore) multiplied by Phoenix mall (Mumbai) with a few airplanes thrown in for free. It is freaking Amazing. I mean I could have roamed the airport for a few days and still returned happy.

You remember the Manforce condom ads? The bill boards and vinyls of the perfumes & Cosmetics here will put Sunny Leone to shame. But in a nice way.

We were hungry so we decided to grab some food at Burger king (Hoooray!!!) since we were hungry, and that is when we realized Singapore is expensive. No kidding. 4 of us and the bill was 42 SGD, which is like 5000 bucks. 

In Singapore, you will be surprised to see that Tamil is the second language after English. I have no idea they pulled this off, and am pretty sure the Malayalis are pissed. So now you know why Rajnikanth's third largest Fan base after the Aliens, and Tamil Nadu is in Singapore. 

And here's a good warning. Am not sure, but I think its compulsory for women to wear shorts, and that too no longer than 6 inches, so guys please. No Staring. You have the Google Incognito mode for that. But on a serious note, they do dress very very well both professionally / casually so its a kind of a learning in trends. If you are into that kind of stuff. 

We stayed at Little India, which is basically a small section of Singapore where most of the "Asians" live. The Taxi guys hate it, the citizens hate it, almost everyone hates it. Am not being over sensitive. In a city which has banned chewing gum to keep the city clean, I saw Indian people peeing on the roads, at which point I promptly started conversing in French. #TrueStory

Me an Po Sharing a laugh at these other
mortal humans at Universal

Anywhoos, we got a decent hotel in this place, and trust me if you are on a budget, this is the only area where you can manage to be on a budget. On the itinerary was Universal Studios, The Singapore flyer, Marina Bay Sands hotel & Casino, Sentosa Islands and this cool underwater sea place (which we got confused with in Sentosa and missed) All travel is via metro, which is extremely convenient.

Am not going to write much about Sentosa Islands, its basically a large park which houses different sections, one of which is the Universal Studios. Universal Studios was my first time to a theme park, with rides and stuff. I was very apprehensive about it. As a kid the only ride I went on was the merry-go-round, and that too holding on to the pole for dear life. 

You keep fish in between your fingers, and she
swoops up your arm and sucks it off. Amazing

But man, these rides were totally awesome!!! The Merchandise even better!!! Highly recommended rides - the Mummy and Transformers. And here's the trick. If you go as a group, you need to wait in a huge line. But if you go in the single line you can go all the way to the front and they will accommodate you in any seat / trailer. Debi went 10 times to the Mummy ride, and by the 11th time they offered him a job and a hat. He declined because the Transformer guys offered him food instead. 

I however was more enamored by the park itself and the detailing. And the merchandise. It isn't worth the price, but please buy it if you love it. And another trick - carry Master card. They have awesome offers on Master card. Not so much on Visa.

We were back by the End of Day and were exhausted. The next day we went to another part of Sentosa, which was the water world. My highlight of the Singapore trip was this - I fed and touched a 8 foot Stingray!!! I love animals. And I also hate humans who can't take a decent photograph (all the numb skulls who traveled with me) 

The View from the Singapore Flyer - Marina Bay Sands Hotel
and the Bay area

Apart from that, we caught the Singapore Flyer, one of the largest in the world. The view from the top is amazing, and I highly recommend that you go at night to catch the lights. 

We also took a long walk around the beautiful Marina Bay, caught the lovely laser show that is done from the top of the hotel on to the water fountains below (check my You Tube channel for the video) and met Mommy and junior Merlion. (Papa Merlion for some reason is at Sentosa) There's also this huge Uber rich looking mall with all the brands that you can think off, including Ferrari cars and Ducati. The restaurants lining the bay look so good and luxurious, that I felt quite intimidated by the mere thought of trying one of them. (Remember Burger king story?)

With Jr. and Mummy (Back)
 Merlion

I have now forgotten all the fantastic comic opportunities and stories, but I must tell you this. We were at Singapore for 2 nights, and we made the absolute Maximum of the time. It was by far the most expensive part of the whole trip, so I suggest you plan appropriately. 

I've promised myself that I will finish the series this year. 2 more posts to go!!!

M

Lounging in Langkawi - The South East Asia Trip Part 2

Read the first part here

Langkawi to me was always the place people go on their honey moon, rekindle the love, girl gang hang outs etc type places. So naturally I'd think it would be very beautiful, very silent and very private. With top class resorts and honestly, expensive.

On the contrary, Langkawi is one of the most coolest places anyone can go to. And if you want to just put your feet up and chill, this is the place. If you want to have some fun and adventure, this is the place. And if you want to go on a crazy night of fun, this is still the place.

So we landed in Langkawi coming from KL, the first morning flight. As you land in the airport you have a host of options for travel and stay. But tucked away in the corner is a car rental service. Trust me, this is what you have to take. The best car we could get was a Mitsubishi SUV, Automatic. At 350 RM (Around 7000 bucks) for three days this was a steal. And the car was absolutely top class. Drowsy and being the only sane one in the team, I was initially acting like a Marwadi business man.

"Lets just get something that moves, why do you need to spend so much?!!"

Of course, you must also note that my friends are maniacs. DB and BC, the guys who I am not going to name, will probably rent an airplane if they were asked to by a guy who called them "Sir". Typical Politeness depraved souls that they were.

But sense prevailed, and we settled the matter like adults - whoever had the loudest voice won.

For the first 20 kilometers, my sophisticated friends (with driving license and experience) had no idea how to use the gears. As a result we traveled on first gear, while cars, cycles and cows waved at us as they overtook our sorry arses. It finally took a man of sound logic, a guy who obviously was meant for great things, to tell them how to use the gear.

"Hey this + button looks interesting" *Insert great thunderous applause here*

Our Rooms were awesome. We stayed at "Tropical Resorts" which is basically a set of cottages, about 15 meters from the beach. At the time of booking, we didn't know this part. But then it was really cool and very convenient. Because by default, we were staying at the most happening locale in Langkawi (Of course we came to know about this only towards the end of the trip)

In Langkawi, we did the following

1. Took lots of fun drives.

Attitude issues

2. Went to the Underwater world, a really cool aquarium and bird park. It also has a macaw that has an
attitude problem that someone should look into. They also have a python that will not eat you as you try to act all brave and pose with it. Also don't forget to meet the seal that swims in perfect loops for eternity. seriously, the guy just doesn't stop.

3. Took more fun drives

I love these birds

4. Went island hopping - We were taken to the first island, which has this amazing lake in the center of it called the lake of pregnant maidens (Top on the Planning-A-Family-Must-Go-To-Locations) *wink wink*. This place is just amazing, because its so beautiful, so peaceful and also because you can swim in this huge lake. The next spot they take you to is a an area where there are lot of eagles. It's basically eagle feeding and they are just so beautifully majestic. I must have clicked a 100 photos in burst mode. Only to get maybe 2 photos of the eagles tail feathers. Bah. The third island is a beautiful, white sand beach where you can swim and do the normal stuff. (In this case pose for selfies of aforementioned people I shall not name)

Laksa

 5. Took 4 circles of  a location called Kuah (Irony, sounds like a "well" in Hindi) because my driver and co-driver are extremely talented in going around in circles. We also tried the staple dish of the place called Laksa, which is basically sour fish soup with noodles and chicken and egg and some other stuff. (Of course I just came to know what it was thanks to Wikipedia. On the day we put up brave faces and mumbled appreciation as we gobbled the incredibly awkward smelling and tasting dish, grudgingly, down)

6. We went to the Marina to take lots of pictures of us with the very beautiful Langkawi + Eagle Statue. And also the other stuff around.

I wasn't scared at all. Honest.

7. Went to the Langkawi Cable Car. Which is also the location of the Langkawi Sky Bridge. Unfortunately the bridge was closed. The Cable car basically takes you to a middle station (600+ meters) and from where you will change cars to ascend a further 100 mts to the top station where you have 2 viewing stations. From this point, you can touch the clouds and have the most magnificent 360 degree view. Its also a great place to push off 2 friends who will engage in, yes, you guessed it - MORE SELF STYLED PHOTOGRAPHS.

7. Shopping and Food. We couldn't really do a lot because we were dead tired, but we did manage to get Souvenirs and stuff, while also visiting the local streets and shops. We were also lucky to view some neat Modified cars revving it up at the mall. Check the pics.

Finally, we reached our hotel and were chilling out when we remembered that we had to clear our hotel bill and leave by 5 in the morning. It was already 1 am, and the resort reception did not open till 10 am. Being the most sensible one, I came with an ingenious plan. As in the image below.

The Ingenious plan revolved around slipping this envelope with the money under the door of the reception, and hoping that the right person would get it. Also praying that we were not caught at the airport for attempted cheating. We mumbled around the reception, and tried a few knocks, and were about to make a run for it when, Tadaaaaah!!! the owner of the place comes out. A few Sob stories later (apparently my relatives were sick, BC's flight got cancelled, and DB did not know we had an emergency) we were out and cruising to the airport, readying ourselves for the next part of our trip.

In Singapore, we meet "THE MUMMY",  witness a mad bar argument on the streets, meet the Merlions, before one of us has a very very Bad night at the casino.