From Tanjong Pagar, we continue our journey to the Esplanade via the MRT.

 Tanjong Pagar MRT Station.

Singapore skyscrappers.

From our observations, Singaporeans are really into saving the earth concept; justified by the government effort to keep the city green and clean, and reducing the air pollution by adopting cycling as their favorite transport.

From Tanjong Pagar, we took the MRT to Raffles Place Station. We were handed a small (yes, I really mean small ) piece of direction by the station officers when asked for the Esplanade.

Exiting the MRT station, we spot a familiar brand name.

Surrounded by sea, Singapore whether is hot and humid; the thought of jumping into the river like these ‘kids’ is very tempting indeed. Alas, the color of the water hampered our sort-of-naive intention.

Bypassed the Fullerton Hotel, we stumbled into a memorial stone dedicated for the early founders of Singapore (i.e. anonymous immigrants), laid by Singapore first president. Based on old folks tales that my mom used to read me when I was small, Singapore was founded by a runaway king from Sumatra. In hiding, he saw a majestic animal (lion was a rare sight at that time) and that was how the island got its name, Singapura (Singa means lion, pura means city in Sanskrit). It was his son, Parameswara that established Melaka (do you realize that he named it also as how his father did? Do you call that ‘coincidence’ or ’genetic inheritance’ ? :))

We continue walking by the river towards Fullertone Points to get a better view of the Esplanade. I just love the symmetrical shadows the barrier made under the scorching sun.

An ice cream peddler is an immediate spot on when we reached the waterfront. It is such a hot day; a treat to a mouth-watering ice cream is inevitable.

The ‘old school’ cut ice cream (malay: ice cream potong) for SGD1 only. You can choose either to savour it with the crispy wafer or bread. We choose wafer.

We enjoy the ice cream under the shade while admiring Singapore architecture marvels in front of us.

The durian shape Singapore Opera House.

The futuristic Art Science Museum and the unique double helix bridge that sits next to it (left hand corner of the image). It would be great if I could photograph up close the symmetrical bridge, however time is our enemy.

The iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel and the famed Merlion. The Marina Bay somehow reminds me of the Noah’s Ark of Lampulo during my previous visit to Aceh. Blame not Mother Nature, for this one is purposely.

It’s ten minutes pass five when suddenly the streets are flooded with Singapore urbanites. No wonder, as it is already after office hour and people are rushing for home. We better get ourselves going as we have to reach home tonight. Tomorrow will be work day for us. Sigh…

Off we go when suddenly DH pointed to me the symmetrical perspective of under the bridge pillars. As a person who is obsess with shapes, patterns and symmetry, no way this will go without a snap or two. The water is a bit choppy today, but it makes great reflection on the wall.

We get back to the MRT station and purchase one-way North South Line tickets to Woodlands. Disembarking at Woodlands terminal, we descend the stairs to the bus terminal (underneath the station) and hop into SMRT bus no. 950 heading to JB (the fare is SGD1.40 per pax and the bus operates from 5.30am till 11.30pm). Leaving Esplanade at five, it is already dark when we reach JB as we were caught off at the immigration along with  a flock of JBrians working in Singapore.

The SMRT bus ticket. Like entering Singapore via the Causeway bus, keep the ticket when you are alighting for the immigration clearance and hop back into any other SMRT bus going to JB. Just show the ticket to the driver.

In a nutshell, from our observation Singaporeans are very discipline people – they queue for MRT and buses and they don’t litter around. Possibly, Singapore hard stand on crime and punishment is the reason behind it. The country is green and clean, and the streets are quiet; thanks to the convenient and cheap public transportations (cheap,  if you compare the value instead of the currency). A point for improvement though - the public toilets - if you know what I mean. Other than that it is a beautiful city, friendly people (we got a lot of help) and thus it would not be our last visit.

>>The End.

We check out from the hotel around 11.00am and drive to JB City Square, where we park our car and have heavy brunch at the cafeteria in level 5 before proceeding to the Sultan Iskandar CIQ (the Sultan Iskandar CIQ is linked with JB Sentral and JB City Square via the sky bridge at level 3).

JB Sentral from the sky bridge.

After getting the immigration clearance, we walk to the bus terminal (at CIQ ground floor) to catch the bus to Singapore. We are taking the yellow Causeway bus to Kranji MRT. The fare is RM0.90 per pax one way.

The bus crosses over the Tebrau Straits via Malaysia-Singapore Causeway Link and stop over at the Woodlands CIQ. We alight the bus, fill up the immigration form, get our passport checked and get back into any yellow Causeway bus going to Singapore (keep the previous tickets and show it to the bus attendant). The bus drops us off at Kranji MRT, where we take the North South line to Tanjung Pagar station (Tanjung Pagar station is not in the same route but you could buy the ticket straight away at the machine as the train system is integrated. Once you reach the destination you could return back the ticket into the machine for refund of SGD1. Detail map of the commuters is HERE).

We disembark at Jurong East station and change train (East West Line) to Tanjong Pagar. Exit the Tanjung Pagar MRT station, we continue walking to the bus stop in front of Amara Hotel and take bus no. 80 or 145 (fare SGD1) to get to the Tanjung Pagar Railway station.  Disembark after 2 stops; the railway station is just across the street. It is possible to walk from the MRT, but since we are with kids and racing with time, I dismiss the idea.

The railway station located along Keppel Road, which also its other namesake.

Tanjung Pagar Railway Station, at last.

Why we would want to visit a railway station, you may ask. Because this is not any other railway station, this is a marker in history that indicates that Singapore was once part of Malaysia (or Malaya at that point of time) as well as a symbol of relationships of the two countries; of which history intertwines. Moreover, this is the last railway terminal that crosses SEA. After years of deliberation on its status, Malaysia at last accede to release its hold of the railway land to Singapore. The operations of the railway station will permanently cease from 1st July 2011, and relocated to Woodlands Train Checkpoints.

The station was very dear and close to our heart, Malaysians. The first time I entered Singapore 25 years ago was by train via this station. A bit ironic though, that today,  for the second time that I am here is to say goodbye and send it off. Eventhough it is no longer functional, I really hope that Singapore government will preseve this place considering its historical values as well as the feelings and memories it still carry.

Press getting public commentars.

Inside, we made acquitance with this lovely and friendly couple whose here to pay the last tribute to the station. To uncle if you read this : Thanks for the photo and also the pep talk. Nice talking with you two

The following are reminiscences of the place, from my perspective:

Tanjung Pagar Railway Station in memory : 1932 – 2011

 One of the relief in front the station. There are four altogether; indicated as FMSR (Federated Malay States Railways) and each reliefs representing the four pillars of Malayan & Singapore economy – Agriculture, Commerce, Transport and Industry.

The arc.

The arc, taken from another angle.

Sketching the terminal last moments.

Inside the main hall, the walls are decorated with panels of rural malayan scenes.

The ticket counter. Tickets for the last train on 1st July 2011 are already sold out. No doubt everyone wants to ride its last journey home.

A sad reminder.

Abandoned.

 This used to be my playground…

Counting down the days until I leave… forever.

The price of modernisation.

One last gastronomical adventure.

Everywhere, but no where. Not anymore.

Silence.

Lonely, is my middle name.

 Closed.

Empty is the feeling.

Runaway train, never going back
Wrong way on a one-way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I’m neither here nor there

Promised myself I wouldn’t weep
One more promise I couldn’t keep

Instead of spending our weekend in a tropical rainforest, we ended up being in the concrete jungles. Yup, the plan for a retreat at Jerangkang Waterfall in Pahang falls short due to the ailment of the organizer’s mother, also our friend. To Spark, we wish for your mother speedy recovery.

As we have very much anticipated about going ‘somewhere’, it was hard for us to accept that the trip was cancelled at the eleventh hour.  I don’t know how Singapore comes to mind; perhaps it is the closest foreign country we could go to spend our weekend which I hadn’t been for the past 25 years. Being there, it would be ridiculous not to visit the Universal Studio Singapore (USS) which has been the talk of the town – so we quickly made our last minute booking, a bit pricey for us Malaysian.

Entering Johor Bahru (JB) city center via the North South Expressway (PLUS). KL to JB requires about 4 hours driving with the speed maintain at 110km/h.

JB town.

Singapore from afar.

Most of decent and budget hotels in JB are fully booked – the shortcoming of arriving very late without any preparation. Nevertheless, we manage to secure ourselves a modest accommodation for half of our budget. Cool.

The hotel is within walking distance from Tune Hotel JB in Danga Bay. There is a shuttle service company (SEE HERE) located at the Tune Hotel ground floor, where we get our return tickets to USS that cost us RM25 per adult and RM10 per child. The ticket could also be booked via Tune Hotel website when you do the room booking.

Tired and all, we return back to the hotel, refresh ourselves then drive back to the nearby Angsana Mall for a quick dinner and change the currency before receding to our room for rest.

Next Day.

We wake up early to catch the first shuttle service to USS. The bus make 2 return trips per day (leaving JB via the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link highway at 7.00am and later at 10.00am, picking up the passengers at USS at 7.30pm.  The last bus leaves USS at 10.30pm).

The coach that will take us to USS.

Ahnaf and DH inside the bus.

We stop at Tanjung Kupang CIQ (Custom and Immigration Quarantine) and Tuas CIQ to get our passport checked before continuing our journey to Sentosa Island, ETA 9.00am.

Crossing over.

Tebrau Straits in the morning.

The buoys caught my attention.

30 minutes later. Universal Studio Singapore, here we come!

Us having fun inside USS. Let the pictures talk!

Oscars for sale.

Walk of Fame.

Far Far Away Kingdom.

While queing for the Shrek 4d movie, I can’t help myself from admiring the chandelier .

Battlestar Galactica death defying roller coasters  –  woohoo!!

The colossal  entrance to the Revenge of the Mummy resembles the real ancient egyptian tomb. They ‘feel’ so real!

Amun Ra warriors. Thank god he shaves!

The day is superhot, a lofty thirst-quencher like this one drain in no time.

The Waterworld Set.

While waiting for the Waterworld show to start, we are entertained by some boisterous stuntmen who keep splashing water towards the audience. Be ready to get soaked!

Waterworld during intense moment. Waterworld show rocks!!! Even Ahnaf who was not keen earlier (as he’s tired and misses his milk) is speechless.

The Steven Spielberg’s Light, Camera,  Action! is super duper awesome (the thought of changing career to being actress suddenly crosses me…haha ada bakat ke???. Imagine working in that kind of nerve thrilling set everyday..kewl dude! That is the last show of the day for us as the time is already passes 7pm. I wish that we could stay longer, but with Ahnaf constant whining and the bus that will take us back to JB will arrive anytime soon, we have to let go.

Exiting the USS, we stumbled into this ‘sweet’ and colorful candy tree.

>>End of Day 1.