As we turn 11 and 8 this year, Dad and Mom presented us a super blast birthday gift- a trip to Universal Studios Singapore. Coolness!!
So on our sem-break form school, we packed our bags and headed to the state city of Singapore. We revisited some of our "favorite" sites such as Clark Quay, Hawkers foodcourt, Orchard Road, the malls and ofcourse Toys R Us stores. But mostly, for this trip, we went to some places unexplored by us in the past-- like getting close and personal with the Merlion. Funny, that in all our past visits to Singapore, we never really got the chance to come near the Merlion. Also, finally got to do some malling at the Durian mall, Esplanade.
We also discovered and explored the Mint Museum of Toys. A small museum within the city (at the back of the equally historic Raffles Hotel) that features a collection of classic, traditional and hard to find toys dating back from the 1940s. There were teddy bears of all types and sizes. Matchbox cars in their original "matchbox" boxes! Toy guns evolving from tin to plastic.. with crackling sound to ones with cork bullets. Classic toys such as tops, climbing monkeys, toy soldiers, dolls, and superheroes novelties. We got a little excited with the TinTin coollection. And even posed side by side a Tintin (and Snowy) figure as tall as us.
And Singapore being a small country/city, it is understandable that most of the buildings and structures are high-rise. Most of them offering fantastic views of the entire city. So we got enough highs from being on top of some of these and enjoyed birds eyeview of the city. We climbed up the Sky Park, the Esplanade deck and the newest grand viewing attraction -The Sands Marina
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But ofcourse, the highlight of the trip was Universal Studios! It was really awesome-we loved the Jurrassic Park ride! A coast down the rapids with some close encounters with dinosaurs. Plus, we got wet on the side which added to the excitement. This was clearly our favorite.
Our next favorite was the "Lights, Camera, Action!" show at Hollywood land. This show was hosted by Steven Spielberg no less. We got a good view of how movies and special effects are made. We stepped onto Hollywood Boulevard set in the classic movie era of the 1930s. In the midst of palm trees, we saw the era's distinct architecture (oh the diners!) and the famous Walk of Fame.
We also liked the Shrek 4D show. It was really funny and got us at the edge of our seats, literally. At FFA (Far Far Away), we rode the Enchanted Airways mini-roller coaster. There was nothing mini about this ride, at least for Mom and Julio. So fast and so twisty! "Ahhhh... what am I doing to myself?!!!" was all Julio could say while on it.
We strolled through the sidewalks of New York City and enjoyed all the classic landmarks such as a subway station, the NYC library, the statue of Atlas, and the grand theater. It could not have been more real with familiar scenes like a construction site, an old parking meter, plus rows and rows of bistros and facades that we all see in lots and lots of movies set in this greatest Metro of the world. This is where we met and had our picture taken with funniest man Charlie Chaplin.
Scenes from Old Egypt inspired by the movie The Mummy were recreated. We tried the Treasurer Hunter ride but could not muster enough guts to test the high-speed indoor roller coaster (ala Space Mountain). It was so dark walking up the steps to the ride, and the creepy sounds added to our hesitation. Scary!
As a contrast to the seemingly scary old Egypt, was the Madagascar site. It was so friendly and all the rides were all friendly. Ofcourse we just had to try the carousel! Not because of anything else but because Dad and Mom wanted us to try it.
The Sci-fi Land was partially operational- still we had our heads spiining from the Accelerator. It was supposed to test our inter-galactic stamina, and we supposed we passed the test easily as we had a double-take of this ride and still we remained standing after! Well, maybe not Dad who had enough with his first try. Still of Dad, he was quite disappointed because the Battlestar Gallactica Rollercoaster was still closed. Oh well, maybe next time.
What a trip it was! So much fun and adventure! Happy birthday to us! and thanks Dad and Mom for the awesome gift!
We had our chance to meet 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Efren Penaflorida. And be a part of his noble work of making education accessible to children like us but cannot afford it. In a way, we felt like heroes too! We joined the outreach program "My Dream in a Shoebox" 2010.
Mom says that last year, My Dream in a Shoebox was able to collect and distribute 200 boxes. But this year was bigger with the number of shoeboxes growing more than fivefold to about 1,132! It was such a big success and we are proud to be part of it.
