Friday 31 December 2010

Battle of the sunsets

I have witnessed a lot of beautiful sunsets during my course of travelling. These are the top 4 sunsets that was captured in my camera lens and as well as in my memory.


Jimbaran Bay, Bali, Indonesia
This is like my honeymoon sunset. You know, when you're just married for a week, having the just-the-two-of-you trip, holding hand watching sunset, it gotta be the most romantic sunset ever.




Dandenong, Victoria, Australia
This picture was taken using a mobile phone. This is like a surprise sunset because I have no idea that the sunset view driving down from Mt Dandenong can be so beautiful.




Phnom Bakheng, Siem Reap, Cambodia
I climbed a hill and countless steps to be at Phnom Bakheng just to view the sunset. It is not a very spectacular one as it was raining season with heavy clouds and all but this is the only sunset where I'm in the companies of 300 others in the confined of the small rooftop on the temple.




Dead Sea, Jordan Valley
This is by far the most breathtaking and beautiful sunset I have the opportunity to watch. Period.






Sunsets marks the end of the day
But promises it will rise for another new day.
The big orange ball changes the skyline
To remind us to stop and give thanks to 'Thine'.
A year has gone by to be remembered as history
A new year will come and what will become is still a mystery.


Happy New Year Everyone!

Thursday 30 December 2010

Hollywood & New York in Universal

The Hollywood and New York themes actually looks pretty much the same to me. I mean afterall, both the cities are located in the States.


There are no rides to catch here, this place is mainly design to scrap more money out of our pockets with their oh-so-cute merchandise and for us to have a break at the various restaurants, cafes and eateries. I mean you are bound to need to have to eat if you're spending 8 hours in the theme park.

A big part of this area is actually shaded which I think is a very smart move as Southeast Asia can have very unpredictable rain fall all the time.

Some of the buildings you can see in Hollywood (if I'm not mistaken).

Although there are no rides here, there are some shows you can catch by the street. Not sure if it is gonna be the same shows all the time but I managed to catch some B-boys in action and a sort of High-School-Musical-ish singing dancing show.


There is also a Monster Rock-n-roll musical at this theater but I completely miss this. What a bummer.

And of course being in Hollywood, you get to meet "stars" everywhere. We managed to take some photos with these stars ...
Woody Woodpecker

Kungfu Panda

and erhhhh ... Burt Reynold's star on the 'Walk of Fame'.

Some cute signages everywhere in Hollywood


OK, I'm pretty sure this is in New York although I'm not sure which particular building they are featuring. Big Yellow Cab is an icon of NY, yes?


Sculpture of intellectual element (gotta be NY)


How NY buildings would look like ... living in the big apple might not be very tempting afterall.


Just 15 mins before the park close, we managed to catch the 'Lights, Camera, Action!' at the New York park. Gotta say that you shouldn't miss this if possible as you get to see before your very own eyes how film makers (in this case, Steven Spielberg) create special effects. We are standing right in the middle of a major hurricane in NY City. Incredible!


Location : Singapore
Date of trip : Apr 2010

Saturday 25 December 2010

Sci-Fi City in Universal

The Sci-Fi city is about the smallest city I've ever been. OK, I know it is just a theme park but it is also the smallest theme in this theme park. I guess maybe they needed this particular theme to strike some approval in male visitors.

Although small in size, the managed to build this Sci-Fi City to resembles a space ship (that's my take).

In this Sci-Fi City, you will meet with some weird looking human-like creature on stilts. Since standing next to her will make me look small and short, I took a picture of her on her own instead.

Although small, Sci-Fi City is also supposed to house the star attraction of this theme park, the Battlestar Galactica CYCLON and HUMAN ride.

Just look at the sheer size of this structure! The blue track is the CYCLON and the red track is the HUMAN. And both the rides will race at the same time at 90km/h and hit the 14 storeys peak high.

Must be damn exhilarating riding in it except that it is temporary closed while I was there. Heard some rumors that there was an accident and they are closing it to rectify the problem. Hmmmm ... make me think twice to go up there although it will be open up later.


Anyway we did try the 'Accelerator' which is basically the same concept of the spinning cup in a fun fair except they make it look futuristic and that it spins a little faster compared to the normal tea-cup ride. OK for a kid.


Location : Singapore


Monday 20 December 2010

The Lost World & Ancient Egypt in Universal

Seeing this Jurassic Park arch gives me goose bumps. I remember I used to be such a fan of this movie that I went to watch it 3 times in the cinema and booking tickets in advance. I mean how more original can the movie makers get right?
Obviously over here in Universal, you don't get to meet the so-called dinosaur or even the mascot (hmmm, wonder how come they never thot about it).

So you just say hi to these harden T-Rex statue whom was coloured green (why, I wonder?)
Anyway in Jurassic Park there is a lot of fun rides. The Rapids Adventure is one but I didn't want to get myself wet, so I passed. Then there is the Canopy Flyer but I didn't wanted to be hang upside down, so I passed too.

Instead, we went to the 'Dino-Soarin' which is a kiddy ride but with a twist. Although the 'Pterandon' flies on its own with a push of a button by the operator, you can still have some control of how high you wanna fly by pushing a button in its respective seat. So you feel you kind of have control over the experience of flying.

Just look at my son's happy smile, priceless! In fact he took this ride twice.

An adventure 65 million years in the making ... ahhh, a slogan that makes me awe with wonder years back.

Like in any other theme park, a death defying stunts with high impact explosions right in front of your eyes kind of show is almost an expectation. So in Universal, they present the WaterWorld show.

Beware though where you sit in the auditorium. If you sit in the splash zone, you will get all wet, and I really do mean get ALL WET. Unless you think it is fun to get ALL WET, avoid the first tier of the auditorium at all cost, seriously. On the quality of the show, well I would have expected much more but it was OK. To be fair, I can't even finished watching this 'most expensive ever made movie', so I guess this set just doesn't strike my fancy.

This is the sort of first 4 mins of the WaterWorld show. You judge for yourself.

As you leave the Lost World, you will find yourself in the land of the pharoah.

Where dog-headed-human-body creatures guard the gate.

Where you will meet face to face the scary looking mummies while plunging in the darkness in a thrill ride engulfed in fire ... OMG, the bestest indoor ride I've ever been, the Revenge of the Mummy. Beware! Not for the weak hearted.

Well, if you are indeed weak hearted and do not want to scream your guts out and risk having a heart attack, you can always go for the 'Treasure Hunters' jeep ride.

No scary looking mummy, no screaming, no cursing ... just pure innocent jeep ride through a make-believe Egyptian excavation site and see how this innocent smile in your son's face makes your heart melt.



Location : Singapore


  

Wednesday 15 December 2010

Far Far Away in Universal

Look familiar? Guess who live here?
Yes, it is the green ogre who bath in the mud and eats the green slime worms
Since we couldn't find Shrek, I tried to be the ogre but my son is not amused he's being disturb from enjoying his ice-cream.

And since we also couldn't find Princess Fiona as well, we figured we should go and rescue her at the dungeon. Ahhhh, this 'Enchanted Airways' roller coaster is kind of fun and surprisingly my 4 year old son could take it.
So anyway, every theme park gotta have a somewhat dream castle to make it magical. In Universal Studios, the 'Far Far Away' castle serves this purpose very well.

Here in Far Far Away, the Fairy Godmother is a star with her magic potion that could do anything as you wish.


We are still trying very hard to find Shrek or Princess Fiona but was greeted by Puss n boots instead. Seems my son is amused by the pussy!

The Far Far Away Castle is quite a sight.


Standing right at the entrance of the castle ... beautiful!


Since we couldn't find Shrek, I guess the Shrek 4-D adventure is a must. Well, you know the usual, wear the 3-D specs, the seats moves and they spray water on your face. I will rate it as 6/10 for the show.

The Donkey LIVE show is a must though. It is not a puppet, rather it is a screen with the donkey actually interacting with us, dunno how they do it but as usual, the donkey never fails to make you laugh.

The magical castle of Far Far Away.


Location : Singapore