As we were about to enter Singapore, we saw the KTM train that we were supposed to take slowly chugging by pass us through the bus window.
Anyway the bus ride was smooth and we realized mid way when we were trying to position ourselves to sleep, and accidentally pressed a button, that the chairs were actually massage chairs. Pretty cool stuff. And the staff were very helpful. But the bus smells of cigarette smoke though. But we're in Singapore so everything is jolly well fine.
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| The Starmart Massage chair seats. |
The bus stopped at Beach Road from where we took a cab with the intention of looking for a budget hotel, the driver was very helpful as he waited for us to ask for the available rooms from Hotel 81 (something like Seri Malaysia la) and the one next to it. All fully booked and beyond our budget. As Nani's tummy made a loud grumble in the taxi, we asked the taxi driver to send us somewhere we could eat. He was very kind as to bring us to Arab Street to a Halal restaurant.
Hungry and tired (I couldn't sleep on the bus, too excited I guess), we ate lontong with huge udang and sotong. Only then Nani started to speak like a normal human again and went out off her 'shut down' mode, then she told us she actually panicked since we were at KL Sentral so she 'shut down'. NOTE: In these situations, I'm the one who usually panics and my sister is sort of the level headed cool one. But according to her, at that time, I became the Alpha. Maybe because I was the only one with the money and it made me feel 'powerful' haha... entahla... She said maybe because everyone was sort of ok, she automatically assumed the role of the 'adik kecik and anak bongsu'.
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| Lontong with udang and sotong |
My Mom's role is as the "Pengetua sekolah" so she chats up strangers and gets information from them, which is something I cannot do because of my 'face' that usually gives strangers a feeling like they want to slap me. So she got the restaurant owner to tell us about a budget hostel nearby. Along Jalan Kubor was the ABC backpackers hostel, we went in, enquired, the private rooms were all fully booked. All they had was mixed hostels. My Mum said no. I zikr in my heart, Oh God please help us. I was feeling sorry for my Mum having to walk around so much despite her saying she was okay, bak kata Nani, "Mak has put on her overseas legs".
Then the nice receptionist told us to sit for a while, while she checked whether there were people who canceled their bookings. Few minutes later she called us to tell that there was a dorm available for 4 persons but there was already a girl in the dorm. Syukur, we took our keys, towels and blankets after paying for the room which only costs us 26 Singapore dollar per person. All we needed was a place to rest and refresh before Lion King starts at 2pm. The room was small with 2 double decker beds and lockers with no windows. But it had air conditioning and it was clean and most importantly the toilets and bathrooms were squeaky clean too, it was good enough for us as we only planned to stay for 1 night.
Fed and refreshed, we took a cab to Marina Bay Sands to claim our tickets. It was in a shopping mall so we had time to walk around and shop a bit before the show starts. Mak swiped her Visa for Nani and I and got us new shoes. Hehe. We wanted to go up to the Skypark viewing deck but at 20 Sing dollars per person, we'd rather spend it on food.
LION KING, Marina Bay Sands Theatre, 2pm.
What can I say? The first 5 minutes was already mind blowing! The whole show was spectacular in every way, the songs, the music, the costume, the props... EVERYTHING was magnificent. It was indeed an experience of a lifetime. I have been to many musicals but this was a totally different one of a kind thing. My favorite scene was when Mufasa's 'ghost' came back to tell Simba to assume his title as King. Awesome!!! I can't describe it, I'll put a Youtube link for you to preview but it is not the same as experiencing it live. To watch The Lion King musical was on my bucket list of things to do before I die and it was worth it.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?annotation_id=annotation_407178&feature=iv&user=DisneyOnBroadway#p/c/0/-pgZtzDj_7o
At times I almost fell asleep because of the tiredness and ordeal of the day before, but I was thinking Mak will surely scold me "Dah bayar mahal mahal pastu tido pulak!", so I forced my overdried contact lenses to stay awake. Turns out all 3 of us fell asleep a few times, termasuk Mak. I slept sungguh sungguh during the intermission.
The show ended around 5.30pm. We took a cab to Arab Street, to the Sultan Mosque for the evening prayers and had our dinner at Bushra Cafe along the same street where it is sort of like Jonker Street meets Central Market kinda feel, but the area has a lot of choices for Halal food. We shopped for textiles and shawls at the many textile shops along the street (somewhat like our Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman). Went back to the mosque for the night prayers and returned to the hostel to shower and sleep to get ready for the next day. Where to? Universal Studios!!
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