My USS experience

It was my dream to set foot in any theme park before. I haven't been to any theme park in the Philippines - Star City nor Enchanted Kingdom. Thankfully I was able to save and come to Singapore last August 2014 to visit my friends and experience Universal Studios Singapore (USS).

From the usual price of 74 SGD,  I booked early from their website and paid around 68 SGD only. The ticket came with a meal voucher worth 5 SGD. There's also another ticket named Universal Express Ticket which was quite expensive than the usual one but would save time from the long lines towards any ride. My childhood friend and classmate, Stephen, who is also working in Singapore, came with me to enjoy the day. To get there, we rode the circle line towards Harbourfront station and proceeded to level 3 of Vivo City to board the Sentosa Express.

By luck, we found Stephen's college friends also visiting the park and so we all went together. I was happy to have found new friends: Marvie and Anna Katrina.

It took us a while to go in because we had to wait for Stephen to buy his entrance ticket and we had to have photos with the Universal Globe.

We just can't contain our excitement! Marvie, Stephen and Anna having their jump shot before going in.

We then grabbed a map to navigate ourselves through the park. 

USS has a lot of theme zones. The first one was named Hollywood which was modeled after the real Hollywood Boulevard of the 1970s.

When we passed by the area, we found that characters from Mel's place were having a show. We watched for a few minutes before going further.

The next zone we went to was named New York. This area featured sidewalks and classic landmarks to mimic the famed city. We found a replica of the famous New York Public Library and also met special Sesame Street characters. The line was long and when it was almost our turn to have pictures with them, the staff said the characters have to go elsewhere (bad luck!). So we ended up with only this photo.

Sci-Fi City was the third zone we went into and was themed as what cities would look like in the future.

At the time of our visit Battlestar Galactica, which consists of a pair of duelling roller coasters, was closed for renovation. Not to be disappointed, we lined up for an hour to try the Transformers ride. It was so cool and fun! Actually it was my first 3D ride ever.

The fourth zone we entered was Ancient Egypt. It is based on the historical adaptation of Ancient Egypt during the 1930s Exploration. We saw a lot of obelisks and pyramids. This is also where we rode the Revenge of the Mummy Ride. We have to leave our things in the lockers before we were allowed to get into the ride. It was as exciting and fun as the transformers ride.

It was a Sunday when we visited the park. Imagine all the people and the queue!

Next up was the Lost World zone which consisted of Jurassic World and Waterworld. Jurassic World is where Stephen, Marvie and Anna rode the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. I did not want to get wet even though raincoats were required so I chose to just wait for them and look after our things.

While on our way to see the other sites in Jurassic World, we saw familiar faces. Our teacher, Madam Beth, and her whole family were enjoying USS too!

We then raced to catch the live action performance in Waterworld. We were so impressed with the stunts and pyrotechnics. The stage was in a very large pool and I could not count the times when actors fell in the water and climbed up again.

All I can say is that they were such great actors. The seats surrounding the pool were colored according to how wet the audience would be if they sat on it. We chose the farthest seats so we can remain dry. After the show, we were able to have photos with the cast.

The sixth zone we went to was named Far Far Away. It was inspired by the animated movie Shrek and showed how the fairy tale characters lived in daily life.

We saw Shrek but was not able to line up for photos. So, I took this paparazzi shot of him and Fiona.

The highlight of the zone was the 40-metre tall Far Far Away Castle where we saw Shrek 4-D adventure. It was a simple yet fun ride. I heard there is a new ride named Puss in Boots' Giant Journey. Hearing from my friends, it had a long queue and is an exciting roller coaster. I hope I can ride it too!

The last zone we went to was Madagascar. This was inspired by the animated film of the same name. We were able to ride the carousel named King Julien's Beach Party Go Round because it had a less queue!

and have the boat ride named Madagascar Crate Adventure.

Another memorable thing that happened on our USS adventure was when we saw our childhood and close friend Daryl :) We were able to have a few minutes of catching up.

It was a magical and enjoyable day. Although our legs were tired from all the walking and queuing, it did not hinder our memorable and busy day. Thank you for reading and til my next blog! :)

Other things to do while in Siem Reap

Being at the temples the whole day or maybe most of your stay in Siem Reap will result to temple burn out. Here are other fun things to do while in the province.

1. Hang out, eat and drink at Pub Street

The name of the street came form the numerous pubs, restaurants and shops that opened on it. This is where we headed for our meals and shopped for our souvenirs. At night, the streets were blocked from most of the traffic so people can walk freely. It is a lively place where most, if not all, tourists come to relax after a long day from the temples, to have fun and listen to music.

Huge adorable fella we saw while walking along the street. 

We dined in The Red Piano Restaurant. It was where Angeline Jolie also dined and hung out while filming in Cambodia. We arrived at the perfect timing of happy hour which meant that soft drinks were free.

I think what I ordered was Pork in Sweet and Sour Sauce. It tasted fine but I was not satisfied with the amount of rice with it. (hehehe)

We also tried the Tomb Raider cocktail which was initiated by Angelina. They have a promotion which states that every 10th sold is free and every 500th drink sold will win the cocktail (I guess this means it's free), a t-shirt and 100 USD cash. Well the night was still young at the time we were there so I think there weren't yet a lot of people ordering the drink.

2. Watch an Apsara Show

We didn't really plan to watch one also because we didn't know of such. The hotel staff offered this package with land transfers, buffet dinner and Apsara show. Since we didn't have any plans, we gladly accepted the offer. We were promptly picked up from our hotel and transferred to another hotel, The Amazon Angkor, where the event was. There were a lot of Chinese tourists who went ahead of us and were with us at the table. Drinks were not included in the meal but it was affordable at $1 for a liter of water. When we arrived a group of local musicians exhibiting their skills with their instruments were already on stage.

Later on while the guests were seated and eating, Apsara dancers showed their talents on stage. An Apsara is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. In these dances, the Apsara is played by a woman with a tight fitting traditional dress whose graceful gestures are codified to narrate classical myths or religious stories.

We were amazed at how talented these ladies were. Their fingers seem to bend backwards and even though they had difficult dance movements or they have to stand with only 1 foot on the ground, they were still graceful and nice to watch. By the way, the package for this whole event was 10 USD.

The food was ordinary but seeing this kind of dance for the first time was truly an experience.

3. ATV Ride through Cambodian rice fields

We planned way before that we'd try a friend's suggestion to ride an ATV. We emailed the company months prior and on the day, the staff promptly fetched us from our hotel.

It was the dry season when we went so the roads were really dusty. We drove through some quiet streets and rice fields...

and stopped for a spot to see the sunset.

I'm sure there are other ways to enjoy while in Siem Reap. Again with our short stay, this was the most we can do. Thank you for reading and 'til my next blog! :)

The Jungle-Temple of Ta Prohm

The second part of our Angkor Wat tour was concentrated at the temple of Ta Prohm. The construction of Ta Prohm as a Buddhist temple began in 1186 A.D. The design of the temple is not like the previous ones with steep stairs and elevations. This was a flat kind of temple with only a few stairs.

As per wikipedia, Ta Prohm was singled out because it was "one of the most imposing (temples) and the one which had best merged with the jungle, but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it." It is composed of a number of towers, corridors and closed courtyards.

Ta Prohm is extensively ruined but can still be explored. While we were there, we observed that some parts have been closed off from tourists as it was being restored.

Some corridors were impassable and risky of falling debris. Nevertheless, a lot of restoration are going around the temple to keep the safety of visitors and maintain the lost-in-the-temple/ jungle atmosphere. 

Another thing that made Ta Prohm famous is that this is where the movie of Angelina Jolie, Tomb Raider, was filmed. Our tour guide said that the producers of the film was able to gather permit to close the temple from visitors when they shot the film.

Tall and sturdy trees seem to rise up and swallow the temple walls. The roots of the tree below looks like that of a snake's body.

We had fun posing as secret agents looking for some criminals hiding on crevices and roots.

There were surely a lot of trees and roots around. 

Look how mighty the roots of these fig and silk-cotton trees impose themselves on the temple walls.

Visiting Ta Phrom last was a sweet conclusion of the whole tour. Going into the temples and its corridors felt as if discovering a temple in a jungle. It was a mesmerizing and wonderful experience. Thank you and 'til next blog!

Sunrise at the Angkor Wat Complex

We stayed at Bou Savy Guesthouse while we were in Siem Reap. We asked for them to arrange a whole day trip to Angkor Wat for us. They did arrange for us a driver and a tour guide but the trip would start at 8am. Since we wanted to see the sun rise in Angkor, we paid a bit more for the tour.

This was our kind driver who fetched us from the bus station the night before and woke up the next day at the early hour of 5am to send us to the temples.

A short drive from our hotel and we were asked to step down at the main entrance road to pay for the entrance fee. We bought a one day Angkor Pass worth 20 USD. There were also other choices such as 40USD for 3 days and 60 USD for 7 days.  Afterwhich, we drove again towards Angkor Wat. I was anticipating for the view but I can't see one single thing except for the road and the headlights. 

When we arrived at the entrance, I was surprised that there were already hundreds of people going in. They were guided by their tour guides with flashlights. After the guards checked our  entrance ticket/ ID, we just followed the crowd. Everybody was looking for a nice spot to view the sunrise from.

The wait was quite long. I wanted to take photos of the temple and its grounds without people but with the crowd, it was impossible. 

I went nearer the pond to try and take for my own a photo of the temples and its reflection. The sun was not yet up and there was a small breeze. Thus, this photo.

It was a long wait and I feared that we were waiting in vain. I persuaded Wincee to go a little bit closer to the towers so we can have our picture taking. This was already around 6am. 

From our place, we can only see this view. 

It seemed hopeless to see the sun because somewhat the clouds were covering it. We waited for a few minutes and almost gave up when we heard the roar of the crowd. People were stirring because the sun eventually came out. We ran towards our original spot and saw that the sun was now aligned to one of the towers. The day we came was one of the three days in a year that this happens.

Okay, time to get a better shot. 

People were frantic to get a lot of photos. The temple ground was wide and there were a lot of place to get nice angled photos. It was just difficult to get a good shot with the crowd. However, it was amazing to share the view with others. Managed to get cute shots.

Here's a short video of me and Wincee trying to say hello from Angkor Wat. I wasn't able to talk much. I was still mesmerized.

Ok, had to make a serious video now. Still having quite a loss of words though. Apologies.  :)

After the adrenaline-rush-producing sunrise, we now felt hungry. We went back to our driver who patiently waited for us at the gate and drove back to our hotel to have breakfast and freshen up.

Angkor Wat tour coming up next! Thank you for your time. :)