As promised, I'll start with the train journey...
So we boarded the train at KL, making our way to the premium sector. From what I was told, you could either sit upright all night in a standard chair, or camp out in the communal bunks... or pay more for the luxury of staying in your own private (double bunk) cabin - Uncle organised for us to have the last option! So... here you go: a view of some of the bunks, and the ensuite toilet. A summary: toilets on a moving train is much the same as one on a plane. Just with a few more bumps...
So I slept for much of the journey: snapped a few pics in and around KL at night, then slept for a LONG while. Next thing I knew... we had stopped at Jahore Baru Station: the 'border town' and last stop in Malaysia. Arrival there was at 0550, with a Malay Immigration officer walking up and down along the train, checking passports and collecting departure cards.
After a short wait, we crossed over the bridge connecting to Singapore, sliding into Woodlands Station shortly at 0620. Alighting into an early morning fog, and a VERY COLD atmosphere (my lenses all immediately fogged up: glasses, camera, and camera viewfinder too!), we (briskly) heading into the terminal, crossing Immigration and Customs - needed to keep reminding myself that we were "International Rail Travellers".
Heading out of the other end of the terminal, we came out... into MUGGINESS! They say so much about the humidity in Singapore... and it's no joke: walking out of the air-conditioned terminal, a solid blast of humidity hit me - much like a sauna, but not as toxically hot. A short taxi to Woodlands Interchange (with quite a number of motorbikes on the road at 6.30am), then caught the MRT on the NS line to Somerset. Feels just like another subway train, just like the MTR in HK =)
Coming out of station, we didn't know where to go! Crawling up to street level, we walked out to Orchard Road... and then we were stuck. Uncle knew that it should be somewhere nearby... but we didn't have a map. Asking a passerby who kindly pointed us down the other end of Orchard St, we managed to find the right place 15 minutes later: The Holiday Inn, Parkview. The management was very efficient: we were able to check in with the rooms already waiting for us within 30 minutes of arrival. So: went up, dumped our luggage, then refreshed and relaxed for an hour - recovering from the rigours of the aforementioned train ride.
At 9.15, we left the hotel to look for a decent breakfast (anything better than the cold rice or noodles and that bun...) - and spent the next hour eating Indian food in a Halal eatery just outside: 4 mugs of Teh Tarik alongside a Roti John (savoury mini-pizza with weird sauces), Roti Canai, and a banana patik (think pancake/crepe).
Time for the day to begin! First stop: Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. We caught a direct train to Harbourside, then followed the signs through the plaza up to the Sentsa Express Monorail.
Next stop: Universal Studios, Singapore. Simply: think of it a cross of Disneyland with Movie World. I won't go too much into this: needless to say, my brother and I spent the next 7 hours on most of the roller coasters, choosing to come back and have a second go at a few of them.
'twas about 6pm when we finally got bored enough to head out of USS. Candylicious was the first place we saw: situated right outside the USS entrance/exit, it was wall-to-wall and floor-to-roof full of chocolate and other snacks: Hersheys especially.
Next stop was a place to sit down and relax, so we got a hot coffee and chocolate from "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf": let's just say our feet were VERY tired. So after sitting around for a good half hour, I insisted that we head up to the Imbian Lookout, to get a short trip up and around the top of Sentosa Island. It's a pity that I only have 2 days in Singapore, as Sentosa PlayPass is something worthwhile to look into: apart from USS, Sentosa does offer a number of other activities such as a Luge route, a Sky Tower, Bushwalk, amongst other things. However... since it was 7pm, there was no time to play.
After thoroughly enjoying myself, we took the monorail from Stop 3: Imbian Station, and headed over to the far end of the network, getting a few snaps of the views at Sentosa Beach Station, remaining on the car until it took us back to VivoCity.
My brother and I quickly met up with Uncle and Auntie (who enjoyed a 7-hour session free of two young adults), we took a taxi to Thompson St (at the Novena Gardens district) for dinner. Cheekily, I used my iPad and the 'ieat Hawker' app to help point the cabbie to the right place: Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice. Two plates of veggies, MSG soup, 3 bowls of chicken rice, full and a very-flavoured steamed Hainan chicken filled up us 4, for less than S$50 (A$35). End of my first day in Singapore: we experimented and took a bus back to Orchard St, and back to the hotel.
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