I?m BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!! All ready and prepped up for the new trimester [read:suffering]! But we can talk abt that later, because I know, oh yes I know you?ve been waiting with baited breath for The Silencers? Singapore Travelogs!! I went for the trip with my brother, Husni, whom I will gladly introduce in full detail later.

DAY 1 ? Ride
We waited for the S?pore bound train to depart from KL Sentral with a luggage of variety including a lesung set [a mortar grinder, each piece carved out of river stones] and a DVD player! Accompanying the player is, of course, some of my own DVDs, heh.

We got ourselves each a lower bunk bed on board. The bunks? dimensions are a big different than those of a coffin [it?s a bit higher] but it has a window, curtains and it?s surprisingly comfortable.

The train departed KL Sentral at about 10.45pm, 15 mins later than the scheduled time. Who cares? I?m gonna sleep anyway. Or so I thought.

Pit Stops
It amazes how slow the entire ride actually is. I knew it was an 8 hour trip, but I was expected a steady, constanstly moving ride. But nooooo? they just HAD to make stops AT EVERY POSSIBLE STOP!! Isi minyak ke apa ni?

My insomnia haunted me.

I was forced to stare at the darkness of night as the train makes it way through dense [I mean, DENSE] jungles, plantations and sometimes barren crop fields. It was an immense view of?nothing. It was pitch black and you can?t see anything either because it?s too fast, or too dark. No lights. Oh wait, there were lights, WHENEVER WE STOPPED AT A STATION.

3am and my eyes are [finally] getting weak. As I lay down for a good rest, the train shook violently. And we came to sudden stop. I looked out the window, saw a rusty station, weathered to the point of collapsing under its own weight. I was feeling extra depressed.

I tried to sleep. And sleep I did, only to wake up about an hour later. What did I woke up to?

ANOTHER STATION. We reached Johor Bahru, where some passengers are alighting the train, and some others getting onboard.

Rite of Passage
?Assalamualaikum dan Selamat Pagi tuan2 dan puan2. Sebentar lagi pegawai2 Kastam Diraja Malaysia akan menjalankan pemeriksaan imigresen diatas tren ini. DIharap anda menyediakan passport and dokumen2 perjalanan yang lain. Sekian terimakasih.?

Well isn?t that nice? I took out my passport and stuff, and waited with several huge yawns to keep me company.

After a while, a few pear-shaped figures in ultramarine uniforms walked into my car going ?Passport, passport. Sir, your passport please?. One of them was facing another fella when he took mine, gave it a quick look [without even looking at my face] and passed it back to me. Fuiyoh, kastam Malaysia cekap gila babi, tengok passport macam tengok iklan, I thought.

Once the ?inspection? was over, the train moved again, and I tried to catch up on my sleep.

DAY 2 ? Across the Bridge
Too bad, I can?t sleep because the sun rose in my face. A few minutes later we reached the Woodlands checkpoint in Singapore and alighted the get our luggage screened and travel documents processed by the S?pore customs.

Abt an hour later, we reached the Keppel Road Train Station, the final destination. With weary eyes, I looked around the platform for my eldest brother, Hilmi [he?s fondly known only as Abang to me]. We exchanged greetings and long-missed warm hugs before heading to a mamak for breakfast. Being the hungry sods that we became, Husni and I digged eagerly into our greasy crispy yummy roti canai, 2 for each us.

Upon stepping out of the old, dying building that is the Keppel Road Station, we took our first few steps into the ?real? Singapore. No cigarette butts on the road. Not a single one. Wow. We then took a taxi to Abang?s place.

Ayah was right when he said ‘Federal Malayan SLOW Railway’

In His Own Utopia
Abang currently lives in an apartment of a Fraser Place Serviced Residences. When I stepped inside, it was the epitome of the urban male?s dream. Fully furnished unit with cable TV, DVD Player, 4.1 BOSE speakers, Radio/Audio CD player and a T1 connection [too bad the machine is an ancient 267Mhz pc].

A serviced residence simply means there will be maids cleaning up your unit on a daily basis, bringing in fresh towels and all the stuff you get in 5-star hotels. The unit even comes with a kitchen complete with a 4-top stove, microwave oven and washing machine! Who?s paying for all that? Shell Singapore. Guess it really does pay to ace a Master?s Degree.

Dream on, kid. Dream on.

Got into the room Abang prepared for us, and I immediately fell into [a much needed] slumber. Feather pillows, a thick quilt and room temperature set to 25 degrees. In a word? Bliss.

I was awakened by the call of food. If you?re close to me it?s easy to know why.

Abang was kind enough to spend the day with us, giving us nice heads up as to what to expect from S?pore. A quick briefing on navigational and transport matters was just what Husni and I need, being the efficient squad of [tourist] men that we are [this is where I have an evil laugh with a pinky finger between my lips].

First stop, Orchard Road, the Singaporean Trafalgar Square. Full of fancy shopping malls and expensive diners. And it?s amazingly shaded with tall mature trees. An amazing sight for such a metropolis. We headed to the Tourism Centre to pickup brochures and maps.

Just lovely

Took the stuff we needed and we got on the MRT to HarbourFront and went for a ride on the cablecar to Sentosa Island, took a few shots, and I played with an albino python for a while before everyone agreed on hunger.

“No, I’m not tasty.”

Now THESE are tasty. Those little black stuff on the plate are ground beef, they’re spicy and crispy.Yumm.

We then went for a nice filling lunch at Singapore Zam Zam restaurant, where we gobbled up a plate of nasi briyani kambing, murtabak ayam and murtabak daging. The roti was crisp, yummy and not so greasy while the filling was just?fuiyooohhhh. Just beside the restaurant we saw something interesting?

The irony. Cherish every single moment of it.

And then I felt happy. I?m not happy if I?m hungry.

The timing was just perfect for Zohor prayers and the Sultan Mosque was conveniently across the street. The place is amazingly beautiful [not to mention clean] and we were lucky enough to join the jemaah.

We went for a stroll around Bugis and we took a bus home to Fraser Place. On the way back, we saw the famous G-Max Reverse Bungy. Chilled for a while before we went down for gym/swim. After the swim/gym, we went for a steam bath. My first time. Felt like a virgin, lol.

The Thrill that Dwarfed the Other Thrills.
The highlight of the night. I insisted on riding the G-Max. Just to show you how high it is?

Fear.

Just watching people get shot from the ground made my heart pound wildly. And to actually sit on that monster felt like my chest was going to burst open. My brothers aren?t riding simply because they chickened out. I was left, but they said I can?t ride alone. The cage needs at least 2 people. Husni wasn?t so crazy about the idea, at first. But seeing my eagerness, he lovingly gave in and joined me for the ride.

We were strapped firm, given a light scare with some smoke,?

?How did I EVER let you talk me into doing this stupid thing!??
? Husni?s last words after a quick instinctive prayer.

?and in about 5 seconds we were about 60 metres in the air, after being shot at speeds about 200km/h, and at the same tumbling and rolling vertically, bending over 360 degrees back and forth at G-Force 5 [5 times the force of gravity]. I yelled my lungs out. Really. I never screamed that much, that loud, EVER in my whole life. It left my limbs numb, and heart pounding as if my sternum would break apart. It?s small treat for me to celebrate my belated birthday and good finals result. That was good. [I know, I suck at describing thrills in words]

After that monster ride, we went for satay at Clarke Quay?s [fyi, ?Quay? is pronounced as ?Key?] Satay Club. Again, the hygiene amazes me. They don?t have this gooey water flowing around, because they use dispoable dishes and cutlery. Pack pack throw. Go go kiasu. No need to wash nothing but cooking utensils, and that?s only after business hours.

After I felt happy again, we went home to watch the VCD that the G-Max staff kindly recorded and sold to us. Twas fun. Went to sleep in satisfaction.

End of day one.

[due to busy-ness and malasness, I will upload later days on, well, later days, hahaaha]