South East Asia Trip 2013

South East Asia Trip

This time around our summer vacation had a core focus: take the kids through the International Theme Parks coupled with the South East Asian countries experience.
I shall try and adopt a different summary point approach this time since there are so many tips to share from our experience.
My son aged 10.5 yrs and daughter nearing 7 was a very opportune time to have them get the maximum exposure in terms of the rides across the various Theme Parks we visited.
In most of the cases the core parameter is having 122 cm height to be eligible to ride most of the roller coaster rides.

As always planning began quite a few months back. The first thing to secure was air tickets. We got a good deal from Air Indigo for a return fare of 20K INR from Pune to Singapore (via Chennai).
We stayed at my COEP classmate's place in Singapore and planned our trip with her place as the base for the 12-day trip.

We then purchased return tickets from Singapore to Hong Kong for 11K INR on tigerairways.com (this is an upcoming low cost carrier service based out of Singapore).
One key thing to plan such a family trip to see various Theme Parks by timing the visit on Weekdays and avoid the Weekend crazy ride lines.
With both these bookings in place a solid 2 months in advance, the rest of the nitty gritty details emerged in the coming weeks.

- It is better to have e-Visa done through your friends for Singapore since it costs 30SGD per person whereas doing the same through agents in India would end up costing about 2K per person. Make sure to apply for Multi-entry visa since we visited 3 countries and had multiple entry-exits via Singapore. Confirmed return ticket is must for e-Visa application alongwith scanned copies of your passport and soft copy of the right sized photos. One can apply for the e-Visa only 1 month in advance of the trip.
- Once the Singapore e-Visa was received by us, we could apply for the Malaysian Visa from India (costed us 2K per person and we did it through Guardian Travels, the only official agent from Pune).
- In case of Hong Kong, one gets a free Visa on arrival for Indian citizens who are visiting HK for less than 14 days.
- We had planned to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Singapore via Overnight Express Train. Please ensure that this booking is done at least 3 weeks in advance since there are limited seats for 2nd class (ADNS) on the KTMB website. We faced issue on their site using our Indian Bank Credit Cards, so I had to request my Singapore friend to do it on our behalf. This is important to plan in advance especially when travelling with family.
- We had no hotel to book in S'Pore or Malaysia. We booked the hotel in HK at the centre of the tourist downtown place Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) called Maple Leaf Guest House located on the 12th floor of ChungKing Mansion right outside TST MTR Station. 3 nights/ 4 days costed us 1800 HKD with 10% service tax [in cash, credit card is charged 3% extra].
- Legoland is located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia just across the Singapore border. This is a new Theme Park that is just 6-7 month old and is closed every Wed. 7-day advance tickets are sold online for 10% discount.
- We also purchased tickets to Universal Studios, Songs of the Sea (Sentosa Island) Show and Jurong Bird Park/Night Safari Theme Park tickets in advance online from India (payment by MasterCard Credit Cards gives 15% discount)
- We had carried a whole lot of dry food stuff from Pune that helped us to have a quick bite at all sight seeing places whenever the kids felt hungry.
- At least 2-3 umbrellas are a must carry to Singapore/HK at any time of the year.

Day 1 (5-May Sunday):
- We had booked Wings Radio for both onward and return drop to Pune airport. The Cab arrived 30 min before our planned time. Our flight was at 1:45 PM and though it took off about 20 min late, the lady pilot manning the Air Indigo flight made up for the lost time in the air and a smooth landing took us to Chennai Domestic airport at 3:45 PM.
- Our flight from Chennai to Singapore was at 10PM. Now the domestic terminal at Chennai has been redeveloped into a large state-of-the-art airport and the Indigo staff advised us to take rest here as compared to the old International terminal. The decision to carry my tablet was a good one that kept the kids busy at all waiting zones.
- there is a courtesy shuttle bus from Domestic to International terminal but there are not adequate boards/directions to help u figure out where to stand outside the domestic terminal exit. Eventually we figured this out and went to the International terminal after about 2.5 hrs rest.
- We then opted to get inside the Visitor Area of the International Terminal and relaxed over there for the rest of the time before check-in time (about 7 PM IST)
- Our flight departed on-time from Chennai and we arrived at Changi International Airport, Singapore at 5 AM local time.

Day 2 (6-May Monday):
- The kids slept well on the plane and were anyways excited for this trip so they woke up and we all refreshed at the airport.
- From there we walked over to the CIA Airport MRT Station and purchased the Magnetic EZCards (they deduct 5SGD for each card but then give you discount on the base fare with each ride). We also picked up the latest Singapore Map freely available for all tourists, this was all we needed for our entire duration of stay in this clean and efficient city/country.
- We then spent the next 1.5 hours in transit admiring the Singapore Train System while travelling in clean AC trains with 3 changeovers (1 at Tanah Merah, 2nd at Paya Lebar and 3rd at Bishan). We reached the Admiralty MRT Station at around 7 AM and from there it was a short 5 min walk to my friend's place at Woodlands.
- After the first round of morning chitchat with the family over a sumptuos Kanda Poha breakfast, we understood the travel plan from my friend and left her home.
- All the MRT Stations in Singapore have a corresponding Bus Terminus called as InterChange. So once you know what Bus Route to take to reach your destination, it is very easy to locate the Interchange boarding point. The EZCards work across all modes of public transport so you dont have to buy tickets each and every time.
- We reached Jurong Bird Park at around noon time (Jurong East MRT Stn + Bus#194 at Boon Lay Interchange) and the entire Park was covered by around 6 PM. We then boarded the bus back to the Jurong East Station, took the NS Red Line to Choa Chu Kang station. We had our late lunch+early dinner at Subway and then boarded the Interchange bus#927  to Night Safari Park.
- Though there were mixed reviews of the Night Safari Park, we realized that doing both Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari on Day 1 after an overnight air journey was a little overwhelming for everyone, especially the kids. Atharva dozed off on the Night Safari Tram Ride and we had a hard time to keep him awake and watch the late evening Night Animals Show. I would say that one can skip this Theme Park and opt for the River Cruise or some other attraction unless you have never been to other zoos. Eventually we exited the Park at around 10PM and took a taxi directly to Woodlands. We all slept like a log as soon as we hit the bed.

Day 3 (7-May Tuesday):
- We had our breakfast, packed a fast lunch plus snacks and started at 8:30 AM from Admiralty Station, reached the HarbourFront Station after 2 train changes on time and took the Bus to Universal Studios @ Sentosa to reach the park bang on time at 10 AM.
- If possible carry plastic ponchos with you to Universal since you get drenched in the Jurassic Park ride. People spent many more dollars to get partially dry after the ride in the drying hot air stations if you dont wear a poncho in the first place.
- The wait times at most of the rides was not beyond 5-10 min. The Transformer Ride was the best experience of them all and the Water World Show is a true entertainer (ponchos come handy here too)
- It rained heavily towards 5PM and our umbrellas plus ponchos helped us a lot. By that time we had covered the entire park and most of the rides (the Red and Blue Roller Coaster were avoided due to the evening showers).
- After this we boarded the Sentosa Island monorail to reach the Beach Station. We had food at the McDonalds near the entrance and just when we about to enter the Show Gate, it started drizzling. However, it looks like this is normal in the tropical zone and the Show staff handed out ponchos to all that had tickets and the show started on time right there in the rains.
- The pyrotechnic laser show on a huge panoramic film  of water was a truly great musical experience for all of us.
- We then had dinner at a delicous 'Soups + Entrees' Joint at the mall on Harbour Front MRT Station. The Minestrone Soup here reminded us of Olive Garden Restaurants in the Bay Area, CA, USA.
- We retraced our Bus + Train journey back to base for a well deserved sleep.

Day 4 (8-May Wednesday):
- This was a planned go-easy day in the trip
- We woke up late, had a brunch and then started at noon.
- We reached the Bay Front MRT Station on the Circle line and crossed through the walkway tunnel to the Dragonfly bridge.
- Crossing this bridge opens up a huge Vista before your eyes. On the eastern side is the magnificient Gardens By the Bay, on the north is the Singapore Flyer at Promenade and on the west from where you came is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Convention Centre. We took the views in while sipping the fruit ice drinks we purchased right outside the MRT station.
- We then toured the many themed gardens in the Gardens By The Bay South Front area and got a lot of information of the Singapore trade history from the early British era.
- We skipped going inside the Flower Dome which was housing about 1200 varieties of tulips since there is simply so much to see in the Heritage Gardens itself.
- It started drizzling in the late afternoon and our ponchos from yesterday came handy over here as well.
- We then crossed over the Dragonfly bridge and right through the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre admiring the fine dining lounge about 20 storeys below us and onwards the kilometer long escalator to come down to the deck level. This entire stretch is filled with luxury goods shops like Louis Vuittons and Ferraris of the world. At the end the way opens up onto the Marina Bay Sands water front area. We took in the Skyscraper views and munched on some snacks and played for some time. Across the water front is the iconic Merlion Park and to our North was the Esplanade floating deck. We skipped our plans to go to either of these 2 places since it started drizzling a bit again.
- We then took the MRT to the Clarke Quay Station and from there walked about a kilometer to spend some time near the Boat Quay Bridge. We then walked southwards to eventually have dinner at a mall - People's Park Centre near Chinatown MRT. The fruit ice desert after Noodles was really refreshing and we tried many flavors like Guava, Grapefruit, MuskMelon etc.
- After reaching back to base home, we packed our bags (1 big sack and the other regular one) for our next 2 days in Malaysia.

Day 5 (9-May Thursday):
- We took the Bus# 913 to reach the Woodlands Border Station and completed the Immigration formalities before getting over the side to Johor Bahru border checkpost.
- After completing entry checks and Immigration, we again boarded the Bus# 950 from Singapore to the JB Sentral Station. However, we had some trouble to figure out where to get down and 2 Indian ladies tried to help us. they were on their way to MY from Singapore for shopping and they probably misguided us in their excitement. Eventually we figured out that we had got down one stop before the JB Sentral Main Bus Terminus.
- There is a separate bus service run by Causeway Link from JB Sentral to Legoland Malaysia. Since we missed locating where this was, we eventually decided to hire a cab and he took us after some bargaining to Legoland in 30 MR.
- Legoland is located about 30 km to the west of Johor Bahru City.
- We reached Legoland just when the Park opened and took a day locker for 20 MR and kept our big bag there for entire day.
- Since it was a week day, there was average crowd size and that made our experience truly pleasant. It was a bright and hot sunny day.
- The Miniland at the centre of the park was the best attraction of all.
- The Taj Mahal, the Malaysian Parliamentary Buildings of Putraya, Petronas and Menara Tower, Angkor Vat of Vietnam, the temple of Thailand and other South East Asian attractions were done using Lego blocks to scale of 1:20 or 1:15 to perfection.
- Atharva was really happy with the Ninjago Lego Kit we purchased and drove the Kids Car for getting a Legoland Driving School License twice.
- The Parl closed at 6PM and we figured out our way to JB Sentral with the bus that we missed in the morning. We got an "Indian" experience while boarding the bus since all those who were waiting at the boarding point rushed towards the bus even before it stopped. We also had to earn our seats in this melee and eventually got them. It costed only 4 MR for this journey, but we could catch a quick powernap since it took us about 45 min to reach JB Sentral. We then figured out a open air restaurant right at doorstep of the JB Sentral Train Station Entrance. To our delight this joint had all Desi and Tamil/ Indian Muslims running the show and we had some tasty Biryani and Masala "Thosai" and Uttapam here. Once we were full from this early dinner, we decided to have a look around the Station which is located right in the heart of the city. We eventually found a South Indian Murugan Temple and had a quick darshan inside. After coming back to the Train Station , we relaxed in the waiting area before boarding the Overnight S24 Train from JB Sentral to KL Sentral. The 2nd Class Sleeper train was cozy and they provided comfy bedsheets and covers plus pillows. We slept comfortably and Atharva settled down to build his new Lego Kit the very same night with a wide smile on his face...

Day 6 (10-May Friday):
- The Overnight Express Train reached almost 1 hr late, which was good for us to get more sleep.
- The Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station is a grand state-of-the-art building with all types of infrastructural facilities for a global traveller. We had a quick refresh and stored the bigger travel bag at the Station Locker for 10 MR (charge is valid till midnight of each day).
- There is a 24 hrs McDonalds and the kids were happy to get a pancake + hash browns breakfast.
- Public Travel on the KL Sentral Train System is relatively cheaper and there are different counters for the different lines of travel within the city
- Our first destination was to see the magnificient Batu Caves on the KTM Komuter Line, it costed us just 3 MR for all four for a one-way ride.
- Beware of the notorious monkeys at Batu Caves and make sure to keep all the food items stashed away inside your sack and carry it close to you.
- One of the brave monkeys came back from behind and snatched the water bottle from my sack, however, I mustered the courage to snatch it back from the monkey and climbed the stairs faster.
- There are 272 steps to reach the mouth of the Limestone Caves and the roof of the Caves must be holding a huge number of cave bats. The standing statue of Lord Kartik is huge and one can see this from KL City through normal binoculars.
- After coming back to KL Sentral Station, we decided to head out to the next destination and figure out lunch options near the Petronas Towers. We boarded the Rapit LRT line and got down at KLCC Suria Mall Basement Station.
- From here we went to the 4th floor Food Mall Arena. It was packed due to the Office time lunch hour and we had a really hard time to get even a shared table to sit. The kids were very co-operative and we split up and sat eherever possible to gulp down the soupy noodles we got.
- After we took a stroll in the Public Gardens (KLCC Park) outside KLCC and admired the grand views of the Petronas Towers in the backdrop.
- We then inquired and took a 30-min walking trip from the Convention Centre to a place called Chulan Towers next to the Pavilion to meet my Customer teammates.
- After exchanging pleasantries and some team photos with the Towers in the backdrop, we came back to the Main Road and decided to find some place for a quick bite.
- However, we had to walk quite some distance to get to a convinience shop and we eventually ended up walking all the way to the KL Menara Tower.
- The ticket to the Menara Towers is cheaper than Petronas Ride and more importantly it gives you a better 360 deg view of entire city including the Petronas Towers.
- We had planned it that way so that we can see the city skyline both just before and after sunset.
- After spending a reasonable relaxing time on the Menara Towers, we took a taxi to China Town near Pasar Seni for 10 MR.
- Chinatown has a whole range of shops and we treated ourselves to some fresh cut fruit as well as Mango Ice Gola.
- This is the best place for shopping and we got some good bargains on Disney branded clothes and other small toys/earrings etc
- After shopping to our hearts content we reached the other end of Chinatown to board the LRT back to KL Sentral Station
- Once we got back to KL Sentral Station, we explored the big mall next to KL Sentral Station and treated ourselves to some delicious Chocolate Crepes and Fruit Ice drinks.
- Finally we collected our bag from the locker and had dinner at Subway at the Train Station and then boarded the midnight train from KL Sentral to Woodlands, Singapore.

Day 7 (11-May Saturday):
- After a sound sleep on the Overnight Express Train, we arrived at about 7:30 AM at the Singapore Woodlands Train Station. After doing the Immigration honors, we boarded the Public Bus #913 that took us directly to Woodlands Block#5.
- This was the relax day and we had a great morning breakfast with my friend's family at leisure to gossip over many things and the kids too enjoyed a lot of toy-sharing and play-time.
- We then took the train and went to see the Singapore Science Discovery Musuem.
- The highlight of the day was this IMAX Dome movie - "Flight of  the Butterflies", a must-see experience of the annual migration of these giant butterflies all the way from Canada to Mexico.
- The other highlight was The Water Works Play Area inside the Discovery Centre where all kids had a blast.
- Eventually we returned back to base station, packed up all our stuff and bid good bye post dinner to my friend and her family.
- We reached Changi Airport at almost midnight and i then dropped one of the big size luggage bags in the overnight baggage counter at Changi Airport. It stayed there for 3+ days and costed me only about 17 SGD in total. We then camped for a short nap near the Arrivals Section of Tiger Airways.

Day 8 (12-May Sunday):
- My alarm rang at around 4:30 AM, we woke up, had a quick refresh and checked in at the Tiger Airways Counter at Singapore Airport for our flight to Hong Kong.
- Our flight was at 6 AM and  we had a good sleep on the 4-hr flight to Hong Kong.
- The Visa-on-Arrival for Indian Citizens staying less than 14 days was a smooth process and we came out of the baggage claim area with our stuff in 30 min.
- The credit for our entire HK trip plannning goes to one really detailed blog site :
http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=532044 titled "THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HONG KONG"
- You probably need NOTHING else for HK Trip planning in it's entirety.
- We purchased tickets for Disneyland as well as OceanPark at the Counter No. T4 at the HK Airport from China Travel Services Counter. The only mistake we made was to not purchase tickets to Ngong Ping where we were headed. We thought that since there was no discount we can buy it there directly but forgot that this was a Sunday.
- We then purchased the Octopus Cards for all 4 of us, which is the best and cheapest way to travel in HK.
- We took the S1 Bus from HK Airport S24 to go to the Tung-Chung MRT Station from where the Cable-Car ride to Ngong-Ping is booked.
- There were long lines here due to the Weekend and it took us almost an hour in the line before purchasing the tickets.
- The Cable Car ride to see the Giant Buddha was a picturesque journey across the HK Bay to the Lantau Islands and we could spot some nerdy tourists opting to climb their way across the green steep incline to reach the final summit.
- We relaxed outside the Po Lin Monastery and then saw the Giant Buddha - the tallest open air bronze statue in the world.
- We took the Bus#23 from the Public Bus Interchange back to Tung Chung MTR Station.
- At the mall near this station, we treated ourselves to some fresh bakery items and then took the MTR to reach TST Station.
- It took us some time to figure out the ChungKing Mansion Building which looks like a shady area. Do not get frustated since there are a lot more touts eyeing for grabbing tourists and taking them to one of the many hostels in this building. We had done our research in advance and had an advance booking to Maple Leaf Guest House which has decent rooms for family of 4. The owner's sister came downstairs and greeted us and took us upstairs.
- Most of these hostels charge extra for Credit Card payments and do not prefer them, she assisted me to a nearby ATM of Bank of China and I was able to withdraw from my ICICI Bank Account in HKD at a very competitive rate. I suggest that it is better to not exchange HKD or very little amount at HK Airport and do the rest drectly from ATMs.
- we had dinner at an Italian Restaurant  and were served by an Indian Hotel Management Student who came all the way from Konkan. He was delighted to talk to us in Marathi.

Day 9 (13-May Monday)
- There is a separate MTR line to go to Disneyland, HK and the interiors of this train increase the excitement of all kids to reach the Mecca of Theme Park Entertainment.
- The exteriors of Disneyland as well as the exhibits are all very much like the ones in California ( we had been to California Theme Parks in 2004 previously) and all of us had a grand time throughout the day.
- The kids had a memorable afternoon enjoying the Disney Parade as well as meeting Goofy, Pluto, Mickey as well as Minnie Mouse. Tanvi was full of glee on meeting Minnie and offering her a balloon flower that was made exclusively for her by a Disney soldier parading on Main Street.
- The highlight of this place for me was the "Its a Small World " ride in FantasyLand as well as the "Festival of the Lion King" pyrotechnic show.
- Towards the end of the afternoon, there came lashing downpours and a 20-min thunderstorm. Our umbrellas and ponchos were very useful as well as all the snacks we had carried with us.
- We reached back to the hotel tired, but we did stop by the Grocery Market in the Mall opposite the hotel to buy bread, milk and other stuff. The hostel has a common refridgerator and it was very useful.

Day 10 (14-May Tuesday)
- After the morning breakfast, we took the MTR Station to Admiralty on the Kowloon and from there the Bus 629 to Ocean Park.
- In most of the other Theme Parks, the security check used to allow some limited snacks for kids inside. However at Ocean Park they stopped us as well as many other such families.
- Rather than trashing the food, we had quite a bit outside the entrance and then eventually entered the Park.
- None of us had a clue that at the end of the day, we would have enjoyed at least 15+ rides as well as the many grand exhibits showing different forms of sea life, an amazing rainforest , a truly grand 3-storey aquarium and a water front laser show to top it all.
- Manisha was the only one to brave the ride called "The FLASH" which is an arm that turns you 360 deg in rotating churn.
- Atharva was happy to get a nickel souvenier of Ocean Park to add to his collection.
- After returning back to TST and dinner at McDonalds, we ventured to the Bay Front and spent time till midnight at the Avenue of Stars.

Day 11 (15-May Wednesday)
- The first half of the day was planned for shopping at the MongKong Markets. We all were in for a surprise. The tourists next door to our room were probably smoking inside the room and the smoke alarm went off and in about 30 sec the shrill of the alarm was unbearable. All of us left our rooms and came downstairs to the ground floor and called the owner.
- The owner's sister came in about 10 min and we all treaded our way back upstairs and eventually she found the main switch to turn it off. During this time, none of the other floor guests bothered to help us.
- We then got ready and checked out in the morning and kept all the luggage at the hostel front desk with the owner.
- After a lot of window shopping we realised that Malaysia is a best place for value for money deals and there was not much different to buy besides the magnets, dolls and other souveniers.
- We had lunch at a famous Italian Chain and returned back to  the hotel. we had already
- There is a direct double-decker bus from TST to the Airport and we had a good visual treat of the amazing port infrastructure and large trawlers/ container terminals enroute to the Airport.
- The took the Tiger Airways Flight from HK to Singapore Airport and reached at almost midnight.
- I then paid 16SGD to procure the big bag from the Changi Airport Left Luggage Counter for 4 days.

Day 12 (16-May Thursday)
- We then spent time at the Terminal 2 admiring the Orchid Garden and the Crayons/ Art Activity kept the kids engrossed for quite some time.
- Our Indigo Flight was at 5:50 AM in the morning and we eventually reached back to Pune via Chennai at around 1:30 PM.

All in all, a great South East Asia trip with tons of memories to last for a long time.