THE UNDERESTIMATE GOES OVERSEA: SINGAPORE & UNIVERSAL STUDIO SINGAPORE (USS)

Assalamualaikun wbt & Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha.

Just one week after the trip to Bukit Kutu, the Underestimate went oversea for the 1st time (after the trip to Bandung in July was cancelled due to undisclosed reasons). This time, we went to Singapore for 2 days from 20th-21st October 2012. For this trip, there 13 of us i.e. Azmir, Dilla, Shat, Erma, Syaff, Syafiq, Azmal, Taher, Fatin, Nisa, Eeta, Eeta's husband and me. For this trip, the main agenda was the trip to USS on the 2nd day.

 USS Tickets ready for the Underestimate

We departed from Melaka on the 20th morning using 3 cars(excluding Eeta's car). Our planning was to reach Johor Bahru (JB) in afternoon and to check in at the hotel in JB first before entering Singapore. Once we reached JB, we had our lunch first and then checked in at Citrus hotel just right beside JB City Square.

Basically, our agenda for 2 days are as follows:

1st Day: 20th October 2012:

Having our lunch once we reached JB

After checking in at Citrus hotel we departed to Singapore through CIQJB using bus to Woodlands. From Woodlands we took another bus to nearest MRT station to got to Marina Bay.

 Waiting for the bus to MRT station

  EZLink for everybody

 At MRT Station

 Our destination...Marina Bay

 Our main activity was taking pictures...

 Merlion at the back...planned to go there, but...

 Faster2!...it's going to rain

 You can see the black cloud behind

 Inside the Marina Bay Sands...after the rain starts pouring down

Muka2 lapar...where to eat? Next destination is Bugis

 Briyani kambing at Bugis

 Murtabak Singapore...this is nice...shall repeat

 At Bugis Street...like Petaling Street in KL where we can get a lot of souvenir items at affordable price

 After shopping at Bugis Street...

After eating shopping at Bugis, we felt tired enough and should take some rest for tomorrow's main event i.e. USS. So, we headed back to JB for a night stay there.

2nd day: 21st Oct 2012

 Early in the morning at the hotel...excited faces

 Breakfast at Mamak next to the hotel

 We took MRT to Sentosa island...the nearest station is Harbour front..to get here we need to change train twice

 Welcome to Sentosa Island, Singapore

 Infront of the entrance of USS

 At the entrance of USS

 Before entering...

 Taking picture inside the USS

 Nice background..

 Ready for Transformers Ride...one of the best and most interesting ride...should not miss it

 Had to queue for about 30-45minutes before the Transformers ride...but worth it

 The outdoor roller coster...2 types i.e. Human & Cylon

 Human

 Cylon...

 Some of the attractions

 Far Far Way...SHREK 4D movie inside...

 Another attraction...

 Got roller coster ride inside...ride in the dark

 Kids will love it...

 At Madagascar...suitable for kids as well

 Finally...shopping is a must...just get ready with the dollar

Basically, I'm very happy with this trip because The Underestimate had gone oversea. Since many of us has already had a passport now, we can plan for more and more oversea trip...isn't it?...hahahaha. We can simply repeat Singapore anytime because there are still many places in Singapore that we did not go due to shortage of time and due to the rain in the first day. Out time at USS was also a bit disturbed to the rain.

However, the trip to USS was really wonderful. We did enjoy all the rides and entertainments that we manage to catch. But still, there are plenty of places that we didn't go e.g. Water World and etc. The place itself is so interesting and attractive that every inch inside it worth to be photographed. We need 100% energy in order to fully enjoy the visit there. Please arrive there earlier before it's open as every minute is so priceless there event hough during our visit there, there were not so many visitors. Otherwise we'll waste a lot of our time queuing for our turn for each game or ride.

Anyway, Congratulation to The Underestimate!

BUKIT KUTU EXPEDITION

Assalamualaikum wbt and Salam Sejahtera

Our next project is to Bukit Kutu, 1,050m from sea level. Without proper planning and preparation, we decided to conquer Bukit Kutu on 12th to 14th October 2012. Bukit Kutu a.k.a. Treacher's Hill is near to Kuala Kubu Baru and on the way to Fraser's Hill. There used to be a colonial bungalow up there until the Japanese bombed the area during the war which left some remnants of the bungalow structure such as the chimney, the stairs and so on.

For this trip, The Underestimates combined with Tera Conqueror (from Infineon Melaka). There are 10 of us i.e. Azmir, Dilla, Fatin, Nadia, Neesa, myself and Syafiq, Syafiq 2, Kimi and Pat from Tera Conqueror.

In  2010, The Underestimate went to Pine Tree Hill and Twin Peak at Fraser's Hill and this time the agenda was almost the same. We departed from Melaka at about 11++ pm on the 12th of Oct after the match between Kelantan vs Selangor. there were 2 cars from Melaka and we headed to Kuala Lumpur to fetch Nadia and Neesa. Altogether, 3 cars were used for this trip.

We stopped at R&R Sungai Buloh for some rest and sleep (unfortunetely we couldn't really get our sleep) until Subuh prayer. After Subuh, we prepared ourselves to continue our journey to Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB). We had our breakfast at KKB.

 Breakfast at the same place as in 2010...

After breakfast we started our journey to Bukit Kutu. After about 6 km from KKB, you'll pass by Selangor Dam and immediately after the bridge, turn right to Kg Pertak. Continue driving and you'll find dirt road leading to the starting point of Bukit Kutu. You can park your vehicle near the hanging bridge which marks the starting point of the trek to Bukit Kutu.

None of us had been to Bukit Kutu before. We only depended on some info that we got from reading a few blogs. We also did not really know the difficulty level of Bukit Kutu. Moreover, it's only Bukit  u know....hehe. So....another underestimate expedition by The Underestimate.

We started our trekking at about 10.30 am which was a bit late for a daytrip hiking to Bukit Kutu. The weather at the beginning was quite OK and we prayed that the weather was OK until the end.

 You can park your car at the end of this dirt road near to the hanging bridge

 The hanging bridge marks the starting point of the trek to Bukit Kutu

 Crossing the hanging bridge

The river below...very nice

 The fallen hanging bridge...another bridge that we have to cross at the early stage

 Need to cross the river...be ready to get wet

 Posing for camera

The trek after crossing the river was not friendly enough for those who had never been there before. There are a few Y junction that we came across. However, we have to carefully look at the signs that shows the way to the top. Sometimes, we had to look at the arrow drawn on the ground which was not really visible to our eyes. Anyway, we managed to find the right trek.

 At the early stage of the trek after crossing the river...

 A lot of bamboo tree along the way

 Taking rest along the way

The trek to Bukit Kutu is not easy as it sounds. Although is it called Bukit (hill)...the height is as good as a mountain and the trek is quite challenging especially for those without proper stamina. Along the way the sky started to turn dark and soon the rain poured. It was quite dark at he time and we were feeling quite uncomfortable with the situation.

 Rest at the first cave...

 Shortly after the first cave you'll find this big cave...most probably this is Gua Kambing that we read from the blogs...

We continued our trekking and finally after 3 and a half hour, the first group reached the top. The second group reached after 4 hours trekking. Congratulations to all!!!

There is a remnant of the colonial bungalow chimney near the peak of Bukit Kutu. The peak is not far away from here at the top of a couple of huge rocks. We need to climb the huge rock in order to reach the peak. The area of the peak is very small and I believe it can only accommodate one person at one time. For those who are scared of height, it's not easy to get to the peak. Anyway, due to the rain, we could not clearly see the surrounding view from the peak at it was covered by fog.

 The chimney...the peak is not far from here

 Resting near the peak...

Foggy after rain...couldn't see the magnificent view of the surrounding area

 On top of the world...

 View from the peak..

 The chimney from the peak...

 Our resting place from the peak...

 1053m...it shouldn't be a Bukit at all...huhu

 Need to climb this ladder to get to the peak...a bit scary

 What a nice background...need a repeat

 Air kemenangan session...before going down

We headed down from the peak of Bukit Kutu using the same trek we took to go up. The first group reached the starting point at 5.45 pm (around 1 and a half hour) and the last group reached the strating point at 7.30pm when it was already dark.

We had our dinner at KKB before heading to Fraser's Hill for a night stay at Sri Peninjau.

 The next morning at Sri Peninjau...I like this place anyway although there's nothing there

 Ready for a short tour at Fraser's Hill...

 At Allan's Water...where else to go??...huhu

Fazli wuz ere in 2010...again in 2012...hehe

 Another destination...

 Horse riding...

 Archery...

 Clock tower...

 Wuz ere as well before...

Last stop before we headed back to KL and Melaka...

On the whole, the trip was successful although it was unexpectedly that tough for some of us. If it wasn't raining that day, it would be a wonderful and the most unforgettable trip. Anyway, as usual, it's normal for The Underestimate to always underestimate the mountain or even the Bukit that we want to conquer...haha. We plan to have a repeat of Bukit Kutu with a better preparation and hopefully with a better weather.

We feel so happy to have Tera Conqueror to join us in this trip as you all are awesome! We really enjoyed the trip with you guys. Hope to have more activities together next time.

Next week...trip to Universal Studio, Singapore.