REFLECTIONS: Carry On

You may have already gathered that I love theme parks. I have gone to all Disneyland and Universal Studios parks, Everland Resort and even Trans Studio Bandung (but not Cosmo’s World at Berjaya Times Square yet) so I was very excited when Legoland Malaysia finally opened in mid-September 2012 in Nusajaya. I avoided going then but was plotting the best time to go. After discussing with my friend, we agreed to go on the last few days of March 2013 (not realising then that the March school holidays were delayed by two weeks and our visit would fall during the school hols). So air tickets were bought, a hotel in Senai was booked and I even managed to collect some discount vouchers to set off against the entrance charge. Why fly and why stay in Senai? Well, we decided not to drive as it can easily take 4-5 hours to get there and we didn’t want to get tired unnecessarily. We figured we could rent a car at the airport or hire a cab. Also, I thought it’d be better for us to stay in Senai as it’s close to the airport.

Unfortunately, my friend told me the day before our departure that she was unable to go due to last-minute unavoidable work commitments. What was there to do? Should I proceed? I decided to just go ahead (Aud said I should too) rather than burning my ticket.

So I flew south last Thursday afternoon. The cab ride from the airport to hotel took a mere 7 minutes but I had to pay a fixed rate of RM22. That’s airport taxies for you. The cabbie also offered to drive me to Legoland, quoting RM68 one-way. That’s RM136 return! Crazy. It started raining shortly after I checked in so I stayed in until 6 pm before venturing out for an early dinner. The hotel said it provided Asstro channels but I didn’t get any. Spent the evening reading and watching Winter Wipeout.

On Friday, I left for the city after breakfast. Breakfast was fried rice. There were also bread and eggs so I helped myself to two slices of toast. Having decided I wasn’t prepared to fork out RM136 to get to Legoland, I studied the park’s website and decided to take a bus there from the city. There are plenty of bus options as all buses from Kulai to the city will pass the hotel. The bus stop is just 10 metres away). Different bus operators charge different rates, I discovered later. I paid RM2.70 for that trip. The bus ride took 30 minutes and we reached the last stop in the city at 9. I wandered a while trying to ask around the whereabouts of JB Sentral and it was then I realised there were a lot of foreign immigrants there and no one seemed to know where JB Sentral was. I spotted a couple of hotels and crossed over to enquire.

Well, the first hotel was lousy (she didn’t even know where JB Sentral was or didn’t understand me) but the hotel opposite was able to point me the way. Turned out JB Sentral was just diagonally across the street from the first hotel. Duh!

I walked up to the building and wandered around before I saw the information counter. I was directed but got confused and had to go back to ask for directions again – in English. From the Legoland website, I knew the earlier bus had already left at 9 and the next bus was at 1015. So I sat and waited for the bus – and it didn’t even come to its designated bay but the last bay. It costs RM3 from JB Sentral to Legoland, stopping en route at Larkin bus terminal to pick and drop passengers.

Well, I enjoyed Legoland. I joined the queue for the tickets (almost 30 minutes of queuing which I spent reading and people watching). The ticket is RM140 but with my discount voucher, it was RM91. You can buy your ticket online and save yourself from queuing but I queued because I had the discount voucher. I enjoyed Miniland and could stay there for hours but I wanted to go on a few rides. The crowd was a good size considering it was school hols and it was an overcast day. Thank God for that because I’ve read enough articles mentioning how utterly hot it is there. You can view the pictures of Miniland here, here and here.

I was satisfied with my visit there. I wasn’t particularly hungry but brought some snacks and water. I’d advise you to bring a hat or a brolly to shield yourself against those fierce UV rays. I didn’t bring any sun protection cream but I was wearing long-sleeves, linen trousers, hat and sunglasses and face cream with SPF. You may want to bring some ponchos too (raincoat, not the ones like what the Peruvians wear!) for the Dino Island ride at the Land of Adventure. And wear comfortable footwear. I was wearing a pair of Converse which I hadn’t worn for over a year sock-less and my feet were hurting even as I was hunting for JB Sentral. There are restaurants inside but as is the case at most theme parks, they are not cheap especially if you’re with your family but not to worry: there are plenty of more economical options at the Mall of Medini adjacent to the theme park. You just need to go to the Guest Officer, get a wristband and have it stamped on your way out so that you can re-enter again (only one time re-entry unless you have an annual pass). There are also two prayer rooms and nursery rooms in the park.

I wanted to catch the 1455 bus back to the city (the next bus would only be at 1625) so I left at 1430 and bought some drinks at the Mall of Medini before walking back to the bus stop. The bus arrived promptly on time. Back in the city, I crossed over to City Square using the connecting overhead bridge. I wasn’t looking for anything specific and left around 4.

I hopped on a bus bound for Kulai and paid RM3 for my fare this time. The bus took some time before it finally moved and before long, we were travelling in the rain. It had petered out to a light drizzle by the time we reached Senai. Early dinner was had at a restaurant a block away.

On Saturday, I ventured out to the city again and went to watch Oz The Great and Powerful movie. Left after lunch at a Chinese vegetarian restaurant. I went for an hour-long massage that evening then went out again to catch some footie action. Had to order another meal as I didn’t feel good watching the action at the restaurant without ordering anything. And would you believe it, they changed to channel to one showing the Chelshit match instead just after Gervinho scored. I talked to three of the restaurant staff asking them to change back to the channel showing Arsenal but they didn’t do anything so I left in a huff. Grrr...!!! Even the restaurant two doors away from the hotel was showing the same Chelshit match.

I slept late that night anyway as I followed the match via Twitter (FFS). Woke up for morning prayers on Sunday but didn’t dare sleep back in case I overslept. Checked out at 1020 and asked the guy at the reception to call for a cab. It used the meter but the cabbie adjusted the fare to RM22.70 when we reached the airport. I commented on this and gave him RM22 which he accepted.

We landed about 10 minutes later than scheduled due to the busy air traffic over KLIA. I ran out and hurried to the train platform. Managed to catch it with 2 minutes to spare and then at KL Sentral, just about managed to catch the bus back to micasa.

Phew! And that was my Legoland trip. I would love to bring el niño there one day soon. He just loves Lego and I know he would enjoy Legoland.

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Arsenal carried on where they left off and thumped Reading by four goals. We did concede one in typical Arsenal fashion with Nacho bearing the collateral damage.