Sentosa, Part II

So this time, we steered clear of the Merlion. Honestly, how could something that big and impressive looking be such a rip-off? Anyway, we started with the 4D Magix and Cineblast things, which the boys enjoyed immensely. Best part was when Leslie Nielsen spit on the screen (3D glasses), a little water spigot in the seat in front of us sprayed us with water. Leslie Nielsen and one of the Python guys (who played a French pirate) totally phoned in their performances. I wonder how much they got paid for them?

We got to go on the luge for an hour uninterrupted. Most fun - even though it started pouring on our way back up on one run and soaked through our clothes. I would rather be soaked through because of rain than sweat, though, so it was okay by me. The miniature golf course was awful! I have never been on such a terrible course before. We actually had to skip a hole because there was too much bird offal on the course. GROSS. Fort Siloso was fun, and the boys enjoyed the giant guns. I was rather impressed as well, but not much could stand against the Japanese juggernaut in 1942, so it fell, just like everyone else did.

Last night, there were two cartoon re-runs. It's bad enough that I'm forced to listen to cartoons for a couple hours of my day (I don't let them watch them when I'm in charge, but their father finds it a convenient baby-sitting tool) if I want to sit in the living room or dining room. Unfortunately, the boys don't remember the cartoons they watch, so they watched two re-runs yesterday without realizing at all that they were re-runs even when I pointed it out and told them what was going to happen next. I hate bad cartoons. Tom & Jerry still rocks, though. :)

'Budget' vs. 'budget'

I am going to Melaka this weekend, and I have just booked my hostel for the night I'll be there. It cost me $5.39. No joke. It looks clean, has good reviews, and is on the studentuniverse site, so I figure it's probably a perfectly acceptable hostel. I've never had any problems with studentuniverse endorsed hostels, and in fact, when I had the opportunity to compare notes with other travelers about their hostels, the studentuniverse hostels usually were better for the same price.

When I was planning my trip, the boys' father suggested a nice hotel in Melaka that he called a 'Budget hotel.' He said, "I think you can get a room for under $50/night. Really quite reasonable." $50?? $50 is a lot of money! I will pay $50 for a good pair of shoes, or perhaps for a truly well-made piece of clothing. I might even pay $50 for a ticket (I would have shelled out $50 for Ian McKellan playing King Lear here in Singapore, but unfortunately, it was already sold out except for the $200 seats, which made it a moot point since I can't afford $200 seats at all). But, I will, under no circumstances, pay $50 for a hotel outside of the United States. Hostels are gross in the US, so I will spring for a hotel if I have to at home. But outside of the US, most backpacking hostels are perfectly acceptable, clean alternatives. And it's just sleep - my bed would probably be just as lumpy in the other hotel. I can sleep anywhere anyway.

Tomorrow, we're going back to Sentosa. We were thinking of doing the 'swimming with the dolphins' package. Then I looked on their website and realized that for 3 people, there is a Trio Package of S$425 to swim with the pink dolphins here. This is a savings of S$25 from paying for three people individually at S$150/per person. So, we're going to watch a movie instead.

Tonight at dinner, their father was talking about a new electronic Chinese language dictionary that he bought. He said the salesmen were trying to sell him the cheaper model, but he opted for the more expensive one. He said, "It was only S$100 more." I don't think I've ever said that in my life. What gets me about that sort of cavalier approach to money is that he's such a tightwad about anything the boys and I use, but it's okay to splurge when it's for his own use (seriously, he won't buy me the granola cereal I like because he thinks I should eat the cereal he buys for the boys. I hate shredded wheat).

Both of these brought me back to the question of budget, and what exactly it means in an individual context. To me, $5 is a fairly significant amount of money, but not enough to freak out over, and I've never been much for coupon cuttings. But starting at $10, I start getting antsy, and something has to be really worth it for me to shell out more than that. I will pay for good chocolate. The imported organic European dark chocolate at the grocery store costs S$6. I pay for that - Asian chocolate has the consistency of melting rubber.

But I hope that, no matter what job I get, or what happens to me in the future, I always remember how I used to laugh at a $50/night hotel being in any way 'budget.'

Sentosa

Today, we went to Sentosa, being that it is National Day here in Singapore (yay 42 years of independence from Malaysia! And yay to Malaysia for 50 years independence from Britain! And yay to Britain for... wait, oh yeah - bad Britain!), and their father had the day off. It is expensive to go to a theme park! It's a reclaimed island that is part of Singapore, and it's basically a giant resort/theme park with lots of stuff to do, nice beaches, and expensive places to give yourself skin cancer.

Highlights:
1) Luge and Skyway - this luge is a plastic sled on wheels ridden down a concrete path. VERY fun. I love driving fast (*sniffle* my poor old Thunderbird will never again allow me to pass nearly everything on the road) and it's even more fun when your plastic luge feels like it's about ready to fall apart under you. Great adrenaline rush! Speaking of adrenaline rushes, there have been a number of shows recently on Discovery about skydiving accidents. I still want to go skydiving, I don't care how much they try to scare me.

2) Hands-on culture - I know it's not cool, they're wild animals, blah blah blah - but the boys LOVED being able to hold the giant constrictor snakes. They also, in addition to everyone else, loved the 'touch a fish' display at the aquarium, where you could hold a starfish, pet a small shark, pufflefish, or an eagle ray. Seriously - they had a blast.

3) Dolphin show - dolphins are just awesome anyway, and these three pink dolphins were super well trained and did lots of fun stuff. Next week, we're going back to Sentosa, and the boys are going to go swimming with the dolphins. I can't actually swim, so I'll just watch. Anyway, these dolphins did amazing jumps and tricks with balls, the whole nine yards. Lots of fun. I especially loved how they danced to the beat - so cute!

4) Ben & Jerry's - I swear, every time I go to Ben & Jerry's, I find another flavor of ice cream that I love. Today it was Chunky Monky, but I love Phish Food and Strawberry Cheesecake, and Double Chocolate Fudge.... Bad calories! Bad! At least I got the small... and I like their business model.

Not so much of a highlight - the Merlion was a total rip-off (mer as in, coming from the sea, lion as in a lion - mix together and you have the head of a lion and the body of a fish - kinda weird looking, but apparently the Singaporeans like it). The show in the overly air-conditioned theater was stupid, the lookout points were tiny, and there was nothing to do in them. WAY cooler from the outside than from the inside. For anyone else who ever happens to make it to Singapore and go to Sentosa, DON'T go inside the Merlion. Save your money, go to one of the shows.

When we go back next week, we're going to get the unlimited luge rides for an hour, do some paddleboat stuff on one of the tiny islands there, and go to a 4D cinematic experience - regular screen with the 3D glasses - you may ask - 4D? huh? 4D refers to someone's bright idea to add smells and other effects, such as water in the face at an appropriate moment, and call it '4D' to attract more visitors and make more money. It's working. Emeril's 'smell-o-vision' has come to life!