Betshopboy.net

Along with the opening of Singapore’s first casino at Resorts World Sentosa, Universal Studios Singapore – Southeast Asia’s first Universal Studios theme park – also welcomed its first visitors on Sunday for its 8-day sneak preview of the theme park. The official opening of the theme park is expected to be in first quarter of 2010.

Lucky me was fortunate to score an invite to the theme park and although no rides will be opened during the sneak-peak period, the roller coaster junkie in me was raring to go! I’ve been to Warner Bros. Movie World in Gold Coast, Australia and Disneyland in Hong Kong, but this was the first time I was going to a Universal Studios theme park, so naturally I was very excited about the trip.

Let us “walk through” the various themed zones of the park as seen from my camera lens.

Hollywood

Upon entering the park, visitors will experience the famous Walk of Fame through Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood zone.

Madagascar

Inspired by the hit DreamWorks Animation franchise, Madagascar, this zone featured a river ride and a crazy carousel with King Julien.

Far Far Away

This zone is inspired inspired by DreamWorks Animation’s hit Shrek franchise. The highlight of the zone is the Far Far Away Castle which is a world’s first, it hosts attractions such as Shrek 4D Adventure.

The Lost World

This zone contains two themed areas: Jurassic Park and WaterWorld. Unfortunately, I kinda got “lost” in dinoland and did not venture into WaterWorld.

Ancient Egypt

The land of the Mummy featured gigantic warrior mummies standing guard at the Pharaoh’s tombs. The star attraction of this zone is The Revenge of the Mummy indoor roller coaster, which is an extremely popular attraction at other Universal Studios around the world. It is based on the popular film franchise, The Mummy.

Sci-Fi City

This futuristic zone is based on the popular television series, Battlestar Galactica, and features the world’s tallest Dueling roller coaster. The red rail is for the ‘human race’ and its seats are mounted in traditional roller coaster fashion. The blue rail is for ‘Cylons,’ with the seats suspended below the rail, leaving legs to dangle freely.

New York

The New York zone featured the trademark New York city skyline, neon lights, façades and sidewalks as well as the romantic atmosphere of the Big Apple.

That concluds the sneak-peek of the 7 themed zones of Universal Studios Singapore, all based on Universal movie hits and franchises. And if you are feeling hungry after all the walking, screaming and being thrown about in those wild rides, there are plenty of F&B outlets and restaurants in the park to recover and replenish your energy.

History was made when Singapore ’s first casino threw open its door on February 14, the first day of Chinese New Year at the auspicious time of 12.18pm at Resorts World Sentosa.

Resorts World Sentosa, built by Malaysia ’s Genting Bhd for 6.6 billion Singapore dollars (US$ 5 billion), is opening in phases, starting with 1,340 rooms in four hotels, including a Hard Rock hotel and a property designed by architect Michael Graves.

Genting Group chairman Lim Kok Thay cut the ribbon at 11.18 am and the casino welcomed its first bettors at 12.18 p.m. — both considered symbolically lucky hours for ethnic Chinese.

The day Singapore ran, with the rest of the world, in the Nike+ Human Race 10K.  A sea of “red tide”, nearly 10,000 strong assembled bright and early at the starting point which was at the Formula 1 starting grid.

There was an air of festive mood, even though the scorching sun was beating down on us.  Before long, we were flagged off but there was a red wall of human bodies in front of me. It took me 5 mins to cross the start-point and was held up in many bottlenecks along the 10K route.

I finished the run in 59mins gun-time.

Even as the dust of ‘Crashgate’ scandal cast a shadow over the sport, the high-octane roar of the Formula 1 engines in Friday’s first practice session on the Marina Bay street circuit signalled the start of the 2009 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix.

By a stroke of luck, I won a pair of complimentary tickets in an online lucky draw to enjoy Friday’s practice session. While I’ve been catching every Grand Prix race via live TV telecast, this would be my first ever outing inside an F1 race circuit. This is all so exciting for me!

The Bay Grandstand offers spectators the full view of downtown Marina (where the Integrated Resort is being constructed) and the Central Business District skyline, the Benjamin Shears Bridge and the Singapore Flyer complete the spectacular skyline.

Deja Vu

Renault’s rookie driver Romain Grosjean lost control at Turn 17 just 40 mins into the first practice session. His car spun and crashed at the same spot where Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately rammed his car into the wall during last year’s race. Talk about deja vu.

Battle By The bay

Last year’s Battle By The Bay was fought out between Lewis Hamilton of McLaren and Filipe Massa of Ferrai, but thanks to the ‘Crashgate’ scandal, which will forever tarnished the dazzling spectacle of the historic night race, Renault’s Fernado Alonso won the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix title.  As a result, Massa did not score any point on that night, and Hamilton went on to eventually clinch the World Championship title.

This year’s Championship battle will be keenly contested between Brawn GP team-mates, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, both of whom were not even sure if they will be driving a couple of weeks before the start of the season. Chasing the Brawn GP dual will be dark horse Sebestian Vettel of Red Bull Racing, who is still with a shout of the world title.

Standing in the way of this trio will be the Singapore title holder, Fernado Alonso, who will be eager to restore his reputation with a performance that he hope will wipe the slate clean once and for all. Lewis Hamilton, although mathematically out of the race for the World title, will have the responsibility to help redeem the image of the sport as the reigning World Champion.

The F1 circus has once again descended onto our shores for the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, still the world’s only night race, and the buzz and vibes has definitely rubbed off on the legions of motorsport fans here in Singapore. Come Friday evening, the roar of the F1 cars will be heard on the famed Marina Bay street circuit.

While I can only afford zero-cost but standing-room-only trackside actions when the inaugural FORMULA 1™ Singtel Singapore Grand Prix hit town last year, this year presents a different proposition for me. I was lucky to have won a pair of Bay Grandstand tickets to watch the race on Friday’s practice session!

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the Singapore Grand Prix street circuit, the below pictorial shows the 5.067km route which passes several famous landmarks including Saint Andrew’s Cathedral, City Hall, the Supreme Court and the Esplanade Bridge. Running in an anti-clockwise direction, it is the only circuit which crosses two bridges and travels beneath a grandstand, which is the Bay Grandstand my tickets will accessed me to.

If words and picture just don’t cut it for you, here’s a video preview of the Marina Bay street circuit. Nico Rosberg of team Williams is on hand in the video to explain some of the thrills and challenges of racing in this street circuit.