This is the picture of Gino’s breakfast. Yes, believe it or not, this is his breakfast of champions. Apparently, he eats like this everytime it’s a buffet breakfast whenever he travels. Most of us got a little of everything, with all the yummy choices, but Gino sticks with his tried and tested: bacon with rice (and this was just the first serving). I ate a lot too, but for some strange reason, I really ate a lot of an odd dish that I got really addicted to. I forgot the name, but it sounds something like chee cheong fun (or something like that). It’s like rolled up fat noodles that you top with chili sauce. I loved it! Anyway, it looks like this:
It was okay to gorge on food because day 2 was Universal Studios day. Yes, despite the draining day 1, we were activity-packed for day 2 as well. We got our own bus to ferry us to the newly opened theme park, the opening of which was graced by Adam Lambert among other celebs.
The RX girls fulfilling Rico Robles’ fantasies of being a Mr. Suave:
We weren’t dropped off in front of the entrance, we were deposited by the bus underground, and from there we went up an escalator that looked like a big space anus, into which we will squeeze through and inside we will fulfill our wildest fantasies. Okay fine, at least that’s how it looked like to me:
That aluminum rectum ejected us into the entrance of the theme park :
The first stop was the Steven Spielberg disaster experience.
I can only post photos of us in line because most attractions don’t allow cameras inside. Anyway, it simulates a category 5 hurricane while you’re inside a boat dock in New York city. It was quite an experience. I won’t reveal the big finish so I won’t spoil it for you if ever you plan to go. But I must say, it ends with a bang. Next stop: The Mummy.
With this ride, we had to deposit all loose items like bags, cameras, shades, etc., in lockers because they won’t allow you on the ride if they find anything that could fall off. So no photos as well, and so you’ll have to deal with just a photo of one of the Egyptian bodyguard-slash-male strippers who were all masungit (they were all in character), who would shush you if you tried to talk to them (one harshly shushed Delle, which I think secretly hurt her feelings). But the highlight was Playtime’s Danielle. She really did NOT want to go on the ride, but because of peer pressure, she went on. She tried to back out maybe 834, 655 times while we were in line, but she went on anyway. By the end of the roller coaster ride, she was not just crying, but in full hagulgol with matching hikbi. Gino was the one comforting her the whole time. After she calmed down, she was proud she did it. After a quick lunch, we went to the theme park highlight: Jurassic Park.
Again, lockers, no pics. The waiting time in line was 90 minutes when we started lining up. So what was supposed to be a painful wait, ended up as one of the trip’s highlights. The Awesome Twosome, Gino and Fran started a pass the message game. Since there were 21 of us, it would be fun to see if the message will remain intact. We passed silly messages like: “ang pokpok na-pukpok ng sandok sa palayok” and “ang abay na bumbay nalumbay sa Albay“. And best of all, one message was passed with a “tsup!” I’m not at liberty to reveal who kissed who, but suffice it to say, we weren’t strictly arranged in the boy-girl-boy-girl configuration. It was a hoot! I guess we looked like we were having fun, because eventually other groups started playing the same game too. We could see them whispering a message back and forth and giggling just as we did. We had so much fun that even the actual Jurassic Park ride paled in comparison. Of course we all screamed like little girls, regardless of gender, and got soaking wet up to brips and panty level, but that’s beside the point. Me, I was just semi-wet. I only had a wet pwet.
As if we weren’t wet enough, we followed up that wet ride with Waterworld. Little did we know that there was more basaan involved, much like that San Juan feast where people would throw buckets of water at each other. It wasn’t the actual show that got the audience wet, but the pre-show. These three stooges were wetting the crowd with buckets and hoses and water cannons. It was fun, but it was nerve-wracking guessing who they’d wet next:
Of course the show was great too, amazing production value. Basically it’s like a big pool where they re-create the movie, with jet skis and boats and fire and explosions. A feast for the eyes!
As the night approached, we had time for one last attraction: Shrek.
It’s just your typical 4D movie, nothing special, but the highlight was AFTER the movie, when we saw Puss in Boots! We saw so many characters like Po the kung fu panda, Woody Woodpecker, Betty Boop, and so many others, but it was only Puss that every single one of us lined up to have our pictures taken. And the girls love him, he’s such a cad, wooing all the girls. He was such a rock star!
On our way to dinner, we stumbled upon the Street Boys (remember them?). Apparently they perform in Universal Studios now. But the real news was, our very own Mr. Showbiz, Rico Robles, actually perform with the Street Boys! He knows one of them from his boxing days, and so when they saw him, they made him dance with the kids in front of the audience.
By the time we were ready for dinner, everyone was ready to collapse. All that fun and adrenaline took it’s toll. When the high came down, we all felt the pain in our bodies. This basically tells you how we all felt at the end of the day:
So sitting down for dinner felt like a splash of cold water in the desert. And the food was DELICIOUS. It was Chinese food, and I was too tired to take pictures. But here’s one I took of the cold cuts:
Everything was just gorgeous in presentation and sumptuous in flavor. Either that or we were really hungry. But strangely, my most memorable dish was the appetizer. It was so odd, I don’t know quite how to describe it. I call it: “basang mani“. It’s basically large peanuts, but soft, and wet.So basically it’s mani na malambot at mamasa-masa…
After dinner, we watched the fireworks at 9:30. I took a video but I don’t know how to upload it, so nevermind. Maybe I’ll post it later when I figure it out. Last stop for the long grueling but superfun day: THE HERSHEYS STORE.
I swear, the moment you open that door and enter, waves of sweet creamy aromas of candy and chocolate wafts into your nostrils like honey up a bee’s ass. It was pure heaven. We went crazy buying sweets. I got the ones I don’t see here in Manila. I bought Kisses: Caramel and Meltaway (it has liquid chocolate inside), white chocolate Reese’s, Whoppers, and many others.
Nothing brings back the kid in a person than these 2 things: theme park rides and chocolate. And we had both in spades. It was such a fun, satisfying day for everyone. If we only had more days like these in our lives, I think we’d be happier campers, less negatrons in the world. And did I mention that Gino fell in love?
Again, by the time we got on the bus, and back to the hotel, I literally collapsed on the comfy bed. This time, it was my turn to sleep with the clothes I had on. I didn’t mean to, but I don’t remember anything after my back hit the bed. I just woke up at around 5am, with the TV on and Tom asleep on his bed, and it was only then that I took a bath and changed clothes. I needed to gather my strength because day 3 had in store for us: shopping and Marina Bay Sands.
