Recently our company organised a USS gathering for our team. I was initially a bit reluctant to go but ever since I got my 24mm Zeiss Distagon, I am dying for a chance to really test out the lens. Entrance fee is all paid up while we have to foot all the other expenses by ourselves (not too bad as the entrance fees is already quite expensive).
Since it’s just a scouting trip, I decided not to bring my Beast with me. I just have my A900, the new 24mm Zeiss Distagon, 135mm Sonnar and out of fun, brought along my lensbaby Composer Pro with the 35mm optics. Initially planning to shoot some fireworks later, I brought along my tripod too. Our team met at Vivo around 930am (I was there early with another 2 team members for breakfast) and we took the monorail into Sentosa. It has been eons since I last visted Sentosa. Much have changed. Anyway, boarding the train was a hassle to me too. The stupid gantry does not support my paywave card (only Ezlink card) so I have to manually go buy a ticket at the vending machine which bloody hell, 3 out of 5 is on service! That is on a SATURDAY for pete’s sake! So it was a long queue. Anyway, we got in at around 10am and I wandered off while the rest of the gang took the Transformers ride. I was not planning to get on any rides as my sole purpose was to shoot and scout around the area. Later I caught up withe the gang and they were still queuing for the Transformers ride. They asked my to join in my I saw the waiting time (bloody 50mins) so I declined and moved on. I went one round around the park, shooting along the way and just walk and stop, looking at interesting people and other stuffs. The park is not that big actually so I actually completed the whole park within an hour or so. Bored, I called my friends and guessed what, they are still waiting for their ride in the Transformer Ride! I told them I finished my walk and decided to join them, so I waited patiently for them at the cafe next to the ride. Then it started to rain! And it was quite heavy too… Lucky me for not bringing my Beast!
I started to get bored so I swapped my 24mm with the 135mm and started to “snipe” some interesting people in the park (just for fun)
Finally the wait was over and they came out looking exhausted. There was a technical glitch with the ride so the wait was damn long. The timing indicating outside the ride was a whopping 120mins when they came out. 2 hours in the Q for a 2min ride……
After that we just continued on and the rain starts to stop (great timing). They gang decided to take a ride in the Bstar roller coaster but another colleague of mine and I decided to pass and look after their belongings while they took the ride. Bored of waiting, we went to one of the canteens to grab a bite. We chose Indian food (as it smells great) while my boss finally joined us while we were hunting for food. The gang came out and went to another cafe to have lunch. After that it was just one ride after another…
Overall, it’s a pretty good theme park and the staffs are actually quite helpful but I don’t think I will spend my own money to come in again 
. Maybe it’s just me but I just find the merchandising and overall "fakeness” just not my cup of tea. I might bring my kids and wife if they are in their early teens to enjoy the rides but definitely not now… Most of the rides are catered to adults and I don’t think it’s worth it.
I didn’t stay for the fireworks as I was completely poofed at around 7pm. I was wearing contacts and my eyes are starting to dry up so I decided to call it a day and went home while the rest stayed to look at the fireworks.
Speaking of testing my new lens. I would say it performs very well and way beyond my expectations. Zeiss Distagon label is not just pure marketing but a real performer. Very little distortions and sharp, sharp sharp! Those who enjoy shooting details and landscapes will
You can see the full album over here in my facebook album (no FB login required as its Public). 
So guess what, normally it’s always the boys (or the younger sibling) that are the one who starts the fight…. initially the elder sister (or brother) will relent but the pressure is building and finally the elder sister could not stand any more of the nonsense and started to fight back…