Six Flags Magic Mountain

Never in my life have I taken more than 10 roller coaster rides in one day like yesterday. Woohoo! It was simply amazing! I have seen big roller coasters in TV, but it never occurred to me that I will be experiencing them myself.

The Place – Six Flags Magic Mountain. And boy was it magical!

Looking at the winding and convoluted steel tubes in myriad of colors, plus the blood-curdling screams that can be heard incessantly, it was truly daunting. From a onlooker’s perspective, it looked scary.

But I wanted to do it anyway. Life is a roller coaster, we just have to ride it. So that was what my friends and I did. We tried almost all the rides, from the moderate thrill to the maximum thrill (yes they do rate their rides according to the level of thrill) that included uncountable corkscrews, loops and all sorts of twists and turns which names I don’t even know.

Without a car at hand, we were forced make use of the public transportation that took us a couple of hours to reach the magic mountain located at Valencia, California, where thrills await us.

Six Flags is a big place. It fits more than 20 roller coaster rides and a host of other entertainment activities. It is a place for the whole family.

But of course, we didn’t come in a family so our aim was to ride all the rides that were in the “moderate” and “maximum” categories. Come to think of it, I remembered the fear I had when I was about to try the “Corkscrew” roller coaster in Genting Highlands back in Malaysia. At that time, that was the most thrilling ride I could ever ask for.

Not surprisingly, the “Corkscrew” that I mentioned is only like one of the moderate thrill rides at six flags – simply incomparable to the rest.

I also met 3 Singaporean groups that day. Guess it’s because of the holiday season. In all 3 cases, I found out they were from Singapore because I overheard their accent. It’s funny how good it feels to hear the Malaysian/Singaporean accent when I’m so far away from home. It feels good to talk like that again once in a while with strangers!

Anyways, here are some of the highlights of the rides in Six Flags that we tried:

1. Revolution

This is the first looping roller coaster ever built, according to the pamphlet “Six Flags Magic Mountain Park Map & Guide”. Heck, this was actually my first roller coaster loop. This was the first thing we tried and it promised a moderate level of thrill. Immediately after this ride, it raised up my level of expectation, for no rides in Malaysia can be this horrifying!

2. Tatsu (Flying coaster)

Ho…the second ride of the day – Tatsu. It has some Chinese influence, hence the dragon image welcoming the riders. This is a ride that was in the “maximum thrill” category, and damned was it only our second ride. Tatsu is the world’s tallest, fastest and longest flying coaster. After this ride, we felt that we were ready to take on any rides the park could offer. RAWR! *Dragon breath*

3. Apocalypse

Apocalypse has a very amazing architecture. It is a modern roller coaster that is imbued with the classic woodwork in its design. And you know what they say when it comes to wooden roller coasters…SPEED. Man was that a fast ride!

4. Superman: Escape from Krypton

This is a must try at Six Flags! From a horizontal track to a vertical one, it literally blasted us up into the air in a spectacular fashion done in guess what…100 mph! From the ground, it sounded and felt like an airplane flew over us every time one of these superman rides launches up into the air. At the peak, I felt like I was floating in an anti-gravity environment before I was harshly dragged back down by gravity. Oh, and this is one of the moderate ones.

5. Ninja (Suspended Roller Coaster)

Said to be the West Coast’s fastest suspended roller coaster, but it’s in the “Thrill Seekers in Training” category, meaning that it is meant to give the lowest thrill. For us, it was pretty fun, but definitely not as thrilling as the other rides we tried.

6. Gold Rusher

We also paid a visit to the Gold Rusher, which is the park’s first roller coaster ever. This ride is in the “moderate thrill” category, but it wasn’t as thrilling as we thought it would be. Little rides seemed like nothing to us now that we have tried the big ones.

7. The Riddler’s Revenge (Stand-up roller coaster)

We tried this one after lunch, but fortunately enough, it was a one-and-a-half hour wait so our stomachs were ready for it, if you know what I mean. On the unfortunate side, it was a long wait!! The ride got delayed because somebody puked and they had to clean up the coaster. Eww! Imagine what would happen if somebody puked while the coaster was doing a loop. Another one of our first’s, the Riddler’s Revenge is a stand-up roller coaster. So we were standing up throughout the whole ride, doing the loops and the likes. It was definitely a unique experience having to stand up and having the legs as support instead of a seat. And yes, the legs would be withstanding the high Gs.

8. Batman The Ride (Suspended roller coaster/Bottomless coaster)

This was one ride that was veritably intense! Like a bat, it made sudden left, right, up and down motions that abused our senses. To top it off, it was done in a speed of a bat. I felt like it was one of the fastest rides at Six Flags as well. To intensify the experience, this is a coaster without a platform for the legs, hence our legs were relentlessly thrown in all directions throughout the ride. Maximum thrill guaranteed!

9. Colossus

Aptly named, this is one big heck of a roller coaster, one on wood too. It’s woodwork is phenomenal. It is a dual-track roller coaster. Again the speed in this one is quite amazing. But it was quite a bumpy ride too and it sort of slowed down and started off again many times throughout its journey, but fun and exciting nonetheless. The thrill rating for this one is moderate.

10. Scream (Suspended roller coaster)

This has a floorless design that propels riders at high speeds with their legs dangling in the air. Scream, as the name suggested, generated lots of screams from the rides, but by then I was screaming so much that I decided to tone down my screams.

11. Goliath

From the name one would think that this is an extreme ride that is gargantuan in size…it certainly is, without the slightest doubt. Offering the maximum thrill, the highlight of this monster coaster is its drop from a 255-foot peak to a height of –120-foot underground! Insane! That, I can assure you. Definitely the highest drop at Six Flags, and it felt like the drop was never ending. This is a ride that lived up to its name.

12. Viper

The last ride of the day was Viper (also rated with a maximum thrill), a ride that turn riders upside-down 7 times! Analogous to a snake, this ride made us spin and swirl like never before, leaving us with a slightly lighter head at the end of the ride. A ride not recommended for the faint-hearted or people who just had a meal.

Some of the rides we missed were the “X2-A Whole New Xtreme Xperience” and “Green Lantern – First Flight” and “Déjà Vu”. X2 is the world’s first 5th dimensional thrill. I assume it’s partly because of the fireball effect in the middle of the ride. Green lantern had too many people in line so we skipped that. Déjà Vu wasn’t available at that time. According to an online source, it is moving to another location.

So with more than 10 roller coaster rides, we called it a day. Adrenaline pumped yet inwardly tired, we vowed to return to Six Flags to conquer the remaining rides.

Hope you get some percentage of thrill from reading this post, and if you’re really thrilled, you should try them out yourself! After going through this experience, I bet nothing is now too horrifying or scary for me…well except maybe skydiving, which is the next extreme activity on my list!

Enjoy the compilation of pictures below:

The Apocalypse

The architecture is simply stunning…old school.

Superman

Look at the background. An opening is formed in the clouds to allow the escape from Krypton! Hmm, on second looks, it seems like a batman logo is being formed.

The Riddler’s Revenge

This ride has lots of LOOOOOOOOOPS.

Batman The Ride

Just look at that loop!

Unrelated yet related – A Bat Mobile spotted at the premise. We actually saw life-sized Batman and Robin but they were being briefed by their boss. lol.

 

Self-group picture. Two people are missing. The one on the far right is always this dramatic when taking pictures. Haha.

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Season’s Greetings to all readers, sincerely from The Cock and The Bull. And Happy Holidays! Have a good break and recharge yourself. =]

 

For further information regarding Six Flags. Please go ahead and check out their website.

Click here to know more about Six Flags

 

Disclaimer: The number of exclamation marks used in this post do not correspond to the level of thrill of each ride. It is loosely used in this post to represent the post-thrill effect of the Six Flags experience. Also, the rides highlighted here are not for everybody, so ride with your own risk.

 

Bank Scam

Hi folks. Haven’t been writing much lately. But I want to highlight something that people should know.

This is my second post about scam and fraud. And yes, it has all got to do with money because that’s what the dirty perpetrators get for doing it. See the first post here.

As the banks are trying to tighten security by introducing new internet security policies, some nasty people are using banks’ names to trick people via emails.

This is one of the many similar emails that I received recently, allegedly from CIMB bank, telling my to validate my personal information.

No letter header, no logo…nothing. But the message was straightforward and prompt.

It even mentions about the new security measures being implemented which was happening at that time to create a seemingly persuasive email.

But  when I hovered my mouse pointer over the underlined hyperlink, I can truly see where the link is going to bring me. So always always do that. See where the link will bring you before clicking on it. Just observe the bottom left of your screen (which is my case) when you hover over any link.

That would show you whether the link is real or fake.

If you don’t proceed with caution, you might just lose a fortune because the link will bring you to a replica of the actual website of the bank that’s so alike that you’ll think it’s real.

So be smart. The best thing to do is not to click any links in emails from “banks” or any finance based entity as they would never ever ask for your confidential information online or through phone for that matter.

Whenever you find yourself in doubt, just call the bank to ask about this email that you received, and you’ll know for sure whether it’s authentic or not.

All these despicable people. There are plenty of ways to make money so don’t resort to doing illegal stuff. May you fellows rot lovely in hell.

Chao Tao Fu (Stinky Tofu)

It’s been a while since I last posted. You might be thinking that something might have happened to me after I posted “Say No To Bersih 2.0 Rally”.

Nope I’m doing just fine. The bottom parts of my feet are recovering. I’m starting to go out again after staying so long at home. It’s a bit like physiotherapy, going out of the house and walking on the streets again.

I actually felt weird going out and seeing so many people again. It produced an almost dizzying effect on me. Crossing the road didn’t seem as natural as before too.

Man, 1 week of dormancy can really affect the body. So be sure to stay active and don’t just stay at home. Move that arse more often!

That day I went to Pasar Malam (Night market) with some of my buddies in Cheras. It was a Friday. The Pasar Malam was just beside Leisuremall. I think it’s called the Taman Putra Pasar Malam.

Anyway, we sat down to order food for dinner in the midst of the Pasar Malam, and suddenly I could make of this stench that smelled like nothing but shit. Seriously, I thought that the yellowish curry stain on the table was the source of that rank.

It was as though an invisible shit was right in front of me. No kidding man. And I was just about to have my dinner…

I was told that the smell was the trademark smell of Chao Tao Foo or Stinky Tofu. So I was determined to give it a try. Challenge accepted!

The stall was located at the far end of the Pasar Malam, about 200 or 300 meters away from my dinner spot. Wow. How overwhelmingly powerful is the stench of the mighty stinky tofu. Distance is not an obstacle.

Amazingly, the closer I got to the fermented tofu, the milder the smell. Maybe it’s just me? I don’t know for sure. But one thing is for sure, it’s a hot item on sale.

This thing was so popular that I had to wait in line to get a taste of this piece of shitty smell tofu.

RM 2.50 for 4 pieces of fried stinky tofu topped with pickled vege and chili sauce for the taste. Without the supplements, the tofu would have tasted a bit blend. I decided to ta pao and bring home to eat, and spread the omnipresent smell of the one and only tofu.

In the car, I placed the styrofoam packed tofu in front of the air-cond, in the process creating the most powerful Ambipure air freshener ever created in mankind. Almost instantaneously, the tofu conquered the air in the car and made it its territory. OHMYGOD. S.T.I.N.K.S.

At home, I faced the battle alone after rejections from family members to take on the stinky challenge. One stinky tofu by one stinky tofu made its way into the organ called the mouth. The smell was tolerable at point blanc. As I ate the shit away, I could feel the squishiness of the tofu laminating my mouth with its distinctive scent.

So yeah. If you haven’t tried it. Go try it and let me know your experience. Just a reminder, when you’re eating something that smells like shit, make sure you open your eyes so that you don’t mistaken it for a shit. You never know. Sometimes, shit happens. : []