The first word that came to mind when we saw the merlion - HUGE. At a towering height of 37 metres, it stands as an icon of Singapore. Visitors are allowed to enter the Merlion to take a lift to the top. From the top, one will be able to capture a mesmerizing view of the sea and the mainland of Singapore. There is also an audio presentation telling the history of Merlion which holds great significance to the founding of Singapore.
After this, we headed to the Nature Trails. It was a long walk on the bridge but definitely worth it. Before entering the nature trail, we are exposed to a short audio presentation on what to expect. Being told to be patient, we headed out for a long walk. Keeping our eyes wide open, capturing everything not wanting to miss any single scene, one of our group members caught sight of a green bird flying in the trees. After some time, another bird joined that previos bird. We also caught sight of several insects. However, We were rather disappointed at not being able to find a crab. All in all, it was a good time spent in the nature, absorbing the freshness and silence that nature offers. After having a relaxing and fascinating walk at the Nature Trail, we proceed on to the blast of the day, the Sky and Luge Ride. We paid $11 dollar for a one-way ride for each game, which includes both the Sky ride and luge ride then went to queue up, anticipating all the enjoymeny later on. It was relatively fast due to the efficient staff there. We hopped on our sliders, and begin to slide our way down. In the beginning, we were cautious about the speed and control of the slider , but after awhile, we become less tense and stared sliding with full speed. It was so much fun and excitement and thrills all of us without fail.
When we were reaching the end, there were many people taking pictures of the ride which made us feel like we were some form of celebrities, identical to the F1. For the next stop, we rushed on to take the Sky ride. It was amazing as we see our feet slowly ascending and drifting further from the ground. A thin strip of metal was used to connect the bench and the cable. As we looked around, we saw the beauty of Sentosa Island from an entire different perspective. There were several small islands near the shores of Sentosa. The strong wind that gave us the chills, further add on to the excitement we had. However the route is relatively short, and we soon found ourselves landing back to the top where we started our Luge Ride. Finally, it is time to hit the beach. First, we took the tram service directly to the Tanjong Beach. It is a lovely, pristine beach that is not very crowded. Many couples filled this area and being such a serene place, the whole ambience is extremely romantic. It is definitely a hot spot for couples. On top of all these, pet animals are also allowed here. This attracts the pet-lovers to roam around this place and you get to see numerous dogs strolling here. It is also a perfect place to sun tan. Our whole group gets mildly tanned just by sitting and chatting there. There are fewer worries on whether objects thrown carelessly will land on us or anyone engaged in ball games will hurl the balls at us accidentally.
As we continued on our way, we arrived at the second beach, Palawan beach. It is slightly more crowded than the former and the whole atmosphere is much livelier. There are also more facilities, like the 7-eleven and Kou-Fu,a food-court. The snacks there are great, satisfying our hunger to a large extent after playing around so much. More people hanged out here to engage in games and activities. It seems to be a popular hang-out for large groups to sit down, relax, potluck and chat. It is also the nearest beach from the beach station, which makes it well-located and time-saving to go back to the city after all the fun.
Then, back at the station, we took another tram service to Siloso beach. It is the most jam-packed beach there. This beach is operated by Zouk, a well known club management and is most renowned for its annual party during the New Year’s countdown. Many youngsters frequent the place resulting in the addition of many games, like volley ball, street basketball, ultimate Frisbee and more. We participated the games here and absolutely benefit from the fun. There is also a Wave house here, where there are stimulated waves for people to surf on. Many attempted but failed after a few minutes but the satisfaction that they derived from trying was totally expressed on their faces with their radiant smiles and laughter. We also swam across to some small rocky islands that is situated across the sea. This is where we wrote our sincere ‘we are here’ sentence, before swimming back to shore.
Among these three beaches, there are also many resorts, like Coasta Sands and others, and hotels like Rasa Singapore. It allows people to stay there and continue their fun the next day. There are also many bars and cafes along the stretch, like Cafe Del Mar, and Sand Bar, which helped us relax a bit.
Upon reaching night, we entered the arena to watch “The Songs of the Sea”. It was definitely the highlight of our day at Sentosa. The back ground setting of the performance was spectacular. It was made up of old wooden houses on stilts that were built on the water surrounding Sentosa. The intricate design of the houses made me anticipate the performance even more. As the performance was held outdoors, the cooling weather also added to the sense of mystery that hung in the air. We reached the outdoor venue early to get front row seats. As we were waiting, there was a temporary stall set up in front of everyone. They sold crackers, drinks and ice cream to tourists who would want a snack while watching the performance. I thought it was very thoughtful of the Sentosa to make such arrangements as we were starving by that time. We couldn’t find the time and place to have dinner before “Songs of the Sea” as there was too much to see and play on the island! There were also many crews walking around selling beautiful light sticks. Some of those that were on sale could even spin and create luminous pictures.
At 730pm, the show started! The performers ran out bursting with energy and vibrancy. They broke into song and dance a few moments later. They sang songs from the four main languages of Singapore namely Malay, Indian, Chinese and English songs that we were very familiar with. The actors also consist of the 4 different races. I thought the showcase was pretty entertaining and meaningful as it portrayed the multi-faceted community that we have in Singapore. I must say that it really was a perfect end to my day at Sentosa. All of us really enjoyed ourselves there and hope to be back again!
http://www.sentosa.com.sg/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentosa
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