Swinging Singapore

  Singapore, Singapore
Thursday, March 20, 2008

So like I said, the thing with business trips is that there's hardly any time to shrug off the business part and just become a tourist.  But then having to spend a weekend in Singapore afforded enough time to do more exploring outside the hotel.  So here's my top 5 moments in Singapore's very own Sentosa:

1.  Skyride - It was a short 15-minute ride which I thoroughly enjoyed because of the view.  It's basically a metal bench on cables similar to those used for transporting skiers down or up a slope.   After wrapping my mind around the fact that my feet are tangling x feet above firm terra cotta, I scrounged up enough courage to look around and appreciate the view of Harborfront.  Never figured that I could do that because I've always pegged myself to be afraid of heights but I sort of surprised myself on this one. 

2.  Songs of the Sea - To enjoy this show, please check your inner jaded cynic at the gate.  The plot is simple but it's the lights and the sounds that can get to you.  The music is quite catchy too and Oscar is loveable in that Sesame Street kind of way.  On the whole, the inner kid in me found it thoroughly enjoyable.  I liked figuring out how those holographic pictures ended up being projected on the wall of water being sprayed around 40 or more feet up in the air.

3.  Underwater World and the Dolphin Show - It's amazing getting to learn fun facts about the creatures inhabiting the last final frontier on Earth.  Of particular interest is the pawikan and the dugong which can be found in the Philippines.  I also got to see Nemo's species and those transparent jelly fish immortalized in Disney's Fantasia.  The dolphin show was adorable as is normally the case with all dolphins.  Although by the end of which I just wanted to break them out of Sentosa because creatures as brilliant and adorable as dolphins deserve to be free.  So I'd prefer watching the dolphins in Bohol where they are allowed to live in their natural habitat and share their talents when the choose to do so.  On the whole, a dolphin show is always fun to watch.

4.  4D Cinema (Pirates starring Leslie Nielsen) - Not something that would win him the Oscar very soon but it is an experience in itself.  I've only known about 3D cinema so didn't know what to expect in a 4D.  What is the 4th dimension anyway?  Apparently it involves all the other senses so it was just plain exciting waiting for what will happen next.

5.  Getting a tattoo at that Indian stall near the underwater world - Okay it was a henna tattoo but I'm not compelled to get permanently inked.  The Indian lady who did my dragon henna tattoo at the small of my back was such a good storyteller about people she'd tattooed and what their tatts of choice meant I wished I got a more intricate pattern. 

All that and more and I haven't even had the Singapore sling yet.  May be next time.