Singapore Trip Dec '07 (Part II)

Day 3
I didn't set the alarm to wake up coz CE is usually an early riser. Anyway, I wanted the kids to have as much sleep as they needed. So we woke up at almost 9am. We were planning to go to Sentosa Island. In the midst of getting them ready, CE vomited on the floor (after his milk). I had to clean him up while PaPa cleaned up the floor. When we were about to go out, CE did it again. So another round of cleaning up. What a way to start the day.

We had breakfast at a food court, about 10 minutes walk from the hotel. CB used to eat there during his previous business trips. Then we took the cab to HarbourFront Tower Two, to take the cable car to Sentosa. The ride was much shorter than I'd expected. Anyway, CB and I have taken it before, so we just wanted the kids to experience it. Luckily they were not scared and didn't kick up any fuss. The view from the cable car ride wasn't that impressive. I remembered it was quite nice but now, there's a big construction site below (must be Resorts World). By the time we reached the island, it's about 12 noon already. Half a day gone and we've not explored anything yet.

~ in a cable car, towards Sentosa Island ~

Our first stop, The Merlion. Didn't know what they have inside but just bought the tickets, since we were there already. We came back out again as there were a big group of school children ahead of us. Got our tickets chopped and we'd return later.

~ The Merlion ~

Next, Underwater World (UW). The queue to buy tickets was very very long. So we had a detour again. Decided to go to Dolphin Lagoon (DL). Although they were at different locations, buying either DL or UW ticket will entitle you entry to both. We took the Sentosa Bus. It's free and there are 3 bus lines to take you to different parts of the island and places of interest.

At DL, we saw a wonderful performance by the pink dolphins - touching/hitting an object which was a few feet above water with their snout/tail, balancing a ball on their snout, 'flying' over loops, kissing a volunteer's face, and many more. However, I didn't get a good view as I was sitting down, carrying a sleeping CE. And XY seemed more interested in the packet of popcorns than the dolphins' performances.

~ at Dolphin Lagoon ~

We wanted to take the bus to go back to UW but there was a lot of people. Being a school holiday and weekend, there was a big crowd everywhere. We probably can only get on the 3rd or 4th bus and I wondered how long we have to wait. CE was still sleeping (slept since we arrived at DL). So we took a cab.

Good thing he woke up, if not, I'd probably break my back and hands carrying him. You see, he doesn't want PaPa to carry him most of the time. So poor mummy got to play Xena (Warrior Princess) - the strong and mighty lady. LOL The kids were quite fascinated with so many fishes at UW. I've been there more than 10 years ago and I still like this big aquarium. There is a 'Ray of Fun' pool where you can touch and feed the stingrays. CE was busy playing with the water, splashing with his hands. There are so many fishes to see. I especially like the tunnel with the moving travellator and the fishes swim around us. There are some very big fishes, sharks, dugong and a variety of marine life. There was also huge spider crabs on display (eeee... really geli looking at them).

~ aquarium at Underwater World ~

It was raining when we wanted to leave. Looking at the long queue at the bus stop, we decided to take a cab again. But it wasn't easy getting one as there aren't many servicing the island. So we're back at The Merlion again. At the entrance earlier, we were given a coin each and the attendant told us a mystery gift awaits us. We were treated to a short animation (movie) about how Singapura and the Merlion symbol came about. Next we were in a room where we put the coins into the mouth of the Mercubs and a small card came out, indicating which gift we got. All 3 of us got Gift A. Then we took the lift to the 10th floor. That's where the Mouth Gallery Viewing Deck (the lion's mouth) is and we can take pictures with the island as background. A staircase led us to the lion's head but we didn't go up coz it was raining heavily and it's not covered. I'd presume the view from up there would be nicer as can see more of the island. Emmm... or maybe not... spoilt by construction site? hehehe So back down again and into the souvenir shop. Here we received our mystery gifts. Gift A = Fan. There are 3 types of gifts - fan, key chain and if I'm not mistaken, paperweight. But we got fan, fan and fan. LOL

Next, we wanted to watch Songs of the Sea. As the Sentosa website puts it, "It brings you a mesmerizing show with a live cast and dramatic effects pyrotechnics, water jets, brilliant lasers, special computer imaging, bursts of fire, captivating music and stunning flame bursts." They have 2 shows - 7:40pm and 8:40pm. But the 7:40 show was full and we didn't want to wait for the later show as the kids (and us adults) were very tired already. So we decided to give it a pass and took the Sentosa Express to VivoCity. After taking some pictures of the Christmas decorations there, we took the MRT back to the hotel as the taxi queue was just too long.

~ decorations at VivoCity ~

Back in the hotel, we took our showers and we're too tired to explore anymore for food. Dinner was at the hotel's cafe (Kopitiam). The food... no comments. Nothing great, just good enough to fill our tummies.

What a tiring day.