I got one free day all to myself during my Singapore trip thanks to the conference ending earlier than what was the scheduled plan according to which I had booked my air tickets. Having heard a lot about Sentosa Island from friends I decided to head in its direction.
As I began the process of carrying out my plan I was plagued with my all-time concern of whether I will be able to enjoy simply on my own. But once I reached the Harbour Front Tower and could see the cable cars right above I knew that had I held myself back because of my fears then I would have missed something.
Honestly sometimes I feel a bit afraid of heights, this after having travelled in planes on various occasions. So it took a bit of pluck to enter the lift of the Harbour Front Tower alone to reach the 15th Floor from where the cable cars leave. Being a Hindi movie buff I have seen films where heroines invariably find themselves hanging for dear life from a cliff. They of course always get saved by the hero. As I had no such confidence in my luck I did not wish to be the sole occupant of the cable car. Thankfully one elderly couple readily let me join them. Within a few seconds of leaving ground (read 15th floor) reality I became completely at home. All my fears vanished and I absolutely enjoyed the short 15 minutes ride.
The first thing that I did on landing in Sentosa was souvenir shopping. I bought cute key chains, a mini golden replica of the cable car, a beautiful hanging, magnets, post cards for friends, a nice huge cup for Daddy with some important Singapore sights etched on it and a business card holder for my Boss.
Feeling suddenly confident of being able to reach any heights I booked myself a seat on the Sky Tower. There's a circular booth which you enter at the base and then slowly it rises until you find yourself some 45 storeys high. At that point the booth revolves so that you get a good view of all the sides.
My next stop was a food joint to fill my empty stomach which had started making a nice racket by then as it was way past my usual lunch hour. After relishing my favourite fish and chips I then got on to a free Sentosa shuttle. There are a number of them plying from the Imbiah Lookout to the different tourist attractions in Sentosa. At 3 pm the Dolphin Lagoon show was to take place and that's where I headed. There you get a combined ticket for the Dolphin Lagoon and the Underwater world. I unfortunately had enough time on hands for only the first one as the two are located in practically opposite directions. The show was very captivating with the dolphins performing all kinds of smart acts displaying their intelligence.
Right next door to the Dolphin Lagoon is the Palawan Beach. I was disappointed by the absence of any strong waves, the kind we are normally accustomed to see on beaches. It was a complete letdown. But the stretch of sand made up for it partially. I just walked and walked until I came across this bridge which led me to what was The Southernmost Point of Asia. The area was beautiful with its lovely coconut trees though it was rather crowded for my liking. How come whenever hero-heroine romance, in fact Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra had at exactly the same spot in Krrish, there's nobody around? :)
My last stop at Sentosa was the Skyride for which I had to
return to the Imbiah Lookout. I hopped on to tram and then later a shuttle to reach by destination. I took a return-ride. This time I went even one step ahead and I sat alone. I was more scared of my sandals and my bag carrying my camera, money and passport falling down accidently that I had no occasion of fearing for my life. The wonderful scene in front of me also left me spellbound.
I would have loved to have stayed on and do a many more things like go for the butterfly trail, 3D and 4D movie shows, The Underwater World and the Song of the Seas laser show but I was out of time. I had an invitation for dinner at Daddy's colleague's daughter's place. She had helped me while I'd first started planning my Singapore trip and had been keeping my track when I landed there, so a visit was due. Satisfied with my exploits I went to Palm Beach Station and took the Sentosa Express to get back from where I'd started.
Summarizing in a line this Singapore tour was a short, powerpacked one.
