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Published: March 6th 2012
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JEWEL BOX CABLEWAY & SENTOSA ISLAND,SINGAPORE. Saturday 3 March, 2012.
For our last day in Singapore (and our first day on the ship) we had already decided that we would visit Sentosa Island. The island can be accessed by road, but another way of getting there is to take the Jewel Box Cableway which is very touristy and expensive but was another of Dick and Patsy's recommendations. We had left it until today as the Cableway Station is actually adjacent to the Cruise Terminal so we thought we could easily get there without having to take the tube or a bus. The Cruise Terminal also has a massive shopping centre attached to it, so we had hoped to do some last minute shopping before leaving Singapore. The best laid plans.... Unbeknown to us, the ship had sailed away from the Singapore Cruise terminal during the night and docked at another commercial port some 30 minutes drive away. The ship had, however, laid on a free shuttle bus to ferry everyone back to the Cruise Terminal.
We had a good breakfast. So far, the food on this ship has been marvellous - much better than on some previous ships. The
shuttle bus was waiting outside, and on the way back into the city, we passed some absolutely amazing skyscraper apartments which make up a community called the Keppel Bay Development. They were described on the bill-boards as 1st class waterside living. However, what impressed us the most was the architectural design of the development. It consisted of 3 towers made of metal struts and bars that seemed to be bending and waving as they made their way up towards the sky. The shape of the buildings is supposed to reflect the waves of the sea. They really were beautiful to look at, as well as obviously being the height of luxury right on the waterfront.
Once back inside the Cruise Terminal we posted the previous blogs by making use of Mc Donalds free WiFi and then went to get the electrical shopping on M's list - a hub to charge all the various gadgets and a memory stick just in case we can't get WiFi in Myanmar. Singapore is known for its cheap electricals. After the shopping we made our way to the Jewel Box Cableway.
After purchasing the tickets we proceeded to take the lift to the
15th floor where the cableway station is located, and where you have to board your 'bubble'. We wailted for an empty bubble and boarded the cableway. The views over Singapore were stunning. We could see for miles and had good views of the Harbourside Bridge, the aforementioned Keppel Bay Flats, The Portugese Galleon, downtown Singapore, the cruise ships still docked at the terminal, as well as views out to sea where we could see all the tankers and container ships queuing to dock (probably at the same port as the ship was now located). Singapore has to import most of its everyday commodities so it is not surprising that there was a huge queue of ships waiting to disgorge their contents. We both took a number of photos on the journey up the cableway.
Sentosa Island is Singapore's answer to Disneyland. It is an island off the south coast of Singapore that it is connected to the mainland by a road, and bullet train bridge and by the Jewel Box Cableway. It is full of various different "attractions". There are Beach Clubs, Animal and Bird Shows, Exhibitions of Butterflies and Insects, 3D cinemas, Cycle and Segway Rentals, The Lake
of Dreams, The Megazip Adventure Park, The Merlion Plaza, The Merlion Walk, Various Nature Trails, The Dinosaur Garden, The Boardwalk, 4D Magic (no idea what this is!), The Skyline Luge, Songs of the Sea Show, The Merlion Statue, (only a replica of the real deal), The Tiger Sky Tower, Underwater World, Wave House, and a Sky Dive Simulater (blows you up in the air using a strong air stream) and Universal Studios to name but a few - I'm sure you get the general idea.
After we alighted from our bubble we walked down several escalators until we arrived at the Dinosaur Garden. Some clever topiary has made various different hedges and shrubs resemble various well known species of dinosaur. After the Dinosaur Garden we arrived at the Dragonfly Fountain which is behind the Merlion Plaza. This fountain has several huge plastic dragonflies in it and all the way around the edge are signs depicting the life-cycle of this insect: giant eggs, pupa and young flies. Very educational if you need to know about dragonflies. We continued towards the beach, which took us down the Merlion Walk. This is an avenue of fountains made from mosaics of tiles in
shapes of different reptiles and fish and is stunning. The different fountains are on timers and spurt the water from the various fish/reptile mouths in perfect arcs to land in another pool or another hole in a different fountain.
We continued walking amongst the Segways and Tourist Trains until we reached the seafront. First we came across the Azzura Beach Club. There was a lot going on with a prize draw and plenty of swimming pools and water shutes. There were also two huge pools full of foam (like a huge, deep bubble bath). We then proceded on past the Emerald Pavillion which is used for concerts etc. until we reached Siloso Beach which is lined with palm trees and has lovely sand. The only strange thing about it is the view. As you look out across the 'sea' all you can see are masses of cranes on the dockyards opposite and further out to sea the queue of ships waiting to dock. Not at all like our lovely Costa Brava.
We walked back to the Merlion Plaza where we purchased a couple of Tigers in the 7/11 store. We took the beers up to the park area
and sat in a covered pagoda in the shade and watched everyone enjoying themselves. On our way back to the cableway we passed a massive sand pit where some clever artist had sculpted a beautiful chinese dragon out of the sand; really clever. We returned to the ship via the cableway and the shuttle bus.
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Trena Martin
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Merlion Walk
A small reminder of (Spanish) home - brings to mind Antoni Gaudi's Parc Guell in Barcelona? T