On my last full day in Singapore, I decided to head out to Sentosa Island, a completely redeveloped island that’s been turned into a playground with all the authenticity of Disneyworld. It was listed as a playground for the residents of Singapore, so I figured – why not?
After taking the MRT and a special monorail (at SGD4 each way), I ended up running into boredom after a few minutes. It was quite strange – here I am, in a highly modern city and now I’m in a completely fake resort that’s half under construction and it just smacked of being gaudy. “Hey look! An artificial beach! Hey look! An aquarium!” There was nothing that stood out as something unique. There was a downhill racetrack for carts, but you weren’t allowed to really fast and/or run over children, which sort of sucked for me.
The only real part of Sentosa that I enjoyed was Fort Siloso which was the main coastal artillery battery. The Brits were planning for a defense that involved a sea attack to the south, so when the Japanese invaded during WW II, they got caught with their pants down when the Japanese invaded from the north. Oops. It also gave Sentosa a really weird feel – “Hey look! Death and destruction over here, and a trance party over there!”
Sentosa Island also has “The Southernmost Point in Continental Asia.” See?
The only problem with this is a) you have to cross a bridge to get to this point and b) there are island further south that you could have easily built bridges to. I don’t get it.
After my fun was fulfilled, I went back to the hostel, had a beer, and met my new roommate, a Canadian guy. How did I know he was Canadian, you may ask? Well, when you have a MEC bag, you’re pretty much saying “I’m Canadian.” Since he just arrived in town, and I was anxious to get photos of Orchard Road all lit up with the Christmas lights, I was able to get him to come with.
We stumbled upon a free tourist bus that promised a bus ride along Orchard Road and you got to see the Christmas lights – naturally being lazy and it still being hot as balls out, I cajoled my new friend into getting on the bus so we could check out the lights without walking (win.)
The bus ride was surreal. Here I am, in Singapore, which is not particularly a Christian country and thus, shouldn’t celebrate Christmas, was lit up better than anything I’ve seen in the States. And our guide, a younger Singapore girl who had to be in college and acted like she was coked up on a gallon of Red Bull. We’re driving down the street, yelling at shoppers and wishing them Merry Christmas. And there was no alcohol involved. It was bizarre, but loads of fun (more videos are at YouTube.) After some food, we headed back to the hostel for some beers and chillin’ with other hostelmates. It was my last night in Singapore, and although I should have done something totally amazing, I got lazy. But it was ok.
i havent been to Sentosa since 2007, but my experience was very similar. everything felt very artificial and strange. its a pretty drastic attempt at appealing to the american tourists. it was worth seeing, but im not sure i need to go back.
thanks for the reminder though! :)