Living Well

Sentosa's siren call
Singapore's main tourist destination beckons. By Romelda C. Ascutia

Our most vivid recollections are those moments that involved the most number of our senses. So what stood out in my memory of Sentosa Island was being up close and personal with friendly stingrays at Underwater World, especially dipping my hand in the ?pool and gingerly caressing their smooth, slimy skin.

The first time I visited Singapore early last year was on a brief working trip. My "exciting" view: the façade of the building beyond our conference room window. My second, a medical tourism media tour this February, included a welcome side trip to Sentosa Island, the leisure resort, nature haven and theme park in one that's just minutes from mainland Singapore.

To be sure, Sentosa is a wonderful leisure and learning destination for the whole family, but be warned--happiness comes at a price. Be prepared to shell out cash in admission fee and for many of its attractions. Though I was part of an Asian press group, I mentally converted the rates into pesos (about S$1: P30) and decided that if this were a personal visit, I would need a hefty wallet to fully enjoy the experience.

Many of Sentosa's attractions are found on the western side. The upscale Sentosa Resort & Spa, restaurants and two golf courses are on the eastern side. And at the eastern tip is Sentosa Cove, a gated community that includes a yacht marina and tennis courts.

It will take a whole day to check out all the sights and attractions on the 1,230-acre island. The places we visited, arranged according to personal appeal, included:

Underwater World
This popular oceanarium attracts huge crowds every day. The live museum has more than 2,500 exotic marine animals from around the world. An 83-meter-long moving path called a travelator carries you underneath a glass tunnel of sea creatures including a dugong (an amazing sight!), stingrays, moray eels, turtles, sharks, and other fishes.

Musical Fountain
The Musical Fountain was a 30-minute dazzling display of sound, light, computer graphics and lasers creating 3-D images on a water fountain. On March 27, the multimedia show was replaced with Songs of the Sea, a nightly extravaganza by the sea featuring pyrotechnics, water jets, lasers, special effects, fire and music.

Carlsberg Sky Tower
At 110 meters high, the Carlsberg Sky Tower on central Sentosa is the tallest observation tower in Asia. We boarded a disc-shaped cabin fitted with glass windows, which revolved slowly as it ascended the tower, offering a panoramic view of Sentosa, the Southern Islands and, on a clear day, parts of Malaysia and Indonesia.

Sentosa Luge
My two boys would have been thrilled to try the Sentosa Luge, a self-steering, gravity-driven three-wheel cart that allows the rider to speed down a hill over a 650-meter course that ends at Siloso Beach. Not the sporty type, I was just glad to reach the finish line in one piece.

Cinemania
People all around me were laughing out loud watching an amusing 4-D film in which the images seemed to leap right out of the screen and come at you. Hold on to your seats as these literally vibrate, squirt water in your face and blow air on your nape for a truly interactive experience.

Other attractions

Sentosa has many more attractions for those with time on their hands, such as:

• Butterfly Park. The Butterfly Park is a landscaped garden with more than 15,000 live butterflies housed in an outdoor conservatory.
• Insect Kingdom. The Insect Kingdom houses some 3,000 species of rare insects from around the world.
• Fort Siloso. The preserved Fort Siloso, which guarded the western approaches to Singapore during World War II, has been transformed into a military-themed attraction.
• Merlion. You can ride up the 37-meter-high Merlion statue--the half-fish and half-lion mythological guardian of Singapore--for a vantage viewing point of Sentosa, Singapore's city skyline and surrounding islands.