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Home Page > Travelogues > Singapore > Sentosa Island
Amusement theme parks aren't high on my list of things
to do ordinarily, especially when traveling solo, but I do enjoy the ones that
do the best at capturing the culture, scenery, and character of the
locale. For example, I would choose San Antonio's "Fiesta,
Texas" over most of the Six Flags parks. With that in mind, I As each amusement park has its signature feature -- so too does
Sentosa. It is the Merlion (the "sea lion"), the very symbol of
Singapore itself, lording over the Musical Fountain. The Fountain is a
lively display of water that dances to a wide selection of songs from classical
to jazz to rock to country, for 30-minute shows held two to four times
daily. The Merlion is a very tall structure (I'm guessing about 100m
tall), representing the half-lion and half-fish creature of Singaporean
legend. This Merlion is a tower that (for a fee) There are two attractions that cover Singapore's history -- Images of Singapore and Fort Siloso -- and both are highly recommended. Images of Singapore is a combination wax museum and photo/art gallery that takes you though the 17th-20th centuries, especially covering the turn of the century and World War II (particularly focused on the Battle of Singapore that saw the Japanese overrun western Malaysia and Singapore, leading to a very embarassing British surrender; the following occupation years, and the reclamation by the British three years later). Fort Siloso was a major stronghold by the British, guarding the western access to the Singapore harbour. It has been converted into a museum, allowing visitors to get a flavor for life in the British army at the time, and the fort's role as one of the last strongholds during the Battle of Singapore. There are plenty of other things of a more 'amusement' nature to
do, of course. I Sentosa also has a lot of beach. Running from Fort Siloso
at the west end all the way across the southern part of the island, Sentosa
provides plenty of room for the thousands that congregate there on a summer
day. In the middle lies a point claimed to be the 'Southernmost Point Getting to Sentosa Island can be done by a number of ways, but all of them cost money. For cars, there is a single toll causeway running from the Singapore mainland. Walkers can also reach Sentoso this way, but believe it or not they don't avoid a toll as well. Probably the most impressive way to get there is via cable car from Mount Faber. The cable car is run is fairly new and has a mid-station in the middle of an unfinished town complex, as shown in this picture. The advantage of the cable car is the vantage point, of
course. You pass very close to the Singapore Harbour and get a great view
of the many docks. In the It never ceased to amaze me how such a small country could be so rich and active. But it has been said that one can judge the depth and strength of a culture by their amusement parks. If so, I would say Singapore has quite a strong position on the world's cultural stage based on its must-see resort at Sentosa Island. Trip taken 12-14 January 2002 -- Page last updated 01 September 2006 -- (C) 2002 Tom Galvin Useful Links:
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