Halo to all.
For the past few years, my family and I had been through a lot, ever since my father retired from his job of almost 20 years. One challenge my family faced in particular was insufficient accumulation of salary to catch up with the necessary house bills, henceforth we ended up owing a lot of outstanding bills to pay for. Nevertheless, things are already shaping up to be much better by the second half of 2018, when I have been consecutively earning bonuses from my job.
Gone were the days of first half of 2015 till the first half of 2018, when we really needed to budget our grocery supplies, transport fares, and our luxuries, just to make sure that we don’t end up loaning money from others, and end up complicating things.
To reward ourselves for making it through the dark times, we nowadays go out to have an enjoyable time without having to worry about money matters. One thing I planned for us to do here in Singapore was to go to places we have never been to before, which my family enthusiastically agreed.
You see, usually we go to multiple places of interest in Singapore only when our relatives or friends from overseas came to visit us. But this time, it is just about us, because ‘we want to do what we want to’, rather than ‘we want to do what they want to’.
And so, on December 2018, I decided to bring my family to Sentosa. I know what you’re thinking. You’re saying that I brought them to Universal Studios Singapore, just like I did with my visiting relatives every single time, just because to their eyes, that is the biggest attraction there. Blasphemy! I say for a fact that Sentosa is more than just that. Hence, I brought my family to places where seeing the moments are more nostalgic than just riding the thrills.
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First off, the Royal Albatross. While I admit that this was smaller than I expected, the yacht felt and looked impressive nonetheless, as it consisted of a bar that sold drinks, a bedroom that felt like this was truly a luxury cruise ship, as well as the cork-like material used to create the flooring, which my father pointed out in particular. He even wondered at the thought of owning a boat like one with such a design. For your reference, you can book for a buffet-like dinner aboard this yacht whilst you take a luxurious cruise on the seas, though the pricing can be very hefty, even for all of us.
To summarise this place of interest: “Imagine Titanic was just literally a yacht.”
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Next up, the S.E.A. Aquarium, or as I’d like to put it, Underwater World’s Sequel. Years ago, I visited an aquarium park in Sentosa known as Underwater World. Due to the opening of Resorts World Sentosa, that park was closed down. Not to worry though, as part of the new resort consisted of a newer and bigger aquarium park, known as the S.E.A. Aquarium. Indeed this is where you can discover the magnificent marine life swimming in the blue. If I were to mention the highlight of this place, it would be the Underwater Dome. Large aquarium, with lots of schools of sea creatures swimming like us humans roaming around cities.
To summarise this place of interest: “Behold, a never before seen footage of Atlantis.”
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Thirdly, the Trick Eye Museum. Before you enter this place, I recommend that you’d bring a camera or camera-phone (Smartphones, duh.) with a portable charger. Because trust me, you’ll end up taking more videos and photos here than you expected. Anyway, this place is just like an art gallery, except that you yourself need to interact with it in order to notice the illusion. While you could just simply snap photos in every area that catches your eye, the real bonus comes when you download the Museum’s App and utilise the video in it. Expect all those galleries to 'come to life'.
To summarise this place of interest: “What sorcery is this? Nah, your eye is just that illusional.”
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Moving on, the Wax Museum, also known as Madame Tussauds. Similar to the Trick Eye Museum in terms of the art you see, except that it is all about realistic sculptures of well-known people from real life, whether they are politicians or actors etc. This is as close as can get just to prove that you have met them for 'real'. One thing that my father was impressed about is that the sculptures are even created according the the height of their real-life counterparts.
To summarise this place of interest: “Photo it. Frame it. Display it. Prove it.”
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Finally, the Wings Of Time. Think this place as one scoop of the Fountain Of Wealth, mixed with the then-Musical Fountains of Sentosa, and a pinch of Neon Spotlights & Pyrotechnics like as if you are making a WWE entrance. While this show did replace the Songs Of The Sea at the very same location, it was indeed an improvement from the former in terms of its graphical design. You might wanna purchase a premium seat for this show, as I’d know you’d feel tired after the excursion all around Sentosa, and you needed a back to rest on.
To summarise this place of interest: “When you realise that water can be used for an infinite number of things.”
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I’d definitely bring my family to the many places of Singapore that we have yet to venture upon. One of them is the domes in the Gardens By The Bay, also known as Cloud Forest and Flower Dome. Another is The Jewel at Changi Airport, which is due to open this April 2019. I could list more, but you know, I’d do things one at a time.
Anyway, back to letting the Bells ring in my head. Don’t ask why that noun. I just like hearing it. Till then, see you starside.
“Go and see places old and new. Doing the same thing can easily drain you on a daily basis, so don’t forget starting an adventure to keep your lives balanced and refreshed.”
