Sentosa Island—very faux, but very fun.

Heading to Sentosa Island via the cable cars.

Full disclosure: I haven’t been to Disney World since I was ten and other than passing through the airport, I haven’t been to Las Vegas so I lack the expertise of faux kingdoms and do not necessarily seek them out.  Still, we had heard a lot about Singapore’s Sentosa Island so for my one, conference-free day, we decided to check it out. 

It’s easy to reach Sentosa and there are a lot of ways to get there: by car via a bridge, by monorail, by ferry, and if you want to pull out all the stops—by cable car.  We chose to splurge and live it up—we took the cable car!  I had not been on a cable car in years—and realized, I’m not a huge fan of being suspended from a tiny cable, but the views of Singapore and Sentosa were worth the queasy knot in my stomach. 

Anne taking the luge ride down to Silosa Beach.

As you approach Sentosa, you notice there is a flurry of construction still going on.  You also notice a giant stone lion head emerging from a jungle tangle.  Sentosa is home to a Universal Studios, a Casino that costs $80 just to enter, and an array of other amusements and attractions.  It’s like Singapore’s very own theme park and I could see how it’s a great little family retreat for locals.

As we climbed out of the cable car, they offered to sell us a picture of us in the cable car.  As you step out of the cars, you are assaulted by a shop filled with souvenirs and little tables filled with knickknacks and one table with a guy offering you the amazing chance to hold a snack and have a picture taken—uh, no thanks! 

And every aspect of Sentosa is an amusement--luge rides, chair lifts, water shows, aquariums, rock walls, sand volleyball courts, trapeze and tight-rope walking opportunities.   We scurried over to the luge, which affords you the opportunity to ride down to the main beach—Silosa—in a seriously fun way and then take a chair lift back up to the top.  I have to say, the luge ride was a blast and I had a dopey grin on my face the whole time.  Of course, photos were snapped and offered to us for sale.  As we took a few candid shots on the way down, we declined the opportunity.

Kevin examining a fake rock on the man-made beach.

We spent the rest of the daytrip, wandering the manmade beaches and little islands (connected by piers and rope bridges) of Sentosa.  We lucked out and had a rain-free day (the only one of the trip!).  It was a Thursday so it was pretty quiet.  The beach walks were pleasant and the faux rock boulders and little islands dotting the way were charming.  I have to say, I enjoyed our beach stroll.  We stopped for some overpriced beer and bad pizza at a beach bar, but sitting on a terrace watching the quiet afternoon go by made up for the food.  As Kevin observed, we counted Sikhs, Indian, Chinese, American and many other tourists/locals enjoying Sentosa—all happy, all seeking a quiet afternoon.  Moments like that make the world feel smaller and that our differences are not so vast.  Who knew we’d find such a philosophical lesson on corny Sentosa Island?