We left the ship around 9:00. We took a cable car about a block away over to Sentosa Island. We were in the sky, just above the ship, and we could see some of our friend on the the Amsterdam!
Singapore’s waterways are filled with ships that are transporting goods, it’s one of the busiest in the world. As we looked out over the city and harbor, we noticed two things; the abundance of ships and their modern architecture and buildings lining their skyline. They also have a Universal Studios here!
Here’s Jolly the Walrus riding in the cable car.
Sentosa, meaning “tranquility” in Malay, was renamed in 1972. The island’s original name was Pulau Belakag Mati, which in Malay means the “Island of Death from Behind”, having to do with the islands piracy from the past. In Sentosa, our first stop was at the bird sanctuary. They look fake, but believe it or not, these are live birds we are holding.
This one bird below, seriously, latched onto my hand and wouldn’t let go. It’s 14 hours after we were there and I still have the claw indentations on my hand!
Next we visited the Merlion. The Merlion is a figure with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. It’s name comes from the combination of mermaid and lion. The Merlion was used as Singapore’s logo until 1997, and continues to be its trademark.
Our next stop was shopping in the mall that connects to the ship terminal. We then hailed a taxi to the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay. Yesterday, while shopping on Orchard Boulevard we randomly drew free tickets to “Andy Warhol 15 Minutes Eternal”, which just opened. Andy Warhol is known for being the first artist to use “pop art”. Back in the 50’s and 60’s he designed ads for Coca-cola; Campbell’s soup; he is most famous for Marilyn Monroe (1967) which became one of the 20th century’s most iconic images. It’s the photo of her with a blue face.
Then, we decided to try something new…we went to Kenko, a reflexology & fish spa. You soak your legs up to your calves in a pool of fish. These fish eat the dead skin and leave your skin feeling renewed! At first, it felt a little unnerving. The fish don’t have teeth, so it doesn’t hurt, it feels like electricity and actually tickles. Kenko is also an internet café, so while you are soaking for the hour, you can surf the web!
We had a wonderful two days in Singapore, what a beautiful, clean, safe country.
Those little fish around your feet are so interesting! I feel as if they should be scared of your feet. Ive been told parrots like the ones in the picture you have taken swarm all over our campus during the spring... I have yet to see one myself.
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