We started Tuesday with yet another Singaporean meal. Breakfast consisted of soft-boiled eggs, sweet coffee and toast with kaya. We poured black pepper sauce over the eggs, but they were still a consistency foreign to my tastes. Kaya is a sweet jam made from coconut, native to Singapore and widely enjoyed by locals.
After breakfast we headed for the Singapore cable car. Just south of the main island of Singapore is Sentosa, a beach-filled island self-advertised as “Asia’s favorite playground.” Once we had gained an extra day in Singapore, we decided one could easily be allocated for lounging on the beach. Dhiviya met up with the three of us and we boarded the cable car for Sentosa. You can just as easily take a bus or walk across a bridge, but we decided that when in Rome… do as the tourists do.
The views from the cable car were incredible, allowing us to see the entire port of Singapore, the new developments on the island’s shore and many of the sights we had seen on the ground the day before.
The weather could not have been more perfect for a day at the beach. We landed on Sentosa and began walking toward the shore, stopping of course for a few photo ops along the way.
If I had thought Clarke Quay looked like Disney World, then Sentosa was like Disney on steroids. The island has indoor skydiving, a Universal Studios and several beach clubs. A replica of the Merlion sits atop the island’s tallest hill, and the walk down to the water is punctuated by a fountain reminiscent of Barcelona’s Gaudi buildings. Brightly colored trams run along the coastline, and they are free to board at any stop. (The automated announcer was the one who so enthusiastically told us that Sentosa was Asia’s favorite playground.)
The island has three main beaches. Each of the beaches has at least one club, and for the price of a drink or two, you get to use the lounge chairs and umbrellas and swim in their pool. We first headed for what is regarded as the quieter, nicer beach. But the pool club we attempted visit, we discovered after our long walk and tram ride, is closed on Mondays. However, the closed beach club had left their lounge chairs out — albeit with covers on them. We decided this was a finder’s keeper’s moment and happily lounged in the sun. (We were told by the maintenance crew that swimming in the closed pool was not so kosher, but only after we had had a chance to jump in.)
When it came time for a lunch break, we hopped back on the tram and made our way to the beachside food court. In American food courts, there’s always one token Asian restaurant. In Singapore, all the stalls are Asian. Obviously this makes sense, but it continued to amuse me — especially since we were back to English signage. (English is the main language used in Singapore, and one of four nationally recognized languages.)
Our lunch itself was pretty unremarkable, but after we finished, Vernie and Dhiviya insisted that we had to try one of the favorite local desserts. Ice kacang looks like a massive snow cone upon first glance, but once you break the surface and dig into the middle, it’s filled with jelly, beans, corn and other bizarre treats.
After lunch, we checked out another of the beaches, where there was an open and bumping beach club. We claimed two shady canopy beds, hopped into the pool — which had a bar inside — and rocked out to music more appropriate for a nightclub than for a beach.
Once we had finally had our full share of spectacular sunlight, we boarded the tram, connected to a free and equally bright colored bus, and got back on the cable car to return to “mainland” Singapore.
