Sentosa Island – Musical Fountain Show (Singapore)

From Underwater World, we walked to Monorail Station No. 7 and boarded one of the 6-pax cars of the Sentosa Monorail that circles Sentosa and alighted at Station No. 1 (Sentosa Ferry Terminal). Here, we plan to watch the 7:30 PM Musical Fountain (also known as the Magical Fountain of Sentosa) show.

The Sentosa Monorail was closed in 2005 and most of the island’s monorail was dismantled, though parts of the original track structure still remain. The monorail was replaced by the red, blue and yellow bus lines.

Sentosa Monorail

Started in 1972 and opened, 10 years later, in 1982, the fountain show was designed by world-renowned fountain designer Yves Pepin.  The star attraction at the resort, it was just upgraded early in the year and the fountain is now Neo-Classical in look, with heavily decorated arches.  Its design was also themed to look like a nature wonderland, with small ponds, shrubs and  gigantic man-made waterfalls flanking the fountain grounds.

Musical Fountain and Fountain Gardens

The pool consisted of 25 million gallons of water which took 3 man-hours to fill and the fountain and could be shot up to 20 m.  It had more than 19 different water formations including the famous Phoenix flanked by waltzing “chorus-lines.

The Neo-Classical Musical Fountain

It was already late in the afternoon when we arrived at the amphitheater which could  accommodate 5000 people seated and at least 100 standing. The 7 seating zones in the arena were themed after the colors of the rainbow.  The 3 minute and 36 second fountain display show we watched was said to have been inspired by the synchronized dance of the Fountains of Bellagio.  The show capped our visit in Sentosa.

The Musical Fountain underwent a major restoration and upgrading project in 1999. In 2002, Yves Pepin replaced all the musical fountain shows with the Magical Sentosa Show but this show did not last long. After operating for 25 years, it was shut down to make way for an integrated resort called Resorts World Sentosa . Its last show was staged on March 25, 2007 and was replaced by the “Songs of the Sea” show. The area once occupied by the Musical Fountain is now occupied by the Lake of Dreams, Hotel Michael and Crockford Tower.

Sentosa Island – Underwater World (Singapore)

After our Pioneers of Singapore/Surrender Chambers Museum tour, we proceeded to Underwater World, Asia’s largest tropical oceanarium located on the western part of Sentosa.  Opened in 1991, this underground living museum has more than 2,500 marine and freshwater animals of 250 species from different regions of the world. Here, we befriended American couple William (Bill) and Ellen Smith.

Underwater World – Touch Pool

Upon entering, we encountered the “Touch Pool” where I got to feel starfishes, sea cucumbers, turtles and more. Further on is the Tidal Pool where we saw samples of multi-colored, living coral.

American Couple William (Bill) and Ellen Smith at the Perspex Tunnel

Next, we moved along a submerged, glass-windowed Perspex tunnel via an 83 m. long travelator, practically nose-to-nose with an array of marine life including a coral reef, stingrays, moray eel, turtles, sharks and other fishes and other fishes.

Underwater World – Schooling Fish Display

Sentosa Island – Pioneers of Singapore/Surrender Chambers Museum (Singapore)

Upon arrival at the ferry terminal, we strolled along the Fountain Garden to the eclectic Pioneers of Singapore/Surrender Chambers Museum (opened in 1983).

Fountain Gardens

The Pioneers of Singapore offers a chronological history of the city-state, from the 14th century to the early 20th century, recreated via an animated and narrated tableaux in wax depicting the pre-British period of Malaysian rule, British colonialism, the founding of colonial Singapore by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Japanese Occupation and the post-colonialist era under Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first Prime Minister.

Pioneers of Singapore

The Surrender Chambers, which depicts Singapore during the World War II years (1941-1945), captures the humiliation of defeat and the joy of victory through the use of rare audio and visual archive material such as photographs and footage, with realistic wax works recapturing the historical moments of the signing of both the British’s humiliating surrender on February 15, 1942 and the Japanese surrender to the Allies on September 12, 1945.

In 1994, the Pioneers of Singapore/Surrender Chambers Museum was extended to include a section called Festivals of Singapore and the attraction was rechristened “Images of Singapore.” The popular wax tableau Surrender Chambers has now been relocated, from Sentosa’s Images of Singapore Museum, to Fort Siloso.

Surrender Chambers

Enroute to Sentosa Island (Singapore)

After our city tour and lunch, we again availed of another RMG Tours Pte. Ltd. tour, this time to the resort island of Sentosa (S$22 each). We were transported to the Mt. Faber Station where we boarded a 6-pax gondola of the Singapore Cable Car System (actually a bi-cable, detachable-grip gondola lift system), traversing 2 supporting towers and the World Trade Center & Ferry Terminal, to Sentosa.

Mount Faber Cable Car Station

Opened on February 15, 1974, it was the first aerial ropeway system in the world to span a harbor. Traveling the 1,650 m. distance at a speed of 4 m. per second, it took us about 12 mins. to get from Mount Faber to Sentosa, including the short interval at the World Trade Center.

World Trade Center and Ferry Terminal

Opened on February 15, 1974, it was the first aerial ropeway system in the world to span a harbor. Traveling 1,650 m. distance at a speed of 4 m. per second, it took us about 12 mins. to get from Mount Faber to Sentosa, including the short interval at the World Trade Center.

The Mount Faber Station has now been renamed as Jewel Box Station while the World Trade Center was renamed as the HarbourFront Centre in 2000 and its cable car station as the HarbourFront Station.

Sentosa

Ocean Park (Hong Kong)

After our morning city tour and lunch, we all proceeded to Ocean Park, one of the most spectacular attractions in Hong Kong.  This huge complex, comprising an amusement park, oceanarium (Asia’s largest) and an aviary, is located at the valley between Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan Mountain along Deep Water Bay, on the south side of Hong Kong.

Ocean Park

Ocean Park

Beautifully set high on a hill overlooking the South China Sea and opened on January 1977 (at a cost of HK$150 million) by Hong Kong Gov. Sir Murray MacLehose, it was a perfect place to take a break from the hustle and bustle  of our Hong Kong holiday.

Cable car

Cable car

Access to the theme park’s headland area, 1,400 ft. above sea level, is either by a 1.5-km. long cable car system or around the other side of the hill at Tai Shue Wan by the longest outdoor covered escalator in the world which can carry 4,000 passengers an hour up a 30-degree slope. Both cable car and escalator offer fantastic views.  We chose to enter the park via the former.

Atoll Reef

Atoll Reef

Sea lions

Sea lions

Penguins

Penguins

The amusement park has a selection of thrill rides including the “Dragon,” one of the world’s longest and fastest roller coasters.  Perched on the edge of the mountain, it features a series of heart-stopping series of twists, turns and giant 360-degree loops.

Walking through the Aviary

Walking through the Aviary

Atoll Reef, a huge aquarium in Marineland, houses 500 different species of fish.  Wave Cove, an exhibition area, is where we saw sea lions, African fur seals, Stettler sea lions, dolphins, penguins, pelicans and Miss Hoi Wai (formerly named Peanuts and Susie), its signature female killer whale (Orsinus orca) captured on October 1977 in Ingolfshofdi, Iceland and moved to Ocean Park on January 27, 1979.

In early 2011, Atoll Reef was closed after 34 years of operation. Many of the fishes were moved to the new Grand Aquarium.  The killer whale Hoi Wai died on April 21, 1997, at the age of 22, due to severe blood loss.

Image-04

The free-flight, walk-through, 2,500 sq. m.  Aviary, at Bird Paradise in Tai Shue Wan, is one of the largest in the world. It houses about 3,000 birds of 150 different species.

Ocean Theater

Ocean Theater

High diving act at Ocean Theater

High diving act at Ocean Theater

The highlight of our visit to Ocean Park was the high altitude diving show at Ocean Theater.   On April 7, 1985, during a single show at the park, Americans Lucy Wardle and Randy Dickison set new world high dive records. Lucy’s dive of 120 ft. (36.8 m.) still stands today. Randy’s dive of 174 ft., 8 ins. surpassed Dana Kunzie’s 172 ft. dive in 1984. The current world high dive record of 177 ft. belongs to Oliver Favre of Switzerland, set in France in 1987.

Ocean Park: Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong.  Tel: 3923 2323.  Open Mondays-Fridays, 9 AM–5 PM.