I've been to the Southernmost Tip of Asia
Wow. Only two more days left! It’s funny how we’ve been looking forward to going home SO MUCH, and suddenly we all feel like we haven’t had enough time and there’s still so much to do… and we’re a little sad that it’s over. Whether or not people come back for the next leg, it really is the end of a whole year of something that was pretty big, and encompassed our whole lives! I’m just keeping busy and not thinking about this being the end yet, because we all know how I get about crying.
To keep busy on Thursday, we went to Sentosa. Jessica, Joe, and I spent a ton of money so that we could do the ultimate vacation thing… swimming with dolphins! Sentosa is a man-made island on the very Southern-most tip of Singapore. It’s been developed kind of like it’s Disney, with sandy beaches and palm trees, and about a thousand tourist attractions. We caved and finally went, and it was great! Although we had to wake up super-early to get there, it was an amazing day. We woke up to rain, which was pretty scary, considering the dolphin swim can be cancelled because of inclement weather. Luckily, it cleared up, and by 9:30 am we were arriving at the Dolphin Lagoon. We changed into life vests and water shoes, and got a lesson about how to act around the dolphins. One of the neat things was that the dolphins we would be swimming with were Indo-Chinese dolphins, which are actually pink! They’re born grey, but they turn pinker and pinker as they get older. We learned to feed them, and tricks to do with them, and then we actually got in the water with them.
The dolphins were so sweet and gentle! Their noses are a little longer than dolphins I’ve seen before, and they have a bunch of tiny teeth, so at first I thought they might be a little scary. However, up close they were lovely. We got them to shake hands, twirl around, jump, sing, and tons of other tricks. We got to hold onto their dorsal fins and get pulled around the lagoon, which was amazing. I knew that dolphins were smart, but they totally impressed us. They all had their own personalities, like Han, the snobby one. When she kissed Joe she spit afterwards! Jumbo was the oldest, with the most patience. He was a little chubbier than the other dolphins, so his spins were a bit slower and clumsier. We even got a painting done by Young, the youngest dolphin there. She held the brush in her mouth and painted with us. Her trainer said that her paintings would always reflect her mood, with long, short, wavy, smooth or dotted lines. We got to spend an hour in the water with them, and when it was done we didn’t want to leave! It was so beautiful.
Afterwards we watched the official dolphin show that’s sponsored by the aquarium on Sentosa. Our dolphins did all the tricks we had done with them, along with a few more. They were fantastic! After it was done, the sky was finally clearing up. We walked to the closest beach and tried to get some sun. After about an hour in the scalding sun, Jessica and I were dying. The first 30 minutes were great, and then we had fifteen minutes of sweating, and the last fifteen minutes were spent lamenting about how we were cooking, and how we had never been hotter in our whole lives. I finally jumped in the water, but since this is a fake island the water is from the Singapore Straits, where tons of shipping boats go. It was fine, but not really cold and refreshing. We eventually gave up, and joined Joe at the beachside bar in the shade. We had some food and pina coladas, and met some peacocks who were roaming free around the island.
Although we could have spent the whole day there, we were pretty exhausted by the end of the day. After lunch we checked out the aquarium, and the famous travellator there. We had heard about it for weeks, and I had imagined a tube reaching out into the ocean. Instead, we got a people mover that moved you by the fish tanks so you didn’t have to walk. Wow. It was a fun time though, and Jess and I both went nuts in the gift shop. On our way home, we decided to take the scenic cable car that goes to and from Sentosa. We got a great view of a lot of Singapore, and when we finally arrived home were hot and sweaty enough that we jumped right into the pool!
After more time in the sun I showered to get ready to head to the theatre. Thursday was actually a pretty exciting night because I had a visitor at the show! It’s pretty rare that someone I know comes to see the show while I’m in Asia, so this was definitely something to look forward to. The visitor was Alex Thio, who’s actually from Cincinnati. He plays the piano for Mrs. Gartner at Sycamore Jr. High, and everyone my mom knows was dying for him to see my show. He was in town visiting family, since he’s originally from Singapore, and it was awesome to meet him! I got him tickets, and met him and his sister before the show to talk shop about the jr. high and Linda. He was so nice, and it was great to see somebody from home, especially when I’m almost there. That night we headed to Medesto’s for our last night of pizza in Singapore, and lamented the end of our midnight meals. We’ve had some good times there and we’ll definitely miss the huge 20’’ pizza! I'll probably miss everyone in the show, too...
To keep busy on Thursday, we went to Sentosa. Jessica, Joe, and I spent a ton of money so that we could do the ultimate vacation thing… swimming with dolphins! Sentosa is a man-made island on the very Southern-most tip of Singapore. It’s been developed kind of like it’s Disney, with sandy beaches and palm trees, and about a thousand tourist attractions. We caved and finally went, and it was great! Although we had to wake up super-early to get there, it was an amazing day. We woke up to rain, which was pretty scary, considering the dolphin swim can be cancelled because of inclement weather. Luckily, it cleared up, and by 9:30 am we were arriving at the Dolphin Lagoon. We changed into life vests and water shoes, and got a lesson about how to act around the dolphins. One of the neat things was that the dolphins we would be swimming with were Indo-Chinese dolphins, which are actually pink! They’re born grey, but they turn pinker and pinker as they get older. We learned to feed them, and tricks to do with them, and then we actually got in the water with them.
The dolphins were so sweet and gentle! Their noses are a little longer than dolphins I’ve seen before, and they have a bunch of tiny teeth, so at first I thought they might be a little scary. However, up close they were lovely. We got them to shake hands, twirl around, jump, sing, and tons of other tricks. We got to hold onto their dorsal fins and get pulled around the lagoon, which was amazing. I knew that dolphins were smart, but they totally impressed us. They all had their own personalities, like Han, the snobby one. When she kissed Joe she spit afterwards! Jumbo was the oldest, with the most patience. He was a little chubbier than the other dolphins, so his spins were a bit slower and clumsier. We even got a painting done by Young, the youngest dolphin there. She held the brush in her mouth and painted with us. Her trainer said that her paintings would always reflect her mood, with long, short, wavy, smooth or dotted lines. We got to spend an hour in the water with them, and when it was done we didn’t want to leave! It was so beautiful.
Afterwards we watched the official dolphin show that’s sponsored by the aquarium on Sentosa. Our dolphins did all the tricks we had done with them, along with a few more. They were fantastic! After it was done, the sky was finally clearing up. We walked to the closest beach and tried to get some sun. After about an hour in the scalding sun, Jessica and I were dying. The first 30 minutes were great, and then we had fifteen minutes of sweating, and the last fifteen minutes were spent lamenting about how we were cooking, and how we had never been hotter in our whole lives. I finally jumped in the water, but since this is a fake island the water is from the Singapore Straits, where tons of shipping boats go. It was fine, but not really cold and refreshing. We eventually gave up, and joined Joe at the beachside bar in the shade. We had some food and pina coladas, and met some peacocks who were roaming free around the island.
Although we could have spent the whole day there, we were pretty exhausted by the end of the day. After lunch we checked out the aquarium, and the famous travellator there. We had heard about it for weeks, and I had imagined a tube reaching out into the ocean. Instead, we got a people mover that moved you by the fish tanks so you didn’t have to walk. Wow. It was a fun time though, and Jess and I both went nuts in the gift shop. On our way home, we decided to take the scenic cable car that goes to and from Sentosa. We got a great view of a lot of Singapore, and when we finally arrived home were hot and sweaty enough that we jumped right into the pool!
After more time in the sun I showered to get ready to head to the theatre. Thursday was actually a pretty exciting night because I had a visitor at the show! It’s pretty rare that someone I know comes to see the show while I’m in Asia, so this was definitely something to look forward to. The visitor was Alex Thio, who’s actually from Cincinnati. He plays the piano for Mrs. Gartner at Sycamore Jr. High, and everyone my mom knows was dying for him to see my show. He was in town visiting family, since he’s originally from Singapore, and it was awesome to meet him! I got him tickets, and met him and his sister before the show to talk shop about the jr. high and Linda. He was so nice, and it was great to see somebody from home, especially when I’m almost there. That night we headed to Medesto’s for our last night of pizza in Singapore, and lamented the end of our midnight meals. We’ve had some good times there and we’ll definitely miss the huge 20’’ pizza! I'll probably miss everyone in the show, too...
posted by Beth at 10:28 PM
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