Well, after a long day like yesterday, we did sleep in today however made it downstairs in time for breakfast! Again, I patronized the Gluten Free cart and found MORE GF croissants and GF pain du chocolat on offer plus some little muffins. We did not have breakfast yesterday due to the early start and I was so happy to have these pastries again this morning! They are a delight to eat! I have had the privilege to eat these types of pastries in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and France where they have the specialty bakeries to make such lovely delicacies, along with Canada, especially in Montreal where there is a fabulous gluten free bakery, however in all those travels I have NEVER had gluten free pastries these flaky and soft in my life! Also the croissant peels just like a gluten croissant does and flakes everywhere!
Due to this excitement, I decided that feedback, whether good or positive is due and this was very POSITIVE feedback! I sent a note through the Marriott messaging system to the hotel asking if they made these pastries in house or if a bakery provided them. I was aware of a good gluten free bakery in Singapore, however when I had looked it up, it was now permanently closed. Oh my, what a storm positive feedback caused! Very soon I had a response and a Food and Beverage representative AND the Chef de Pastrie were at our table in the restaurant where we were having breakfast! I tried not to gush too much however I did explain how long I have had Celiac Disease and how WONDERFUL these pastries are! They told me that they had brought a chef from Australia to teach them how to bake them (which makes sense) and part of the reason they are so wonderful is the water in Singapore is so good! Whatever the reason I agree!
We then retired to our room, primarily for me to digest my belly of pastries and omelette along with to plan what we were going to do for the afternoon. The weather forecast was not that positive, however there was a window of opportunity to go out without getting soaked, we hoped! We decided to go to Sentosa, which is basically a man made island that has some hotels, a beach and lots of attractions – such as Universal Studios, the Aquarium, a Skyride, lots of restaurants and a shopping mall. We went there for the Aquarium (Oceanarium) as it was a new aquarium and highly recommended. The previous Aquarium on Sentosa called S.E.A was closed last year and this new Oceanarium was opened instead. It is a HUGE complex, half of it we found out was underground!
First, we stopped by the Westin Lounge to get some help with using the subway / transit system. The system in Singapore is VERY complex and there are stations everywhere so I wanted to ensure that what Google Maps was telling me (Google Maps is known to lead one astray at times) was in fact accurate after our experience in Sydney! Sure enough, Google Maps was correct – for the time of day we needed to take 2 trains, 2 stops each and then switch to the Sentosa Monorail to get to Sentosa Island. Off we went! First we walked to the Downtown Line station, which was interesting as in Singapore, you can tell it can rain a lot as there are these gathering areas under cover where people congregate – there was one between the 2 buildings that made up the Asia Plaza 1 (where the hotel was located above an office tower) and Asia Plaza 2 which was an office tower. We soon arrived at the subway system and I was AMAZED how clean it was and also how easy it was to use! The turnstiles you just tap your credit card and then open (or use a card like the Compass Card in Vancouver), the elevators all worked seamlessly and did not stink, and then instead of standing on a platform, the area where the train arrives is actually enclosed and the doors open up at the same time the train doors open and you pass through onto the train! Seamless experience! Here are some pictures:
We got to the Oceanarium and paid to enter and what an EXCELLENT experience it was! I took some videos of the jelly fish exhibit as I found them just to be fascinating – they are way cooler than the plain jelly fish that we see near Vancouver!
Here is a video of the Pacific Sea Nettle – the “Fried Egg” one did not work out 🙁
Next we have the Purple Striped Sea Nettle (venomous), White Spotted Sea Jelly, and then a whole tank of small sea jellies! I did not realize that the plain jane sea jellies were such an important part of the ecosystem and keeping it in check – they eat plankton and small fish where they are eaten by the sea turtles which are very prevalent in this part of the world.
Here are their cool videos! The tank of sea jellies was HUGE – about 20 feet tall and wide!
Next we move onto the Ancient Waters area – boy some of these creatures were UGLY! This was mainly a static display –
Now, we are in the aquarium display with LOTS of different fishes and creatures! Here are some pictures of some things that I have not seen before and some miniature ones that are VERY LARGE were we live!
Next we were transported into marshlands which were pretty interesting! There were three displays – two if which we looked at and the third, which I did not take a picture of, was a touch and feel display with marine staff that kids lined up for. Let’s say this area was VERY popular and noisy!
Next, we took another trusty cool elevator down another level (we are now 2 stories below the ground) to see the big fish display and what a display it was! It even included some human fish!
After going through the walk through passage in the tank, we saw some displays about sharks and how their skin has a unique texture that barnacles and algae cannot attach to making it basically bacteria resistant! This type of surface is being research for various purposes in hospitals and other public places. Also, the structure of shark skin has lead to the development of paint that reduced surface resistance thus improving the efficiency of transportation and a reduction of fuel consumption.
Next we entered the Coral Gardens. Did you know that coral supports 25% of the marine species in the world? Here are some pictures of the various coral displays with their fish.
Below are Hammer (with a few Brains) and Torch coral videos –
Next we entered the Reef Animal Display – there were some different shrimps on display however they were moving FAST and my pictures in the dark did not work out very well! I did capture the following ones though!
They Sea Horses were so cut I just had to take a video of them scooting around!
Then we ran into the Aquarist area – now I thought it was talking about those who are Aquarius Zodiac sign, but no, they meant Marine Biologists! These are the people who are keeping these special populations of creatures displayed in the Oceanarium alive and going! They provide all the residents with a healthy diet, enrichment programs, and healthcare so that all the populations can flourish (this I got from a sign).
After the Aquarist area, we were surprised to enter an area with yet another HUGE tank of fish swimming around! Look at how big it is compared to the levels that people can stand! We took some pictures and then moved on as I was not able to get any closer than the top level. Now looking at it – I think the window you can see on the lower right of the first picture is where I took my shark photos earlier…
Then there was an area on Il Nino and Il Nina and their effect on the oceans and climate along with a display about garbage in the sea and the “garbage patches” which there are 4 – Great Pacific, Indian Ocean, Atlantic and Southern Pacific. Here is the picture of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch! Not a good thing to think about in the middle of the ocean all this trash has gathered!
Now we are into more aquariums with interesting fish from Asia which I have captured below –
Here is the ceiling tall fish tank in action!
Then we came to the eels – so creepy! There were two big eels in this display and they were roaming in and around the display through the holes like it was playtime! Why they were together in the same area I have no idea – the yellow one went back in as you can see below…
And then popped out up top and why the eel did not eat that fish that kept swimming into his mouth is beyond me!
Then we walked through the giant Aquarium with the sharks yet again (different passage way this time) where there was a shipwreck located and saw some more cool rays! This one has an angry face!
I thought we were done with the deep now, but not true! Next was a display of the Triton Submersible which is the first vessel to reach the deepest point on all 5 oceans. It is certified to dive to 3.350 metres! Along with it, in a very dark display, there were pictures of some fish that the submersible took pictures of – one of which is pictured below. Lastly, in the final hall, another giant submersible – the actual bones that you can walk through of a blue whale!
The last exhibit was a “modern” take on a fish bowl – a suspended living room filled with water and fish swimming around! After seeing that as we departed, our visit to the Oceanarium was over! What an experience! I have included only about 1/4 of the videos and pictures that I took – consider this post a highlight! We then took the elevator 2 stories up to the gift shop – all tourist places end at the gift shop and there we saw the torrential rain coming down! Not a surprise, however yikes! It was REALLY raining hard and bouncing off the ground by 6 inches!
We then aborted my planned next activity – to take the Skyride from Sentosa to the mountain top in Singapore and then the subway back to the hotel. Taking the Skyride would not be worth the money as it was completely socked in and pouring and not expected to let up in the next hour. Instead, the lady at the gift shop told me how to get back to the Sentosa Monorail Station under cover so that we could just take the subway to the hotel instead and skip the Skyride!
We arrived back at the subway station that is next to the hotel – we did not know we could walk underground to the hotel – so we went up to the street and then risked the rain crossing over to the hotel and at that point saw the elevator up from the concourse below! Noted for tomorrow! We spent another night in the Westin Lounge and Andrew had appetizers and some beer while I was presented with a lovely gluten free chicken sandwich! Who needs dinner after that?
Tomorrow our plan is to visit the Bay by the Gardens which is another tourist area in Singapore that is quite popular to visit! See you for some live action tomorrow!