What a fabulous experience at Sentosa! I touched so many creatures I can’t even count them anymore. From butterflies to sting rays and even a dolphin, it was an absolutely thrilling time for me. Though I enjoyed the views from the Tiger Tower and Merlion, what stood out the most was the time I spent at the Butterfly Garden and Insect Kingdom, Dolphin Lagoon, and Underwater World.
At the Butterfly Garden and Insect Kingdom, I saw the world’s heaviest bug and then walked through a lovely garden filled with parrots, butterflies, and fish. The butterflies teased me by flying oh so close but zooming out of view before I could snap a proper shot. I did manage to catch some as they were resting and even got one to climb on my finger before fluttering off. Meanwhile, the coolest insects were either in glass containers or preserved and pinned on the walls.
The Dolphin Lagoon provided good entertainment as the pink dolphins there showed off their speed, balance, and accuracy. They even showed off for us before the show and posed for pictures. They are still adolescents, so only their bellies have started to turn pink, which was interesting to see. After the show, we were allowed to pose for a picture with one of the dolphins for a small fee, so I happily lined up for my turn. My dolphin’s name was Splash and loved the ladies, but swam away when the only guy entered the water! He was good for me though and struck the best pose. 🙂
The Underwater World was a superb conclusion to the day, starting with a touch pool that allowed us to feel starfish, pufferfish, sting rays, and other random fish. It was amazing to feel the soft texture riddled with bumps that the blue-dotted sting ray had and the hardness of the starfish. The fish were peculiar fellows, not allowing you to touch them, but coming to rub against you before shooting off, if you stayed still.
Continuing on, there was a pool entirely of rays that would whisk by and occasionally stop to say hello and see if you had food. It made me want to have a pet sting ray – they’re better than dogs! I spent a lot of time there, petting their soft bodies as they went by and marveled at the opportunity. There was a display showing sharks at their stages of development with live examples! Then it was case after case of bizarre and brilliant species, like jellyfish, cuttlefish, seahorses, crabs, and sharks. There were these “angels” that flapped their wings and cuttlefish that changed skin patterns in the blink of an eye. Some leafy-looking sea horses floated around near the seaweed they resembled and some giant crabs scuttled slowly across the sand.
By and by, I came across the famous tunnel. Stepping on to the rotating belt, I began to travel along underneath a collection of huge sea creatures. Some of the fish were so big I wondered how they were ever caught. It was so exciting to be there, with them swimming around and above. Many a time I stepped off the travelator to capture footage of these giant things and stare in awe at them as they glided along. One of them even paused to look at me for awhile, probably examining me just as I was doing the same to it.
I really enjoyed my time there and I really could spend an eternity there, petting and observing these underwater delights. One day I want an aquarium of my own.
