The View From My Beer
A glass of Sapporo at Coastes overlooking Siloso Beach. There were no local options, but given I was at the southernmost point in continental Asia I had to have an Asian beer.
Sentosa Island
Sentosa Island (Isle of Tranquility), is a popular island for tourists, connected to the main island of Singapore by a . A former military and prison site, 70% the island is still covered by natural rainforest, making it a great place to walk. The island gained international attention in 2018 when it hosted the historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un.
My Walk
I had a late flight out of Singapore tonight allowing me plenty of time to explore Sentosa Island. I vaguely remember visiting Sentosa on my first visit to Singapore in 1999 and wanted rekindle those memories. Above you can see photos of Silosa Beach taken in 1999 (left) and 2025 (right).
Sentosa Beaches
Sentosa has three beaches on its Southern side – Tanjong, Palawan, and Silosa. Back in 1999 I took the cable car across to Sentosa Island and visit Solos Beach. This time, I decided to walk from Vivio City and head towards Tanjong Beach before making my way along Palawan and Solosa beach. It was a nice stroll along the beaches, punctuated by the ocassional visit by a monkey. I also walked out to a point claiming to be the Southernmost point in continental Asia. Being an island, that is not technically correct, but lets not let facts get in the way of a great story and photo!
Sensoryscape
One of my memories from my 1999 visit to Singapore was the Sentosa Merlion. The above are two of the photos that I took of my original visit to Sentosa. The 37m merlion was demolished 20 years later in 2019 to make way for the new Sentosa Sensoryscape. It had been designed by Australian artist James Martin.
The Sentosa Sensoryscape is a 350m multi-sensory walkway that connects the beaches with Resorts World Sentosa. It features six themed gardens that blend nature, architecture, and technology to awaken the sense – Lookout Loop, Tactile Trellis, Scented Sphere, Symphony Streams, Palate Playground, and Glow Garden. The coolest 7-eleven store I have ever seen was also nearby.
Resorts World
The northern part of Sentosa contains Resorts World, a resort complex containing hotels, Universal Studios, Adventure Cover Water Park, and Singapore Aquarium, the world’s second largest aquarium. I didn’t spend a lot of time here. Having lived so long in Southern California and many visits to the Gold Coast, theme parks were not high on my priority list. It was interesting to see how much Sentosa had developed since my first visit. I could easily imagine coming to Singpore and spending an entire week on Sentosa Island alone!
Changi Ariport
My visit to Singapore was not quite over. I went t the airport early knowing that the airport itself was quite the place. Jewel, a ten-story nature-theme entertainment and retail complex opened next to the airport in 2019. It was connected to the terminal from which I was departing. Inside was over 300 retail and dining outlets as well as the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
