SEA aquarium singapore

11.38am

hows everyone today? i hope nobody is "missing" me too much..hahaha..i think i did mention before, long ago, that if i dont have anything to blog about, i wont blog. i dont like blogging for the sake of. i blog about relevant stuff that impacts me and my life (which can be anything and everything). as you know the saying - "if you have nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all". 

anyway, lets move along, shall we. so on tuesday 10/11/15 indians around the world celebrated their new year which is called diwali or deepavali. it was a public holiday here in singapore and my husband and i decided to make a trip to sentosa island. sentosa is about less than half hour away from where we stay, and about 15 minutes away from the city centre (CBD). this small island (about 500 over hectares) is home to universal studios singapore, themed attractions, man made beaches, cafes, golf courses, luxury homes/condos, hotels, spas etc. its a nice short getaway for the entire family as there's lots to see and do. 

there was a good deal for the South East Asia Aquarium (or s.e.a. aquarium) which was going for only $32 for 2 pax on every tuesdays. value for money right! and so happened, diwali fell on a tuesday, so thats why we decided to go. 

the sea aquarium (fyi, voted traverllers choice 2015 and its ranked top 3 aquariums in asia) is located next to the maritime experimental museum. upon entering the museum, there's an area allocated for asia's maritime heritage and archaeology where folks can learn a bit about the rich history of sea exploration and trade done in asia a long time ago. its like stepping back in time. 

after we were done passing thru all these artifacts, reading up on some history and whatnots, we were asked if we wanted to check out the typhoon theatre. we were then ushered into a big room and sat on benches. it felt as though we were at the front of an old ship ( well i guess thats what the people who created this, were trying to re-enact and it kinda worked). its actually a shipwreck simulation enhanced by some special effects. oh btw, that cost us $4 for 2 pax for a 5 minute experience (hey nothing is free ok!) 

after that short "performance", we entered the ocean gallery followed by the shipwreck habitat and then the shark sea area. i'll be posting lots of photos that i took from my iphone (sorry if the images arent super clear, but it'll have to do).

right so now, im gonna drop it like its hot. time to check out them pix i took. to start of, im just gonna be plonking in some photos taken at the maritime museum. lets step back in time for a tiny bit ok! 

a huge courtyard area filled with shops and eateries and lets not forget universal studios singapore (oh kindly excuse my finger, small boo boo here).

just outside of the maritime museum and SEA aquarium. 
upon entering the museum, there's the admiral zheng he's exhibits and places he's visited during his exploration and the photos below are shots of the "souk" (which means a market place/bazaar) from different bustling ports along the maritime silk route (which admiral zheng he had visited during his travels), that has been recreated for folks to check out. 

some statues in traditional costumes from indonesia.

a reconstruction of a 9th century omani dhow ( also known as jewel of the muscat) is an arab trading ship that sailed from oman to singapore. it was built using traditional materials. guess they were trying to make it as authentic as possible.  

a map showing admiral zheng he's (asia's greatest explorer) trading route for each of his major ports of call, dealing with trading of spices, silk, animals, treasures etc from china to africa. fyi - admiral zheng he lived during the ming dynasty in the 15th century. 

worn by vietnamese folks is their famous conical hat, which happens to be part of their national costume.

china tradional costumes.

that's the statue of marco polo, who was a famous italian merchant traveller who made an epic journey with his father and uncle for almost 24 years. he also wrote a book - the travels of marco polo - that introduced europeans to central asia and china.

spices, beans, cloths etc from india

muscat, oman. 

tribal folks from malindi, kenya. i think those are their traditional drums and fans (hanging on the ceiling). 

we've come to the end of our short but sweet, trip down memory lane. next im gonna be dropping some photos taken at the aquarium. 

this is the shark sea area and that's the scalloped hammerhead shark, an endangered species. there's actually quite a few of them in the huge tank but i managed to only capture this one swimming by.

this is either the silvertip shark or the sandbar shark, not quite sure. 

lovely corals and fishes with their vibrant colors. spectacular i think.

its ze puffer fish merrily swimming along.

dont know the name of this huge mother of a fish but man, i never want to see this type of fish when im snorkelling as it would freak me out! (that's why im not taking up diving although i love the sea plus i have a fear of sharks after watching the movie jaws when i was a kid!)

polkadot jellyfish (please look closer if you cant see them dots)

octopus anybody?

not quite sure what this is but i reckon its some sort of a sea snail. it was swimming by and i quickly took a shot of it. 

lion fishes!

the alaskan king crab and a starfish. 

i love dolphins! if i were to re-incarnate, i would love to be a dolphin, seriously! smart, funny, cool creatures of the sea. 

these corals are spectacular looking and so colorful! 

more lion fishes!

some lovely "reefy" looking sea horses. mother nature created that! simply amazing!

not quite sure what kinda fish this is but definitely unique with its long shaped body and orangey eyes. 

love these vibrant yellow seahorses! aren't they just so cute, as if they are floating on air!

aha! living fossils found in singapore! imagine that! see if you can spot 2 of them!

after exiting from the sea aquarium area, we come to the "bao chuan" cutaway. it features some of the stuff carried by admiral zheng he during his voyage for trading purpose, from animals to precious cargo. 


ok, im done. finally. you guys have a great weekend and until my next blog (which is whenever) - be nice and kind to one another! stay healthy! peace out!

ttfn


3.53pm

p/s happy belated deepavali to all indians around the world! here's to another great year with more happiness and less sadness.