A visit to the S.E.A Aquarium.

i have a love for aquariums, and all kinds of marine life if you haven’t already know. but no, i’m not a diver, not yet. or maybe i’ll never be.. who knows? but it doesnt matter. For now, i’m happy checking out the aquariums all over the world.

and when S.E.A aquarium opened, i kept bugging the husband to go but we never found the chance with him being really busy at work (and unable to take leave) and us burning our every single weekend to settle the house furniture/electronics and renovations matters.

So on Jerry’s birthday, we had wanted to bring him to have some water play fun at POLW (port of lost wonders) in sentosa. what other treats would be better than his favourite water play right? Unfortunately, the skies were dark and threatening to pour so we decided to head to the aquarium instead and invited my cousin and my nephew levon along, since it was also his birthday.

this is gonna be a pictures intensive post, so i’ll let the pictures speak.

at the maritime experiential museum. the museum is bascially all about the maritime history of the S.E.A seas and entry for the museum is FOC.

snapshot of the museum.

nutmegs! I havent seen this around for a while.. used to love eating it. there are many type of the spices that used to be traded at the port of melacca.

picture with a camel. no idea which part of S.E.A it is supposed to be (i wasn’t reading)

does this look like noah’s ark to you?

check out the queue…..

finally approaching the entrance after a while.

zone 1 – straits of karimata and java sea (seriously, i wondered if anyone bothered about their description). it features a shipwreck and how it has evolved into a thriving marine habitat.

a panoramic shot taken using my sony rx100.

Jerry is super unwilling to take pictures. “let me go, i wanna see the fishes” must be what he is thinking here.

jerry interacting with a crab in the tunnel with the staff of the aquarium.

sharks and fishes beneath my feet

why are there no fishes?! LOL. there’s one camouflaging if you can spot it.

the discovery touch pool that is soooooooooooo packed!

“gimme a sea star!”

both jerry and levon checking out the sea stars and fishes.

a big circular tank of fishes swimming..

the corals and marine life within.

the underside of a baby stingray. i can’t help but find it comical looking because it looks like a big smiley.

know what’s the highlight? i hate to admit it, but its the dolphins. they’ll swim right up to the glass and interact with all the people behind so there were loads of gasps, screams and squeals right at the dolphin exhibit. which also means, a lot of people and a lot of pushing and squeezing. argh.

I did manage to snap some great upclose pictures of the dolphins though.

Honestly, other than the manta rays, i was a little disappointed at this display. there weren’t as much ‘big fish’ that i thought i would see, so it fell a little short of my expectation. the gallery was also packed with loads of people, and was a tad noisy which made the fish viewing a little less pleasant for me. shouldn’t watching fish be a totally calming experience where you watch in wonder as the fishes swim gracefully in the ocean? then again, maybe that’s just me.

we plonked the boys down for their milk feed while we watched the fishes swim. My recommendation is not to go too near the window. a upclose-up view isnt that magnificent (but it seems that’s what everyone does). the view is much better at a distance, especially when you have a huge window to look at.

and errmm. you see those little windows opposite? i read about the expensive hotel rooms and how you could watch the fishes at the privacy of your own hotel room with special reflective glass that ensures your privacy. i’m gonna warn you never to do anything funny or be naked if you do stay in the hotel room because i could see from the opposite end at certain angles. the view is even more clear if you view it from the ocean dome part of it. don’t say i never warn you ah! really can see! especially if the hotel lights are on. so now you know ah, if not i think you’ll be more interesting than the fishes for sure.

can i just say that upon exiting the aquarium, i have the strongest urge to have a huge seafood feast? I was CRAVING for lobsters and prawns and crabs. the ocean imagery does funny things to my brain.

here’s some useful information – the s.e.a aquarium opens from 10am – 7pm (sometimes 6pm) daily and tickets are at $29 for adults and $20 for kids aged 4-12 years old. Kids below 4 is free. they have promotions with credit cards so be sure to ask about it. we saved $4 bucks per ticket after the credit card discount.

we also bit the bullet and parked at rws. The carpark fees are capped at $26 per 24 hours and we are fully prepared to pay the horrendous parking fee to save the hassle of transporting the kids. turns out, der’s car was registered as a VIP (by the previous owner) and parking was free! best surprise of the day.

If you really have to visit on the weekends, my recommendation is to go at the later part of the afternoon, around 4pm onwards. the crowd would have been thinner and you spend lesser time trying to jostle among the crowd to view the exhibits. you would also have sufficient time to view everything (without the crowd) because it isnt very big. we arrived at 2 plus and got out before 5pm with 2 running toddlers and we even managed to have a snack meal and their milk feeds done within the time frame. At 5pm, the place is almost empty!

I’m not sure if i’ll be popping back soon, but the next time i do, i’ll be buying myself a meal in the restaurant and enjoy the “ocean view” without the squeeze at the gallery.