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Run to Sentosa

It was a cloudy Saturday morning in October 2021 when I started the run at Singapore’s West Coast Park. The plan was to run to Labrador Park and back. A do-able round trip distance of 10km.

When I hit the nicely paved Boardwalk outside Reflections at Keppel Bay, I looked across at Sentosa Island and saw building structures at the site where the Underwater World Singapore used to be. What were they? Why not head across and check it out? It’d been a long while since I ran around Sentosa.

At 9.30am, I was halfway across the Sentosa Boardwalk, where some of the waterfront commercial spaces were vacant. Not surprising given the dearth of tourists in these COVID times.

The public areas at Resorts World Sentosa were quiet, a far cry from the buzzy days less than 2 years ago.

I ran through Festive Walk and up the escalator to the bridge that led to what was once the Merlion Plaza. The water fountain had been turned off, waiting for better times before the waters would dance again.

The Merlion had been torn down, with the new Sensoryscape attraction under construction, slated for completion in 2022.

In the past, pedestrians and runners could skirt around the Merlion and head down Merlion Walk, along the Gaudi-inspired water sculptures down to the beach. As the area was hoarded up, I ran along Beach View Road towards Palawan. There was no pedestrian pathway. Thankfully there was little vehicular traffic.

Kidzania had been closed since June 2020. The Palawan Kidz City building still carried the Kidzania logo on the front facade, and no one could miss Qatar Airways’ B737 nose sticking out of the building.

How I wished a new operator or even Sentosa Development Corporation could take over and restart the attraction. Kidzania is like an experiential Game of Life and kids really enjoy the make-believe world of making and spending money.

Animal Encounters was a just stone’s throw away. I was greeted by a small signboard stating that the attraction had been permanently closed since April 2020.

Right across, the Palawan Beach area — where the Port of Lost Wonder waterplay attraction used to be — was hoarded up.

I ran westwards towards Siloso Beach. A few families with young kids were at Palawan Green.

Palawan Green was a popular venue for events with its sea view location, a constant coastal breeze and convenient location next to the Sentosa Express Station. When would it see better days again?

I ran past the entrance to the Wings of Time live show, which had been suspended since March 2020. It’s a visual spectacle, much better than the Musical Fountain show that was discontinued in 2007 to make way for the construction of Resorts World. Talk to the older folks in SG and most would have fond memories of the Musical Fountain’s evening display with its illustrious long run of 25 years.

There was a steady stream of walkers, runners and cyclists along Siloso Beach Walk.

Started in October 2009, the Wave House with its flowboarding attraction, had a good run before closing in end 2019.

Skypark Sentosa is Sentosa’s and Singapore’s one and only bungee jump. I have not tried it as my bucket list doesn’t include activities for which I could kick the bucket.

The original Sentosa Monorail began operations in February 1982 and was decommissioned in March 2005. It was a round-island loop system that brought you to all the major attractions and you could never get lost. It was replaced by the Sentosa Express in January 2007, which adopted a hub and spoke approach, in tandem with shuttle buses, to ferry guests around. Some parts of the old Monorail’s elevated track were still visible on the island.

I ran past several entry points to control the number of guests entering the beach. It was quiet and the sands of Siloso were undisturbed, probably because of the overcast skies.

There were some visitors at Fort Siloso. It used to be a paid attraction. Good thing the decision was made a few years ago to lift charges for the Fort Siloso Skywalk and Surrender Chambers. It’s a tangible way to showcase the island’s history and encourage more guests to visit.

Finally I reached where the Underwater World aquarium used to be, located at the western end of the island. The structure that I saw from the Keppel Boardwalk turned out to be an “Interim Market” building with sizeable astro-turfed grounds. It appears to be a site for hosting events.

Curiosity satisfied, it was time to head back. I ran along Siloso Road towards Resorts World and passed this entry point up to the Imbiah Trail. Imbiah is one of two protected green areas in Sentosa, the other being Fort Serapong on the eastern end of the island, surrounded by the golf courses.

Arches Restaurant is closed. This used to be a mini-golf attraction called Sijori Wondergolf, which offered three18-hole courses. The attraction closed more than 10 years ago and the building was leased out to different tenants.

Eventually I got back to the link bridge, running in the direction of Resorts World. It was 11.20am, relatively quiet and I met only one couple who told me they were walking towards Imbiah Lookout.

This area at Festive Walk within Resorts World used to stage the Lake of Dreams light and sound show in the evenings. Now it’s just a patch of light landscaping.

I ran down the escalator to the Forum, where many of the eateries and entrance to the casino were located. There was only a light crowd.

I ran up the escalator on the far end and ended up at the plaza leading to the entrance of the SEA Aquarium.

I ran along the promenade towards the Boardwalk. The grey structure on the waters was the Crane Dance robotic performance. It’s an impressive night show that I had seen many times in the past. It was closed in March 2020, as part of the redevelopment plans for Resorts World.

The Waterfront Promenade used to house a number of restaurants. All the buildings are now vacant.

A look at the Sentosa Mountain before heading out on the Boardwalk towards VivoCity.

The Boardwalk’s elevated viewing deck offers a nice open vista of the bay. The cable cars would twinkle silently in the night.

“Reverie — Musical Journey” is an wire sculpture by Victor Tan Wee Tar. This was commissioned and installed at the Boardwalk prior to its opening on 29 January 2011.

I stopped running at the bus stop at Harbourfront. My feet were a tad sore and no point pushing it to run back to West Coast Park. It was an relaxing run of 18 km, full of good memories.

These are lean times for Sentosa as more than 3/4 of its visitors in the pre-pandemic days are tourists. For us locals, do drop by, support the businesses and take your time to explore the island’s charming nooks and crannies.

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