Day 219: "Asia's favourite playground"

Our monorail ticket told us we were headed for "Asia's favourite playground" and the friendly female voice on the monorail told us we were "...just moments away from Santosa Beach, alight here for white sandy beaches, exciting activities, relaxing resorts and Santosa's finest shopping and dining experiences." Just as the doors opened and a gust of warm salty air finally won the battle with the uber-aircon, we were all advised to "have fun!"

Santosa, a small island that lies south of Singapore and plays host to luxury apartments, a Universal Studios theme park, numerous hotels and a Casino and the auspicious title of "the southern most tip of continental Asia" - or so the same friendly voice on the free island tram told us.

We were there to have a look around and meet up with some friends. First we hit the beach, a thin strip of imported but, yes, white sand that is dotted with (not naturally-occurring) palm trees and a multitude of bars and cafes. The sea is surprisingly clean, considering that southern Singapore is basically one big port and, in fact, it's funny to look out to sea and see the looming shadows of ships docked not very far away at all instead of the usual endless blue line between the sea and the sky.

As with much else in Singapore; entertainment is at the forefront of commerce on Sentosa and apart from the theme parks and casino, the promenade is packed with fun ways to fill your day. We tried our hand (and our nerves) at Megazip; an outdoor-ropes-adventure type thing that had us stepping of a 5-storey building (spot Rob, above) and flying 450m across Sentosa on a zip-line. Which was fantastic. We also wheeled around on Segways (pictured) and sped down the awesome Luge track when it got dark. We need here to say a massive thank you to Mykel for woo-ing our way into all of the above.

And what better way to end an action-packed day than to relax in a bar, with a pool, on the beach, drinking a beer?

Yeah, so everything there is nothing au natural about Sentosa, who cares? It's a 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, money-making machine. I don't mind. I can see where the ticket stub in my pocket is coming from; it is just one big playground...for everyone. There's no age limit or budget limit that couldn't mean a great day out. Which is, I think, what it's meant to be about. A trip to Singapore simply wouldn't be complete without a visit.