Crew - please take your seats for take off

"Crew, please take your seats for take off". And that's the moment when my heart, stomach, mind, body and soul start plummeting into the abyss of dread. Sudhir's fingers must be mush by now; and seat handles must be dented. 

Take off, mid-flight turbulence and banking - these 3 make sick to my stomach; I wish teleportation was a reality.

But mind you, descent before landing is something I am super comfortable in; "yay, we are going down - soon this ordeal will be over and done with. We are at a lower altitude, hence a crash will be less severe in terms of casualties" - awesome, right ?

I s**t bricks every time we take off. What if Bernoulli fails ? What if physics decides to give up at that very moment ? Why do we have to bloody bank every time the captain has to turn the damn flight ? OMG - what if the plane loses balance and we just plummet downwards due to the banking while making a turn? I actually clench and hold the plane while it makes a turn so that I can try to keep some balance in the flight and maintain the centre of gravity - don't ask me why I do it, I just do.

I'm not sure why the fear of take off and en route flight set in, but I have an idea. I guess it was some time in 2015 while going to Bombay through terrible turbulence. The pilot asked the crew to strap in during descent and the plane shook, rattled and bounced all the way down. It actually even made those screeching sounds you hear in movies when a plane is crashing. I screamed out loud and scrunched up into a fetus pose while seated. Since then, every time the captain switches on the seat belt sign mid-flight, I break into a heavy sweat - obviously same thing happens during take off.

I understand this fear is silly - I know it is stupid of me to be so worried and scared during flights. I know the stats - flying is the safest way to travel. Chances of you dying are better than one in a million - the probability of being hit by a truck in a football field is higher! Yet, there are loads of people who are worried during flights - with me being one of them. The recent Jet airways episode and Indigo-Spice Jet episodes do NOT help ...

I've read several blogs and articles on how to combat the fear :
1. Keep yourself occupied - read a book
2. Have a countdown timer on your watch / phone so that you know how much time is left for landing

*3. Medicate yourself a lot so that you pass out

*4. Don't sleep a few days before you fly so that you cannot help but sleep on the flight

5. Check out all the probability stats that you can before flying

6. Talk to you co-passengers / air hostesses about your fear - they might be able to help calm you down

etc. And there are many many more.

(by the way, the starred points are concoctions of my own :) )

I have even tried Silva Mind Control to help with the fear. My dad has helped with this and I've imagined (while in the alpha state) super comfortable flights, with me enjoying the ride and not having any anxiety. I've even done the "safe place" mind control session where I concoct a potion that will help calm my nerves; where I've programmed myself to calm down by joining the 3 fingers of my left hand... But somehow - nothing has worked.

So then I tried keeping a talisman with me - I took a print of the Hanuman Chalisa ('coz Hanumanji is a stud right ? He carried a whole mountain for Laxman - what's an aircraft to him :) ). I read that feverishly every time we take off. I used to go for Balavihar classes as a kid - and I am so so so so so grateful to my parents for making me do that. I know prayers; I have my talismans; I feel slightly calmed every time I get scared in a flight.

Another thing I do is check the expression of the air hostesses. They look calm ? All good! Worried / tense expression - we're doomed.
I even bugged the crap out of a friend of mine (Rajasik) who is a pilot with IndiGo. Questions like - will the flight be steady ? How does the pilot know what to do if an engine fails ? Can it fly with one engine ? There are enough airports for an emergency landing en route within India right ? Do they know how to handle emergency situations ?
Hahahha ! He patiently answered all my questions and told me that they are trained for exactly such situations and know exactly what to do in case something does go wrong ...

However, the best, most effective thing that helps calm nerves on a flight is when the captain speaks. My God, the soothing effect his / her voice has on my nerves cannot be explained in words. It somehow gives me that comfort, and this runs through my mind - "the captain is speaking and he sounds all fine. Which means that everything is going fine. Everything is under control and we are not plummeting to our deaths". I'm serious, when the captain speaks (even though he just gives an update of how much longer we are going to take, or apologises for the delay) it just feels much better. I get that sense of comfort that he is in control and all is good, and the sun comes out and everything is nice, shiny, bright and happy :)

I wish all captains spoke every now and then on the flight to the passengers (and NOT to the crew to strap in) - even if it was about the weather, clouds, a joke, how much longer we were going to take, etc. It has a super strong calming effect on anxious passengers - trust me. 

Guess I need to share this with a pilot friend of mine, maybe IndiGo will make this their norm :)

Current skin care regime

Sephora launched their third store in Bangalore and as expected I wanted to go check it out and pick up a foundation (got tanned recently and the current shade is a little too light). Found a shade that matched perfectly - Sudhir agreed that it did, but he was able to make out that I had something on my face as it looked "smoother". I explained to him that that is what foundations were meant to do :-| Now, as it was a new store, while billing I asked them for some samples. The sales lady apologised saying that she did not have anything from the range that I purchased to give me. When she asked if I had any skin concern or if I wanted to try on some cream, I told her that I have severe combination skin and would like some cream for my face.

Now, coming to my face. When I say extreme combination, I mean extreme combination. It is extreme to the extent that the dry parts flake, and the oily parts have small pimples... yeah, it is a pain finding something that suits my face, which doesn't make it too oily, but at the same time something which moisturises it enough at the dry parts. I have tried a lot of creams, and somehow after some time, they end up making my skin either too oily or too dry.

So, the sales lady gave me a bunch of sachet testers from this brand called Shiseido. Now, I've seen this brand across counters at Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop and other outlets, but I've always thought that it is another brand like Boujouris or summat - so I've never really bothered with checking their stuff out.  The sales lady asked the person at the Shiseido counter to give me something for my face - so the lady gave me this White Lucent range of testers. I got sachets for their entire range, and she also threw in something called Ultimune and a day eye cream. All I could think of at that point of time was "Cool !! So so many free thingies ! yay" :D

After coming home, before I started putting anything on my face, I did some research online and found out that Shiseido is actually a 140 year old Japanese company and is a leading cosmetics company for skin care and cosmetics! Bottom line is - they know their stuff. I was convinced and I began using the stuff :) 

Let me tell you, Sudhir was able to make out a difference on my face after 4 days of use (yes, I had to bug him, but he said he could make out a difference at the end of it). I decided to get the products in full size. :) :) :) Went to Sephora near my office and when I went to the counter I was told that the entire range costs 14k!!!! FOURTEEN K ??? LOL ... I decided to get one of the products from what I was given earlier - the Ultimune. I shelled out 4.8K for a 30ml bottle, but I was like, "it's ok. It will last me at least 4 months which essentially is all right". Now what this is supposed to do is help improve your skin's immunity and also enhance the effects of anything you put on your face afterwards. I already own the Loreal clinical white serum that is supposed to help make your skin smooth and remove skin spots. I have quite a few - it is hereditary and caused due to hormonal changes as well, and it is something that I hate!! One way to remove it is through a laser process, hence you can understand my reluctance to go that way. I've decided that that will be my last resort. Very honestly speaking, I felt a little bit of my heart break a bit when I swiped my card - 4.8k in one shot for a 30ml bottle of face serum... 

While I was billing, I spoke to the Shiseido guy at Sephora and told him there is no way I can shell our 14k in one shot :D I would much rather try one product and if I liked it, I might come and pick up another piece. He told me not to worry - hence, check out my freebies !!! He gave me the serum (2 packs), the lotion (in 2 small bottles), a proper tester size for the toner, face wash from the White Lucent range and 2 bottles of the night lotion :) :) Reason he gave these is so that I can figure out if I like them and they suit me before I decide to take the plunge :D I also got 4 small tester bottles of perfumes (Burberry Body, Mont Blanc and Boss) *yay*

After buying the product and getting all the free stuff, I also realise that I am not "young" anymore, and need to pay some attention to my skin :)

I did some reading up online and spoke to Roomi as well, and learnt that skin care regime for today's day and age should be in the following manner. Face wash -> toner / softer -> pre-serum (optional) -> serum -> face cream -> eye cream (as skin around the eyes is much more delicate) -> sun block. I know our moms will be like "this is way too much stuff to put on your face; we never used anything except cream or maybe powder at max".. But the thing is, the climate, weather and the environment we are growing up in has changed now. There is much more dust in the air, our skin is exposed to so much more pollution and God knows what all chemicals from exhaust fumes. We have to take care of our skin, else I'm pretty sure we will age faster than our moms (I am already being told that my mom looks like my sister when we go out together). So all this research did in fact tell me that using the stuff I got is good.

This being said, I got myself Clinique toner (face softener) and moisturising gel (not lotion) for combination dry skin. My cousin, Divya, told me that she recently bought the same product and is in love with it. She specifically called me to tell me this as we both have similar skin :D The lady in the white coat at the Clinique section at Shoppers Stop told me to use the No.2 toner and No.3 moisturising gel - lotion would make my skin too oily, hence the gel. The toner actually helps exfoliate dead cells a bit while applying with a bit of cotton - so I do follow that religiously :)

Current regime :

1. Face wash : my favourite Lakme Strawberry face wash. Been using it for over 7 years now

2. Toner : Clinique (No.2)

3. Pre serum : Shiseido Ultimune

4. Serum : Loreal Clinical White serum. For this step I am considering making it either the "Shiseido White spot correcting serum" or the "Clinique Dark Spot remover serum" - both are said to target the spots on one's face which come due to age / sun burn / tanning / hormones. I got a small sample from the Clinique counter at Shoppers Stop when I bought the toner and cream, lets see how that works. The Shiseido one is also supposed to be good - I need to decide which one of the two I will pick.

5. Face cream : Clinique dramatically different moisturising gel

6. Eye cream : Shiseido white lucent SPF 15

7. Sun block : La-Roche Posay SPF 50

So far I am liking the extra attention I am giving my skin, and I think it will definitely help in the long run. I stopped getting any facials done and am only going for clean ups. As for the irritating spots I have - they seem o have reduced (or maybe I'm saying this because I have paid so much money for the stuff I am using :P). But all in all, I am happy :)

Singapore Day8

It was our last day at Singapore and I had started feeling bad about it. Not because we had not seen everything, but because the trip was coming to an end, I had office to go back to, I was going to leave such a wonderfully organised place (Where people follow lanes even on escalators) ... Anyway, decided to make the most of the last day there; and waddayaknow :) Orchard Street for shopping was on our list!! *woohoo*

Ravi had told us that we would go to a store which sold Smoked Paprika, it was a Japanese store at some mall somewhere. So we got on the MRT and got off at the station which was close by, and we needed to walk a bit. Now the cool thing about this particular line (think it is the Harbour line), is that the trains do not have a driver cabin - which essentially means you can see the tunnel in front, and the way it twists and turns !! I was super psyched and stood right at the front of the train the whole journey :) :)

Once we reached the stop which had the Japanese supermarket, the boys refused to listen to my directions; they used Google and we still ended up taking a much longer route than needed :| We went straight to the store and picked up the goods (I picked up some extra bottles to give my mom); post which we decided to take a bus to go to Orchard :)

A double decker greeted us and I ran to the top and sat right at the front to get an awesome view :) :)

Once we reached Orchard ... I had no clue where we should start and what all malls I needed to go to, and which all shops I wanted to enter and maybe consider shopping from ! There is so much to see, so many shops to enter that I was at a loss for a while :D

Ravi suggested that we start at Ion Orchard - one of the more popular malls there, so we did. I went to Sephora (as expected), and was busy Whatsapp-ing a cousin of mine with images of lipstick shades she wanted, when Sudhir called and told me to meet him and Ravi at this store called Daiso. Fine, so I left everything and went there, only to realise that the shop was selling almost everything under the sun for 2 SGD!! I helped the 2 of them add more crap to their already filled basket of nonsense. What all did it contain ? A panda that swings when kept in the sun, magnetic tape, fridge magnets that are small spheres, 2 notebooks, a piggy bank, a glow in the dark skeleton, the list goes on :)

After we got done with this time pass shopping and I finished my serious stuff at Sephora, we decided to head back home, and pick up a suitcase on our way back. I realised that with all our shopping and us arriving with already filled tony suitcases, we needed a bigger one. So we walked around Toa Payoh market and picked up a nice suitcase for 50 bucks post which we headed back home.

I began packing while Sudhir and Ravi helped bubble wrap some liquid items that we needed to take back for Subhi. It was a good thing we bought the suitcase - all the stuff we got at Sentosa, the zoo, bird park, all the bottles and creams etc fit into the new bag, while the 2 old ones contained just our clothes :D

Once I got done with all the packing, Ravi suggested we go eat authentic Singaporean food. Near his place there is this restaurant (I cannot recall the name), but he said that Subhi and him go there regularly to eat. So we walked to the restaurant and ordered some food, which came pretty quickly. There is this chilli paste sort of thingy that is served along with the rice, which is CRAZY ! The food was simply amazing and so damn delicious and spicy, that we could not stop eating :D It actually had those dried red chilis in the dish !!

After a good filling dinner, we walked back home and crashed.

The next day we woke up at 5AM (a cab had been called), and we reached the airport and purchased some usual stuff from Duty free and got on the flight back home.

Now comes the part where I explain why 8 days are not enough.

I am sure you've all come to realise we did a whole lot and visited a lot of places. This being said, there is a lot that we did not see. Botanical gardens, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore flyer and a few things at Sentosa. I know that all these would have taken another day and maybe if we had stayed back on Saturday we could have covered these.

Now the reason we took 8 days to do the stuff we did is because we walked every single part of the way. In every zoo and bird park we did not take the trams which many people were taking (I am sure they came through tour packages). The trams help save time, but then you do not get to experience the place and spend time taking in the sights and sounds.

I would love to go back there and have considered working at that place - I LOVED the organised society it is. The way people follow rules, especially on the roads, just blew my mind. There is a lot of positive re-inforcement by the government all over the city which I think is a good thing. Why be told "Don't do this" when you might as well say "Do this".

Anyway, thus ended Sudhir's first trip abroad and our first foreign trip as a couple :) Was tones of fun and we have already started making plans of where we should go next :D

Day 7, Sentosa Day3

Last day at Sentosa and we had passes for Adventure Water Cove. Initially we were to come some time in August, and this place was shut at that time - good thing I changed teams at Amazon during that time due to which taking leave was .... *ahem* :) :)

We initiated our check-out process at the place and left our luggage at the counter once again. At the cove we realised that we are going to get drenched from head to toe - it's a water park. So we rented a locker (at 10 for the whole day), and then jumped into the lazy river :) Sooper good fun it is, you get to see what all the park has to offer and decide what all you are going to go in. After we got done with one round, we went on this slide ride where you twist and turn and almost bang your head on the top of the tube :D thrilling fun and you walk out all dizzy :D There are 3-4 rides like this - all of which are super intense and leave you wondering if you are going to crash into some part of the tube and break some part of your body!! Now as we were not carrying our phones, there are no pics - but you can check out the rides here.

Peanut butter french fries - yummm

After we got done with some rides and lazed about in the wave pool, I was feeling hungry. We have this plastic bag (its a zip-lock of sorts but narrower) in which we keep our money so that it does not get wet when we go into the water. We use it a lot in Goa after taking a cue from foreigners who travel this way. Sudhir had this pack with him, and when he reached for it ... You can imagine what had happened. We rushed back to the Lost and Found department right at the entrance of the park and gave all details. I even mentioned the number of notes of denomination types and had a sinking feeling that the lady is only taking notes and if they find it, they will give it to us. but what do you know !! She handed over the pouch to us as all details given were perfect !! Woohoo... You will by now know, Sudhir is not going to be carrying any money on him. Ever. 

I kept the packet with me from that point forward.

After grabbing something to eat, we went snorkelling - which is free! yay :) everything else is so expensive in this resort world, we were super thrilled to have something for free :P You swim in a tank that has loads of fish swimming below you; to be quite honest it is a little scary at some points... Coz it is quite deep and at one point the snorkel came off and I drank some salt water :D But this swim was brilliant. After this we walked along the park and wanted to dive with the dolphins but it was way too expensive (over 200 dollars per head) ... Hence we got done with the place around 1PM :P

After this we left the place and checked out Vivo City mall (where the Sentosa express ends)... Sudhir wanted to watch Dr Strange - which we did. Got to rest our backs - our bags were not light. Loved the movie, the visuals will blow your mind. 

We reached Ravi's place around 6:30PM and then freshened up, post which he took us to Holland Village. We visited 3 restaurants there and had an awesome time. At one of the places, while we were eating some food, the entire place started smelling YUMMY ... So I called the waiter and asked him to bring me the exact same dish that was being prepared at that point of time, and what do you know ... French fries cooked in truffle oil is what we ate :) Holland village is the place where expats live, and you can make out from the crowd that we were in a posh society.

We reached home around 12AM and crashed for the day. I was slightly sad that the trip was almost coming to an end - but I was also glad that the next day we could get up late and leave for the day at Orchard "araam se" :)

Day6, Sentosa Day2

Today we had passes to go to Universal Studios. I expected us to get done with the place around 3PM - post which we decided we would go to the city side and catch the Escher display at the museum near Marina Bay Sands (we had set our eyes on it when we had gone there on Sunday). I did some research online and found out that it is best if you go early to U.Studios so that you avoid the queues that form for the rides. So we started for the place around 9:45 and made our entry at 10. You enter the place onto Hollywood :) There is a Minion store (I decided to stop there while exiting to buy stuff), there are places to eat and other fancy stuff to do. On the left side at the end of the street is Madagascar !!! As soon as you take the turn you can see the ship in which the 4 of them left the zoo. And there is a boat ride that takes you along a journey of theirs where they are doing some nonsense - was pretty cool :) There were some more "locations" that they had in the area and I ensured that we saw everything :)

After Madagascar, we entered Far Far Away and went for a 4D ride with Shrek, Gingerbread Man, that good-looking-evil-prince-dude and a few more. Was pretty neat - got the feeling of legs being grabbed, spit being sprayed on our faced, fireflies buzzing right next to our noses and what not - all this while Shrek and Donkey go on a quest to save Fiona! We then went on a small roller coaster called Puss in Boots - was pretty exciting :D

After this the route takes you to The Lost World (I was super excited about this place).
Dinosaurs everywhere!!! The most thrilling ride over there was one called Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure.
The basic theme is that we are visiting the park when there is a flood and raptors are loose !!! We were warned beforehand that everyone on the boat will get wet or very wet - so we dumped out stuff in lockers that they provide outside the ride (10 dollars per hour). If you go as a couple the chances of you getting your ride faster are higher as they look for groups of 1 or 2 to fill up a boat. The ride is super exciting, and there is one point when a T-rex is about to eat you up and you plunge down a waterfall!! As luck would have it, myself and Sudhir were the ones who got completely drenched :D All in all a super fun ride :) Sudhir had pre-decided to go for rock climbing that's there in this zone, and he did just that :)

After the Lost World, we went to Ancient Egypt. I have always loved Egyptian stuff since I was a kid, and this was paradise for me :) Took pics next to every single statue of Ra, Imhotep, Iris, Tutankhamen etc ... *lost far away look* Anyhoo, we went on this ride called the Revenge of the Mummy - a roller coaster in pitch blackness :D Basically Imhotep wants our souls and is chasing us in the ride, and there is a point where we actually go backwards at full speed !! Sudhir kept screaming "Take me Imhotep, take my soul" :D At the end of the ride, when we saw the pic that was taken, Sudhir was the only one with a huge grin on his face, while everyone else was screaming :D

After this we went to Sci-Fi city and went for the Best.Ride.Ever. Wow, the Transformers ride is insane. You wear the 3D head gear and are in a van of sorts that moves in all 3 axes in a 20 metre track - but it seems as though you have travelled kilometres because of the 3D graphics and movements !! The ride's concept is that you are signing up with Optimus Prime to fight Megatron and you are going through the city helping defeat the evil guys. There is a part in the ride where a huge metallic cat stomps on your vehicle, and you move with so much intensity
 you feel as though you were actually hit by that thing ! After the ride, I was unable to walk straight due to vertigo :D We went for the ride again, stood in the queue all over again :P This time, we watched the ride without the goggles on all the time and realised that the effects are because the whole wall is a massive dome and there are screens where the video is playing - hence no matter where you turn your head, you are in the middle of all the action. This ride is totally worth your time in Universal Studios. Definite must-go, no matter how long the queue.

After this, we entered New York, saw some street performances and did a bit of shopping at the Minion store :)

We got done with this place around 2:30PM, post which we took the train to Marina Bay Sands to visit the museum and see the Escher exhibit. Escher was this dude who made all those infinite paintings/drawings. The infinite staircase is his brain-child. The exhibit begins with how he began his works and what all influenced him and his works through the years. There is one section where you can try to build an image using shapes and their mirror images. Above that there is this long painting that transforms from a chess board to another chess board, while changing shapes to birds, houses, skies etc in the middle. While I was trying to view this and act all classy, I decided to lean on the wall to get a good view. I did not realise that the damn wall was slanting - and I landed on the floor with a loud crash and has several people stop mid-tracks and turn around to see who disturbed to delicate sanctum-sanctorum level silence of the place. I lifted myself off the floor with what little dignity I had left in me, while Sudhir was rolling on the floor laughing his ass off.

We finished the gallery (did not hurry up, mind you - in spite of the embarrassment I caused myself), and then decided to go to the mall once again to kill some time. We were famished and decided to eat Snickers that we were carrying with us (as food at stalls in Sentosa are freakishly expensive). We got done and then in the mall I wanted to have something to drink, and Sudhir reached for his wallet only to realise that IT WAS MISSING !!!! We ran outside thinking that it might have fallen while we were eating, but we did not find it there. I thought we should check at the Museum - just in case it fell off there (Even though Sudhir was quite sure there was no chance of that). In the reception, the guy took our details and then told us that someone had indeed found a wallet - which contained Sudhir's ID card (hence name and ownership of the wallet was verified); and that we could go collect it from the concierge counter in Marina Bay Sands. Luckily I was carrying our passports around with us and we used that as proof to collect his wallet. All his cards and money were intact in the wallet !!! Wow, we were so damn impressed with the honesty in this country :D

Sudhir is super relieved after getting his wallet

After collecting our stuff, we walked around the place. We passed by the "Affordable shops" I was secretly happy that I had shopped at Bath & Body Works the last time we were there as the sale was no longer present :P 

We then realised that we have some time on our hands and that we could finish China Town as well. So, we were off to China Town. I needed to buy some quilting equipment for my mom, and as per Google, China Town had a shop which sold the stuff I needed (quilt cutter and quilt board). We found the shop and let me tell you, it is paradise for people who love to stitch and embroidery. Threads, beads, knives, scissors, sequins, boards, cloth rolls - everything under one roof. I got the 2 items my mom wanted and also got her chalks (which are used to mark cloths for cutting) and the bill was 20 dollars - which i thought was reasonable (amazon.in had similar prices, but the reviews weren't good - hence I was buying it from here).

We walked along the streets of China Town, picked up souvenirs here and there and then had dinner. The reason I write about dinner is because Sudhir had biryani :D

All in all a good day - we weren't too exhausted, and the break we were getting from all the walking at the start of the trip was helping our sore feet. We gave up on wearing our Vibrams as we realised that they are not for whole day wear for walking - you end up landing on your heels due to which they hurt more. So floaters / chappals it was and our feet felt much better. Either ways, our Vibrams were wet after the Jurassic park ride and we had washed them with soap to get rid of the smell from constant wearing for 5 days :-|

 

Singapore Day5

Woohoo !!! We were on our way to Sentosa *excited jig* We started off around 930AM and took the MRT to Bayfront - from where we caught the "Sentosa express" to get to the island!! The train is a monorail and is super cute :D

Check in time at the resort is 3PM - we had decided to go there, leave our luggage at the lobby and finish The S.E.A. Aquarium post which we would check in. Sentosa island is gorgeous ! It's kinda like a circle with spokes that has different attractions at the end of each spoke, with shops along the way.

We went to Michael Hotel (where we had done our booking along with the visit packages). In case you want to know how to go about this, you can go to this page and book using your MasterCard (they have some discounts running for master cards). They have other discounts and stuff, but I thought this will be most useful given that we get day passes for 2 people to the main attractions there. 

We went to the aquarium - super excited as the pictures on the website were incredible ! wow .... the entire thing is almost completely underground. As you begin your journey, you start at the shark tank. There are hammer heads, big whites, killers etc etc etc. And it's so damn scary as you feel as though they might be able to break the glass and get to you :D The aquarium follows a path where you get to see all enclosures and there are varieties of species that you get to see. Some underwater creatures are butt-ugly, while some are so gorgeous with their colours .. Every creature moves with such fluidity and is so graceful; we got to see this at  a point in the middle which is like a huge view point. You can sit on the steps and just watch, watch manta rays, sting rays, manatees, schools of fishes etc swim past in their tank. It's just to relaxing and calming. I think we sat there for some 15 minutes !

In the centre of the gallery there is this huge cylindrical tank where there are tonnes of fish. This tank is the one that features in Finding Dory !!! Actually S.E.A aquarium is the location the movie is based on !! We saw so many Dorys and Nemos - it was awesome. There was this school group that had come to the aquarium and I was totally able to relate to their excitement when they saw Nemos and Dorys swimming past in their tanks :D

After we got done with the aquarium we realised that it was only 2PM and we had the rest of the entire day to ourselves and we had NOTHING to do !!! I started getting all depressed thinking that we are wasting time and ... you know, the usual whining. Then we saw ... a CASINO ! walked in, showed our passports and started gambling. Ok, we didn't gamble exactly, but we went to the slot machines. I put in a 2 dollar note, each swipe was 2 cents - made 0 money :( Sudhir wanted to have a go, and we didn't have any more 2 notes. So we collected all the chillar he had and I went to the money counter to get notes in their place. In front of me a woman was exchanging a 1000 dollar note - OMG. I sheepishly handed over my coins and got 3 two dollar notes. Went back to the machine Sudhir was at and what do you know ! On every note, this bum made a profit !! On the first note, he exited when he got 2.48, one the second note he made some 4 odd, and on the last one he kinda got some jackpot where he won 40 dollars !!!!! Immediately removed everything and went and got m.o.n.e.y. :P

Walked around the place feeling all stud like, went to gambling tables where people were throwing money ... I now completely understand why people say gambling is addictive :-|

We got done around 4PM post which we decided to explore the island. We saw the Merlion where we did the usual tourist-y stuff of taking pics :) Walked down to the beaches that are there in the resort, lazed about there for a bit while soaking up some sun and beach waves. There are 3 beaches there - kinda like Goa but much smaller in size and all are linked to one another.
We bought tickets for this show called Wings of Time - read raving reviews about it. The show began at 7:15 and we were enthralled until 7:35 ... Amazing 20 minutes - worth every dollar spent. The show is about these kids who stumble upon a sleeping giant bird which can fly through time and who shows them how the earth was built. The spray of water was used as a canvas for the laser show, there were solid pieces of plastic that were used as his wings / rocks etc throughout the show. If you guys go to Sentosa, definitely go for this show. 

We got back to our room after grabbing some grub from the cafes, and literally passed out from the exhaustion :)