We planned a very untypical Sunday - quite unlike our quotidian trinity of church, nap and 夜市人生. Yet plans seldom materialize as they are conceived. I purchased a bouquet from Desmond, a Guangyang alumnus whose subtle fingers work wonders with flowers. However, the restaurant where we made reservations for dinner on Sunday does not offer overnight storage for gifts. It was just as well, for leaving the bouquet unwatered for 24 hours did not previously cross my mind. So we spent the first few moments of our anniversary trying valiantly to recreate the immaculate beauty of the bouquet within a vase. Only old adages redeem our derivative efforts.
Below: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The bouquet, before we took it apart and gave it the tousled look, was really quite exquisite.
So on to the day's plan - a year before we both turn thirty, we stepped into a water theme park for the very first time. In our childhood there was Fantasy Island, but Sentosa more often than not remained an island fantasy for us. There were few reasons to visit - Harbourfront Station did not exist, my parents were not theme park people and East Coast Park or Pasir Ris were more popular choices amongst our schoolmates for outings. Things are a little different now - there are more transport options, there is Vivocity to draw the crowds hither and the Indonesian beaches on Sentosa's south coast have become the places to be seen in swimwear.
An 11 am arrival - only just - preempted the throngs that weekly descend on Adventure Cove. This fleeting, relatively queue-less window of opportunity necessitated some strategic prioritization. The queues were only one of several unfortunate inconveniences - the others being having to fork out $20 for a large locker (my colleague tells me that upon entry he charges straight to his favourite thrill literally holding his change of clothes: just put there lor, nobody will steal la), having to contend with those whose rushing adrenalin has crowded out all vestigial good sense, and generally feeling like being on an assembly line of manufactured fun.
Below: the inhabitants of Rainbow Reef, which looks very much like a real reef. And no, we couldn't get Nemo. Coming before 11 am on the weekends is best - the queues really really lengthen after that.
Well, of course, manufactured or not, fun was fun. Mary and I took a profiling test during our marriage preparation course two years ago. One of our greatest differences, this test revealed, was our propensity for thrill-seeking. It might surprise who between us is more the swashbuckling sort. Here at Adventure Cove, the only price to pay is patience. The look on Mary's face, when after half an hour in line they suspended all outdoor attractions just before it was our turn to go on the Whirlpool Washout, was unforgettable.
But there are also pursuits for those for whom patience isn't their strongest suit. We detail below 4 ways in which we enjoyed Adventure Cove without frittering precious minutes away on avenue queue.
1. Floating our worries away on Adventure River
Where do we get one of those floats? We asked a lifeguard as we waded into the Adventure River. Just wait for the next one to float by, was his languid response. The course winds around the entire theme park, functioning at the same time as a waterway between different attractions.
Below: congestion, the inescapable demographic predicament of modern living.
2. King Ray
No Royal Wee here, but that's how some friends call me. (I don't begrudge that, in case some are wondering. In any case, Rui in Chinese is pronounced as Ray.) We spent a good while near the stingray aquarium, admiring the effortless grace with which they glided through the water. I would have to head to Australia to assume the mantle of the next most frequent mispronunciation. Yes, you guessed it - though these King Roo photographs wouldn't be as easy to pull off.
Below: no m'am, their names are similar, but that sure as blue sky ain't your husband.
3. The outdoor jacuzzi
The aptly named Big Bucket Treehouse in Adventure Cove is the place to be if one would like to experience rainfall of biblical proportions. Children flock here to splash water at each other. Adults gather to have water splashed at them.
4. Reliving our childhood
The Big Bucket Treehouse also comprises two winding slides, with markedly less daunting queues (which clears more quickly too) than their much taller and vastly more popular counterparts. These two slides also attract a very different crowd, from which we often stand out, by several heads on most instances. It is also a captive audience: the tiny faces ahead of and behind me were often the same ones from earlier queues. Yes, yes, I lingered to make up for lost time.
An afternoon downpour later made the decision to leave easier. True enough, as a member of staff shared, the changing rooms started to become congested from 4 pm. The painfully long hours between our previous meal and the next we staunched with a quick bite from McDonald's, where we were chased off our seats by a lady of Chinese extraction - civility dissolved on an island awash with money.
For dinner we booked a table at Spuds and Aprons atop Mount Faber. The food wasn't bad, and that most patrons chose to dine al fresco meant we nearly had the whole indoor section all to ourselves. Seats by the window afforded fine views of Singapore's southwestern coastline - where modern glass and steel buildings punctuated a horizon of distant smokestacks of Bukom and Jurong Island and the even more distant peaks of the Karimun islands.
At the end of an enjoyable, albeit exhausting, day I can only say one thing - may there be many more anniversaries for us to celebrate. And memorable ones too.
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