Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves. I had no clue any such quote existed until my recent travel to two of the most happening Asian countries – Singapore and Malaysia. Well, obviously, I didn’t get lost lost, as in literally but a kind of lost that you experience on seeing a mesmerizing sunset or when you visit a monastery (or any peaceful place), or even when you eat your favorite cuisine as a matter of fact (sorry Henry David Thoreau for not being able to do justice to your quote). On a serious note what I gathered from the beautiful quote is that it talks about the lost that leads us to discovery of oneself, the kind of lost that is necessary in order to rinse and revivify your soul (similar to Aristotle’s Catharsis), the kind of lost that we have read in Rumi’s poetry and heard in wise people’s talks, makes sense?
I simply love to travel but honestly more than the travelling part I enjoy ‘reaching the destination and exploring’ part more. I often meet people who are travel bugs, filled with wanderlust and who can write thesis about their love towards the journey part of any travel/trip. But honestly, on the other hand, I am not much of a 'journey babbler road freak way lover' (if any such term exists at all). I mean, I do enjoy the roads, the people on the way, the roadside food, the trees and the roadside farms but I savour more in the destination part, the reaching and dumping your luggage, pick up your camera and start exploring the bit. So, this time I was no different. After spending a night in travelling, I finally reached Singapore and of course, my excitement knew no bounds and all I wanted was to dump my luggage, pick my camera and start exploring this beautiful island country.
I consider myself lucky for I got to stay for almost four days in this country and another three days in Malaysia. Though initially, I intended to deliver a complete blog based on my complete stay somehow, I myself couldn’t binge much on the idea. So, I decided to stick to keeping it short and simple and share snippets of each day (in detail). In today’s snippet of Scintillating Singapore, I really wish to talk about the SEA Aquarium in Singapore. Wondering Why?
So, the first place I headed towards as soon as I landed, was the SEA Aquarium, reasons being quite apparent. Firstly, I had heard a lot about the marine realm, secondly, it was something I had never seen, thirdly and most significant, after watching the shark movies for several times, I was very much intrigued to see them live (each movie did its best to give me deep ocean nightmares).
Located within Resorts World Sentosa, the SEA Aquarium inhabits more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species (as per records available online). Enough of technical facts, its time to dive back into my voyage. As soon as I entered the SEA, honestly it somewhat reminded me of those old shark movies (Deep Blue Sea) and I gazed in awe at the wonder blue world and the marine world ogled back at me. I found myself amidst myriads of marine animals swimming above my head, separated by a glass wall and this was the closest I had ever been to aquatic life.
Have you watched Life of Pi? Do you remember the scene in the movie where Pi got stuck on a mysterious island, the island that used to lit up mystically at night and the water would glow along with fishes inside it? Well, this was the best I could use as an instance to describe the magical feeling inside the glass dome.
Vibrant marine life all around you in different shapes, colors and sizes – simply aesthetic! One of the best elements of the aquarium is the Open Ocean where you can simply sit and enjoy the fathomless water life happening around you. I got to spent around an hour inside the SEA aquarium and I must say, I will definitely count this among one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had hitherto. This aquarium would certainly remind you of Finding Nimo and Finding Dowry and you will find characters from both the movies, from clown fish, to hammerhead shark to star fish, sting ray and many more. Along with it don’t miss the sections of jumping Jellyfish, dancing Eels and Dolphins. Due to the limited time available I had to rush and couldn’t click many pictures but here in my (not so short) snippet, I have tried to share a major chunk of my experience over there. SEA Aquarium is a place worth visiting at least once in a lifetime. Of course, not everyone would be awestruck to see the marine life but hands down to people who created this magical world. Here’s a small virtual tour of the world of wandering Blue.
Did you know?
The term SEA actually stands for South East Asia, thus making it SEA Aquarium.
Have you been to SEA or any other marine life park? Share your experience and views, I would love to listen!