I’ve gone to Sentosa Island several times before, as it is surely among the quintessential parts of a fun family trip to Singapore. I recall the first time I went there in 2010, doing the usual stuff tourists do, but it was only recently that I discovered on a three-day trip everything The State of Fun has to offer—and yes, there’s so much more aside from the big Merlion. Read more…
Photo credit: Singapore Tourism Board
Sentosa is an island off the mainland of Singapore that spreads across an expansive area of 500 hectares—still bigger than the entire Vatican City. Before being converted into a holiday resort in the 1970s, it has seen an illustrious past, having served as a British military fortress before until after World War II. Remnants of the war can still be visited at Fort Siloso, the only one of twelve coastal gun batteries restored to become a museum.
Fast forward to today, Sentosa is among the top attractions in Singapore for a myriad of reasons. Aside from the usual spots, the island has a two-kilometer stretch of white sand beach, two golf courses, 14 hotels, and an upscale residential enclave. It also is, of course, the home to Resorts World Sentosa, the country’s first integrated resort that houses Universal Studios Singapore.
THE STATE OF FUN
When I went in 2010, Sentosa was known as Asia’s Favorite Playground, but this year, it has been rebranded as the The State of Fun. But what does this new image for the island mean?
According to Ms. Susan Ang, Sentosa’s Divisional Director for Investment and Branding, the concept was built upon the notion that Sentosa has always offered “a physical space where people could let their hair down and have fun,” resulting to a ton of happy moments in the island with whomsoever they are with. But with the new tagline in place, Sentosa is now popularly “a ‘State’ where all visitors are its ‘citizens’ with the ‘freedom of right’ to have fun.”
This is the Neverland.
The Dreamland,
The Wonderland,
The land without rules, strangers or stereotypes.
Here, the borders are open to everyone,
but shut to boredom.
And the freedom to be you is the most FUNdamental right of all.
In this land, the air is thick with music and skipped heartbeats,
And the ground always shake under happy feet.
This is the land where Mondays come with more hues than blue.
Where days are well-spent and wild nights are hard-earned.
Where parties don't wait til the weekends.
Where people live like there's no tomorrow.
This is the land of eternal sunshine.
This is Sentosa, The State of Fun.
For three days, I discovered and explored what the true essence of The State of Fun is, and in the process, I’ve seen how it has evolved over the years. It seems there always are new things happening in Sentosa, leaving room for visitors to create new happy experiences each time.
