Singapore Cable Cars and Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom

The "resort" island of Sentosa is separated from the main island of Singapore by a narrow channel (which you can cross on foot via bridge). To add to the getaway feel, there are a number of other ways to reach Sentosa: road, a purpose-built monorail, and most excitingly for R, cable car.

The cable cars leave from the top of Mount Faber, which is a park (and part of the Southern Ridges hiking trail). The cable car station is a tourist destination in itself, housing several rather fancy restaurants: you can even dine in one of the cable cars (although why you would want to rather eludes me, sounds claustrophobic and horrible).

R loves the cable cars. The first time I took her I thought she would be a bit scared, as they are floor-to-ceiling glass. But she had no fear and was enthralled instead: now that she can communicate well, she will frequently request that we ride them.

Going over the jungle

And over a cruise ship, which is strange to see from the air

The view is great, though if R wasn't so obsessed I think once would have been enough for me. The ride itself is only about 10 minutes and the price is kind of steep (around $20 for an adult round trip ticket: one-way rides are not available).

Singapore is the world's second-busiest port: so much shipping stuff! The road is the bridge to Sentosa.

And here's Sentosa: center building is the casino (Singapore has the world's third-biggest casino scene)

 Once you arrive on Sentosa, the cable car terminus is right next to the rather-funky-and-dated-but-still-fun insect zoo.

There are butterflies fluttering freely (you can also view them in every stage of development from eggs on up); you can see hissing cockroaches, stag beetles, stick insects, and a whole variety of other disgusting insect life; and there's a small collection of birds and animals, including a hornbill and turtles.

This is a really big variety of pigeon, "wearing" a fancy headdress

They are pretty tame

Me feeding the parrots

You can hand-feed parrots and iguanas if you are so inclined. I think this is fun: R does not like getting too close to live creatures and prefers to observe from a safe distance. There's also a small museum about bugs, which is poorly lit, moldering, and of limited interest.

Overall the insect zoo is cheesy but enjoyable, especially if you are accompanied by small children.