Take a good look around you. The shop that you buy coffee from every morning. The MRT station that you transfer at during rush hour. How much of attention do we actually pay to places and activities that take place almost routinely in our daily life? There are so many things around us that we have taken for granted as we have lived with them for almost our entire life that we only truly notice only when it is gone.
But never will I ever be able to imagine that one of the most iconic attraction in Singapore, the landmark that we use for meetup in Sentosa before everyone carries a phone in their pocket, the statue that almost every Singaporean has taken a family photo with, the Merlion of Sentosa, will be demolished one day. No matter how much we do not want to accept the truth, it has already been finalized that the tallest Merlion Statue in Singapore will be demolished to make way for the new facelift plan for Sentosa Island. I have compiled some interesting fact about Merlion here so that we can start knowing it better. Where did Merlion comes from?
I remember seeing an article very long ago in a foreign magazine that describe Merlion as a mystical creature that lives in Singapore's water many years ago. I almost end up rolling on the floor laughing as this is totally not true. Merlion was never a real life living creature.
Merlion was actually the logo designed for Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (now Singapore Tourism Board) in 1963 by Fraser Brunner. The fish body is a reference to Singapore’s beginning as a fishing village, while the lion head is a reference to Sang Nila Utama who claimed he named the island Singapura, or "lion city" in Sanskrit, after spotting the animal. How many Merlion are there?
Do you know that officially there are 7 Merlion Statues in Singapore? Standing at 37m tall, the Merlion at Sentosa is the tallest in Singapore but it is not the first of its kind.The original statue of the creature is also the most popular among its siblings is the one at Merlion Park adjacent to One Fullerton (Note there are 2 Merlions in Merlion Park).
The remaining statues are at the following places:
- 1 at Mount Faber - 1 at STB headquarter - A pair in Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 Maybe can consider going on a Merlion hunt before more of its siblings end up in the same fate. There is an official Merlion statue in Hakodate, Hokkaido
NANI!? There is a Merlion statue in a place that I have never been too? Well if you think that it is just some fake counterparts, think again as this Merlion is a legitimate thing. It is a symbol of long term friendship between Singapore and Hakodate to promote tourism in both areas.
Does that mean Singaporeans can get discount if we want to go Hakodate? (・・?
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KelvinYo. I am from Singapore. I love to travel. Follow me as I share my experiences and tips for budget travelling as well as my hunt for Ho Kangs around Singapore. Archives
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