In Continuum.

I don't even remember the last time I took cable cars to Sentosa. OK, I don't even remember the last time I even took cable cars. Despite the fact that they are in operation every single day in the area of Harbour Front, I haven't actually took a cable car ride in more than a decade. I suppose the reason being is because the lure of Sentosa has grown less and less in me over the years, not that it was anything to be excited about to begin with. It is a giant tourist trap, a trap that pulls in the tourists and suck out all their money before spitting their bones out. Just try buying a can of soft drink there and see how much it costs you, you'd know what I mean. Anyway, so cable car was one of the main transports that you could take to the island, aside from the ferry and the car. Now you have that funky monorail thing that costs two or three dollars or something, not to mention the chartered bus rides from the interchange and all the other funky ways you get get onto the island. Cable cars, being probably the most expensive option of them all, kinda lost its shine ever since a long time ago. However, you cannot deny that getting onto an island at almost a hundred meters above sea level is pretty badass, if you ask me.

Another reason for the cable cars growing out of favor, at least for my family, was because of lesser visitors to our home in Singapore. By visitors, I am talking about friends and relatives from Taiwan coming over, and they did come very often when we first moved here to Singapore. Once we settled down and got ourselves comfortable, friends and relatives started coming over like waves to the shores, back to back to back. So naturally, when you have guests coming over to your place, you kind of want to bring them to tourist attractions, with one of them being Sentosa. Cable cars, then, became the coolest way of taking these people to the island, since parking on the island was (and is) a bitch even back then. After they've visited in the past, they came lesser and lesser until there wasn't a point to come over any longer. So, the family stayed away from Sentosa, and that was probably the last time I took the cable cars. I mean, I am not a big fan of heights, though that is not to say that I am terrified of it. I dislike the possibility of death, but I loved the view up there. Since then, I've been wanting to take a ride up in the cable cars for the longest time, but never really got the chance to - until yesterday!

I remember my trips to Sentosa, with many of them well-documented by the photographs in the album. That water-spitting dragon is still there in Sentosa now, and I remember following its body as it duck in and out of the ground. Then there was the water fountain, the Underwater World which was my ultimate favorite (still is), and then there was the place with a lot of butterflies. One of the deepest memories was the one with cable cars, when the family would squeeze into the car, and then we'd be pushed out of the building by giant machines and gears. I remember being fascinated by those giant wheels, turning and pulling in cable cars from one side and pushing them out from the other. I was terrified of the cable cars at first, not trusting the flimsy looking wheels at the top that was holding us up, and the two automated doors that looked like they were made out of cardboards. They were precarious looking, and the worst part hasn't even begun yet. The scariest parts for me back then were always the parts when the cable cars reached the towers, and the whole car would shake and vibrate for some reason. Nothing ever happened to me of course, and I am certainly glad that I was not involved in that incident when the cable cars got stuck up there. Still, despite the excitement before actually taking the cable cars, I knew that I'd be somewhat nervous when I got up there.

It was really out of impulse when I told Neptina that I wanted to take the cable cars. We were actually at Raffles City at that time, trying to find the special pen with invisible ink to write secret letters with. We found that, and later found ourselves deciding on where to go next. For some reason, I really wanted to do something different, and one of the things was to take the cable car. The idea really came out from the left field, a thought that I haven't entertained in the longest time. I am not usually someone who would go for something so tourist-like, if you ask of me. I mean, going to the Night Safari felt somewhat tourist-like, though that was an incredibly enjoyable trip, especially with the fake ghosts and monsters. Anyway, I am not usually like that, but for some reason I really wanted to go for it. Perhaps it was the part of me that craves for spontaneity, or maybe it is because Neptina and I never really have a plan of where to go or what to do. We usually have something in mind to buy from a mall or a shop. Like a roll of film, something to develop, some book to buy, whatever. Then after that, it usually involves us fooling around (not in the sexual way) with cameras in Starbucks and all around town. At the most, we'd hang out at each others' homes, which I still feel is the best place to hang out for couples.

Neptina, being the good sport as she is, agreed to follow me all the way down to Harbour Front area to take the cable car. That's how we roll anyway, no papers to draw up plans or a map to figure out where to go. Someone has an idea and we execute it, and if someone has a craving we fulfill it. This time around, I had a need to ride the cable car, and she was nice enough to agree with me on it - thanks love! That's one of the amazing things about this wonderful girlfriend that I have. It's not that it is easy for us to do whatever that I want, because it isn't like that. I think the dynamic is great that we respect each other, and that we try our best to do what the other person wants, as long as it is within limits, if you know what I mean. Anyway, it was a childish urge of mine to ride the cable car, and it really didn't matter if it took us a while to get down there and find our way to Harbour Front Center. It is fun to go anywhere with Neptina, even if it is some kind of swamp or the homogenous shopping malls popping up all around the island. It is fun wherever she is, and it really is all about the company than the place you decide to go for the most part. Anyway, we found our way to the ticketing counter, and it was up the cool glass elevator after a toilet break.

I love those elevators that are situated at the side of buildings, because you get to see yourself go upwards and stuff, and that's really cool. That is not to mention when you almost reach the top floor, the view goes "whoosh" and it disappears all of a sudden, and I kind of like that. Anyway, we reached the fifteenth floor and got out, and that was where the cable cars were. The low humming of the machinery could be heard from behind closed doors, and there wasn't really a queue despite the fact that it was a Sunday. We immediately got our own cable car, and we made sure that nobody else was going to share it with us, not because we wanted to do anything funny in there, but because - well, who'd want to share? Anyway, the automatic doors closed up, and the cable cars made a u-turn and it was us and a sharp fall at the edge of the building. I held on to the seat and braced myself for the sudden fall Neptina mentioned about. You know, that interesting feeling in your bladder when the plane takes a dip in the skies? It's not that I experienced that yesterday, but I was expecting that to happen. However, the transition was surprisingly smooth, and it was awesome to be away from the machines and out into the open.

I didn't remember the rides to be like that at all. Like I mentioned before, I expected the ride to be a whole lot scarier than it was. Maybe they added more lubrication to the wheels or something, because I hardly felt the wheels at the top when it moved up towards the towers. Speaking of the towers, I wonder what it'd be like to be a staff in charge of maintenance at the cable car place, and someone asks you to go up all the way to the top of the tower to fix something minor. Imagine carrying the toolbox all the way up there by some dark winding stairs to brave the wind and the heights. It's probably one of the worst jobs ever, but somebody does it all the time I am sure. Anyway, it was surprisingly quiet and calming at the top, and the setting sun in the west didn't exactly bake us in the cable car at all. Wind found its way into the small little cabin through vents on the doors and on the sides, and the both of us started to wave at passing tourists on the opposite direction. Most of them were busy taking pictures though, and we also saw this Caucasian man tickling his girlfriend's feet as they passed us by on the opposite cable. Nobody waved back, save for the foreign workers when we reached the Mount Faber side of the cable tour.

It isn't exactly cheap to take a ride on the cable cars though. However, I have a feeling that I enjoyed it more than I would on Singapore Flyer. Sure, with the giant ferris wheel, you get a better view of things and stuff. But you don't get the kind of privacy you get with the cable cars, since you are probably only going to share it only with people that you know. Also, Singapore Flyer takes way too long to make one revolution, which means that you are probably going to get bored of the view halfway up the giant wheel. That is not to mention that it is probably going to cost you twice the amount to "take a flight", as they call it, on the Singapore Flyer than the cable cars. So, I say, the cable car is the winner in the big fight of the tourist attractions between the two. Or, maybe I am just biased due to childhood memories. Or, maybe it is because Neptina was with me at a hundred meters up in the air, taking random pictures and being all random. I remember midway through the trip when I took off my shoes and sat across from her on the other side of the cabin. It wasn't because the bench there was more comfortable (it wasn't), or that I didn't want to sit with her. I just wanted a better view of her as the sunlight came through the window and made her face glow, that's all. I didn't tell her, but that's the reason why.

Hey, thanks for riding the cable car with me. Suspended in mid air with you over the sea is exactly how I feel when I am with you while we are everywhere else that we have been.