Abroad,  Singapore

Merlion Park

April 27, 2009 /

The Merlion symbol was designed as a logo for the Singapore tourism board in 1964. The Merlion has a fish tail and the torso of a lion.

According to an article written by Cornelius-Takahama, Vernon [replaced by a new article at the same document number; original article at WebArchive] in the Singapore Infopedia section of the Singapore National Library website:

The lion head alludes to the legend of Singapore’s founding by Sang Nila Utama, a Palembang Prince who, on his arrival on the island, saw what he thought to be a lion and thereafter renamed Temasek, Singapura or “Lion City”. The fish-tail represents Singapore’s links to the ancient sea-bound island which was Temasek and its long and successful association with the sea, reflecting how our forefathers traversed the oceans to come to Singapore and our subsequent dependence upon it as a port.

Naturally, I wanted to see this mythical creature! My co-workers in Singapore thought my strong desire to see the Merlion was hysterical, so they decided to join me. We had a lovely team dinner at a Thai restaurant at the Esplanade. I had a Tiger beer, which was very refreshing and went very well with the spicy green curry we ate.

The Esplanade is just across the bridge from Merlion Park, so after dinner we walked over to see the Merlion. There are actually two Merlions in Merlion Park. One is 8.6 meters tall, and the other is two meters tall. The smaller Merlion is sometimes referred to as the Merlion cub. They were just as fantastic as I knew they would be! The larger Merlion actually spits water out of its mouth into the Singapore River! I had a great time pretending to catch the water in my mouth or wash my hair – my team had a great time taking pictures of my antics. Despite the fact that they started out thinking my obsession with the Merlion was silly, they all had a great time, and we laughed very hard!

The outing produced tons of great pictures of some of the most iconic tourist attractions in Singapore!  You can see me (having the worst hair day ever!) and my co-workers along with the skyline of downtown Singapore, the Merlion, and the Esplanade (aka The Durian).  There is even a picture of the Singapore Flyer.


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