A perfect illustration of the relationship between my 80-year-old grandmother and I was experienced the Monday morning we were preparing to head to the Skyline Luge Sentosa.

“I thought you said 8am,” she lamented in Chinese as I sheepishly appeared in the living room at 9am.

“Nope, I said we’re leaving at 10am,” I replied.

“You definitely said 8am, you must have said it wrong.”

I often describe talking with my grandmother (or Popo, as she prefers to be called) as the following: I speak in 80 per cent English and 20 per cent Chinese, while she speaks in 80 per cent Chinese and 20 per cent English. Then we meet somewhere in the middle.

As you can imagine, with those limitations, communication between us isn’t the smoothest.

And when you can’t communicate well, a lot of things immediately become a hassle.

As a result, I’m ashamed to say that, despite living in the same house, I don’t spend a whole lot of quality time with my Popo.

Sure, once in a while we’ll sit in front of the TV together or I might help troubleshoot her smartphone problems, but intentionally setting aside time to do things together or hang out — not really.

Game for the Luge

That’s why when I had the opportunity to bring her to Sentosa to try the Skyline Luge (for work, no less) I jumped at the chance.

My only apprehension: Would Popo be game for it?

The whole experience would involve riding the Skyride — a chairlift that brings patrons from the beachfront to the Imbiah Lookout — before carting downhill through a winding course on the Luge.

So one evening I sat down next to her and gave her the elevator pitch for spending half a day out with me at Sentosa, complete with a YouTube video of the Skyline Luge.

“Do you think you’d want to try?” I said.

“Looks easy enough, why not!” she responded to my surprise.

And that’s how we found ourselves four days later in a taxi on the way to Singapore’s resort island.

“I haven’t been here in a long time”

As we crossed the bridge and passed the big Sentosa sign on our way into the island, Popo turns to me and says:

“Wow, I haven’t been here in a long time.”

The truth is, it has been a long time since she’s been anywhere, really.

The pandemic has confined Popo’s world to basically our home in Katong, and the one-kilometre route she walks around the block in the evenings for exercise. But even before that, Popo rarely ventured much further than Parkway Parade.

For her, a trip to Sentosa really was a significant event.

Thankfully when we arrived the safe management measures in place at Skyline Luge Sentosa allayed any fears that it was a bad idea to bring an elderly lady out of the house.

There were ample hand sanitiser stations around, patrons had their temperatures taken diligently, and staff were on hand to make sure patrons kept a healthy (and safe) distance between them.

Skyline Luge staff also regularly disinfected the chairlifts, carts, and helmets.

The added bonus for Popo — which has nothing to do with hygiene or safe distancing — was the shade available while we waited in line.

“Good thing there’s a tree here,” she said before rushing over to hide from the scorching late morning sun.

Possibly the oldest person to ride the Luge?

As we approached the Skyride, I asked one of the staff if it was rare to find older Luge riders.

Most elderly, she said, come just to take the Skyride, but once in a while they might also give the Luge itself a go.

But have they ever seen someone who’s 80 ride the Luge?

“I’ve seen people in their 60s and I think once I saw someone in their 70s, but never an 80-year-old,” said the staff member.

The Skyride was a peaceful escape from standing in the queue and the moment of quiet gave Popo and I a chance to enjoy the view.

“The view’s so nice! Sentosa’s changed a lot since I was last here,” she said, adding that it might have been 10-odd years since her last visit.

“I think that bungee tower is relatively new, you should try that next time,” I teased.

“Don’t be silly!” Popo said quickly.

As we watched the carts zip by below us, I asked Popo if she was nervous about riding it down the hill.

“I think I might be a bit scared if I had to do it alone,” she replied — or at least I’m 80 per cent sure that’s what she said.

Once we got to the top it was time to put those words to the test.

We sat down in our carts and a staff member from the Luge taught us how to drive them; pull up the handlebars a little bit to start moving, and pull it back even more to stop.

Understandably, Popo took a little bit longer to figure it out with language being a bit of a barrier but the Luge staff was patient and made sure she understood the instructions and was confident with the mechanics of the ride.

Once we’d shown enough ability to make it down the hill safely, the staff member stepped aside and we began to roll slowly down the starting lane.

A relaxing cruise

Whatever you imagine riding the Luge to be like, I assure you going on it with your grandmother is not that.

Far from blazing our way through the course, we were travelling at a pace more akin to a relaxing cruise while young’uns whizzed past us.

However, despite the lack of adrenaline, it was a thrill just to see Popo navigating the downhill jaunt.

Slowly but surely, as the ride went on I could see her gaining confidence.

The first curve presented a bit of a challenge, with Popo slowing down to make sure she didn’t crash into the wall, but by the second one, she was releasing the brakes a little more and expertly leaning with the bend.

On the straights, she lived a little and released the brakes a bit more; though maybe she was just anxious to get into the shadier and less hot parts of the course.

Once we pulled up at the finishing lanes and Popo had a moment to catch her breath, I asked her how she found it.

“Yeah it was fun,” she said, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow.

“Was it hard to control?” I probed.

“Not at all. Just like riding a bicycle. And anyway, I have a driver’s licence you know?”

Whilst it wasn’t the longest experience, it was nice just to get out of the house and spend time with Popo; since I’d started work we hadn’t gone out to do something together like we did at the Luge.

And now that she’s well acquainted with it, maybe we’ll go a little faster the next time we visit.

Later that night, I heard her bragging about her Luge skills to my aunt and uncle over the phone.

“Next time when you guys come to Singapore, I’ll bring you. We can go on it together.”

Skyline Luge Sentosa is part of SingapoRediscovers. Visitors can use their local tourism vouchers to enjoy an experience suitable for all ages. Find out more here.

Top image by Olivia Lin

Writing this sponsored article by Skyline Luge Sentosa allowed the writer to spend some precious quality time with his grandmother