Singapore, day three

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Our last full day here in Singapore before we fly to Bali tomorrow, Wednesday, morning. The weather was a little cooler today which suited our plans for a day at the zoo. Carys loves animals and since Anna mentioned that the zoo is good, she has been VERY keen on a visit. We considered doing the night safari but decided to go during the day as we'd see more animals. The zoo was a 20 minute taxi ride from home, and we got there around 1030am. The zoo is probably the best zoo I've ever visited - not only a lot of animals but the settings were amazing. I felt a combination of pleasure and horror at how limited the cages/fences seemed. For example the rhinos were only about 6-8 feet from the pathway and were kept in by a few logs about 2-3 feet high and a tiny ditch. To me it seemed inadequate to keep them in, but I can't claim to know anything whatsoever about keeping rhinos at bay. The orangutans swung around trees right above our heads - they appeared free but if you looked closely the tree trunks had electric fence cables stopping them from climbing down.

The highlights may have been the giant pandas, although one of the pair was feeling shy and stayed inside away from the cameras. Feeding time for the white tigers was also a very cool sight.

Dinner tonight was at Holland Village where Andy and Anna-Marie preordered Peking Duck. This is something we used to get in the UK but can't find in the US. Probably should have got it in Beijing but somehow that didn't happen, so it happened here instead. And it was excellent! We might have ordered a little much food but we managed to deal with most of it.

So, as our stay in Singapore draws to an end it's time for overall thoughts on this fifth stop on our Asian tour. First thing to say is that having been here a few times before, I knew what to expect, so the excitement of a new town was missing. But that was offset by the fact that we were visiting family, and exceptionally nice family too! They've been great hosts and will be joining us in Bali for the coming weekend too. Singapore is unlike any of the other places we've visited - it is ultra modern and English speaking. For the most part the things we've done here are not unique to the locale, but after two weeks of temples I think we all welcomed the change. I can see how this would be an easy place to be an expat in Asia (with the exception of super-pricey property prices) and its easy to get anywhere in Asia from here. However the hot and humid weather does tend to make me feel sluggish.....or is that just cos I'm 45 years old?!

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Comments

[Chris]

Loving the rare Carys panda!

[Sand Nick Carys and Ben]

From the Pocketus Rocketus genus!