Singapore's Bird Park and National Museum

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This morning I took a combination of subway and bus to the Jurong Bird Park. (See photo) This is basically a zoo, but dedicated solely to birds. It has a series of walk-thru aviaries as well as birds that are apparently out in the open air. I'm not sure how they get the pelicans, storks, and others to stick around... The park turned out to be more engrossing than I expected. The birds seem very well cared for and quite active. Even the raptors were hopping and flying in their large enclosures. I have seen a number of different species of penguins and flamingoes already on this trip, and I saw more today. (See photos) I attended one of the shows. I generally don't like performing animal shows, but this one was at least semi-educational. (There were schoolchildren in the audience and I saw them attending special classes in various places around the park today.) The toucans were my favorite "act". (See photo) There is a care facility for the birds and I saw this bewildered-looking macaw chick there. (See photo) At the end of the visit, I attended the pelican feeding and got this picture of two pelican beaks expanding underwater as the birds capture the fish. (See photo) Instead of taking the bus, three different subway trains, and then walking two blocks, I treated myself to a taxi ride that dropped me at the door of the National Museum. (See photo) The museum is open until 8:00, so I had time to look around this evening. And I also ate dinner in the museum's cafe. (They have pancakes all day long, so that's what I had. The 'cakes were served with fruit on top and accompanied by vanilla coconut whipped cream. All that was very good. The syrup, however, was something called "gula metaka". I asked the waitress what that is, but all she could tell me was that it was brown sugar syrup with spice added. Personally, I don't see it replacing maple syrup any time soon!) The Singapore National Museum is a history museum and it is well done. Here is an interesting fact: in 1941 the Ford Motor Company started producing cars here, but production ceased abruptly after December 7, 1941 because after Pearl Harbor, Japan moved quickly to take Singapore from the British. There is an old Mercury on display (See photo with SG plates, which is the abbreviation for Singapore). Tomorrow is a traveling day, but I hope to be able to publish at least a short blog.

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