While Jeff was working during the week I did a little exploring on my own. First up was the Singapore Zoo! I'm pretty sure I haven't been to a zoo since grade school, but I heard it was one of the best in the world so I thought why not check it out. I had so much fun!! I forgot how interesting it could be to go to a zoo. They have done a great job with most exhibits not even looking like cages. In fact at one point I could have reached out to pet the rhinoceros as he came right up to the railing that was just a foot or so away!!! Plus they have three different feeding tours that you can go on for free. You get to follow a zoo staff member from exhibit to exhibit while the other staff feed the animals and learn a little extra info as well. It was really quite cool. Plus since it was feeding time the animals were really active!
65 stories high above Singapore!!
Here's me at the little photo op place when you get in the zoo. I felt a little silly posing with the birds, but I had to have at least one picture to prove I was the one there :) I won't bore you with endless pictures of animals, but I have to say if you haven't been to a good zoo lately I would definitely check one out!
One night after Jeff got off work we went to the Singapore Zoo Night Safari! Did you know that over 80% of tropical animals are either nocturnal or crepuscular (active at night or dusk)??? The Night Safari is the first zoo of its kind. There's an hour tram ride that takes you through one half of the zoo. Then there are additional foot paths to explore the other exhibits. It's really pretty amazing!! It's only open 7:30pm - midnight. No pictures of animals here for two reasons. First, you can't use your flash because you could actually make some of the animals go blind. Since the animals are nocturnal most are sensitive to bright lights. Secondly, the lighting is very dim all over the zoo so you would have to have a pretty awesome camera to get good pictures without a flash!
If you read Part 1 of our adventures in Singapore you will remember that I eluded to getting an even higher view of the city. Well we went to check out the Altitude Bar one evening. It's the highest bar in Singapore. It's an outdoor bar on the 64th and 65th floors of a building. . . the absolute top of the building! It was an amazing view, a little unnerving, but still pretty cool!!! We went up about an hour or so before sunset so we got to see the city in day light and night time!
Remember the Singapore Flyer? Look how small it looks in this picture!!
It's hard to tell in this picture, but we could actually see Indonesia across the water!
It was amazing how many ships were anchored out in the bay waiting to get bunkers. I learned from Jeff that "bunkers" is a shipping term for vessel fuel.
Our hotel was right in the main shopping district so I had to check out some of the malls nearby! There may not be much land in Singapore, but WOW do they know how to use their space effectively!! You might see a mall from the outside and think. . . . "That's a good size mall. . . . 5 stories high!" Then you will be utterly amazed when you go inside and realize that there is ALSO four, yes four more stories UNDERGROUND!!! Plus all these buildings down the main shopping district are connected so you can walk the whole city block underground. It's really quite a maze!!
Lots of high end shopping in Singapore!
The view from our hotel room. I loved how green and lush it was!
And for all of those out there having (or already had) babies this year. . . this is the year of the Dragon according to the Chinese Zodiac. Let me tell you when I was walking around in Singapore I saw pregnant women EVERY where! I really couldn't believe it. Talk about thinking "There must be something in the water!!" It wasn't until we went to dinner with Jeff's coworkers and they explained that this is the year of the Dragon. The Dragon is a symbol of good fortune, so a lot of couples planned to get pregnant this year. They told us that the classes in school will be quite bigger for this group. So great timing for all of you with new additions to your family this year!!
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