World Singapore Singapore

Keith and Joan's Trip Down Under 2009

Singapore Nov 2, 2009

Singapore Sunday. Arrived in Singapore at 8 pm local time just after sunset. Travelling this way we moved on 8 hours and had 2 lunches and no breakfasts. The day had flown by!

Took some time to get to the hotel as the pick up included someone whose bag was still in Manchester. After a shower (very complex - still can't quite work it out), cold beer and a good nights sleep we were ready to explore Singapore. Walking through town to get to the Singapore Flyer we got lost and found Fort Canning which is an old fortified hill and the site of old Singapore. It was a botanical garden in the 19th Century and has been replanted in some areas with a spice garden. A good find! It was very pretty and the views could have been pretty good but the high rise buildings are getting higher and they are building out on reclaimed land by the sea so the houses in the old area look tiny in comparison.

On towards the Flyer but the huge afternoon thunderstorm (the rainy season started a week ago) left us in the Theatre and Arts complex where we had a large ice cream explored the complex several times, sat and had a snooze, walked to the bus stop (under cover) & worked out how the buses worked, had a sit down... Finally 2 hours later the rain started to ease & we got to the Flyer which was only 10 minutes walk away. It was closed because of the thunderstorm.. so we took the bus home.

We had booked an evening trip to the Night Safari at Singapore Zoo. We'd missed it last time and it was well worth the visit. The animals had just been fed under the subdued lighting and so were happily having their dinner which made it easier for us to see them. We travelled through the park on a little electric train through a variety of deer, goats, hippopotami, elephants, giraffes, tigers, Malaysian badgers, and other local animals etc. At the end of the train ride the walking route through the animals was barely lit with subdued lighting and the use of flashes on cameras was banned so we were able to see the animals moving around and eating. Best of all were the squirrels and fruit bats all tucking into their fruit just a few inched from our heads and flying between the fruit to get the best bits. A fire eating show show finished the evening & back to the hotel for more cold beer.

In Singapore the weather is very hot and humid so it's been very tempting to air conditioned malls and buildoings away from outside areas. The hotel is super cool so it's quite a shock when you get outside - just like walking into a sauna.