I only have one day in Singapore. So I did what most tourists do: Go on on the Night Safari at the Zoo, take a walk through the colonial quarter and then end up on Orchard Road to shop, shop, shop.

But first back to the Night Safari in the Singapore Zoo. As I had mentioned in my last post, people had told me since Myanmar that I should go there when I get to Singapore. And fortunately two British girls who are staying at the same Hostel (Betelbox Hostel, 18 S$ for a dorm-bed, very, very nice place) were just about to go there when I checked in. So I joined them and off we went. And it's true: The Night Safari is really, really nice!

Creatures of the Night

I would never have guessed it, but it makes a big difference whether you visit animals in Zoo during the day or at night. In my experience most animals don't do much in a Zoo. They just lie around and sleep. But apparently that is very different in the night. I mean, even the Lions and the Hyenas - and they are hardly nocturnal animals - were much more active, ran around and just generally did things. And of course they do have a large number of nocturnal animals in the Safari so you get to see things you simply can't see during the day. Of course the layout of the park does a lot to enhance the experience as well. The Zoo is inside a 40 hectar area of secondary rainforest and you just walk through it (unless you ar a sissy who takes the tram). And the darkness, the comparative silence - everybody is urged to speak with hushed voices so that the animals are not disturbed - safe for the crickets simple make for a very unique experience. It's simply cool to stand under a huge tropical tree and to realize that a huge fruitbat (the worlds largest bat) is hanging form the lowest branch, just 30 centimeters over your face. The imho coolest animals on the trip were the Bearcat, the Red Koala and a thrid, very, very small animal that starts with "T". There you have it!

Bargain hunting and Sightseeing

After getting up I decided to go for some sightseeing. So I took the train down to the Marina, walked to the bay, took the must-have picture of the skyline and wandered through the city. Unfortuantely I lost my hat somewhere along this way. Probably because I had just stuffed it into one of the backstraps of my daypack instead of wearing it on my head. Because in Singapore, despite the tropical heat (it's only 136 kilometers north of the equator) you don't really need a hat to protect you from the sun; there are big trees everywhere that offer shade and which justify Singapores claim to be the "garden city". It is very green here.

After having spent some time in one of the cities parks I decided to take a walk down Orchard Road - Singapores shopping street. Now this is something the like of which I have never seen: Shopping mall borders on shopping mall. And the size of each of them is simply gargantuan! Think along the lines of an Olympic Stadium that has been erected vertical. And now imagine twenty...thirty...I don't know how many of these malls next to each other on one steet. It's unbelievable. And eventually even I succumbed to the lure of shopping and bought some new shoes and an extra pair of jeans.

Lunchdating?

While walking around the city I noticed a few billboards that gave me quite some food for thought. They read: "Finally a professional lunchdating agency for professionals", followed by the companies name. I mean, not only do I find the idea of lunchdating to be quite strange (would you really like to fill that hour at lunchtime, where you can relax from all the shit at work, with meeting a stranger and dealing with all the anxieties of a blind date?) but it seems to be quite a success and there seem to be quite alot of these lunchdating agencies around. After all, why else would the ad speak of "finally"?

Well, I suppose I'll never find out unless this madness comes to Germany, since my flight to Perth leaves in ten hours. Time to get some sleep!

On the web:
Night Safari
Betelbox Hostel