I finally took off my glasses and became Super Tourist. We kicked it off with the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo (yes, we napped first) on Sunday night. It's this really cool exhibit apart from the rest of the Zoo where you can walk trails and/or ride a tram and watch animals active at night. It's entirely cageless, with cleverly hidden moats. I tried taking pictures without flash but since I didn't geek-tech out with a tripod, I didn't get many decent pictures. (I haven't been able to download any pictures yet, I know!)
The exhibits with all the animals are dynamite. It's amazing to observe these animals hunting around or just chillaxing by the creek. Though part of me wanted to point out that some of these animals (e.g., elephants) are not naturally nocturnally active and I was uncomfortable that some have been put on an artificial night shift for the sake of our amusement. My discomfort is less PETA, more inauthenticity. Though I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of the night was when an elephant was just standing by the side of the road as our tram slowly cruised by, less than a yard away (when we passed, we saw the trainer standing by its side).
The best part of the night was the "Creatures of the Night" show in the amphitheatre, where Velina volunteered and was chosen to show how a civet has such keen sense of smell by hiding a grape in one of her two closed hands. The civet tapped a hand and Velina opened the hand (quickly, quickly! open your hand! urged the trainer) and revealed the grape. Velina was rewarded with a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream at the Ben and Jerry's, which given the concession prices at the zoo, was worth its weight in gold.
By the way, civets are these small rainforest cats that are internationally famous for pooping out the most expensive coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak. Apparently they swallow the coffee cherries whole and their stomach enzymes break down the natural bitterness but still leave the coffee beans intact. Apparently a genius "connoisseur" dug through a civet's excrement, saw the beans and said, I'm going to brew a cup of coffee from these beans that just came out of a civet's butt. And then with a sigh of relief, Wow, this is actually a dynamite cup of coffee--so glad I washed those beans.
I highly recommend the Night Safari, though there are some caveats. As I alluded to above, the prices for food is outrageous, like Disneyland-level. Burgers, Indian food, noodles are about $20 each so I would suggest you eat well before you arrive. On top of that I suggest bringing your own water bottles. For a country that is hot and humid all year round, I can't believe there are no water fountains and the vendors do not give you cups of water with your meal, you have to BUY a bottle of water. The outrageous prices apply to bottles of water as well, so I only bought one for the three of us to share--I didn't have time to fill out the application for a second mortgage to purchase another bottle. Also, the walking trails are awesome but the layout is designed so you have to backtrack through the same trail when you're done to get back to the main entrance where the tram is--so bring water to keep yourself hydrated from the redundant walking.
Velina and I filled Monday and Tuesday to the brim with attractions and activities--more adventures to come...
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