Singapore celebrated their 49th birthday on August 9! This also happened to be my first day exploring Singapore as well as my first glimpse at the intense heat this country has to offer.
Saturday started out meeting up with the other two people in my program here as well as a Singaporean friend of theirs.
Our first stop on this long day was the zoo! The zoo here is unlike any I have been to before. They have a huge range of animals but what's almost more fascinating is how little barriers there are between you and the animals. In the jungle-esk feeling zoo, there are tall trees around you with lots of rope swings and platforms for monkeys to freely climb on. As in they are hanging around right above your head and if they wanted, could just drop right down next to you!! Something you would see back home but not here are tall barricades and cages separating you and the animals. Not here! The cages are set up so the animals would have a hard time getting to where you are but if they wanted and if they tried hard enough they could run and jump out at you! The white tiger below was pacing and definitely sizing up who he wanted to eat for breakfast.
We spent a good 2-3 hours walking around the zoo which was fun but hot! I wasn't sure if it was just me getting used to this heat or if it was actually a really warm day, but I was sweating bullets! Stopping in to see the polar bear was quite a relief as we got to stand in the cool air con (a/c) and cool down a bit.
For lunch we had Korean food. We had a variety of side dishes and then each got a different type of bbq meat which our waitress cooked for us. It was a good filling meal to help fuel us through the rest of our long day.
From lunch we stopped in Chinatown to meet up with another Singaporean and her two friends (one traveler from Beijing and an exchange student from Denmark). We didn't see much of Chinatown but from my first glimpse I will definitely want to stop by again!
Saturday started out meeting up with the other two people in my program here as well as a Singaporean friend of theirs.
This is what the MRT looks like, instead of open platforms there are barriers so people can't fall onto the tracks.
Our first stop on this long day was the zoo! The zoo here is unlike any I have been to before. They have a huge range of animals but what's almost more fascinating is how little barriers there are between you and the animals. In the jungle-esk feeling zoo, there are tall trees around you with lots of rope swings and platforms for monkeys to freely climb on. As in they are hanging around right above your head and if they wanted, could just drop right down next to you!! Something you would see back home but not here are tall barricades and cages separating you and the animals. Not here! The cages are set up so the animals would have a hard time getting to where you are but if they wanted and if they tried hard enough they could run and jump out at you! The white tiger below was pacing and definitely sizing up who he wanted to eat for breakfast.
We spent a good 2-3 hours walking around the zoo which was fun but hot! I wasn't sure if it was just me getting used to this heat or if it was actually a really warm day, but I was sweating bullets! Stopping in to see the polar bear was quite a relief as we got to stand in the cool air con (a/c) and cool down a bit.
For lunch we had Korean food. We had a variety of side dishes and then each got a different type of bbq meat which our waitress cooked for us. It was a good filling meal to help fuel us through the rest of our long day.
From lunch we stopped in Chinatown to meet up with another Singaporean and her two friends (one traveler from Beijing and an exchange student from Denmark). We didn't see much of Chinatown but from my first glimpse I will definitely want to stop by again!
Chinatown
Our afternoon consisted of lots of walking around, getting fake Singapore flag tattoos, and trying to find the best spot to watch the fireworks. Along our way we stopped for a drink and I had my first taste at Singapore beer. Our stop was also a great spot to watch the Singaporean skydivers jump out of a plane and one by one land down in the main area where the parade was going on. It was neat to watch them all come down through the sky!
Tiger Beer
Finally after a long day of walking around and sweating in the Singapore heat, we were able to see the fireworks and wish Singapore a happy birthday before parting ways and getting some rest. Luckily this busy day wore me out enough that I was able to sleep through the night without waking up once! Beat that jet lag!
Marina Bay lit up at night
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