Goodbye Singapore

On Friday we’d planned an early start with a return to Clark Quay for the River Cruise, then on to Jurong BirdPark, next the Zoo, ending the evening with dinner at the 24 hour Festival Market (La Pa Sat). Vacation is all about being flexible and the weather changed our minds.

After the scenic cruise down the Singapore River, we moved on to Jurong Bird Park. By 10:30am we were sitting in an enormous outdoor amphitheater watching a performing bird show. The amphitheater is covered to keep out the sun and there are numerous fans stationed throughout but it is already very HOT, HOT, HOT. The birds are flying low through the theater alighting on handlers arms, singing and talking their way through incredible acts – but I long for the air-conditioned Panorail that takes visitors on a tour of the park. Near the end of the performance, we line up and hop on the Panorail.

With over 8,000 birds belonging to more than 600 species, Jurong BirdPark is a must see for the Singapore visitor. Perhaps on a cloudy day.

We decide to wait out the heat of the day at our hotel pool and head back for a refreshing dip and a cool drink.

In the late afternoon we join the hundreds of other locals and tourists and cruise Orchard Road. The focal point of shopping in Singapore is Orchard Road, a very long stretch of glitzy high end shopping malls and not so glitzy stalls at street level. Think Pier One, only cheaper. We grab delicious local food from vendors and eat on the go, popping in and out of air-conditioned malls and department stores when the heat on the sidewalk drives us inside.

Walking is somewhat of a sporting event with crowded sidewalks, building and road construction everywhere; no stop signs anywhere and cars driving on the “wrong side of the road”. Even up and down escalators are reversed so it pays to look carefully before stepping on. Crossing the street requires a little bit of planning to find an underpass that will take you to the other side. If you do cross at an above ground crosswalk, watch the pedestrian countdown monitor because the traffic starts when it hits zero, whether or not you’ve made it safely across, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, RUN!.

Tomorrow we will send the blog from our favorite Internet Café in Orchard Tower. It’s an internet café and ? I wonder what the bed behind the beaded curtain is for? Massage? Acupuncture? Reflexology?

Off to KL. If it’s Saturday it must be Kuala Lumpur.