Shopping, skylines and a safari
Trip Start
Jul 15, 2011
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Trip End
Nov 02, 2011
Where I stayed
Singapore, Singapore
Sunday, October 30, 2011
As I walked down Orchard Road I noticed how amazingly quiet it was and suddenly realised that it was Sunday and nothing was open that early! Dam I could've had a lay in after all! It was actually quite nice to walk down Orchard Road and take in all of the glitzy shops without the usual busy throng of people pushing past. I took a few photos and then stumbled across a Coffee Bean next to Gucci.
I had some breakfast and then decided that I would take the train to another part of Singapore whilst I waited for the shops to open. I opened up my Singapore guide and decided to head to Marina Bay. I got off at Raffles Place and walked along the water towards Merlion Park. It was a gorgeous day and the blazing sun was already making for a very warm day.
I headed to the Esplanade Bridge where I got an amazing view of the whole Marina Bay area and skyline, including the Singapore flyer (a London Eye style big wheel), Theatres on the Bay and Marina Bay Sands. It was a pretty impressive sight. This area of Singapore also plays host to the Formula One night race every September.
I kept on walking and headed towards the Suntec City Mall which is home to the world’s largest fountain, the Fountain of Wealth. It took me a little while but eventually I found it and unfortunately the fountain was not running!
Not to worry, I turned around and headed back towards Marina Bay Sands and this time I walked across the futuristic Helix Bridge. I arrived at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands and luckily for me they were just opening!
I wandered around the mall which included shops such as Cartier, Chanel and Luis Vuitton and quickly realised there wasn’t too much within my budget here and I wouldn’t be getting much shopping done!
After walking around in the sunshine for a bit longer I jumped back on the train and back to Orchard Road for some shops within my budget! :-) I spent the rest of the afternoon walking up and down Orchard Road and buying a few too many clothes and boots (thank goodness Micha took a lot of my stuff back with him so I have an emptier backpack!)
Orchard Road is really great; it has an electric atmosphere with loud music being played out from different shops. It reminds me a lot of Oxford Street in London, just with 30 degree heat!
After a quick rest back at the hotel it was time to head off again, this time to Singapore Zoo for the Night Safari. I had heard a lot of good things about this and I was eager to check it out.
On the bus to the zoo we were told about some interesting history of Singapore and I was surprised to learn that it was only 23km x 42km, that’s tiny!
So once at the zoo I was hanging around waiting for my ticket when I was befriended by a gay couple from Vienna, Ferry and Peter. We started chatting and ended up hanging around together for the rest of the evening. They were nice guys and had stopped in Singapore for a day en-route to Australia for 5 weeks. Ah, I wish I was back at the beginning of my trip again!!
We boarded the tram which would take us around the safari and we were off. The zoo is different to a lot of other zoos as it has an open concept which means there are no cages keeping the animals in and nothing to protect you from them. It’s a bit weird as you start to go around the zoo as all the animals tend to keep within their little section and I wonder how they manage to do this without the use of cages.
Travelling around the zoo it was great to see animals I have not yet seen on my trip including hippos and rhinos. These were huge and looked very happy wallowing in all of the mud to keep cool (even though it was night it was still around 25 degrees).
The tram stopped at one point and we had the opportunity to hop off and watch the lions from the viewing platform, this was pretty cool as we watched the lions being fed and the little cubs chasing the larger lions trying to get some of the food. Very cute!
Back on the tram and we continued around the safari seeing many deer, large water buffalo and elephants to name but a few. It was a nice place to visit but I think after having seen elephants, buffalo and others in the wild on my trip, I have been a little bit spoilt and the safari seemed a little dull compared to coming across these creatures in the wild.
Once the tram ride had finished it was time to catch a quick tribal dance show, complete with fire dancing, before heading off to see the night creatures animal show. Here you got the opportunity to see large pythons, wolves and hyenas a bit closer and it was an interesting and funny show to watch, probably made funnier by the commentary provided by Ferry and Peter!
So that was it! The Night Safari done! I said goodbye to the guys and headed back to my hotel feeling pleased that I had gone but at the same time realising just how much I have seen and experienced on my trip and how lucky I have been to see some of these amazing animals close up in their natural habitat.
