Photos from our trip to the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari,
and my solo visit to the beaches
Sunday, August 7, and Monday, August 8, 2005

So Sunday at about noon, we grabbed the new digital camera and headed for the Singapore Zoo and the world famous "Night Safari."

Yes, there were plenty of animals, but I will spare you the same lame photos of animals you could take yourself at any zoo, except for a few interesting ones, and some photos of me at the zoo.  

So, here we go:  first, to the ZOO----

No, this is not the zoo yet.  This is me, waiting for the bus. 
I was going to wear my US Soccer jersey, but spilled something on it before we could leave.  So I switched to Italy.  Which is probably safer, anyway, outside the US-- sadly.

Yes, I am now at the Singapore Zoo, in case they have left you any room for uncertainty. 
It's near the reservoirs at the center of Singapore, so it took a long train ride and a longer bus ride to get there.  They were very excited to announce that they have just acquired GIRAFFES!  Meanwhile, I was more concerned to discover that they harbored none other than......

Yes, the degenerate, shiftless, alcoholic pests of the animal kingdom--given their own billboard and everything.  I don't care if you ARE "the SMALLEST" otters in the world-- that just means you can be EVEN SNEAKIER.  Freakin' otters....  As you can see, I am already regarding their presence with concern...

Yes, I am at the zoo.  Soon after this, we encountered the most exotic, foreign beasts you could imagine--

--if you were not from the US.  
Raccoons!  Tons of 'em!  Exotic and foreign--to Southeast Asia...

I'm free, man!  I'm loose!  Look out, world--I'm breakin' outta this joint!!
Actually, this reminds me of a funny sign I saw at the beach today, but couldn't get a photo of, because I was on the bus, moving too quickly.  It said, "Danger--Monitor Lizard Crossing." 
Now, THAT is something we from Alabama are so used to, y'know?  How many times do we have to pull over, driving from, say, Sylacauga to B'ham, to let the dadblamed Monitor Lizards cross the highway?  Huh.  It's good to know that you can travel this far around the world, and still see something so familiar.  Good ol' Monitor Lizard Crossings.  Oh, yeah.

Whoa-- there's the "Oriental Otter!"  Look out!  He's ticked off cuz he can't find his liquor bottle...

"I know I left it down here somewhere, to get cool..."

Actually, after it got dark, we came back by one of the otter areas, and suddenly two of them ran up out of the water and just went off on us, screaming and chattering away like birds.  They reared up on hind legs and laid into us, in a stream of otter-profanity-laced venom.  Then they both suddenly decided we'd had enough, and they jumped back in the water and swam away.

I hate those otters, man.  They're just evil.

Surviving the otter attack, and still at the zoo.

Okay, the sun went down, we entered the NIGHT SAFARI, and you couldn't take any flash photos.  So there are no pics of the Night Safari, other than one of me standing in front of a sign that says "Night Safari."  Oooh.  SO ...  let's skip ahead, shall we, to my trip to the BEACH today...

Back at the beautiful Siloso Beach on Sentosa... Nice, overcast day, not too too hot...

And they are right about this:

Think I'll make myself at home, then...

And here I am, as I always wanted to see myself-- sitting on a beach (or next to one, under shade!), sipping on a tropical drink and writing on my computer.  It was all worth it for this one supreme moment, my friends.  This is it.

Okay, and here it is again, so you can actually see the beach back there (thank you, Mr. Waiter.  Now bring me my chicken curry pizza, man!)

And the pizza was really good, too, and I ate it all and drank some more and got about two sentences written.  HA!

Ahh, the row of pubs and bars and ice cream places and such, along Siloso Beach... This is "Bullabong's."

Gotta love a well-stocked bar with a sand floor!

Oh, man!  The Dutch are still lurking about!!

They have a nice, modern, orange-and-blue tram that goes up and down behind the beaches.  How cool is that?

On the way home.  Wow, this shot came out much nicer than I expected.  It's the Kembangan subway station, with new condos behind it.  This is the station nearest where we live.  Bus 42 there is my bus home.

Behind the bus stop is this interesting Chinese shrine.

Back at Flamingo Valley, and... well, THAT's not good.  That was one shot I actually DIDN'T get.  Figures.  Yikes...