Singapore Day One: Part Two

When I woke up, I realized that I’d slept away a good part of what was left of the day.  But I still had a couple of nighttime hours left.  So I decided to do the night safari next to the Singapore Zoo.

It was amazing!  Saying that it was up close and personal doesn’t really do this cage-free park much justice.  I saw a pride of lions feeding on fresh beef from right across the street.  There were wild giraffes, elephants and rhinos roaming free — no chains, no fences — nothing to keep them from leaving their little area.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGqMenKcDXA&w=560&h=315] I’ve included this video as an outtake.  But I won’t give too much away.  You’ll have to see the full video once it’s released to get all the goodies.

I was inches away from giant bats called flying foxes inside the exhibit.  These guys had three-foot wingspans and I was so close to them, they were grabbing at my camera.  One even flew over my head and touched down for a fraction of a second as he buzzed me!

I even saw a 7-meter crocodile-like Indian Ghavial from right underneath my feet as I leaned over an eerily low-built bridge.  Never fear, however, because while these animals look like they’d make quick work of just about any size of animal, this is a fish-eating reptile. 

The list of animals is a little too numerous to name here.  But the video should be coming out soon.  So keep an eye out for that.  Suffice it to say that I was impressed and overjoyed to have had the opportunity to see this amazing, new part of Singapore.  It’s highly recommended.

On the way back, I decided to hop off the bus at the Chinatown center and walk back from there.  It was a hell of a walk (which ended up taking me from 11pm until 1am), so I would probably advise against doing this at night, since it traipses through a small red light district where plenty of drunks are stumbling about.

But the nightlife was cool to see.  Singapore definitely ties one on in the wee hours.

One last shower would finish me off as I could feel my eyes getting heavy by the time I hit the bunk for the night.