Day 31 - It was a lovely tour of the river and waterfront. This is an incredibly beautiful city by day but at night it absolutely sparkles.
We spent the day at the Singapore Zoo - there are no cages or windows required to view the animals - the pathways meander through the animals natural habitat, the animals are so close and the gardens so beautiful. All trees and plants are marked with their botanical names and there is plenty of interpretation information to read and enjoy. We were awed by the white tigers, entertained by the primates antics and interacted with both the kangaroos and elephants. The Zoo offers a Night safari which is apparently fantastic but we are running out of time - one really needs a full two weeks to get to all the sights in this amazing city.
One last foot reflexology session for C and S then we headed to the East Coast for drinks with ex-pat school chum friends from Ottawa who live here in Singapore. We sampled the famous delicious singaporean chili crab and black pepper crab and enjoyed also famous Tiger beer. We had a lovely evening - by the harbour - viewing what looks like the Malaysian shoreline lit up - but the lights are from the cargo and container ships lining up waiting for their load and to unload over the next day or so. Singapore is a very busy port.
Day 32 - This was our last day in Singapore - and we still needed a photograph of the doorman at Raffles with the boys so we headed out on the MRT midmorning. The MRT does not have multiple cars - but consists rather of one long car - as the train travels one can see most of the length of the train from the interior - it is quite the visual experience. We continued on foot to the Asian Civilization Museum - and spent a couple of hrs taking in all of the different civilizations that make up this ancient exotic asian world. The blend of religions, cultures and beliefs and ethnicities intertwine but yet each culture maintains its own uniqueness - respect and tolerance are values in this part of the world.
For lunch - one last popiah at the Funan IT mall and a beautiful walk through Fort Canning National Park on the way home. This is the highest point in Singapore - other than the Flyer and the views are magnificient. Fort Canning was also the site of the first botanical garden - many of the large heritage trees remain. The park is used by joggers, and the top houses the city's reservoir. The sign indicates that the trespasser will be shot upon entering the reservoir enclave. We stuck to the patc. The boys got a good run in and the shade of the trees and beauty of the gardens was indeed a lovely way to end our last walking tour of Singapore this trip - we will have many things to see on our next trip but we have certainly seen and enjoyed so many of the sights here already.
Tonight a taco dinner reprise - a favorite meal for the gang and we did pick up some of the miracle spot remover for the clan. Tonight - packing, repacking, packing - how many suitcases are we allowed to bring back?? We expect Tony our favorite van taxi driver to take us to the airport at 5:45 am as we make our way home - but stay tuned as we will be stopping over in Seoul for a few days.
