Our visit to Singapore was a flyby visit, giving us only 24 hours to get a glimpse of the city/country that we usually only transit through.
Arriving at 9pm, we whizzed through customs and managed to jump on a shuttle bus reasonably quickly which drove us directly to the hotel at a bargain price. Our hotel was a converted block of old shop houses and the rooms reflected the tiny and cramped conditions locals would've endured. However our room was admirably packed in better than an IKEA showroom managing to fit a double bed, shower, toilet, fridge and safe into 10 sq meters. Impressive! By the time we'd settled in, it was after ten pm so a quick wander around the block to get our bearings and finding the necessities of coconut water and chocolate and then we tucked ourselves into our bed.
Tony was obsessively focused on taking me to the zoo declaring it was the best in the world, which unfortunately was backed up by lonely planet. Fearing I had no leg to stand on, I trailed after an enthusiastic Tony conquering the fabulous public transport with ease. About an hour out of the city, the landscape became much more jungle like and my spirits lifted as I thought of how happy the orangutans would be living here. Walking into the zoo, we were greeted by free ranging cotton top Tamarin which I must say was probably one of the highlights of the zoo. These beautiful creatures were wandering wherever they wanted and were even close enough for photos or potentially to touch. Curious but still cautious, they kept themselves at a range where they felt comfortable, all swinging away as soon as the children came thundering in behind us.
Moving forward another 5 meters, we were again greeted by another troop of monkeys. Not seeing their name or recognising them, they looked a little like a possum with a fuzzy tail and a shortish body but certainly had the acrobatic abilities of a dexterous monkey. Watching them whizz by my head totally cage free, making their own decisions about where they wanted to go either inside their enclosure or with the crazy humans gave me renewed hope about the zoo. Tony smiled at me in delight. I was won over.
Moving into the zoo further, we found the giraffes which were being fed by eager children. And me. Handing over $5, in return I received a plastic container full of carrots and one bright eyed giraffe waiting for her treats. Looking into her incredibly gentle big brown eyes and amazing long eye lashes, her long tongue darted out and wrapped itself deftly around my carrot stick. Giggling as she greedily asked for more, I gave all but one away until the zoo keeper asked if I'd like a kiss. Just about to rely I was happily married, he added 'giraffe kiss'.
A giraffe kiss consists of putting ones carrot stick up against ones cheek so that the giraffe licks you on the face in their attempt to grab their favourite snack. It feels like a block of wet sandpaper with a little bit of hot dribble remaining to ensure one takes stock of what just happened. I loved it although did feel dreadfully sorry for the poor giraffe who just liked away a substantial amount of Singapore sweat.
next stop were the orangutans and whilst they were in the most incredible enclosure, it was still an enclosure. Swaying high above all of the visitors, they had numerous ropes and lines to swing across and it culminated into a pretty fabulous if not precarious treehouse nest. Youngsters were pushing and biting each other to the edge of the platforms which were about 5 stories high whilst bored adults watched the antics unperturbed. running above our heads from the traditional enclosure, up trees and then over to their birds eye view of the zoo. I felt i could still see sadness in their eyes and wiping a few tears away fro my own, we wandered off silently digesting what we'd just seen.