Tuesday 16th June 2009

After breakfast, Grozzie went off to work, and I made my way back to the room.

I experienced my first wibble of jetlag I think. The room went all swirly a bit. It felt like I was on a boat rocking in the swell at sea. Motion sickness standing in my room, too weird. This sensation came and went but wasn't severe enough to be a nuisance.

I got my stuff together, water, sunglasses, umbrella, and checked my camera was charged. And off I went out for an adventure on my own. The porter opened the door and I still couldn't help but giggle at the humidity as it hit me, frizzing my hair. Changing into sunglasses I made my way slowly towards Cuppage terrace. Stopping often to take lots of photos. I love the flat palms and the old style buildings here in the alfresco restaurant setting. It was quiet, hardly anyone about. I could smell the food beginning to cook, mostly noodles and dim sum pastry.

Singapore is not a smelly city, well not in my experience. I was expecting more five spice or duck cooking smells but no. You do get the occasional waft of the famous pungent durian fruit coming from the mall in the next section up, but I never saw any fresh fruit for sale.

I made my way down to Istana park. I crossed over the road by Orchard Central mall. It was cooler in the shade of the trees on this side of the road. I had the place pretty much to myself. Everyone sensible unlike me and staying out of the sun. You learn to time the crossings and stand way back from the road in the shelter of the building's shade. You seek out shadows. I suppose I could have used my umbrella like some of the locals use but I needed to take photos.

Istana park is a small but neatly cared for park, with water features, a massive gate and a shelter, where some people were dozing. Pretty flowers and trailing arbors line the roadside. I continued passed the 'royal' residence and decided to cool off inside the Singapura Mall by Dhoby Ghaut station.

I saw a 14 carat diamond ring. A range called Purple Gold. I got 'lost' wandering around a Japanese department store which had everything. Koi windsocks ;) It was busy in here. The locals love to shop. In the basement there were food stores, wonderful cakes and bizarrely fish and terrapins for sale. Surprisingly their Carrefour French hypermarket doesn't smell like the French ones. Maybe there is an absence of the French cheese LOL. There isn't time to see everything and all the shops, so I climbed the escalators (lost count how many there were) to the top and looked down. This one mall alone is pretty impressive, but then there are 4 million Singaporeans shopping here (ok not all at once) ;).

So I make my way back up Orchard road towards the hotel to meet Grozzie for lunch.

The vendors were only just putting out the stalls with various clothes and trinkets for sale by the Concorde hotel. I stopped to look at the chinese brocade tops, kimonos, and knicknaks. Nothing in my size, all too big for the tourists pfffft! All the locals are my size, so that's what I was hoping to find, small normal sized clothing. Never mind, I'll just get stuff from China Town London as I always do. Found a cute purple t-shirt instead. I'll be back to get it another time.

I met Grozzie for a simple lunch at Starbucks. It's nice to sit outside in the downstairs section where it is cooled by mist blown in front of the fans and the neighbouring mall with its air conditioning pouring out of the open doors.

Grozzie had had a good morning at work, lots of meetings, catching up with old faces etc.
After lunch we made our way via taxi to a meeting in Lor Chuan. A business area north of the main city centre.

It was surreal and an honour to be seating in the reception of a large 'famous' firm. Then Grozzie notices on the wall behind me in the magazine shelf, the exact same reception room we were seated in. It was featured on the front cover of "Trends" a commercial design magazine. What are the chances ? LOL OK there weren't any basketballs on the floor but the rest is the same. You can see the red tickertape information strip around the reception desk is the same on the left.

We have a grand old tour of their new offices etc etc It's changed a fair bit since Grozzie spent his working time here a few years ago. They are all proud of their environment and are continually improving, and it was good to introduce Groz to the people who are now using his design etc and it was great for Groz to see his hard work being used in reality :) Loved being in the inner sanctum as it was so deeply air conditioned in there.

It was great to finally meet the folks behind the names after all this time. And what a great bunch they are too.

After a successful afternoon we got a taxi back to the hotel.

We enjoyed a light happy hour and hopped in a taxi to Night Safari.

It's a long way north on the island and the cabbi didn't mind yaking away.

After purchasing our tickets, we made our way to Bongo Burgers. We had lamb burgers, the best fries washed down with jars of cool lemonade. Throughout the next few hours the forest drums were bonged and the dancers came out to entertain. Flame throwers and eaters woooed the crowds. I got caught up in the dance LOL!

We caught the tram and went round the whole tour first. Sounds weird to get off at the beginning again but you get to see most things twice and it's quieter as most people get off at the middle station.

We walked around taking each zone slower. Highlights for me were, face to face with a sleepy tiger centimeters behind the glass. AND the flying squirrels. OK so we had to wait a long time for any action, but it was so hot and the humidity was high. It really is an unusually hot season. I thought it cooled down to about 26 at night.... no such luck. Anyway, the flying squirrels have a special pen which is massive but you have to go through a three layered door system to get into the middle. Make sure none escape.

They were feeling the heat and were pawing at each other high up in the branches. most folks didn't wait to see them fly. I was almost giving up with neck up craning to see them leap off... Grozzie had told me it was worth the wait as he'd visited before. So we waited some more, and finally he made his calculations and alterations and leapt straight at me, with his huge squirrely wings out, missing my head by inches and landed on the tree behind me. He was a big fella too and super fast!! Climbed the tree for a treat in a pot hanging in a branch :) Awesome.

Should have bought this keychain if we could have found it.

We took a short rest and ate icecreams chocolate kisses to cool off, surrounded by zebra furniture.

One funny thing was hearing the quacks, quacks of the tiny frogs.
Why are frogs pretending to be ducks ? :)

Lots of other creatures were hiding out of sight but we walked around the whole park. It was late when we got back to the beginning, and it wasstarting to rain. To late to catch the fire breathing show again. We bundled into a taxi and were glad to sit down again.

A tiring end to a good day out and about.

[total number of images taken today: 145, no point taking too many blurry animal pics in the dark]

......more adventures on the next page soon.........