Saturday, May 22, 2010

Singapore Night Safari



[Saturday May 22--]  I discovered that one of my former volleyball team compadres and former HP associate from Boise was here in Singapore on business for HP, and he was able to have a free evening (after apparently a pretty gruelling week of work).  We arranged to meet Eric for dinner, and have him join Elaine and I for our planned tourist activity of the weekend-- the Singapore Night Safari.
One of the top "must see" sights that visitors to Singapore list is the Night Safari.  This is pretty unique, and pretty cool, and we had not yet gone to see it.  It is an extension of the Singapore Zoo, but features nocturnal animals, mostly from Southeast Asia, including many endangered species.  Thus it is a night time destination.  (The joke is that the animals work two shifts-- one at the day zoo, and then a night shift at the Night Safari)   It is similar in many ways to the Bird Park, as it is structured as a venue of family entertainment and education, with some special shows (at an extra cost), available dining, and of course, souvenir shops.  It is on the north end of Singapore, and takes a little bit of travel to get to it.
We chose to pay the extra fee to take the guided open tram-bus, which I think is the most popular scheme of seeing the night zoo.  Some animals are in constrained areas (this is a good thing for the humans), whereas others are in open areas, which the tram drives through, giving some illusion of a true wild safari.
There were several interesting animals--  leopards and lions, giant ant eaters, and water buffalo.  Some hyena, and many types of deer.  Here's a picture of some of the animals:


OK, well it was night time, and flash photography is not allowed, so as not to distress the animals (any more so than they are from being confined in a zoo).  Thus I didn't take pictures.  But take my word for it, this is a pretty interesting zoo to visit.

Eric--  ditch the jacket, it's hot here!

It was good to see Eric again, and I think he enjoyed a bit of time off.

Jim and Elaine at the "Singapo"  Night Safari


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