This Fall, Sam and I had the pleasure of experiencing Singapore for a second time (I visited in July of ’09 and Sam visited here).  We went for a total of 11 days with 4 of those days being spent in the beautiful country of Bali.  The biggest difference, however, between this trip and our previous trips was that this time we went in November which also happens to be right in the middle of the rainy season.  Needless to say, the mornings were steamy, the afternoons were rainy, and our photographic endeavors were hindered by the lack of time spent out and about in the city.  With that said, we were still able to do more walking on this trip than I think I’ve done since I had classes on opposite ends of Texas A&M’s campus.

On the first day we spent in Singapore, we decided to hit up some of our favorite cultural experiences – FOOD and the different “towns” that Singapore has to offer.  We walked and saw the beautiful fabrics and Mosques on Arab street and we visited the hustle and bustle of Chinatown to visit the shops and antiquities that can be found there.  No matter how many times we seem to visit my parents in Singapore, I don’t think we can ever quite get over how culturally diverse Singapore really is and how well it all comes together around Orchard Rd. and other parts of the city.  Unfortunately, the rain hit and we spent the afternoon sleeping off the 25 hour plane flight through Moscow and the evening delighting in food from the American Club.

I believe that of all of the zoos I’ve been to (including Omaha), the Singapore Zoo stands paralleled by none and that’s exactly where we went on our second day.  The openness, layout, and diversity in the Singapore Zoo is unlike any other zoo I’ve ever visited.  You get to truly feel like you can reach out and touch the animals because, well, you basically can in a lot of cases (although I’d still suggest you don’t!).

We spent basically the entire day walking around the zoo and avoiding the crowds of people visiting over the weekend before heading home to rest and ready ourselves for a feast at Jumbo’s that night and for our flight to Bali the following morning.  The Beauty of Bali, however, is a whole other topic within itself…