Bikes and Beasts

Our bike group outside of Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
(gotta like a place whose name exactly represents what it is)

A word on booking our excursions for Singapore - I've never had as much trouble as I do here. The only reason I can think of is that tourism is actually a side industry here, since it's such a business locale, and people only lead tours as a part time job.  For example, when I try to book our food tour for Sunday, they ask if we could do it on Tuesday. When I say we can't do it then, they offer Friday. Apparently the guide isn't available on the weekend?!  I won't even get into the details of the three weeks of emails and international phone calls to arrange our private tour at the Night Safari.
 

Steve and Sebastian

This morning we finally meet up with our friend and his oldest son to take a Historical Bike Tour with Let's Go Bike Singapore. The bike riding is nice, but I wish we had learned a little more history. It's hot and humid, but not as bad as Cambodia.
 

restaurants and bars along the waterfront

Speaker's Corner and the Park Hotel behind us

One of our stops is at the Speakers Corner (it's actually a rectangle, not just a corner), the only place in Singapore where protests, rallies and public speeches can be held.  In case you're curious, there's a police station right beside it.  Nothing is happening when we're there, though.  Behind us is one of the cool features of Singapore architecture - balconies built into the buildings with lots of greenery.  It helps break up the sterile structures.

Pay no attention to the people walking along the edges of the room!

As we ride through Chinatown we take a short break at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.  It was built in 2007, and houses a museum, theater, tea house and religious ceremonies.   There are monks and prayers taking place while we're there, but they pay no attention to the tourists (there's a path to follow along the edge of the room).  On the third floor the left canine tooth of Buddha is on display (taken from his pyre in India), but we didn't have a chance to make it up there to see it.  

The walls are lined with hundreds of Buddha statues, about a foot high, similar to what we've seen in other temples (except in Japan).  Each one has Buddha in a different position, with it's own meaning.  Surrounding each Buddha are hundreds of smaller Buddhas (they're all in the same position). 

Buddhas everywhere!

He looks like he wants to give a blessing.

Are you a good demon or a bad demon?

Beautiful work!

On our way out, the wall beside one of the giant Buddhas (six feet tall) catches my eye.  I go up for a closer look, and yes, it's all silk embroidery.  Someone spent a lot of time on these panels!

No rain today...the road's still wet from yesterday's soaking!

We continue our tour down to Marina Bay Sands and the Bay waterfront.  As usual on these trips, our guide knows where to position us so we can have some nice photos.

panoramic shot

Looking up at the Marina Bay Sands this time.

"durian" buildings (actually two theaters) and downtown

The merlion statue "peeing" and the financial district...not a selfie.

All this biking is making me thirsty!

I can't resist taking a picture of the Raffles Hotel, where the Singapore Sling drink was invented!  Unfortunately, the bar is under renovation, so we can't try one there.  Hey, we actually haven't had one in Singapore yet!  We'll have to fix that...





We bike through Kampong Glam, the neighborhood that includes Arab St.  There are cute little boutiques and shops in the area (more than just fabric stores) - we might have to go back for another shopping trip. 

Kandahar Street and the Sultan Mosque in the background

We end our trip at Boat Quay, so we walk over to have lunch at one of the restaurants by the river.  I would not recommend it - we sit outside in the shade with fans overhead, but it's still hot. The food is just okay and incredibly overpriced. 

We have a couple of hours to recover before our next event, a visit to the Night Safari, a zoo focusing on nocturnal animals.  It's not until we arrive there that I confirm that it's a separate facility from the Singapore Zoo, though they are beside each other. The Premium Tour is definitely the way conduct your visit.  Information about the tour is on their website, but you can only book it through email.  The three weeks of frustration trying to reserve it turns out to be worth it.

It appears to be a holiday in India, so there are many Indian tourists - the Night Safari is at high capacity and sells out several entry times for the park. With our tour we're able to skip all the lines and waiting times. That alone makes it beneficial, but the private guides make it a rewarding experience.
 

Solving all the world's problems over dinner.

We meet up with our friend Sebastian and his family (including all four kids) and start our tour with dinner at one of the park's restaurants.  Next we're escorted to our front row seats for the Creatures of the Night show.  It's a cute show for kids - not too many scary animals and they walk into the audience with some of them (and allow pictures at the end of the show with a couple of animals).  

The gang waiting for the show to start!

Otters can help recycle!

 

Albino raccoons like to dig in the trash, just like regular ones.

"Tell me this will be over soon!"

At one point they ask for adult volunteers, and Steve immediately raises his hand.  He goes back stage...and returns helping to hold a giant boa constrictor.  He is not very enthusiastic about carrying a snake. 

"Why did I raise my hand??"

Then we have our buggy tour. Normally people ride trams with recorded information throughout the park.  We're on our own private large golf cart and our guide, Assad, shares interesting facts with us (there isn't a question we ask that he can't answer). We're on our own schedule so we're able to spend extra time at some of the more interesting animals.  Assad also leads us on two of the four walking trails.  In addition to our guide we have one of the zookeepers, Linda, accompany us for a bit and she's full of information to share.  We feel like VIPs during the entire visit. 

Bats eat mosquitoes...therefore I like bats.

Unfortunately, because of the low light level, we don't have very many pictures of the animals (it is the Night Safari, after all).  


When our visit ends around 11:00pm we have no problems getting an Uber ride back to our hotel (there are taxis available, too). 

Taking selfies while waiting for the Creatures of the Night show to start.