Two big Events in One day

"Hello hello hello!" 
- Annoy-o-Tron

Great day! We woke up early and even though it was really hard getting out of bed we left the apartment at ten o'clock. A taxi picked us up with a female driver and we both agreed it was a long time since we have had one - wonder why they are so rare. She was nice, but unfortunately the GPS showed the wrong address even though she typed it in right; so we got a tour to see the border. We then used John's phone to navigate instead and arrived at the destination five minutes before the appointed time.

We arrived at a street called Jalan Bumbong (a name so good you want to say it twice and then a third for good measure). The people who lived in the house we were invited to were cat breeders! We sat on their couch and really seemed to hit it of with both of them. They introduced their cats and kittens and we were sold. Well, the cats were for sale, not us.

Four females and one male kitten were up for adoption. The girls were grey and the boy was white or beige, cream-something I think she called him. All had different personalities; one girl ate our fingers and fished with her claws through the cage to get them back when we retrieved them, another was less fierce but curious and sniffed at the weird human sausages put through the bars, the third female was very unsure and kept close to mommy. The last one was a bit older and in another cage, I did not turn around to see her because I was very busy with the younger ones.

The only male, he and his sisters being almost two months, acted very shy and did not approach us until they took him out of the cage and put on the floor next to us. Tiny whiskers tickled my leg. I picked him up and put him in Johns lap. The cat sniffed all over his shorts, tried to explore the hole John had created between his crossed legs but never got the chance to go there. He sniffed John's tank top for a while and then climbed his arm to get over to my leg - but failed and fell only to desperately attach himself to John with sharp claws and a dangling butt.

This is the one we fell for.

After that big step in our lives (we will talk to them tomorrow and confirm we want to adopt this darling) we ordered another taxi and went to the zoo. We had heard that the Singaporean Zoo is one of the best in the world and it did not let us down, but first we ate a moderately expensive lunch outside and then bought the tickets.

John had deliberately forgotten to mention one thing about this zoo - the less dangerous animals are not in completely sealed off compartments. First animals we encountered were three monkeys climbing the trees on the other side of the entrance. I will not mention all the animals we saw because they have so many species, but I will tell you about the favourites and the first timers and the shows.

Ever since I bought my dressing-gown (named Icebear) I have started to love polar bears. They had a large male that seemed a bit bored. He swam around the same circle and half jumped up to a fake ice raft and dived into the water. One round took maybe twenty seconds. I found it quite sad, he did not have any company or anything to do it seemed.

We saw a wolverine but were offended when their map showed Russia, Finland and Norway as the only places in the world it lived. Strange how they managed to miss Sweden, we are kind of in between the two mentioned countries.

I saw zebras up close and not blurry (only time I have seen them before were without lenses/glasses and on distance). They were gorgeous and I wanted to take one home to treat with infinite love. Zebras are one of my favourite animals since I started playing Zoo Tycoon 2 when I was a kid. Also their sounds are adorable.

They had a cheetah, leopard and pumas, all three beautiful animals. First time seeing these (for me). Wanted to go in there and cuddle, but John said they would not like me very much. I think he is wrong.

We entered the snake house and it was the best snake house I have ever been to. I remember two names, the curled up Anaconda and the big bad King Cobra. This animal is the most beastly snake you can imagine. Unlike all the other snakes it moved, raised itself in attack position and even went into the water to slither around there for some time. He was very curious about the people following his every move and the tongue flickered close to the window. We sat on the floor for a few minutes and just watched this majestic animal move.

First time I saw giant tortoise and we had the option to go in and pet them, but I did not do it. First of all it was a long queue and second I heard a worker there that they could give you salmonella. Not interested. Maybe another day when there is less people and I am more hygienic.

John found the komodo dragons devilish and would not look at them for too long, fearing they took mental notes of his face to put on their to-kill list. It is a very reasonable fear to have, as they are fierce, violent and sadistic animals. I am blessed with a partner possessing great survival instincts.

The moon bears were asleep but their fur looked so soft. Met eyes with a intelligent orang-utan who wore a piece of cardboard as hat. Quick stop at the restaurant in the middle of the zoo for some fresh fruit, water and pee-break.

We saw the Rainforest Fights Back Show. Some primates, cute not-raccoons, birds and snakes. One lady from the audience got the chance to go up on stage with the little snake and when she was picked I thought it was me but it was the lady right behind me. I was a little bit disappointed. She stood on stage, ready to hold a normal size snake but was a little afraid. Behind her a large yellow python was being carried in by four people. When she saw it she freaked and almost went into the pool at the front of the stage. It was fun, I enjoyed the show but I really wanted to be the person on stage showing of how brave I am. Next time!

Half an hour later there was the Elephants at Work and Play Show. I love elephants so I laughed loudly when they waved with their trunks and ears, when the people said their rehearsed jokes and when the elephants shook and nodded their heads. The work part of the show was to shuffle large trees in the water and pull them back up, John asked me if I understood why these animals are used for working in jungles. They also balanced on a tree, splashed water and did what elephants do. Lovely to watch and wonderful show. It was so much fun!

After that we were getting tired and headed back to the entrance. Before we left we went to see the white tigers. This was absolutely my favourite animal to watch (even though I wish they had done more than lay in the sun/shadow). They looked like angels of orange tigers. Magnificent as they moved. I might adopt one of those instead.

Thank you for reading this long post and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did living it. This day was one of the best yet.

Zoo long!