Today, we got up a little earlier (especially me !), to leave the hotel heading south. We took the NE line of the MRT to its terminus : Harbour Front. From there we engulfed ourselves in mini flying microwaves, Cable Cars : small cabins suspended about 90 meters above the sea, that we looked for at our first stop… Wasted effort, we were on Mount Faber, which gives a view of the city. To go to the island you had to go back to the cabins !
View of the Cable Car
Arrival above Sentosa
Again suspended in the air we leave the island-state for the island of Sentosa. Very nice place, but where paid activities flourish. So we contented ourselves with a typical meal and a walk towards the beach., admiring the Merlion on the way, huge statue of a lion-mermaid.
Aerial view of the Merlion
Le Merlion
And time flies on vacation, we leave the island the same way as on the outward journey to sink back into the metro, direction Little India, where we wait once again for the famous shuttle to Singapore Zoo. Late today but we got it ! Our smile is passed on to the driver who opens the door for us, almost hilarious ! The bus takes us directly to the entrance of the “Night Safari” as night falls. We get back on a small tram this time which takes us inside a jungle with lush vegetation where the animals are very close., sometimes even close at hand. A stop in the middle of the forest allows us to walk a little, and even to enter large greenhouses where there are flying squirrels or bats ! We finish the walk in the middle of buffaloes, tapirs, jackals… delighted by this nocturnal zoo concept and by the proximity of the animals.
Waiting for the bus to return, we attend a small performance where my cousin is kindly invited to go blow in a blowgun…
The return to town is a bit long, but we finally arrive at Clarke Quay after taking the underground. We need a good quarter of an hour to find a vending machine, before being able to sit on the terrace of the Crazy Elephant. A meal and a beer quickly swallowed, here I am at the cybercafé… Already one in the morning, my plane is for 9:30 tomorrow morning, I leave the hotel around 6am, letting my cousin sleep, who will only fly at night…
Downtown Singapore in the distance
Late afternoon in the air
Brief, Singapore : a very nice stopover, four days were more than enough to see the most interesting. In flash : no dogs in the streets, only brand new cars, not many western faces, everyone speaks English even if sometimes the accent is cut with a knife, drinks are often more expensive than food, which is too spicy for my taste, air conditioning is mandatory and it's a fine city in every sense of the word !
See you in Oz ! (for more pictures… !)