After chilling in Bali, we turned up the heat for our last week in Singapore. (Literally and figuratively, right, Bee?!) We saved some special city sights to do with Jay that week. And so he, of course, starts us off at the toilet bowl! Jay’s described it before, but you’ve got to see it to understand the fascination with this oversized bowl suspended in the roof of a shopping mall. We viewed it from inside and under -and from outside and above. Some call it the hurricane fountain because the whirlpool-action of the water causes it to swirl and then funnel down a freefall spout, eventually making its way into the small canal (with little gondolas) that cuts through the mall.
On the harbor is a unique structure that houses the Art Science Museum. Our superheroes took us to see the current exhibit from Marvel Studios. Now Na has some idea who all those movies are about. (She even watched Black Panther on the flight home!) But the best exhibit was a hands-on high-tech room where Jay and Bee’s colorfully designed cars and buildings and space ships that were incorporated into – and moved around – a floor-to-ceiling layout of Singapore. And that’s not all there was…but you’ll have to visit to see the rest of the interactive, high-tech fun there is for kids and adults.
And then there were the Wind Walkers, aka Strandbeests (Spelling by the inventor, Theo Jansen, a real genius!) Jay and Bee had a chance to slowly pull these enormous kinetic “creatures” (made of PCV pipe and electric cable wire) to see how the joints were mechanically designed to move when the wind blows against their sails. Na: Art and Science have no boundaries in this museum. In fact, it seems that Singapore’s museums challenge young and old to bring about a future never imagined.
One other funfilled and exiting day we stopped by gardens by the bay ( our original post about tht is in this link ) and saw the giant flower dome and amazing cloud garden. But the real showstopper was the Supertree Grove at the Garden By the Bay. Our musical interlude was from popular operas. The lights glittered from the engineered trees, and it was mesmerizing, even though we couldn’t sing those tunes! (Or maybe that was a good thing, No!)
Singapore’s Aquarium is on Sentosa Island, a place we’ll have to explore further next time. The aquarium there was a day-long experience. There were tanks with with sea life we’d never seen before. No tried to get some pictures of his favorite fish, the elephant shark, aka the Australian Ghost Shark. Too many other creatures to describe. Come see our photo album, featuring some of Jay and Bee’s best iphone images!
Even the ZOO is unique! We loved the night safari. Imagine seeing nocturnal animals in their habitats under a moon-glow of carefully placed lighting. So many interesting and unfamiliar animals to watch and learn about. (Ever hear of a pangolin? Some say it looks like an artichoke on legs. (google doodle game pangolin love here http://www.google.com/doodles/valentines-day-2017-day-4 )) The train ride and the walk along the paths (and the cooler night air!) made this a perfect night-time activity. The river safari sounds good, too! Next time!
In the midst of all of Singapore’s high-rises are some smaller treasures. The Toy museum was one. The collection is rare and some toys are pretty valuable. Bee was good at locating the rare, high-priced items. (The He Man lunch box was not one of those, but it did make it to the collection!) While there, we watched a man setting up some video equipment and asked what he was doing. He was preparing to make a documentary about toy collectors. (We didn’t think he’d be interested in our Dollar Store duds!)
Never thought Jay and Bee would jump up and down on our final day…haha! We spent a couple of sweaty hours at the trampoline center. Jay and Bee did all the jumping, and bouncing, and a few tricks, and the no-holds barred games in the dodge ball pit. Our reward for watching them exercise with such vigor was a local ice cream treat from a street vendor. The ice cream is cut into thick slices on the spot and sandwiched between a choice of rainbow bread (not sure what that is…next time!) or a thin wafer biscuit. Surprisingly (or not) we ate them up before these ice cream sandwiches melted all over us!
Our visit ended the way it began, with all of us enjoying a beautiful meal in one of Singapore’s lovely restaurants, followed by a very early birthday celebration for Jay. (Hey, when the chocolate cake is as good as that one was, we should celebrate everyone’s special day early, on-time, and belated!) The little party was fun, but the night was bittersweet. We were homeward bound. Luckily we would have lots of time to re-live all of the special moments we shared on the Little Red Dot. (Like the time Na won Ride the Train, or Machi Koro…or was the Uno? And the hours binge-watching that Series of Unfortunate Events. And the final test on the metro, when we didn’t get lost! And the night at the movies. And all the times that No was offered a seat because he looks so well-aged and dignified (old) with his white hair! And all the time we spent walking on paths that are up both ways! (OK, you can edit out that one!) We loved being with all of you!
(written by Na + No)
(Writers note it’s not uphill BOTH ways na👺)
