Papa's back of course, but let me keep that interlude to myself... teehee...
It's been a whirlwind since he's been back. Papa was almost up 24 hours on Tuesday. He didn't sleep until almost 6 am I think. I barely had 2 hours sleep myself. That evening, we joined the training group for dinner in Chinatown... there was Norman (whom I met, with wife Le-Anne, at the conference in China), 2 Indonesians, 2 Thailanders and several Chinamen, Henry, Lau, Vivien, Jian, Vivien's parents, Papa and myself. We occupied 2 large tables which would easily sit 10 people each. The food was good and as a usual Chinese meal would go, there was an array of several dishes. I tasted venison (deer meat?) for the first time and I didn't think I'd like it, imagining it would be a bit tough but it's actually good... tasted a lot like beef. We also had prawn, chicken, 2 veggie dishes, a pork dish and of course, curry fish head. The only thing I didn't like about the place is they had to serve the first table exclusively before serving anything to the second table, which means we had to wait a minimum of 30 minutes before being served our first dish. That was quite illogical cause the two tables ordered almost the same dishes, and they would have gained happier customers if they cooked two servings for each dish in one shot so they could have served us at the same time. But that is all water under the bridge. Lau is still happier with the restaurant he used to go to (which was closed that Tuesday evening on account of Chinese New Year... when does it end anyway?... it's been going on for weeks) so there's probably a slim chance we're going back to that restaurant.
We walked around a bit after dinner, visiting several malls, including the former movie theater now turned into a mall, The Majestic (Question: Is the name lifted from Jim Carrey's... should it be spelled Curry since we're in Singapore?... teehee... movie, 'The Majestic', which is also the name given to a family theater upon whose revival the story evolves?). There was a small room in the 2nd floor of the mall which was like a gallery of sorts, featuring Hong Kong movie actresses circa 1950's - 1960's. It was quite interesting to read about them and these actresses were really pretty and classy... none of the crappy ones we sometimes see in Hollywood these days. It's a pity I couldn't remember their names or I would have researched on them by now.
Anyway, this afternoon Vivien and I went to Whitesands and Tampines Mall to do a bit of shopping. We also intended to canvass for an ac to replace the one we have in our room now which seems to be irrepareable. We went back at half past 4 and by this time I was rushing to bath and dress cause I was meeting Papa and a client from the Philippines, Bong (of URC). We were taking him on the Night Safari... Can you imagine me going to the zoo? Not that I hate all animals. I love dogs... or at least, one particular dog, anyway. It's the prospect of seeing snakes which I dreaded.
And would you just believe it? When we were waiting for Papa to buy the tickets for the tour, there was this lady who came out with a python wrapped all over her body! My God... I nearly froze and all I could do was hide my pitiful face into Papa's armpits and beg myself to forget that I ever saw that wretched thing. Luckily, I'm not basically a hysterical person so I didn't scream and bawl like I would if we were at home and a snake would suddenly appear on the TV screen (if you expect me to put up a picture or link a site... something which I've grown fond of doing lately... about snakes in this entry, you got another thought coming... just typing the word gives me the shivers).
We waited a while in the queue for our turn to ride the tram... which looked like an oversized golf cart sitting 20 instead of 2 persons... and then we were off. It was only a bit dark when we started out, more dusky than velvety black (medyo maamoy sa ride kasi may mga bumbay sa harapan namin at alam niyo na ang ibig kong sabihin). For the first part of the tram ride, we saw mostly the different species of deers, the hyenas, the flamingos and the water buffalos among others. The most impressive animal we saw at that leg of the tour was the lion. They were quite a distance away and they didn't make any noice, but one of them stood up and the mane of hair around its head stood on end and it was quite a sight.
Then we went down from the tram and walked part of the trail on foot. We saw the leopards (one very interesting specie was the clouded leopard), the eagle-owl and the tapir (again, to name a few). We went into a door where the fruit bats were. It was quite funny there cause a couple of the bats went into a brawl and one of them started flying over our heads. There was this group of tourists from Malaysia who went through the trail hurriedly, excusing themselves as they tried to get past other tourists, walking a bit bent to their waists and with their hands protecting their heads. The rest of us let them through, anticipating the flight of the bat and dipping our heads at intervals. There were several sighs heard as people got through the trail. When we got near the python cage, Papa draped a hand over my eyes and I walked protected from the evil sight, not seeing where I was walking and trusting my one and only to keep me from falling on my face. We got past, and the rest of the walk was fine.
We rounded the bend and had some snacks at the refreshment bar. Then we went on with the 2nd leg of the tour, this time mostly in total darkness. My favorites here were the fox (a beautiful red one) and the elephants... who were playing at the time we saw them.
When we got off the tram and past the queue aisle, Papa suddenly covered my eyes with his hands again. I asked why and he said the python lady was still there... and I thought it was all over. And then Papa chuckled... it was only a toy after all. Well, toy or no toy, just keep your hands right where they are, it looked real enough to me.
You wouldn't believe it... but in all of my 39 years, this is only the 3rd zoo I've ever been in to, the first one being Manila Zoo, and the 3rd one was the Tagaytay Zoo. Well, I guess I'll never be a Dian Fossey but I'll live with that.
It's been a whirlwind since he's been back. Papa was almost up 24 hours on Tuesday. He didn't sleep until almost 6 am I think. I barely had 2 hours sleep myself. That evening, we joined the training group for dinner in Chinatown... there was Norman (whom I met, with wife Le-Anne, at the conference in China), 2 Indonesians, 2 Thailanders and several Chinamen, Henry, Lau, Vivien, Jian, Vivien's parents, Papa and myself. We occupied 2 large tables which would easily sit 10 people each. The food was good and as a usual Chinese meal would go, there was an array of several dishes. I tasted venison (deer meat?) for the first time and I didn't think I'd like it, imagining it would be a bit tough but it's actually good... tasted a lot like beef. We also had prawn, chicken, 2 veggie dishes, a pork dish and of course, curry fish head. The only thing I didn't like about the place is they had to serve the first table exclusively before serving anything to the second table, which means we had to wait a minimum of 30 minutes before being served our first dish. That was quite illogical cause the two tables ordered almost the same dishes, and they would have gained happier customers if they cooked two servings for each dish in one shot so they could have served us at the same time. But that is all water under the bridge. Lau is still happier with the restaurant he used to go to (which was closed that Tuesday evening on account of Chinese New Year... when does it end anyway?... it's been going on for weeks) so there's probably a slim chance we're going back to that restaurant.
We walked around a bit after dinner, visiting several malls, including the former movie theater now turned into a mall, The Majestic (Question: Is the name lifted from Jim Carrey's... should it be spelled Curry since we're in Singapore?... teehee... movie, 'The Majestic', which is also the name given to a family theater upon whose revival the story evolves?). There was a small room in the 2nd floor of the mall which was like a gallery of sorts, featuring Hong Kong movie actresses circa 1950's - 1960's. It was quite interesting to read about them and these actresses were really pretty and classy... none of the crappy ones we sometimes see in Hollywood these days. It's a pity I couldn't remember their names or I would have researched on them by now.
Anyway, this afternoon Vivien and I went to Whitesands and Tampines Mall to do a bit of shopping. We also intended to canvass for an ac to replace the one we have in our room now which seems to be irrepareable. We went back at half past 4 and by this time I was rushing to bath and dress cause I was meeting Papa and a client from the Philippines, Bong (of URC). We were taking him on the Night Safari... Can you imagine me going to the zoo? Not that I hate all animals. I love dogs... or at least, one particular dog, anyway. It's the prospect of seeing snakes which I dreaded.
And would you just believe it? When we were waiting for Papa to buy the tickets for the tour, there was this lady who came out with a python wrapped all over her body! My God... I nearly froze and all I could do was hide my pitiful face into Papa's armpits and beg myself to forget that I ever saw that wretched thing. Luckily, I'm not basically a hysterical person so I didn't scream and bawl like I would if we were at home and a snake would suddenly appear on the TV screen (if you expect me to put up a picture or link a site... something which I've grown fond of doing lately... about snakes in this entry, you got another thought coming... just typing the word gives me the shivers).
We waited a while in the queue for our turn to ride the tram... which looked like an oversized golf cart sitting 20 instead of 2 persons... and then we were off. It was only a bit dark when we started out, more dusky than velvety black (medyo maamoy sa ride kasi may mga bumbay sa harapan namin at alam niyo na ang ibig kong sabihin). For the first part of the tram ride, we saw mostly the different species of deers, the hyenas, the flamingos and the water buffalos among others. The most impressive animal we saw at that leg of the tour was the lion. They were quite a distance away and they didn't make any noice, but one of them stood up and the mane of hair around its head stood on end and it was quite a sight.
Then we went down from the tram and walked part of the trail on foot. We saw the leopards (one very interesting specie was the clouded leopard), the eagle-owl and the tapir (again, to name a few). We went into a door where the fruit bats were. It was quite funny there cause a couple of the bats went into a brawl and one of them started flying over our heads. There was this group of tourists from Malaysia who went through the trail hurriedly, excusing themselves as they tried to get past other tourists, walking a bit bent to their waists and with their hands protecting their heads. The rest of us let them through, anticipating the flight of the bat and dipping our heads at intervals. There were several sighs heard as people got through the trail. When we got near the python cage, Papa draped a hand over my eyes and I walked protected from the evil sight, not seeing where I was walking and trusting my one and only to keep me from falling on my face. We got past, and the rest of the walk was fine.
We rounded the bend and had some snacks at the refreshment bar. Then we went on with the 2nd leg of the tour, this time mostly in total darkness. My favorites here were the fox (a beautiful red one) and the elephants... who were playing at the time we saw them.
When we got off the tram and past the queue aisle, Papa suddenly covered my eyes with his hands again. I asked why and he said the python lady was still there... and I thought it was all over. And then Papa chuckled... it was only a toy after all. Well, toy or no toy, just keep your hands right where they are, it looked real enough to me.
You wouldn't believe it... but in all of my 39 years, this is only the 3rd zoo I've ever been in to, the first one being Manila Zoo, and the 3rd one was the Tagaytay Zoo. Well, I guess I'll never be a Dian Fossey but I'll live with that.
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