Have survived the long weekend. We did finally go to the zoo which is one of the top attractions here and an absolute must-do. It definitely is a fantastic experience so if anybody has just one day in Singapore, this is the thing to do. At least of all the zoos we have been to, this is the winner. It is like combination of zoo and botanical gardens with fantastic plants and settings. No cages or fences, mostly just moats or glass walls. Partly visitors walk on tree-top trails and get really close to all sorts of animals, most fascinating probably being the orangutans. The white tigers are pretty impressive as well. They seemed to be really comfortable in the surroundings, moving around a lot and getting into the water. I only ever remember tigers sleeping in any other zoo I've been to. Also there is a biome where we got really close to lots of monkeys and the big bats - "flying foxes" were hanging from the trees so close to the trail that we could have literally touched them. Also they do quite a lot of feedings where visitors can join in (not the tigers!) - like kangoroos, elephants. Just after the lion's enclosure there was an exhibit about eggs - chicken next to ostrich - and Karl drew a smart conclusion that the bigger one was a lion egg. We all liked the snakes and lizards a lot.
And just as a slight reminder of where we are I saw a snake today well over a meter long just 2 meters away. Well, there was a glass between us. I was on the treadmill in the gym and the snake was outside climbing on some branches right in front of the window. I told the guard but by the time someone with appropriate tools arrived (10 min later) the snake had made an impressive jump of a meter at least into a bush where they have no way of finding it. It was the paradise tree snake according to my book and it is mildly venomous. Looked pretty but I hope they will catch it eventually or it will stay in the bush where it is and will not decide to go for a dip in the jacuzzi just next to that.
Now Beatrice will come home soon with a friend from her class. She has been so excited about it. It is a bit trickier here to arrange after school playdates because we have to arrange it with the bus company if they are not normally on the same bus (and as a rule they aren't). Also the pickup afterwords is more hassle because everybody lives miles away from eachother. We'll see how it goes today.