A day at the Singapore Zoo. 24 June

We awake early, and gather up our things in order to make our "Breakfast with the Orang Utans" date at 9am. We actually aren't completely certain about what this event is, but we've heard it's good (whatever it is), so we figure it's going to be ok. We aren't sure if the "Breakfast" part of it is just for the Orangs, or for us too. As our hotel fee includes a hotel breakfast, we decide to err on the side of caution, and avail ourselves of a delicious and multi-cuisine'd breakfast. Super tasty. Then off to a waiting taxi, and through the streets of Singapore. Big city, clean. Since we've heard you can't buy gum here, and if you are caught tossing your gum on the ground, you will be caned in punishment, we ditch the Juicy Fruit for the day.

We arrive at the Zoo as soon as it opens, and we head to the "Ah Meng" restaurant, where we've been directed to go. It turns out that there aren't many tourists here this morning, so we get a ringside seat at the restaurant, a few feet away from a couple of orang handlers and a whole bunch of orangs:  mamas, daddies, and babies. Breakfast is actually included, but Rachel and I barely eat a bite, as we are too busy snapping photos. Anyway, breakfast is pretty awful.   But anyway, who could possibly eat at such an event? Yes, the orangs are getting breakfast too, and they are well-behaved creatures, I must say, and they don't even throw anything at us. Delightful event, we get lots of pics. We also queue up to have a short "extra special" photo op with the orangs. We are seated next to two Australian women, who are also on a girlfriend holiday. They tell us they are off to holiday on an island, just off of Singapore, called Sentosa. We learn that this is sort of a Walt Disney World kind of a place: casinos, golf courses, beaches, adventure park, etc. Rachel and I smile pleasantly, exchange quick glances, and inwardly think: "Yikes! Horrors! What a dreadful place! Why on earth would one go there?" The Aussie ladies ask where we are headed. We tell them we are on our way to Papua New Guinea. We ask (as they are Australians and they live right next to PNG) have they been there? They women do not hide their emotions about our obviously reckless choice of tourist destination; they tell us flatly they would never go there. Uncomfortable silence.

Adult female orang utan, Singapore Zoo

Great, fabulous, excellent day!!! Just in case you don't already know this, Rachel and I are crazy about animals. The zoo is actually beautifully laid out. And very safe (by that I mean, bad people won't attack you, forget about the animals. We don't yet realize that our cocoon of safety is going to be ripped away all too soon.) After a short time of some difficulty with our lenses (they were all steamed up due to the high humidity), we are able to adjust our lenses to the environment and carry on happily.   We spend the day photographing cotton-top tamarins, Asian elephants, white tigers, proboscis monkeys, white-handed gibbons, wild dogs, hornbills, colorful maccaws, and a host of others. We find the cassowary, but it's impossible to get any good photos.   We're hopeful that we'll see on in PNG.   We completely miss the Papua New Guinea Birds of Paradise exhibit. Oh, well, perhaps we'll actually see them in the wild.

Cotton-top Tamarin, Singapore Zoo

At around 2pm we realize we have to leave, and overall it's been a brilliant day, despite some humidity. After purchasing some refreshing slushies in tall transparent plastic bottles, we catch the taxi back to the hotel, gather up our things and head to the airport for our flight to Papua New Guinea. We are very, very excited.