Singapore and the pink dolphins

We really enjoyed ourselves in Singapore, but it's hard not to. Singapore is, in my opinion, similar to Disneyworld. Everything is neat, clean and orderly - rarely a thing out of place. I'm sure that everyone has heard of the strict laws and fines for thing such as jaywalking and littering. You'll be hard pressed to find litter on the streets (although we did see some) but it's even harder to find any dirt in their subway system. Things seem to run so smoothly in Singapore. People exiting the subway walk on oneside, while people entering are on the other. Need a taxi - Simple just queue at one of the many taxi stands. No need to flag one down. Singapore is definitely THE place for an obsessive-compulsive person who wants to travel to Asia (AKA - me)!
We only had 2 days there so we filled up each day. We visited Chinatown and Little India to check out the scene and search for food. I got a chicken biryani in Little India from apparently the best stand in Singapore. I waited about a half hour in line. I figured it must be great if so many people were lining up. I also loved the freshly squeezed, right from the cane sugar cane juice. And despite what others say, it's not sickingly sweet - it's perfectly refreshing.

We spent the majority of one day on Sentosa island. Sentosa is a big theme park like attraction. It houses various attractions and hotels. Instead of paying one admission price you pay for each thing you want to see. There's also a number of beaches there and while they are nice with bays protecting them from the ocean, it wouldn't rank on my top 10 beah list. The water had a lot of algae in it and it was VERY warm. It wasn't a refreshing way to cool off. We did make it to the southern most point in SE Asia though. Most of the attractions on Sentosa are overpriced and cheesy. One, however, caught our eye - Underwater world and the dolphin lagoon. Underwater world is an aquarium that was described as spectacular by our guide book. Obviously, the writer has never visited any other aquariums. It was ok, but certainly, I wasn't as enthusiastic about it as the guide book. The dolphin lagoon, however, which was included in the admission to Underwater world, was definitely worth it. They put on 3 shows a day in a sectioned off portion of the beach. Plenty of room for these dolphins to swim and play. And yes, they are pink, bubblegum pink. They are endangered due to habitat destruction and fishing nets. The show was great. First, they bring out this huge male dolphin they call "Jumbo." He definitely was a big dolphin. It's surprising he could throw himself in the air so high. We later got our picture taken with him as we were next to him in the water and petting his back. (Mark forked over an extra 10 dollars so I could get near the dolphin.)

So here's the exciting part...They needed volunteers during the show and of course I immediately wanted to get up there. We came extra early so we could get good seats and we ended up in the front row. And...I was picked to be a volunteer! I got to get in the water with one of the dolphins and it kissed me and I got to kiss is back as well as rub its tummy and back and feed it! And at the end, the dolphin waved goodbye to me! It was great! It's something I'll never forget!

After the excitement of the dolphins, we spend the next day checking out the Botanical garden. Again, a very nice and free attraction. It's definitely worth taking a walk through. There's is also an orchid garden that charges a nominal fee to see these beautiful flowers. There are way more orchids than I thought and the Botanical gardens has actually created numerous hybrids. Apparently, I'm just not special enough to have an orchid named after me. The King of Morocco visited 2 days before us and he got his own.

Our stay in Singapore had to come to an end and once again we were foiled by Labour Day. But that's a story for another blog...