In search of the bong tree

Day the second (and a possibility of getting a day or date is in sight once my body realises it's changed several time zones)

The hop on hop off bus. What a fantastic concept in any language, especially when it goes from outside the hotel (or near enough). As good as the eat-all-you-want breakfast buffet in the hotel and less fattening. A quick stop at a bread shop to collect lunch and we were off. A whole three stops later we alighted (this word used just for Inga) outside the Sri Mariamman Temple.
This is a Hindu temple designed by a man who had obviously taken more drugs than Salvador Dali. Very nice and, if all those statues really are Gods or demi gods, a very scary religion. I'm still trying to figure out why this temple, which is predominantly for Indians is slap bang in the middle of Chinatown. Mao would not be impressed. So we got a little religion at the start of the day and had no real choice after that but to have some retail therapy to compensate. Pagoda Street. More of an alleyway than a street but packed with stalls and shops all pretending to sell authentic stuff that was either made in a Chinese sweat shop or knocked off in a Singapore backstreet twenty minutes ago, but it's done with style, panache, a smile and in some cases, desperation. The architecture is cool too. A mix of old colonial and Chinese with a brand new MRT station and a modern bridge at one end.
Somehow it works. Grand Designs it may not be but I kind of like it. It's what you want when you land in a foreign country, a mish mash of architecture, different cultures rubbing shoulders with one another and hoards of jet lagged and gullible tourists just itching to be relieved of their money. So we wandered through some side streets and caught the hop on bus to the Botanical Gardens.

Wow. They're huge and filled with an amazing array of flowers and bushes. Ok, so I like my gardens so I was predisposed to enjoy them but they were amazing all the same. We went to the evolution Garden which tracks how plants have evolved over the millennia. Informative and pretty, can it get any better? Lunch was taken by a lake full of fish and turtles before we headed for the hotel and the prospect of a cooling dip in the pool. Why the early finish, I hear you cry? Oooh, so tempting to keep you in suspense and not tell you about the Night Safari. Doh! Singapore is home to a fantastic zoo that is only open at night – I think it may even be the only zoo of its kind. We left at dusk on a big fat coach and travelled to the other side of the island, getting a glimpse of Malaysia on the way before arriving at...the Zoo. Huh? It transpired that the Zoo and the night Zoo are right next to each other meaning that the animals can easily nip from one exhibit to the other at closing time (just make sure not to move the Lions at the same time as the Deer. Trust me, it'll all end in tears. And blood).

You're not allowed to use any flash photography on the Night Safari so there are no animal pictures for you to go oooh and aaah over.There was one bloke at the back of the train (you take a little train tour) who kept flashing the animals but after the Lions he stopped for some reason and all we could hear was the sound of chomping jaws. Cruel but efficient, but don't worry, plenty more tourists where he came from. So we trained around with a nice lady lecturing us in English (lucky we didn't get the Chinese tour) and saw lots of animals in the half light who watched us go by as clear as day and they all no doubt wondered what we tasted like (chicken) with the exception of the Sloth Bear who firmly believed that we were no more than a figment of a strange dream he was having. He has the dream every night so if there's anyone out there who can explian what it means he would be very grateful to hear from you. Mr Sloth Bear, The Night Safari, Singapore Zoo, Singapore, Asia. Send him a postcard with your thoughts.

After the train ride we walked around the Zoo which is quite weird. You wander around in semi darkness looking at animals who are eyeing you up as breakfast and every now and then a train (without lights) looms out of the darkness and scares the living daylights out of you. A good night out? You bet! I'd recommend it to anyone who stops over in Singapore, just make sure you book it when you arrive as it is very popular. No monkeys though as they prefer to go out for a nice meal and then clubbing in the city at night. Sorry. (Apparently the Ministry of Sound is their favourite but it's a bugger to get in to unless you're the right kind of ape).

End of the day and still no bong tree even though we went to the Gardens and the zoo. Hmmm, maybe it's hiding somewhere else in Singapore? And only a day left! The hunt is well and truly on!