29 Nov - Singapore fly-by

Said goodbye to Paul and caught the ferry from Batam back to the 21st century. The MTR tube system in Singapore is fantastic and you can get almost everywhere for about $2. Our hostel, ‘A Travellers Rest Stop’ is 5mins from the station in Chinatown and the staff are really helpful and friendly. We dumped the bags and headed for the Bird Park in the SW of Singapore in time for lunch…. at ‘Bongo Burgers’ - which we decided have the best ‘fat chips’ in Asia!

They have a huge treetop lorikeet aviary with rope bridges leading to a central feeding area plus a great falconry exhibition with vultures and eagles swooping so low, their wings touch your head!
The geographical exhibits are done really well – African Plains, South American Jungle etc.

African Shoebill

However, the funniest thing was in the parrot enclosure. The sign said, "Some of the most beautiful birds in the world are named after royalty. Such is the case here, for this parrot’s alternative name is the Queen of Bavaria’s Conure"

And there it was..... a little, yellow, plucked-chicken with no tail!

That night, we took advantage of the ‘Free Christmas Lights Tour’ for tourists – thankfully, it was only 20 minutes of naff carols and blatant plugs for shopping centres, but the decorations were nice!