Japan/Singapore Day 16: Zoo and Home

November 23, 2019

We thought yesterday was a long day. Today is literally a long day, as we will be flying east across the International Date line. But first, let’s go to the zoo!

After checking out of the Fairmont and leaving our bags with the Bell Desk, we made our way to the Singapore Zoo. This involved a longish subway ride, followed by about a 20-minute bus ride. As we approached the zoo, there was quite a bit of construction; apparently the zoo is expanding.

We bought the normal zoo ticket with a supplement to ride the tram to get an overview. As we entered, it seemed quite crowded, and Jim said to Kenna, “With all these people, the animals are all going to hide.” Just as he said that, a monkey appeared about two feet to his left. Obviously the animals here are used to people.

The Singapore Zoo has an excellent collection of animal species, especially (as you might expect) tropical animals that are comfortable in Singapore’s warm, humid, and consistent climate. They had quite a number of animals that I hadn’t encountered elsewhere. We particularly enjoyed watching the lemurs jump from branch to branch over our heads; they are so energetic!

After considerable walking around the zoo (in addition to the tram ride), it was time to make our way back to the hotel to get our bags and on to the airport. We were a bit too conservative on the time and arrived before the United ticket counter opened, so we found a restaurant serving local food for a last taste of Singaporean cuisine.

The return trip to San Francisco is considerably shorter in time than the nonstop from San Francisco to Singapore, owing to the revailing winds on the route. Still, we had requested an upgrade to Business Class with a combination of frequent flight miles and some additional cash, in the hopes that we could try out that experience. As it happened, we didn’t have quite the frequent flight status to get upgraded, and did the flight in Economy Plus. At least we get the miles and cash we had offered for the upgrade back. It was a long flight, but tolerable.

It is a little strange getting back to a place where one needs to wear a jacket during the colder months. But it is, as always, good to be home.

This article is the final installment in a series about our recent travels to Japan and Singapore. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.