See Tho picked us up at the hostel and took us to dinner downtown. Dave and I shared a delicious and incredibly fresh seafood variety platter. We asked See Tho a million questions about Singapore and the variety of cultures that exist peacefully here, and he had insightful answers. We had a great conversation and really enjoyed his company.

We then drove to the northern part of Singapore to the Night Safari – a sort of wild and natural-looking zoo that you visit at night. We rode the tram part of the time, and got out to walk part of the time. It was a beautiful evening, with rain here and there that cooled things off.

The animals were so close, sometimes within a few feet of the pathway that the tram followed. They must have fed them right before we went by, because they were often all together and eating. The animals were from the Southeast Asia region, Africa, and South America, with many deer, buffalo, tigers, lions, leopards, elephants, wolves, anteaters, porcupines, hyenas, and others. There was a bat enclosure that we walked through with free-flying bats of all sizes. They were hanging upside-down eating fruit and sometimes flying. It was crazy being right among them. All of the enclosures were so natural looking that it was sometimes hard to believe the animals wouldn’t just jump over and say hi. The whole place was built in a rain forest so it looks and feels real. It was the most amazing and enjoyable zoo experience I’ve had.

See Tho returned us to the hostel at about midnight and we were so happy to see our box had been delivered by the airline! We are now set with all our gear.