Olli's impressions of the shark dive and Singaporean/Vietnamese weather and driving conditions are very similar to my own, but there are a couple more activities that we did in Singapore worth mentioning.

We had read in our Singapore guide that Singaporeans love to eat good food and shop and so we focused much of our first day in Singapore doing just that! We took a tour of Chinatown and Little India with our friend Shannon who so graciously drove us to each destination for some souvenir shopping and took us to several different places for some traditional meals and treats. We had Kaya Toast in the morning, which is toast smeared with an egg and coconut mixture, much like a jam. Then, warm butter is put on top and the toast is folded into a sandwich. Truthfully, I wasn't sure how I would like the blend of these flavours, but it was just the right thing to hit the spot after a long flight! We also had Indian food and a special Chinese dessert with shaved ice, blended mangos and a special fruit that starts with a P (Oops! I've forgotten the name already!).


After our shark dive, we got to see rare pink dolphins! They actually turn pink in color as they age, which was interesting to me to see.

Our favorite event in Singapore, next to the shark dive, was our trip to the Singapore Night Safari. I wasn't sure how it would hold up to our authentic safari experience in Kruger Park, but it was really well done and we enjoyed ourselves immensely! The park was lit by fire torches and the fences surrounding the animals were virtually invisible. Actually, some were not fenced in at all! We combined walking with going around on an open tram-like vehicle. The forests were entirely real and so it felt very jungle-like and added to the authenticity. Although the animals were not truly wild, it was great to see them in this manner and was more enjoyable than a typical zoo visit. This time, we actually saw leopards close enough to see their spots (unlike our sighting in Kruger), which was very exciting! (We included a picture so that you can see the spots too :-)) We also saw a lion, spotted hyenas and cerval, which were some of the animals that eluded us on the Kruger trail.

Other highlights were seeing flying squirrels. Yes, they actually FLY!! It was amazing to see them soaring overhead. Their bodies, when in flight, flatten out and look like small hand towels with a head and four limbs. Hopefully, you get the picture! We also learned that porcupines are actually born with quills. Thankfully, they're very soft so as not to hurt their mom on the way out so all you mothers-to-be don't need to be concerned for the porcupine mom. :-) We also saw HUGE fruit bats--they would be great stars in a horror film for sure!

P.S.: This is of course Lauren posting, not Olli - I was just logged in under his username. :-)