How efficient were Target at 8.13am AEDT this morning?  JPG for Target tragic that I am, I was up here in Singapore nursing a mug of matcha, to try my luck at an online purchase with click and collect.  And my order went through FIRST GO.

The flamingoes taking advantage of the shade.

It was a morning at Singapore Zoo for us yesterday.  Toddler SSG was beside himself at being so close to animals he’s previously only seen in photographs or in books.  I was just as excited to be there.  The zoo is a beautiful property with the enclosures for each family in the zoo being as close to their natural habitats as possible.  Physical barriers were mostly very low or barely visible to the public and this made for some amazing photographs.  Many taken from, you guessed it, the shuttle bus that saved us all a walk in the humidity and heat.

The only creatures who do justice to zebra print are zebras themselves.  Nature has this way of giving us all a skin that’s perfect for us from the moment we’re born.  As humans, we often take it upon ourselves to either fight what we were born with /aged into or we try and improve on things by totally recreating parts of ourselves.  Its often a relentless mission.  I don’t know why a trip to the zoo got my train of thought off onto that tangent but anyway…

The baby giraffe in this photo was born in November last year.  Which makes him Singapore’s tallest / longest baby.  He’s with mum and dad enjoying morning tea in this photo.

Toddler SSG’s favourite enclosures featured his spirit animals – the monkeys, apes and orangutans.  I think he was drawing inspiration from their energy, cheekiness, climbing skills and sense of adventure.

The zoo has a roster of live shows throughout the day.  From memory, the pogramme features 4 different shows which run twice in the day.  Each has its own amphitheatre which is shaded and has lots of seating plus areas at the back for storing prams (which can be hired at reception).

The elephants feature in their own show and had a meet and greet when it finished.

While this stunning white peacock lived up to his name when he closed the rainforest show.

Inuka has his own pool which adjoins the fully air conditioned Frozen Tundra exhibit.

We arrived in time to be part of feeding time and I managed to get this photo of Inuka shaking himself dry before diving into the water for more food.

Then it was off to lunch.  Popiah and cendol, that’s my idea of Singapore on a plate.

I’m averaging one cendol a day on this trip.  It’s a hard life,,,

Before we were back on Orchard road, mostly window shopping.

Walked into Abercrombie & Fitch for old times sake.

Where it was just as dark as I remember it and the music was just as loud with that chest thumping bass that lingers through your body for minutes after you leave the store.

I had an epiphany as I wandered through ladieswear.  It was long overdue, I know.  But I’m too old for short shorts.  Especially low rise short shorts…

Ditto the stairs.  I was clutching the banister for security and my dodgy knee was hesitating with each step.  Bit bummed that I made it all the way to the top only to be told that A&F don’t do toddler gear.  Because Toddler SSG is now the only member of the family who could potentially wear A&F and I do like visiting their stores for the memories more than the actual clothing.

I’m going to leave you today with these photos from the rooftop pool of our hotel.  That’s not my leg casually akimbo on the deck chair, but it might as well have been.  I can’t think of a better way to cool down after an afternoon up the road at the shops.

In case it isn’t blatantly obvious already but I do like holidays and I do like Singapore.