Singapore - My Unforgettable Day

Sleeping in is a beautiful thing - Especially when you stayed up until 2:30 am the previous night! Victor, me, and a few others were all staying up on facebook and gmail, just chatting and replying to emails, until the wee hours of the morning. :-) It was very enjoyable!

Thank God for sleeping in though, otherwise I could not have functioned today. A few people stayed back to rest today, but most of us were able to go out on the town for the day. The first thing we did was get a lunch (nobody went down to the lobby until 11 am, so it was a good chance to sleep). I formed an "American fare" lunch group and we raided a Subway in the mall. Some people may say "thats awful! embrace the experience!" but you must understand that 90% of the time thats what we do :-) So it was great to experience some American food that was familiar and tasted the same as it does back home! :-D

Following lunch, we went on a Singapore River Cruise, and saw famous buildings along the Singapore river. The river is about 4.1 kilometers long, so the ride was not too long, but the buildings were absolutely beautiful. Quaint, pastel-colored buildings from years ago were set against a shining background of steel skyscrapers and an impressive casino. I hope to eventually post pictures that I got with my cell phone, but that will not be until I get home at least. It was kind of funny, but while we rode the boat, they played this funny recording of someone narrating the sites... not that it was intentionally funny, but I could not help but laugh! The music, the tone and tamber of the voice, and what they chose to point out... (like the naked bronze statues leaping into the water) it was all hilarious!!! :-D

Water rides are awesome :-) And riding a boat in the ever-so-muddy waters of the Singapore river was no exception!!! After that, we ran up to a 7-eleven for snacks and drinks, then loaded into the bus. Everyone was sooo excited! Guess where we went next... the world-class Singapore Zoo!!! It deserves a separate post :-)

But I will include it in this post!!! :-D Lol!!!!

As soon as we walked into the entrance, I was blown away by the facilities and layout of the Singapore Zoo. There were animals RIGHT THERE, without the ropes, chains, and glass around them that you see in the American zoos!!! It was almost like viewing the animals in the wild, besides the fact that you were on a concrete sidewalk surrounded by people. Talk about awesome... They have an "Open Design" that allows people to get reeeeeeally close to the animals (and I saw a little kid touch one of the minature deer!). Animals are not put in awkward spaces, but every "enclosure" simulates their natural environment. When we reached the Australian outback exhibit, I could not help but marvel at how they only had a little wooden fence around the kangaroos! It was maybe a foot high and only had one little stick laying across the posts. One. and it was small! Anything could have gone through that, but they make the spaces so inviting to the animals that they have no desire to leave it... at least thats what it seemed like to me :-)

The restrooms (which I had occasion to visit) were incredible also. I expected a drab layout. Instead, there was a waterfall coming off the roof of the bathhouse, and the sinks stood facing the waterfall, where the one wall would have been. It was cool... instead of that wall, they had a view into a pretty garden. Totally unique and amazing :-)

The zoo boasts a wealth of 2,530 different specimens from 315 animal species. With 1.6 million visitors a year, this place is HOPPING!!!

My favorite part of visiting the zoo (and my entire day really), was the Splash Safari. They showed off the cute little penguins, the pelican, and the manitees. But the most interesting and awesome part of the ENTIRE show was the sea lion.

From the start, he was amazing! His name was Carlos, and he beat the water excitedly to greet the crowd, then splashed around a while, just enjoying himself while they talked. Then they had him do tricks. One of the routines was him demonstrating his agility on land, and moving in the water. He could jump all over the place on the rocks, and in the water he glided smoothly at 40 kilometers per hour! Jumping out of the water to touch a suspended ball was one of the coolest tricks of the show.

Well, thats about it... Oh, theres a couple other parts...

The guy called a couple of children up and they got to feed fish to Carlos, and then get a picture of him kissing them on the cheek :-) It was really fun to watch, and the crowd enjoyed it. But the story does not end there! They asked for a couple of adults to come up, and Claire (a girl from our team) was selected!!!!! Then, they called ME up there!!!!

"Come on down here, Superman! Yeah, you in the collared shirt!" My smile must have been a mile wide! I high-fived my team as I ran down the steps to the front stage area, and looked back up into the large crowd. The announcer asked our names and where we were from, and then he just kept holding my hand while he talked. And he kept holding and kept talking, even though I tried to let go. Then he said "are you nervous? you are shaky!!!" Then I replied, "I'm more excited than nervous, but I've gotta say - I've never been this close to a seal before." *face to palm* Smiling widely, he looks to the crowd and says, "well OBVIOUSLY you haven't been listening to me because it IS a sea lion but thats ok! Now, could you please let go of my hand?" And with that, he let go of me :-) So funny! And I'll admit, the whole "seal vs. sea lion" thing was embarassing, but I enjoyed myself so much that it doesn't even matter to me :-)

"I'd like for each of you to throw a frisbee to Carlos. If you make it, great! If not, we'll have to throw you into the tank!" And with that, he hands a frisbee to Claire and tells her to step on the painted spot on the floor. She wound up, and sent a beautiful throw right to Carlos!!! Everyone clapped loudly.

I wasn't really paying too much attention though - my mind was focused on weighing the frisbee, feeling it and getting used to its size. When my turn came, the announcer didn't help me feel any more confident about throwing the frisbee... "all you guys! this macho man represents all of YOU!!! Let's hear it for him!" :-) A small husky cheer erupted from the crowd, and I turned to face Carlos, the sea lion.

Just as I settled my feet in position over the place where Claire threw from, the announcer interrupted my concentration!!! "Hey! this is the place my Claire throws from. But you are a strong guy, so take a step back and give yourself some room to really throw!!!" Nodding my head, I turned and stepped up into the first row, then turned back to the stage.

"Nope, thats where a 7 year old would throw from, go further!!!" This went on several more times, and finally he said, "Go all the way to the back row, Superman! All the way up!" Being called Superman wasn't helping me feel more confident, but I drew on the crowd's building excitement and sent a silent prayer heaven-ward as I reached the back row and turned a final time towards Carlos' tank.

"Are you ready Carlos??" he shouted. "Are you ready macho man?" And with that I was given the signal to throw the frisbee.
It was a blue disk, about 9 inches across, and made of flexible rubber. It had a little dimple about an inch deep in the center, and it kind of flexed as I released it. I threw a perfectly straight throw with a slight curve near the end, and Carlos caught it!!!!!!
The crowd cheered loudly, and the announcer thanked me for participating!!! :-D :-D I was so excited! I played catch with a california Sea Lion!!!! :-D

After the show, everyone congratulated me, and I went up front and got my picture with Carlos :-) He kissed me on the cheek, and the photographers clicked away with their high-end cameras. It was surreal. I played catch with, got kissed by, and took pictures with a Sea Lion.

Completely epic win? Yes. :-)

We went to Chinatown after we left the Singapore Zoo, and that was great. Shopping for trinkets and souveniers is always fun, but the remainder of the day I was thinking about the Splash Safari and how cool it was.

I played frisbee with Carlos the Sea Lion, at the Singapore Zoo, on June the 18th, 2010. How cool is that!!! :-D

Now it is late once again, and I have a full day of CI tomorrow :-) Please pray that God blesses us once again with His anointing and help!

Sold on Seals... and Serving Jesus,
Lewis
:-D