I chased the annular eclipse, Conan, and shoebill storks in Singapore

As I compiled this travelogue in short bursts during the epidemic, my thoughts were often drawn back to the current predicament - feeling sad for the people affected by the disaster, depressed that I could not do anything for the frontline in the epidemic area; feeling sad for the Red Cross, Shuanghuanglian and other magical Angry about the news; worried about whether he would be locked out of the community when he returned to Beijing and about the future economic situation. For the first time, I deeply realized that happiness and romance are useless in the face of life. I even thought this travelogue was shameful.

As I kept writing, my mood calmed down a lot, and I finally decided to publish it before the holiday ends to prepare for the first working week of the new year.

 

If you are also experiencing the same sadness, depression, anger, and worry, I hope you can give your mood a break, filter out the overload of negative emotions, and then continue fighting with full energy.

Don’t despair, there is still so much good in the world. After the disaster, we must work harder to survive and live, and work harder to protect everything worth protecting.

Changi Airport Indoor Waterfall Video at the bottom

In the summer of 2019, several friends who are astronomy/bird watching enthusiasts organized a Christmas trip to Singapore to watch the annular solar eclipse, watch birds, and visit the zoological and botanical gardens. I am very interested in the solar eclipse, but my interest in animals is still in my childhood. I only visited the Beijing Zoo once.

But I still signed up. Because if you don’t go with this group of enthusiasts, it might be even harder to be interested in the zoo.

During the 6-day trip, we visited 5 zoos and 2 plant cold rooms; worshiped Buddha, Brahma and Allah, basked in the sun on the beach, and checked out the same stills from the latest Conan movie. Without exception, we were attracted by this tropical style. I was impressed by the place with strong modern atmosphere, multi-ethnic and religious culture.

At the zoo, I even took a photo with a fruit bat. Bats have always been a creature that scares me before, but when I saw the little fruit bats scurrying among the fruits, I felt close to them. Who could have imagined that a month and a half later, it would become the target of an epidemic crisis four thousand miles away. Nowadays, it is impossible to enter Singapore.

In this unavoidably depressing Spring Festival, I have compiled the photos and feelings of this trip to share with you.

 

I hope that when we can go out freely and see the birds and flowers again, we will be more respectful and moved in our hearts.

Preface What we saw from the plane

Bird's eye view of the Singapore Strait

 

The Singapore Strait is a small section of the Strait of Malacca, the busiest waterway in Southeast Asia. Water and soil determine the style of a place. If it were not for this natural geographical advantage, Singapore would never be what it is today.

 

 

This is the first time I landed at such a beautiful airport. Teach me how to miss her!

 

 

 

01 Sun annular eclipse

 

How to describe the preciousness of this trip? The astronomer who led the team has experienced nine solar eclipses in the past. This is the first annular solar eclipse. In the following 20 years, only two annular solar eclipses will pass through China (the most recent one was in June this year. On the 21st, it will pass through Tibet, Sichuan, Guixiang, Jiangxi and Fujian)

Principle of Solar Eclipse
(Source: Zhihu@天文在线, deleted for infringement)

 

 

Singapore is located exactly on the annular solar eclipse zone (purple), and is theoretically a good place to observe an annular solar eclipse. But December is the rainy season in Singapore. Check the weather before setting off. It’s either rain or thunderstorms. In order to make the observation smooth, I specially bought a sunny doll and hung it in front of the hotel window.

 

 

The solar eclipse observation site was chosen on the Marina Barrage near Gardens by the Bay, which is a lawn rooftop.

As if by the will of a god, people of different skin colors, different beliefs, and different languages ​​were summoned from all over the world to gather here and now, waiting for the same miracle.

eclipse chaser

Our eclipse team

It was bustling with people and there were many cameras. There were professional observers like us, as well as families and couples sitting leisurely on picnic sheets and sunbathing. It was so lively.

 

Clouds move in front of the sun, adding a richer experience to observing the solar eclipse.

Gradually, more and more clouds came overhead. The advantage is that from time to time you can observe with the naked eye (not recommended, your eyes will still hurt and it is very dangerous) and take direct photos with your mobile phone. The downside is that the best moments of the annular solar eclipse may be obscured.

The clouds are getting thicker and thicker, sometimes revealing half of the sun's ring, sometimes emitting thousands of golden light, and sometimes covering the entire sun.

 

 

Suddenly, the whole place was buzzing with excitement, like a bar at World Cup goal time. The sun completely broke free from a cloud, revealing a complete ring. It was particularly bright against the dark clouds. It was wonderful!

 

 

After a while, it was hidden in the thick clouds. When it came out again, it was in the shape of a crescent moon.

 

I just want to sigh, I love this world so much. It’s complicated, and you never know what will happen next second.

02 Marina Bay Plant Cold Room

The Gardens by the Bay, where you can watch the solar eclipse, is Singapore’s landmark landscape besides the Merlion.

 

Singapore is known as a "garden city". In recent years, it has proposed to transform into a "city in a garden" and plans to build more than 400 kilometers of garden corridors and parks to connect the entire island with green. Gardens by the Bay is the key project in this plan in Singapore.

Lovely scenery everywhere along the bay

The symbol of Gardens by the Bay is the 18 towering super trees, which are vertical gardens with climbing flowers and plants. The tops can collect rainwater and generate photovoltaic power.

– Flower Dome –

The "Flower Dome" is the world's largest glass cold room, mainly displaying flowers and green plants from the Mediterranean and subtropical regions. This place replicates the dry and cold climate of California and South Africa in the United States, with the average indoor temperature maintained at more than 20 degrees.

As soon as you enter the door, there are all kinds of meat, ah, I really want to pinch it

 

The statue among the flowers is also very eye-catching
Look, there is a Zombie Greymon standing in the cactus bush.

The legendary baobab tree

– cloud forest –

The "Cloud Forest" is also a glass plant cold room, simulating the cool and humid climate of tropical mountainous areas and high-altitude areas of South America and Africa. It is filled with plants from tropical plateaus with a maximum altitude of 2,000 meters.

 

Its main body is a building with an exterior wall covered with green plants, like a hill. I will call it Huaguo Mountain.

Entering the cloud forest, it was indeed filled with mist. It turned out that the mist came from a waterfall more than 30 meters high. Seven or eight streams of water pour down from the cave entrance of Huaguo Mountain, which is more than 30 meters high. I can't help but imagine that a rapunzel with crescent-colored hair lives in the waterfall. The sound of water and crowds was noisy, like "big beads and small beads falling on a jade plate."

Taking the elevator to the top floor, I finally saw the pitcher plant that I had been longing for. I wanted to know what the staff usually used to raise it.

The flytrap is only as small as a fingernail

While admiring and taking photos indoors and replying to work messages, I suddenly walked onto the covered bridge from the main body of Huaguo Mountain.

 

 

Travel between different cave entrances in the mountain. You can not only enjoy the plants on the waterfall mountain up close, but also overlook the flowers and trees downstairs.

 

With such a clever design, I successfully became afraid of heights :)

Stalactite exhibition in the mountains

The water curtain cave is also very beautiful

The two conservatories are not the only botanical gardens in Singapore. The botanical gardens in Singapore itself are very outstanding, and there is also a Michelin restaurant hidden in it. The most famous one is probably the sky garden on the Sands Hotel.

 

In addition to artificial gardens, Singapore also pays great attention to the use of plants on streets and buildings. It makes me, a person who comes from the bald northern winter, burst into tears.

The green area of ​​the Parkroyal Garden Hotel in Singapore is twice the area. Each floor is like a sky garden dotted with tropical flowers and trees.

Symbiosis between plants and architecture

A touch of charming green seen in a parking lot in Sentosa

 

Not long after returning to Beijing, I went to attend an event in a cultural and creative park. Perhaps in order to prevent the northern winter from being too bleak, the garden was decorated with fake flowers and even fake white doves were decorated on the eaves. I entered a coffee shop and opened a book of "Chu Ci":

Building a house is in the water, and repairing it is like a lotus cover.
The purple altar is erected on the wall, and the hall is built with fragrant peppers.
Guidong is decorated with orchids, and Xinyi lintel is located at the pharmacy.
The curtains are made of plucked flowers, and the curtains are stretched.
The white jade is the town, and the sparse rocks are the orchids.
The lotus house is full of flamboyance, and the Du Heng is dizzy.
A hundred grasses fill the courtyard, and the veranda gate is fragrant and fragrant.
Nine Yis come together to welcome you, and the spirits come like clouds.
Donate the remaining blankets to the river, and leave the remaining blankets to Lipu.
If you look at Tingzhou, you will be left far away.
The time cannot come suddenly, and it is easy to talk freely.

If Qu Fuzi lived in a contemporary city, I wonder if he could write such a romantic chapter.

 

 

03 5 animal houses

This trip we invited a great birdwatcher, Mr. Li. If it weren’t for this trip, I might not have imagined that I would have had this experience of bird watching.

 

Teacher Li is very easy to recognize. Among the huge crowds, he is the one wearing a camouflage hat and camouflage uniform, holding a book in his left hand and holding the camera in his right hand.

His book is an illustrated book of birds, and one page can be filled with magpies alone. For birds, just one more color or a sharper beak could mean they are another species.

Every time I see a familiar animal or plant, I blurt out: xxx! They would all be interrupted by him - "Don't jump to conclusions easily. Look at its xxx characteristics, it should be of order xx/family xx", very seriously.

Along the way, I have probably forgotten all the various kingdoms, families, genera and species that he and his other friends kept talking about, but what I will never forget is that they make no distinction between every animal and plant they encounter. The love of noble and humble, respect for natural creatures, and the childlike curiosity that will naturally show up from time to time.

 

 

In the bustling night market, these straight men rarely stop, just for this bird

Under their influence, I also found my long-lost childlike innocence in the zoo.

During our trip to Singapore, we visited a total of 4 zoos and 1 aquarium: Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari, and Sentosa Aquarium. Thanks to them for allowing me to be a curious kid again.

 

 

– Jurong Bird Park –

Jurong Bird Park is the largest bird park in the world and was built in 1971.

 

Here you can see the shoebill stork, the largest bird in existence that is on loan for display!

 

Shoebill storks mainly live in the upper reaches of the Nile River or in tropical East Africa. Not only are there no wild ones in our country, there are none in zoos either. The main reason for its popularity is the emoticon package:

 

 

and frequently searched for confusing behavior awards:

 

 

Honey is cute, isn’t it?

Another heavyweight loan guest is the Philippine national bird, the ape-eating eagle. As the name suggests, it has a ferocious temperament and likes to prey on monkeys.

 

 

"I am so handsome"

A tree of powder. . Goose?

 

 

flamingo

After watching the flamingos, I turned around and saw a reptile lying lazily on the roadside less than 2 meters away from me. I was too scared to move. After asking a friend, I found out it was an iguana, which eats plants and insects. Later, when I saw its kind, I dared to step forward and take a selfie.

 

 

Red-necked Crane

The cassowary, also known as the "cassowary", is a flightless bird and is the third largest bird in the world, after the ostrich and the emu. It has once slit a human neck with its claws, so it is also known as the "killer bird". It is rated as "the most dangerous bird in the world" by Guinness.

 

The Caiying Valley is probably the most unforgettable place in the bird park. This is an open aviary where 15 species of parrots live. There is a net on the top and many suspension bridges crisscrossing the middle, making it quiet and romantic.

Birds seem to be living in paintings

The animal protection bulletin displays the helmets that humans once wore for falcon taming.

 

 

bird show

When I passed the auditorium when I left, humans seemed to be animals locked up for viewing.

 

– Singapore Zoo –

The most famous thing about Singapore's zoo is not its wide variety, but its fully open model concept. Natural barriers are used instead of fences in the zoo, which not only gives the animals as much living space as possible, but also simulates their original living environment as much as possible. .

The tiger is only separated from us by a river. Ever since I got a cat, I think felines are so cute.

 

 

The Komodo dragon, the largest living lizard and the top predator in eastern Indonesia, was once thought to be a descendant of dinosaurs. It is venomous and its hunting method is also very strange. It usually bites the prey and follows it until the prey is poisoned and dies before moving forward to feast on it.

 

The world's largest tortoise, the Galapagos Island tortoise. After seeing this turtle, everyone started planning a trip to the Galapagos . But why is it shiny? Could it be that someone has anointed it with oil?

 

 

Yes, it's true

A monkey mother's way of disciplining her children is very simple and crude - scratching the tail

Little monkeys playing in the forest

 

 

In an open park, you never know what magical animal will appear in front of you next.

 

 

Manta bats are so cute, why should we eat manta bats?

Bats were originally the creatures I feared most after snakes and crocodiles. But this time when I saw a fruit bat holding a watermelon and munching on it, I felt so friendly that I secretly took a photo with him.

 

Sure enough, fear and misunderstanding often come from the unknown.

Short-horned lizard with eyes that spurt blood (left)

Tiffany colored frog

The blue poison dart frog can convert the venom of food (such as spiders) into its own toxin. The deadly poison is hidden under its dazzling skin.

The road signs and warning signs in the park are very exquisite.

 

 

– River Ecological Park –

The River Ecological Park is adjacent to the zoo. The exhibition areas here replicate the ecology of important rivers in the world, including: the Yangtze River in China, the Mississippi River in North America, the Nile River in Egypt, the Ganges River in India, the Mekong River in Southeast Asia, the Amazon River in South America, and the Temasek River in Singapore. river.

The most distinctive feature of the River Ecological Park is its two cruise projects. One is to explore the Amazon River on a rubber yacht and watch flamingos, leopards, and tapirs along the way. Unfortunately, the machine was under maintenance when we went there and we were not able to experience it.

 

Another is to enjoy the scenery of a tropical river on a cruise ship.

 

The warm river breeze triggered my childhood imagination of the terror of tropical rainforests: clouds and mist, towering woods entangled with thick vines, crocodiles and giant anacondas waiting for opportunities in the dark, There was a gust of wind, mixed with an unsettling low roar.

 

When I opened my eyes again, it was peaceful and melodious here.

– Night Safari –

There is also a zoo in Singapore that is only open after 7:30 pm - Night Safari. Its existence is not a gimmick, most of the people living here are nocturnal animals.

Take a ride on your beloved little train

There are still no guardrails here, and docile animals such as deer can walk freely inside and outside the breeding area, and even cross the road with swagger.

– Sentosa Aquarium –

After visiting 5 museums, the more I learned, the more I eliminated past prejudices and fears, and the more I wanted to understand more deeply.

 

Just like a mountain climber would answer "The mountain is there". If you ask a lover why he likes animals and plants, whether they are precious or rare, there may be the same emotion behind a thousand explanations: all things are alive and beautiful.

04 Check in the same style as Conan

My exploration of the city of Singapore is following the footsteps of Conan, if you don’t believe it, you can see it.

– Xin Xiaolan went there

Ya Kun Store –

Ya Kun, the Singaporean snack inspired by the movie

It’s really delicious without the raw eggs!

– Sonoko & Kyogoku Makoto date

Maxwell Food Center –

– Merlion Park –

– Kampong Glam –

Rounding it all off, it’s like taking a photo with KID sama, hehe

– Same ice cream –

I even tasted the same ice cream!

– Singapore Sling –

You must order the Sling when flying on Singapore Airlines. It’s very, very, very delicious.

– Same coconut water –

I bought the same model when I returned to China and forced me to take Turing on camera.

 

 

05 religion

I am not a religious person, but I am very interested in religious culture. My trip to Singapore also allowed me to briefly experience the styles of different religions.

 

Singapore is a multi-religious country that advocates mutual tolerance and tolerance among religions and ethnic groups. Singaporeans with religious beliefs account for 83% of the population, of which Buddhism accounts for 33% of the population, Taoism accounts for 11%, Christianity 18%, Islam 15%, Hinduism 5%, in addition to Sikhism, Judaism, etc.

– Buddhism｜Buddha Tooth Relic Temple –

In Chinatown, Singapore, there is a Buddhist temple, the Temple of the Tooth Relic, that enshrines the tooth relic of Buddha. Its architecture, interior decoration and statues are all modeled after the Tang Dynasty, and the palace is extremely gorgeous.

 

– Hinduism｜Sri Mariamman Temple–

Sri Mariamman Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore.

 

How old is it?

The founder of the temple, Billai, arrived in Singapore in 1819 with Raffles, the founder and builder of Singapore, and the temple was built in 1827. In the early days, it provided accommodation for Indian immigrants and was the only temple that could hold wedding ceremonies for Hindus.

The tall tower at the temple gate is carved with Hindu gods and various animals

– Islam | Jamei Mosque –

Before the visit, I put on a green robe and followed the instructions from the temple management staff - girls can only walk to the side; and the sermon to me: Allah is the only true God in the world.

– Islam | Sultan Mosque –

The Sultan Mosque was built in 1928 and is the most spectacular mosque in Singapore.

There are also two temples downstairs in the hotel where I stayed, one Hindu and one (seemingly) Taoist.

 

 

06 Singapore Street Scene

– Chinatown –

The Singapore business district that Chinese people must visit is none other than Chinatown. Chinatown, also known as chinatown in English, is Singapore's Chinatown. It was named after the Chinese who worked in Singapore in the early days gathered here and used oxcarts to transport water to wash the streets.

Very old-fashioned

It is said that the small commodities here come from Yiwu

– Kampong Glam –

Kampong Glam was once the center of Malay royalty. Later, Arabs came here to do business and it became a Muslim settlement. The Sultan Cathedral is also here.

There is an Arabic-style street in Kampong Glam similar to Nanluogu Alley in Beijing, Tianzifang in Shanghai, and Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu. Graffiti Alley where KID and Conan met is on this street.

 

 

– Clarke Quay –

It’s so wonderful to have some fun here with the one you love

 

 

– Other –

Accidentally photographed a Singaporean smoking in a no-smoking area:)

07 Beach and sea

When you come to the tropics, how can you not go to the beach and enjoy the blue sea and sky that are enough to forget all your worries?

singapore east coast

Sentosa Island is Singapore's top resort destination. Although it is only 3.47 square kilometers, it integrates natural beaches, Universal Studios, Underwater World, Dolphin Paradise, Coral Museum, Art Village, Maritime Museum, Ordnance Hall, Siloso Castle, Wax Man Museum, and Mangrove Nature Reserve. Districts and other scenic spots, the tour guide sister said that she could not finish it even after staying for 3 days and 3 nights, and she was impressed by Singapore's tourism development capabilities.

I really want to sit under the palm trees and chat with my friends who I haven’t been able to meet this Spring Festival. I don’t know how old it is.

Fortunately, I also met two friends from the Feng Yun Society of the university in Singapore. You see, no matter how far we are apart, we will always meet again as long as we want to see each other.

 

 

08 Changi Airport

Finally, a short video takes you to visit the famous indoor waterfall at Changi Airport (you can drag it to 0:55 seconds if it is too long).

You see, there is still a lot to look forward to in the world.

Come on, let's do it together

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