Wetlands Reserve in Singapore

I fell asleep on the bus that I had roamed onto and traveled really far from my home. When I awoke, I jumped off in front of a wetland reserve called Sungei Buloh.  As I entered the park I passed a sign saying, "No Pets." I figured, since my parents weren't with me, I was not technically a pet at that time...I was just a small, wild cat!

This place was great fun but a little spooky. I slipped past the entrance gate passing a small freshwater pond teaming with turtles and two big monitor lizards.

I walked across a bridge and stepped on to a gravel path that led through a salt water marsh. The path was shaded by thick, green bushes and trees of numerous varieties, some of which were covered with beautiful flowers.

As I started down the path, I came upon a smallish, 2 ft long, monitor lizard who raised his head and just stared at me. His gaze startled me and the fur on my back instinctively shot up! After a few tense seconds we both calmed down and he apologized for shocking me. He told me he had never seen a bright orange cat before and then introduced himself as Larry...yes, Larry the lizard... I told him my name was Purrla and wondered if he could show me around his park.

Larry loved being a tour guide. He was younger than all the huge lizards we saw so felt honored to be asked to share his knowledge of the reserve. As we walked along, Larry expounded on all the sites we passed. We saw tree climbing crabs, puffer birds, herons, dragon flies, and spiders.

We gingerly stepped out into the marshland on a creaky dock and heard a loud splash! Larry explained that the noise was probably caused by a school of small fish being chased by a larger predator fish of maybe even an alligator! That pronouncement scared me so I ran back to the trail and waited for Larry to join me. He laughed at me for being such a scaredy cat.

As we approached the entrance/exit of the park we spotted a family of three Hornbills.
Seeing them was probably the highlight of my excursion. They were so beautiful!

Larry was hoping I could stay longer as there was so much more he wanted to show me. However when I told him I had to get home before my parents discovered I was out of the condo, he understood.

On the long bus trip home I had time to reflect on my day. Everyone thinks of Singapore as a huge concrete jungle but don't realize there are some areas of natural beauty that still remain to be enjoyed.

2013 Singapore Transplant Games

Yesterday was another day to explore. Mom and Dad left the house early so I made my escape and jumped on a bus knowing it was going to be a great day. I had no idea where the bus was going or where I was going to jump off but I felt excited about my prospects.
I ended up at the Toa Payoh Stadium. There were a lot of people congregating around the property which consists of a huge stadium with a beautiful track as well as an  attached indoor sports arena and administration offices.

As I approached I was met by Jock, a gray cat with a stubby tail. He lives on the grounds and the administrative secretaries take care of grooming and feeding him. He told me he has a great life because he gets to watch all sorts of sporting events. He was very excited about this day because the stadium was the site of the 2013 Singapore Transplant Games!
The Transplant Games are held every 2 years as a way to celebrate the enriched lives of people who received organs from generous donors. The recipients take part in friendly competition in various activities including track and field, badminton, bowling, and table tennis.

One of the most inspiring participants I was able to watch was a gentleman who received a donated kidney in 1994 and was a fierce competitor in table tennis and badminton. He actually had taken part in the world transplant games held in Sweden in 2011!

 

At mid day there was a break in the activities and lunch was served to all. The organ recipients had green shirts, the transplant recipient families wore blue shirts and the volunteers were identified by their red shirts.

Jock told me to follow him if I wanted some of the food. I said, "We don't have colored shirts on. How will we get a meal?" He just responded, "Watch me and follow my cue.."
He sauntered up to one of the volunteers handing out boxed lunches, rubbed up against her and started to purr. I did the same and voila... we were both presented with opened up boxes of warm and delicious people food!

I hated to leave but it was getting late so I said my good byes to Jock and bounded back to the bus stop to head home.
A phrase I learned while at the games was, "Don't take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here." I wish I could donate my organs when I don't need them anymore but I don't think they take kitty parts.