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Birds are beautiful creatures. In fact, when I was younger and my elementary school teacher told us to pick what animal we would want to be, it was always a bird. The thought of taking flight, perching in a tree or on a wire, taking in the world around me and flying away from things that bothered me at a moments notice; well, it all sounded quite appealing. This being said, the idea of going to the Jurong Bird Park was enticing, and I knew that Wyatt would have a great time (particularly since they had stroller rentals there to prevent maximum "sweatage"). Jurong Bird Park was set up a great deal like the zoo. The park had an open airy quality to it and was made to feel, I'm assuming, (if I were a bird), very much like the animals natural environment. They also had a Ben and Jerry's there.
BONUS. Downside? There were a lot of hills, making me quite cranky, as I was pushing Wyatt up, seemingly for a greater part of the day. Trying to make the best of my own sweat issues, I was struck by how close we got to the birds. Luckily I was not literally struck, but the possibility was certainly there. I didn't even get crapped on. How awesome is that?! We were able to walk through massive aviaries and admire the beauty of differing species. Wyatt and I (or at least I) appreciate involvement and interaction on our adventures and could not pass up feeding the Lorries. For a mere 3 dollars (I jest) for a tablespoon of nectar or whatever the stuff was, we could walk through this massive aviary(?), hold out the cups and wait until we were accosted by hungry Lorries. I am so stupid. Seriously. What exactly did I think was going to happen? I was excited and terrified at the same time. One by one they started to land (on me) and beat by beat my heart rate increased. Crap. Not literal crap, but CRAP. I felt like they were all over me. Two were on my arm, then one or more landed on my backpack (which was
on me)......and I didn't get a picture. I was trying desperately to work the camera while my son was hightailing it to the entrance. I believe his exact words were, mom, I'm freaking out, I'm leaving. Short of shooting me the peace sign, it was probably the fastest I'd seen him move all day. Honestly, I was freaking out too, but how does one shed a Lorry? They cling tight.....
They finally departed and my brave boy held the cup quickly to feed a couple of the birds. Then? We were out of there........Into the next aviary of doom. OK, Wyatt and I were pretty whipped at this point. We were heading towards the exit when I saw another aviary off the beaten path. I asked him quickly if he wanted to go in and he was game. Opening the door with the stroller we were confronted by a large blue bird (approx the size of a pheasant or peacock) with red eyes.
Piercing red eyes. Talk about freaked out. I mean as parents we try not to freak out about EVERYTHING (though I'm failing miserably at that...) but this guy was creepy. And he did not want us to go by him. Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars. Wyatt was done at this point, but I was determined to go further in. I would NOT be deterred by some red beady eyed creature. Yeah. Until I was deterred by the red beady eyed creature. He clearly was not budging despite an oncoming stroller. Admiring his resolve, Wyatt and I decided the best choice would be to relinquish the battle to the bird. You can't win them all- that and the fact that Ben and Jerry were beckoning us to visit.
I have to put our Singapore trip on hold for a moment to fill you in on our first Doctor's appointment. It started out with a little cough that progressed into Wyatt hacking up organs, so I figured for the sake of everyone and for the love of Taiwan, I should probably bring him somewhere to be checked out. I called an English speaking Doctor's office this morning at 9:05 am. The appointment was scheduled for 9:30 am and I was told that I was number 8. Having no idea what that meant, I figured we were in for quite a long wait despite having been taken in for an appointment at a moments notice. We were fortunate enough to have Will drive us there and were greeted by a cheery office with a play set in the front foyer. Sweet feature (though I figured incredibly germ infested- I know, my Debbie Downer brain can't help it.). The office didn't want my insurance card, had us fill out a questionnaire approximately 5 questions long, none of which covered medical history, (though one did ask about allergies) and no social history questions other than number and address. After paying 500 NT dollars for the visit (approximately 15-16 US bucks) we were seen at exactly 9:30 am. There were two electronic number counters on the wall..kind of like what you would see at a deli. Despite me confirming that Cooper was Wyatt's last name, they proceeded to call him Cooper throughout the visit, taking the customary weight and temp prior to going into the Doctor's office space. We saw what I assumed was the Doctor right after Wyatt's weight was taken, as preliminary introductions were not made (other than confirming who Cooper was). This was a no-nonsense visit. She took a look at "Cooper" looked down his throat, checked his ears, listened while I gave what I perceived was important medical history of our kid, prescribed a bag a meds to be picked up at the pharmacy next door, said he had a red throat, an infected right ear and to schedule a time to have his ear checked in about a week. Gee, I'll see if I can fit it in. Wyatt was thrilled. There were no shots involved and he got a balloon, sticker and a lollipop. It was efficient, and hopefully after a week effective enough that he can no longer communicate with seals. I do however have mixed feelings. While the appointment took all of 10 minutes and I am hopeful we won't have to return frequently, I missed the patient care. I miss our pediatrician. Anyways, we walked next door to the pharmacy and I handed the prescriptions that were given me. Ten minutes, a hundred crack bags (I jest obviously) and a bag of differing colored liquids totaling 300 NT dollars (10 US bucks) later and we were done. How to get Wyatt to take any of this? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
