I'm not sure if we'll be able to keep up 'a report a month' but, being new to the island, we certainly wanted to get out a little more and see a few things, and so, up to this point, we've had a bit of an explore, and have had two major 'tourist trips'. The first was to Jurong Bird Park. Established in 1971, it is one of the first public parks dedicated to conservation of different bird species - very similar to Loro Parque in Tenerife for those of you who have known me for some time!

The exhibits include penguins, free flying African birds in the world's tallest aviary (with the world's tallest man-made waterfall inside an aviary), free-flying parrots, flamingoes, storks and plenty of other birds I cannot remember, together with fish and turtles. Do visit the website www.birdpark.com.sg for more details.

We 'made friends' with one set of birds - mainly because we had their favourite food - but one bird in particular really seemed to want to have a conversation - we got quite a few amusing photos of this one!

You'll have noticed Teddy featuring as always ... he is enjoying himself in Singapore. Our other 'tourist visit' was to the Singapore Night Safari www.nightsafari.com.sg. Owned by the same group as the bird park, this trip offers the chance to visit the Singapore Zoo at night, and see some of the nocturnal animals while they are awake and active. Again, it's a nice place, and a good trip, but unfortunately my cheap camera does not take night pictures, and so we don't have any evidence. This row of photos is courtesy of the internet.

The other photos are relatively random images of Singapore from our early exploration. It is a very well-organised country, clean, easy to get around, with endless shopping opportunities. Unfortunately it is also very expensive. My brother will appreciate the pineapple rice - food here is superb - and food courts reasonably priced at around $6 (GBP 3) a meal, so we are eating well. Only one meal in a proper restaurant so far though, when Shanhong met an ex-student, and that was over 50 pounds - London prices!!

So, there you have it, our first three weeks in Singapore. We are already both busy at work, so our free time is limited, but with the slightly unusual holiday schedule, there seems to be lots of opportunities for going out. We have booked a trip to Bangkok for the end of August/beginning of September, and we'll be seeing 'Michael Learns to Rock' (or MLTR) in concert on the 4th September. We hope to go back to our house in South China in October, and maybe even look at apartments in another area. Then, the main Christmas holiday should see us back in the UK.

Do keep in touch. We are using the school address for mail, you should see an address sticker on the other side. Let me know if you want some stickers sending - you can use them on the envelope and save some writing!

Love n Hugs

Trevor, Shanhong and Teddy