anna_wing

I was in Singapore for a few days for work, was pleased to see that Changi Airport is completely back to normal (though plane-ticket prices, alas, are not).

1 I managed to get a weekday morning to go to see the newly-opened Bird Paradise

https://www.mandai.com/en/bird-paradise.html.

Wow.

This is the new version of the Bird Park, which was a zoo specialising in birds, as the name indicates, in a different location. Instead of individual cages per species, there are now eight gigantic walk-in aviaries/habitats, and the birds of that region are all there together. It's really rather amazing and the birds seem happy (except one pacing cassowary with its own enclosure; hopefully its mood will improve as the vegetation in its new habitat becomes more jungly). In the "Heart of Africa" aviary the tailor-birds had a couple of dozen nests already constructed, and a flock of African Grey parrots was busy chewing on the nice new rain-shelter next to the artificial cliff built for the black ibises. I saw several different pigeons nesting, small finchy things flying around with bits of grass in their beaks, and a Razor-Billed Curassow nesting in an actual Bird's-Nest Fern (Asplenium nidus).

The overhead netting looks sufficiently strong to deter the (wild) Brahminy Kite I saw circling thoughtfully above, doubtless wondering how to get to the buffet...

The only place where there were individual cages was the section for the endangered species in special breeding programmes. The Philippine Eagles, alas, have not yet produced offspring, and since they are monogamous, the zoo can't just introduce a third bird in the hopes that it takes the fancy of one of the pair. I don't think the site is complete yet. There were no raptors on display, and I saw some construction work still ongoing, so that might be for them.

Visitor numbers are controlled, so it's best to book a time-slot for entry on-line before you go. It's absolutely fabulous. You could also do the regular zoo and the Night Safari (night zoo for nocturnal animals), which are on the same site, on the same day (the Night Safari opens from 6pm to midnight), but I didn't have either the time or the stamina for that.

2 And after dinner one evening, while strolling through the shopping-centre where the restaurant was, I found a pop-up stall from a local company called Zotelier selling lovely cotton clothes in traditional indigo Japanese designs.

https://zoteliersg.com/

Styles are Japanese ie straight, loose cuts, with a somewhat 1920s look to the dresses, very good for the straight body type, and BOTH BLOUSES AND DRESSES HAD POCKETS. I am an M in their styles, which is my size in the West (in Uniqlo I'm an XL, for context). The saleswoman said that they had run out of L at the stall but they'd be available on-line. The website gives sizing measurements anyway. I bought several pieces and will buy more. They'll be very handy for informal wear in hot climates and seasons. And anyone who puts pockets into their dresses and their tops deserves my custom.

Inspired by a fascinating post linked by sovay on a nice gentleman who realised that modern Western clothing is very bad about pockets (as is indeed most traditional clothing too), and devised a very good solution, for trousers. https://sambleckley.com/writing/pockets.html

I have had the same problem, which is especially bad for women, and found various solutions over the years:

(a) Looser trousers and shorts can accommodate better pockets,

(b) A-line skirts, ditto

(c) For wrap-skirts, the insertion of a little pocket just inside the front flap of the wrap, under the waistband. For small flat things like keycards and bus/train cards. Uunobtrusive, and quite invisible if worn with an overblouse or T-shirt worn outside. A tailored wrap skirt can have a pocket inserted int he side-seam in the usual way. I'm talking about something like a modified sarong.

(d) A friend had a 50s'-style dress made with a wide skirt, and concealed a central front pocket under the centre-front box pleat, like a kangaroo pouch.

(e) An A-line ankle skirt with pockets along the hem, opening at the top - basically a wide, external hem turn-up, stitched down at intervals to make compartments. Both decorative and useful, very handy when sitting down.

(f) Having the internal pocket that men's suit jackets get, included in all my tailored suit jackets, and only buying jackets with external pockets.

(g) For a fitted, front wrap jacket, inserting an invisible, little side-entry pocket into the front over-flap of the jacket. Slanting slightly down internally, so that things don't fall out so easily.

(h) An ankle-length tailored winter coat with wide fur cuffs, with concealed pockets under the cuffs (in addition to regular pockets in the side-seams, obviously). Heavy fabric, so can take bigger things like keys, leather gloves, and possibly a pearl-handled revolver, though I have not yet tried one of those...

(i) Safari and Nehru jackets.

(j) A nice, leather waist-pouch, quite elegant with a long, lean dress, and a loose, unlined jacket over everything - a variant on the traditional external/separate pocket. Hard to find something that looks dressy enough though, you need the curve so it doesn't look as if you're just hanging a box off your waist. One could try Etsy or Alibaba/Taobao. This sort of thing, minus the, in my view, unnecessary logo.

https://www.bragmybag.com/chanel-bi-classic-waist-bag/

https://www.tradesy.com/i/chanel-fanny-pack-waist-pouch-1cr0703-red-quilted-leather-cross-body-bag/23622299/