FA+
Shop
A few insights regarding dolphins~
Posted a week agoAt some point people will call me obsessed, but I got another occasion to interact with dolphins earlier this week >w<
Learned more than ever! And thought to share the experience here if someone is bored enough to read xP
[EDIT after writing: Gah this turned so much longer than planned xD ]
The "Animal Park / Dolphinarium Duisburg" (Germany) offers a "Caretaker for half a day" program. You register and select an animal area for 300€. Apparently the one with koalas is always the one booked out quickest. But they also offer this at the cetacean basins where they host 7 bottlenose dolphins.
To my suprise (since I could not quite believe it) it was for one participant at a time! That's only one of the stark contrasts to the "Trainer for a day" program Discovery Cover in Orlando offers which a friend and I attended last year together with about 4 other previously unknown people.
Unlike Discovery Cove which was primarily entertainment and focused on swimming with the dolphins, this explicitly stated in their (general) description "Note, this is not an offer to pet the animals" and this was also targetted at adults.
Enough the wordiness, what did I get to learn and experience?
First they made me sort food for the 'phins: Freshly unfrozen blocks of small fish and together with a trainer and another caretaker we removed all damaged or unnormal looking fish - just what has potential of carrying bacteria and be dangerous for the cetaceans.
Interestingly fresh and cooled fish like that does practically not smell at all by the way.
Afterwards, another trainer who also checks up on the dolphins healthwise and called us to one of the basins in the backstage.
Something I noticed rather quickly compared to Discovery Cove, the cetaceans did pay attention to me too, not exclusively the trainers (more on that later).
At the water they had me witness what they were doing today: Two of the fmales had contraceptives implanted recently (fairly sure the equivalent of an "IUD" for humans") and they were using ultrasound to verify that this successfully supressed "deployment" (not sure if that's the right word in English xD ) of eggcells.
All this (and everything else) happened just at the edge of the basin in the water by the way and without any restriction of the dolphins. It is extremely rare that they have to actually "catch" a dolphin and hoist them out of the water (with a special padded thing you could describe as a hammock).
Was interesting to see how they take care of the dolphins breath, signaling it for them in a way. They wait and make sure they breathe once, or even give a command to do so, before giving the command to turn over and show off their belly or sides where they needed to use the waterproof ultrasound device.
That's so the caretakers don't get surprised by the dolphin deciding to breathe spontaneously. Wouldn't have been a big deal on the ultrasound checkup of course but surely would be bad e.g. when taking a blood sample.
Obviously I was not able to recognize anything on that ultrasound live screen but they confirmed everything was fine. Afterwards they discussed that they need to take an urine sample, but saaaadly they decided to postpone that to tomorrow xD
Afterwards the second veternerian gave me directly a closer view on one of the beautiful creatures (think Dolly was her name). He explained some anatomy aspects and we looked closely at the flukes.
A thing I didn't know yet was that they use their flukes like heat exchangers. Similar principle to how ducks feet work: The arteries with blood from the body are led very closely against the veins with returning blood (unlike in most animals).
In ducks that evolved so that the warmth goes from the fresh blood to the returning blood and thus heat remains in the body. That way ducks can stand on ice.
Dolphins do the opposite: Because everything but their flukes is coated in a thick dense sheet of fat and they cannot cool via transpiration, they use this heat echange to keep their flukes warm and thus loose excess heat. Likely they can control the bloodflow as well (like we humans can too to a degree).
He also explained me their training methods which do match with everything I heard in the US before. Essentially positive reinforcement with seconds of attention withdrawal being the only negative incentive.
The one other technique is desensitizing for the purpose of some of the medicinal procedures. E.g. he was gently pinching the fluke in the spot where they regularly take blood samples (whose results are publicly available online by the way alongside a lot of other daily data: https://delfinarium-zoo-duisburg.de.....nische-daten-1). Just so she would get as used as possible to it.
If the dolphin had shown attempts of moving against this feeling like trying to shake him off, he would try to keep the finger in place and calm the dolphin, only releasing when it would be calm and just then remove the finger.
That way they learn that becoming calm is what removes an unpleasant feeling and not struggling.
Of course if she truly had been bothered by that pinch, the dolphin could easily have knocked the trainer out with a swing of that fluke xD
Dolly however was very calm. They all were as long as they were instructed to be~
One thing was a little sad, but guess it is better than the alternative. Their oldest dolphin, Ivo (44 years!) has faulty kidneys for about 20 years. Not directly treatable (as in healable), but they help him by providing extra water. Now dolphins naturally can't drink seawater and thus normally don't. They get their water from their food. He has been taught to accept a tube though which they provide him with water. It's a fraction of the thickness of fish they eat and they don't have a gagging reflex (like many sea creatures I guess - you probably have heard of turtles - and that leads to them swallowing so much plastic in the ocean :( )
They fed the dolphins a bit (though they get most of their daily food during the public performances) and then I was taken through a long tour through the technical side of the facility and also through the laboratory where they do regular tests on the water for various values that essentially allow conclusions on the metabolism of the dolphins.
The procedures are semi automated with lots of waiting time, so we got to talk.
The caretaker noticed quickly that I already know a lot about dolphins (and a bit of aquaristic from when my parents had an aquarium) and think he skipped some basics after that. We got into some very interesting topics. Some fascinating things I learned:
- Dolphins sleep not only with half a brain but also one eye at a time! The other eye remains open, looking for dangers.
They do it often in groups. In the wild in huge ones consisting of multiple pods. He compared that with a "wagon fort" (from Western movies). Forming a circle where the awake eye is always on the outside. Over time they swap direction or position. This has been witnessed extremely rarely because obviously the purpose is to react to anything, so boats, drones etc. make them wake up fully. In the basins the caretakers have witnessed them doing this in pairs or small groups...
And it seems like they can even play while "half sleeping".
- Even whilst sleeping, they keep moving constantly, not only for regular breath. It was explained that the way they store huge amounts of oxygen in their blood also has the side effect that their muscles don't need much physical rest like we humans do. They have been seen to stay perfectly still only for minutes at a time and that they do actually at the surface to breathe and with both eyes open.
The caretaker said they essentially have separated mental sleep from physical sleep.
Evolutionary, this is all just so they show themselves vulnerable as rarely and briefly as somehow possible because they do have opportunistic predators after all.
- The dolphins decide on their own in which area they want to sleep every night. Interestingly they can see that in the water values they take daily because despite a connecting channel, the two large basins they have do have separate water clearning facilities.
- Even if given the opportunity, they don't actually hunt fish much in their basins. They highly prefer the food given by their caretakers directly. That's even the case in those few places were dolphins are held in netted-off areas in the ocean where fish can swim inside though. Guess they are efficient after all - why hunt if you get food anyways? They are animals like us xD
- Obviously most dolphinariums don't have fish along the 'phins. Chlorinated water would not allow for them. Duisburg is one of few places that made the effort of at least having biologically active water (meaning microbial life is allowed to thrive in a controlled manner like in an aquarium). That's why you do see algae in their water there.
The caretaker told me he would love if they could go all the way and also have fish but they don't have the money for such investment as the massive filtering system would need an expensive upgrade.
I guess to make it financially viable, you would need to design everything in one go so that viewers get to experience fish too and actually pay more for that.
- Duisburg has an unique bacteria based conversion system that efficiently filters the nitrate in the water out. Nitrate is the main metabolism product and it's turned into gasous nitrogen. It was a scientific experiment that remained in function for decades now.
- Dolphins seem to be able to adjust how well they hear. It is their jaw bone which transfers soundwaves to their ear the most because everything else is packed in an isolating sheet of fat. And they can adjust via muscle tension how strong the connection between the jaw and the skull (where the ear sense is embedded) is.
- The same species of dolphins are fatter in cold regions and slimmer in hot regions. In hot regions you soemtimes even can see the ribcage (yet need to find images of that ).
That's because the fat is solating and they adapt tot hat. Even given the same, constant food, they do control the fatness when water temperature changes! Man what would we give for such a skill to control how much fat we build up xD
- At least the caretaker I talked to about it, does not believe that we will discover a full language of dolphins, like this Goolge project attempts ( https://blog.google/technology/ai/dolphingemma/ ). He believs while of course respectable, their language is simple. They do not need more than the basics for their survival. And since so much about them is clearly focused on survival (as mentioned above), would there really be evolutionary room for what we would call a language that allows for casual or personal talk?
We humans developed language not out of nowhere. We don't know for sure of course, but a major theory is that we developed complex language to explain the making and usage of tools and other techniques when we reached a point that showing was not enough. Have cetaceans reached this point too? It is hard to tell...
Personally I do of course hope that he is wrong because I do wanna see conversations with dolphins, yet there's also risk people will missuse that somehow in the wild >_< In turn it could help reducing dolphins becoming bycatch of the fishing industry... Everything's a doubledged sword, isn't it?
All in all this was a really really cool experience. To my surprise the caretakers showed quite some trust in me. They let me move around in the backstage area frely and without being watched, carrying food and ice around, collecting toys from earlier sessions etc.
Wanna assume they would not do that to anyone and I gave an trustworthy impression, yay xD Almost wish they had not done it that way but actually gave me opportunity to ask whether I can interact with the dolphins some - because they were following me around all the time! Not only when carrying toys or food. Was so cute to see =D
First time I also noticed them moving their eyes.
Big contrast to Discovery Cove where the dolphins always were robotically focused on the trainers only. Though I guess that's just how they are taught. When they are given attention by the trainer, they return it strongly. At all other times they remain curious and playful.
During the medicinal procedures the others were a little nosy and the other caretaker had to distract them.
I didn't dare to actually test if they would react in any way more than by following or play with them... But I snatched a very few, hasty photos at least:
In the channel that connects the two large basins they reside in:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ejhp.....yey81&dl=0
Through one of the internal windows of the lower backstage:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q2e3.....n4wiw&dl=0
They were coming so clsoe to that window... such curious creatures. Over in Nürnberg they have a large, public window. But they sadly rarely show up there, let alone float patiently. It only takes a few idiots using flash photography to lt them avoid that part of the basin I bet :/ Negative experiences outweigh even their curiosity...
Since the world is how it is, I feel urged to add a few words of my general opinion:
A lot of people are critical of hosting and showcasig dolphins. The caretakers brought that up themselves.
Zoos in general in Germany are under fire right now because of a zoo where baboons multiplied too much. You cannot give them contraceptives (like they do to the dolphins) because unlike 'phins, their whole hierarchy and behavior is fundamentally guided by sex.
Furthermore no reservates accept them either. The zoo ended up having to kill some which of course made the public yell.. ignoring how many baboons in the wild die daily for natural reasons q_q
There was no waste; they were used to substitute some of the meat they give to lions.
Therefore is there really something or someone to blame? Is the life that was made possible through the zoo, not valuable as well?
So often people believe to do the "right thing" by speaking out but based on really little knowledge. Some people only viewing from the outside, never having talked to a caretaker for whom the animals are family, literally like to assume that animals in zoos are depressed. I don't have experience with other species, but I have witnessed dolphins numerous times by now in several places.
Now I'm no way a person with universally above average high compassion. But I do get touched easily enough. If the dolphins did not give me any impression of sadness while being there for hours, I genuinely doubt that someone from outside can say with greater confidence the opposite, that they are depressed or anything.
Finally, one thing is clear to me: There are WAY easier ways of making money than by holding dolphins. That is not primarily being done out of greed but out of care too and with a greater purpose...
Ultimately, in my opinion places like these are important for humans to not loose the remaining sense of contact with nature. I am convinced without zoos, dolphinariums etc. the average people would care even less about preserving our planet!
It is a vastly better way to let people actually experience animals and learn to care about them than trying to just tell people (too often with condescending means) that they should care over themselves.
Exploitation (also in the form of hunting) should not happen. Though what do we know what exploitation is?
A new thought that a caretaker gave me:
The ocean is vast and endlessly deep. The vast majority of cetaceans never come into shallow waters (there are 6 million 'phins and we spot maybe some thousands in shallow water). Further out in the ocean they cannot play with the seafloor either, it's out of even their reach.
That means they are in an endless blue, only deemed to look for food and perhaps other pods for cross-mating. No other stimulations at all out there.
And that's while we see how eager and positive they do react to stimulation when they do get it. Hence how entirely wild dolphins often show curiosity in humans and their boats.
So life at a dolphinarium there may not be all that bad.
I mean, yes, as a human it'd be like prison to be locked in there. But the alternative is to be deemed to a life on the ocean...
For a human that would be eg. an infinite but repetitive lush warm forest with eddible berries here and there, many hand-huntable animals and occasionally a wolf as a predator that forces you to always be cautious.
So yeah.. instead of that please please let me be a dolphin in a dolphinarium! xD
A valid counter argument to that of course is:
It's not up to us to decide for them and the dolphins have not been asked for consent. There is little to say against that, except to argue with the purpose I mentioned before: Those dolphins entertaining us teach us the value of nature and ultimately, if that truly is actually a sacrifice they make through that, it helps their species. All because we humans are not thinking on our own what's best for the planet and this will most likely not change...
Phew, enough arguing with myself. Hope I managed to share a bit of knowledge with this and am certainly open or opinions too.
Or more knowledge :)
Learned more than ever! And thought to share the experience here if someone is bored enough to read xP
[EDIT after writing: Gah this turned so much longer than planned xD ]
The "Animal Park / Dolphinarium Duisburg" (Germany) offers a "Caretaker for half a day" program. You register and select an animal area for 300€. Apparently the one with koalas is always the one booked out quickest. But they also offer this at the cetacean basins where they host 7 bottlenose dolphins.
To my suprise (since I could not quite believe it) it was for one participant at a time! That's only one of the stark contrasts to the "Trainer for a day" program Discovery Cover in Orlando offers which a friend and I attended last year together with about 4 other previously unknown people.
Unlike Discovery Cove which was primarily entertainment and focused on swimming with the dolphins, this explicitly stated in their (general) description "Note, this is not an offer to pet the animals" and this was also targetted at adults.
Enough the wordiness, what did I get to learn and experience?
First they made me sort food for the 'phins: Freshly unfrozen blocks of small fish and together with a trainer and another caretaker we removed all damaged or unnormal looking fish - just what has potential of carrying bacteria and be dangerous for the cetaceans.
Interestingly fresh and cooled fish like that does practically not smell at all by the way.
Afterwards, another trainer who also checks up on the dolphins healthwise and called us to one of the basins in the backstage.
Something I noticed rather quickly compared to Discovery Cove, the cetaceans did pay attention to me too, not exclusively the trainers (more on that later).
At the water they had me witness what they were doing today: Two of the fmales had contraceptives implanted recently (fairly sure the equivalent of an "IUD" for humans") and they were using ultrasound to verify that this successfully supressed "deployment" (not sure if that's the right word in English xD ) of eggcells.
All this (and everything else) happened just at the edge of the basin in the water by the way and without any restriction of the dolphins. It is extremely rare that they have to actually "catch" a dolphin and hoist them out of the water (with a special padded thing you could describe as a hammock).
Was interesting to see how they take care of the dolphins breath, signaling it for them in a way. They wait and make sure they breathe once, or even give a command to do so, before giving the command to turn over and show off their belly or sides where they needed to use the waterproof ultrasound device.
That's so the caretakers don't get surprised by the dolphin deciding to breathe spontaneously. Wouldn't have been a big deal on the ultrasound checkup of course but surely would be bad e.g. when taking a blood sample.
Obviously I was not able to recognize anything on that ultrasound live screen but they confirmed everything was fine. Afterwards they discussed that they need to take an urine sample, but saaaadly they decided to postpone that to tomorrow xD
Afterwards the second veternerian gave me directly a closer view on one of the beautiful creatures (think Dolly was her name). He explained some anatomy aspects and we looked closely at the flukes.
A thing I didn't know yet was that they use their flukes like heat exchangers. Similar principle to how ducks feet work: The arteries with blood from the body are led very closely against the veins with returning blood (unlike in most animals).
In ducks that evolved so that the warmth goes from the fresh blood to the returning blood and thus heat remains in the body. That way ducks can stand on ice.
Dolphins do the opposite: Because everything but their flukes is coated in a thick dense sheet of fat and they cannot cool via transpiration, they use this heat echange to keep their flukes warm and thus loose excess heat. Likely they can control the bloodflow as well (like we humans can too to a degree).
He also explained me their training methods which do match with everything I heard in the US before. Essentially positive reinforcement with seconds of attention withdrawal being the only negative incentive.
The one other technique is desensitizing for the purpose of some of the medicinal procedures. E.g. he was gently pinching the fluke in the spot where they regularly take blood samples (whose results are publicly available online by the way alongside a lot of other daily data: https://delfinarium-zoo-duisburg.de.....nische-daten-1). Just so she would get as used as possible to it.
If the dolphin had shown attempts of moving against this feeling like trying to shake him off, he would try to keep the finger in place and calm the dolphin, only releasing when it would be calm and just then remove the finger.
That way they learn that becoming calm is what removes an unpleasant feeling and not struggling.
Of course if she truly had been bothered by that pinch, the dolphin could easily have knocked the trainer out with a swing of that fluke xD
Dolly however was very calm. They all were as long as they were instructed to be~
One thing was a little sad, but guess it is better than the alternative. Their oldest dolphin, Ivo (44 years!) has faulty kidneys for about 20 years. Not directly treatable (as in healable), but they help him by providing extra water. Now dolphins naturally can't drink seawater and thus normally don't. They get their water from their food. He has been taught to accept a tube though which they provide him with water. It's a fraction of the thickness of fish they eat and they don't have a gagging reflex (like many sea creatures I guess - you probably have heard of turtles - and that leads to them swallowing so much plastic in the ocean :( )
They fed the dolphins a bit (though they get most of their daily food during the public performances) and then I was taken through a long tour through the technical side of the facility and also through the laboratory where they do regular tests on the water for various values that essentially allow conclusions on the metabolism of the dolphins.
The procedures are semi automated with lots of waiting time, so we got to talk.
The caretaker noticed quickly that I already know a lot about dolphins (and a bit of aquaristic from when my parents had an aquarium) and think he skipped some basics after that. We got into some very interesting topics. Some fascinating things I learned:
- Dolphins sleep not only with half a brain but also one eye at a time! The other eye remains open, looking for dangers.
They do it often in groups. In the wild in huge ones consisting of multiple pods. He compared that with a "wagon fort" (from Western movies). Forming a circle where the awake eye is always on the outside. Over time they swap direction or position. This has been witnessed extremely rarely because obviously the purpose is to react to anything, so boats, drones etc. make them wake up fully. In the basins the caretakers have witnessed them doing this in pairs or small groups...
And it seems like they can even play while "half sleeping".
- Even whilst sleeping, they keep moving constantly, not only for regular breath. It was explained that the way they store huge amounts of oxygen in their blood also has the side effect that their muscles don't need much physical rest like we humans do. They have been seen to stay perfectly still only for minutes at a time and that they do actually at the surface to breathe and with both eyes open.
The caretaker said they essentially have separated mental sleep from physical sleep.
Evolutionary, this is all just so they show themselves vulnerable as rarely and briefly as somehow possible because they do have opportunistic predators after all.
- The dolphins decide on their own in which area they want to sleep every night. Interestingly they can see that in the water values they take daily because despite a connecting channel, the two large basins they have do have separate water clearning facilities.
- Even if given the opportunity, they don't actually hunt fish much in their basins. They highly prefer the food given by their caretakers directly. That's even the case in those few places were dolphins are held in netted-off areas in the ocean where fish can swim inside though. Guess they are efficient after all - why hunt if you get food anyways? They are animals like us xD
- Obviously most dolphinariums don't have fish along the 'phins. Chlorinated water would not allow for them. Duisburg is one of few places that made the effort of at least having biologically active water (meaning microbial life is allowed to thrive in a controlled manner like in an aquarium). That's why you do see algae in their water there.
The caretaker told me he would love if they could go all the way and also have fish but they don't have the money for such investment as the massive filtering system would need an expensive upgrade.
I guess to make it financially viable, you would need to design everything in one go so that viewers get to experience fish too and actually pay more for that.
- Duisburg has an unique bacteria based conversion system that efficiently filters the nitrate in the water out. Nitrate is the main metabolism product and it's turned into gasous nitrogen. It was a scientific experiment that remained in function for decades now.
- Dolphins seem to be able to adjust how well they hear. It is their jaw bone which transfers soundwaves to their ear the most because everything else is packed in an isolating sheet of fat. And they can adjust via muscle tension how strong the connection between the jaw and the skull (where the ear sense is embedded) is.
- The same species of dolphins are fatter in cold regions and slimmer in hot regions. In hot regions you soemtimes even can see the ribcage (yet need to find images of that ).
That's because the fat is solating and they adapt tot hat. Even given the same, constant food, they do control the fatness when water temperature changes! Man what would we give for such a skill to control how much fat we build up xD
- At least the caretaker I talked to about it, does not believe that we will discover a full language of dolphins, like this Goolge project attempts ( https://blog.google/technology/ai/dolphingemma/ ). He believs while of course respectable, their language is simple. They do not need more than the basics for their survival. And since so much about them is clearly focused on survival (as mentioned above), would there really be evolutionary room for what we would call a language that allows for casual or personal talk?
We humans developed language not out of nowhere. We don't know for sure of course, but a major theory is that we developed complex language to explain the making and usage of tools and other techniques when we reached a point that showing was not enough. Have cetaceans reached this point too? It is hard to tell...
Personally I do of course hope that he is wrong because I do wanna see conversations with dolphins, yet there's also risk people will missuse that somehow in the wild >_< In turn it could help reducing dolphins becoming bycatch of the fishing industry... Everything's a doubledged sword, isn't it?
All in all this was a really really cool experience. To my surprise the caretakers showed quite some trust in me. They let me move around in the backstage area frely and without being watched, carrying food and ice around, collecting toys from earlier sessions etc.
Wanna assume they would not do that to anyone and I gave an trustworthy impression, yay xD Almost wish they had not done it that way but actually gave me opportunity to ask whether I can interact with the dolphins some - because they were following me around all the time! Not only when carrying toys or food. Was so cute to see =D
First time I also noticed them moving their eyes.
Big contrast to Discovery Cove where the dolphins always were robotically focused on the trainers only. Though I guess that's just how they are taught. When they are given attention by the trainer, they return it strongly. At all other times they remain curious and playful.
During the medicinal procedures the others were a little nosy and the other caretaker had to distract them.
I didn't dare to actually test if they would react in any way more than by following or play with them... But I snatched a very few, hasty photos at least:
In the channel that connects the two large basins they reside in:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ejhp.....yey81&dl=0
Through one of the internal windows of the lower backstage:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q2e3.....n4wiw&dl=0
They were coming so clsoe to that window... such curious creatures. Over in Nürnberg they have a large, public window. But they sadly rarely show up there, let alone float patiently. It only takes a few idiots using flash photography to lt them avoid that part of the basin I bet :/ Negative experiences outweigh even their curiosity...
Since the world is how it is, I feel urged to add a few words of my general opinion:
A lot of people are critical of hosting and showcasig dolphins. The caretakers brought that up themselves.
Zoos in general in Germany are under fire right now because of a zoo where baboons multiplied too much. You cannot give them contraceptives (like they do to the dolphins) because unlike 'phins, their whole hierarchy and behavior is fundamentally guided by sex.
Furthermore no reservates accept them either. The zoo ended up having to kill some which of course made the public yell.. ignoring how many baboons in the wild die daily for natural reasons q_q
There was no waste; they were used to substitute some of the meat they give to lions.
Therefore is there really something or someone to blame? Is the life that was made possible through the zoo, not valuable as well?
So often people believe to do the "right thing" by speaking out but based on really little knowledge. Some people only viewing from the outside, never having talked to a caretaker for whom the animals are family, literally like to assume that animals in zoos are depressed. I don't have experience with other species, but I have witnessed dolphins numerous times by now in several places.
Now I'm no way a person with universally above average high compassion. But I do get touched easily enough. If the dolphins did not give me any impression of sadness while being there for hours, I genuinely doubt that someone from outside can say with greater confidence the opposite, that they are depressed or anything.
Finally, one thing is clear to me: There are WAY easier ways of making money than by holding dolphins. That is not primarily being done out of greed but out of care too and with a greater purpose...
Ultimately, in my opinion places like these are important for humans to not loose the remaining sense of contact with nature. I am convinced without zoos, dolphinariums etc. the average people would care even less about preserving our planet!
It is a vastly better way to let people actually experience animals and learn to care about them than trying to just tell people (too often with condescending means) that they should care over themselves.
Exploitation (also in the form of hunting) should not happen. Though what do we know what exploitation is?
A new thought that a caretaker gave me:
The ocean is vast and endlessly deep. The vast majority of cetaceans never come into shallow waters (there are 6 million 'phins and we spot maybe some thousands in shallow water). Further out in the ocean they cannot play with the seafloor either, it's out of even their reach.
That means they are in an endless blue, only deemed to look for food and perhaps other pods for cross-mating. No other stimulations at all out there.
And that's while we see how eager and positive they do react to stimulation when they do get it. Hence how entirely wild dolphins often show curiosity in humans and their boats.
So life at a dolphinarium there may not be all that bad.
I mean, yes, as a human it'd be like prison to be locked in there. But the alternative is to be deemed to a life on the ocean...
For a human that would be eg. an infinite but repetitive lush warm forest with eddible berries here and there, many hand-huntable animals and occasionally a wolf as a predator that forces you to always be cautious.
So yeah.. instead of that please please let me be a dolphin in a dolphinarium! xD
A valid counter argument to that of course is:
It's not up to us to decide for them and the dolphins have not been asked for consent. There is little to say against that, except to argue with the purpose I mentioned before: Those dolphins entertaining us teach us the value of nature and ultimately, if that truly is actually a sacrifice they make through that, it helps their species. All because we humans are not thinking on our own what's best for the planet and this will most likely not change...
Phew, enough arguing with myself. Hope I managed to share a bit of knowledge with this and am certainly open or opinions too.
Or more knowledge :)
Trump to the rescue? xD
Posted a month agoOh what an insane timeline we live in....
If I understood this right, Trump just released an executive order that would force banks to offer their service to every American: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presiden.....all-americans/
The reason is of course not that he wants to protect NSFW content but because some banks have tried to impede his political campaigns in the past (by not servicing far right elements)...
The order explicitly mentions a couple.
Let's see whether that will result in a loophole that excludes NSFW services from this protection or not.
Interestingly it explicitly mentions retroactive remedation. Could banned Paypal accounts be restored?
Btw. thanks everyone for the kind words on my last journal regarding the wisdom tooth. You are all awesome <3
The wound healed well but the tooth next to it remained extremely sensitive to coldness. Had to literally heat my drinking water for two weeks because room temperature was not bearable >_< Warm sparkling water is weird but still better than warm flat water XD
First the dentist assumed a carries but could not confirm later.
Now am told to watch it for two or three weeks and see if gets better.
It improved somewhat now (one week later) but I have to be careful when drinking anything that's actually cooled and only drink one gulp at a time... Wish this didn't happen in summer, lol.
Take that as a lesson! If you have a wisdom tooth that grows awkwardly, do remove it before it actually hurts. It's likely better.
If I understood this right, Trump just released an executive order that would force banks to offer their service to every American: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presiden.....all-americans/
The reason is of course not that he wants to protect NSFW content but because some banks have tried to impede his political campaigns in the past (by not servicing far right elements)...
The order explicitly mentions a couple.
Let's see whether that will result in a loophole that excludes NSFW services from this protection or not.
Interestingly it explicitly mentions retroactive remedation. Could banned Paypal accounts be restored?
Btw. thanks everyone for the kind words on my last journal regarding the wisdom tooth. You are all awesome <3
The wound healed well but the tooth next to it remained extremely sensitive to coldness. Had to literally heat my drinking water for two weeks because room temperature was not bearable >_< Warm sparkling water is weird but still better than warm flat water XD
First the dentist assumed a carries but could not confirm later.
Now am told to watch it for two or three weeks and see if gets better.
It improved somewhat now (one week later) but I have to be careful when drinking anything that's actually cooled and only drink one gulp at a time... Wish this didn't happen in summer, lol.
Take that as a lesson! If you have a wisdom tooth that grows awkwardly, do remove it before it actually hurts. It's likely better.
One wisdom tooth was not so wise...
Posted 2 months ago..so it grew at a 30° angle and now is sitting in pieces in some bin while I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my cheek ;w;
Owie!
First time I've taken pain meds I think (for the purpose of pain countering; not counting paracetamol for fever).
So yee, I cannot work on software much with this distraction, but perhaps can use the time to post more commissions - there still are several that need posting >w<
Owie!
First time I've taken pain meds I think (for the purpose of pain countering; not counting paracetamol for fever).
So yee, I cannot work on software much with this distraction, but perhaps can use the time to post more commissions - there still are several that need posting >w<
Mommy seals provide air to their pups!
Posted 2 months agoMy aquatic roleplay scenarios are not that "out of this world" as I thought, haha >w<
Btw. if you have some moneys to spare, help an orca out: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/11172366/ ^-^
Singapore: 1000 malls, mermaids, furries and lotsa food!
Posted 2 months agoSoo, the last two weeks I've been in Singapore~
Met one of my oldest friends, done lots of sightseeing and ("weird") food tasting plus attended the smol but really lovely: Little Island Furcon.
Probably boring for anyone to read but I have time waiting in the plane and thus gotta just write down about the trip xP
Unlike the US trip last year ( https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10885264/ ) this was a more spontaneous decision but I love seeing the world and Asia was very high on the list to see next >w<
SINGAPORE in general:
- Small country, essentially a single huge city southern of Malaysia with almost 6 million people. Used to be a British colony until 1963, joined Malaysia in its independence at that point but then became independent on its own just 2 years later.
Today it is a massive, world-relevant commerce/trade and finance center. Its port size is only beaten by Shanghai.
- Weather:
Fairly hot and very humid >w< Definitely similar experience to Florida and a bit of a shock at the beginning (and every time you leave they typically heavy used AC areas). You start flowing sweat immediately if you even walk xD
There are hardly any seasons (just rain frequency may change). My trip was remarkably consistent with 28-32°C throughout the whole two weeks with just a few brief rainstorms. Due to humidity, for a landlocked European that feels like 36-38°C however.
Some places, especially open-street shops had free standing AC unit/tower thingies at the street. It.. certainly feels wrong to spend energy on producing hot air that's blown upwards, just to blow some cold air horizontally (but also into open space on the road). Yet.. gosh is it a blessing to stand in front of one of those after walking a while.
Why do humans decide to densely inhabit those hot&humid earth regions and put the funnest attractions there?.. XD
That said, after a couple days, while the sweating did not stop, somehow the heat felt less "defeating" to me. It wasn't something I'd waste time thinking about anymore at least. Vaporeons are an adaptive species owo ( and probably most species :) )
Did occasionally bring a fan with me tho and I saw many Asians do that as well. Just not my friend, he was even wearing long sleeves somehow ._. x3
- Language:
My friend put it perfectly: A trip to Singapore is "Asia on easy-mode": Pretty much everyone speaks English. Essentially all attractions are primarily English with other languages as an option to book sometimes. Exception may be things in Little India and Little China, however the bars/restaurants we've attended there worked out with English too.
English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil are officially languages of the country. Most public signs and in trains etc. are displaying in all of these throughout the country.
- Transportation:
Just 70 years ago, this area was essentially rural so guess the city designers had quite a clean canvas. The public transport is excellent. The "MRT" and buses do get you nearly everywhere.
The pedestrian experience on the other hand could be better. In many places it felt unclear where to go and many roads throughout the city are fast and not interrupted by zebra crossings. Traffic lights were also quite a distance away sometimes.
My best pedestrian experience in a metropolis was in London, however this may be skewed by the fact that I loose patience way faster out on the road in a hot country than in cool England xD
One interesting aspect regarding cars:
There are very significant, financial challenges imposed by the government to acquiring a car, so fewer people get one. Maybe that's "unfair" but seriously, that's likely better than NY or LA where the traffic congests everything. As far as I saw from foot or whilst in friend's car, the traffic tends to be flowing. Even what he called a jam is barely comparable to what I've even seen in Germany, lol.
That said, not only the roads weren't as overrun as one would expect with 6 million people. The streets and POIs weren't either.
In the buses think I always got a seat and in the MRT most of the time.
Guess it is noticeable that it isn't an extreme tourist hotspot like most places I've visited in the past and they also don't really have seasons where everyone streams to visit things (except for hollydays maybe) thus demand is spread across the year.
Even the beaches, while they had people, were not crowded by any means at all. Ironically the only thing I think I had to wait significantly in line for was the "Night Safari" (see further below).
- Prices/Costs**
Not too much to say about this. 100 Singaporean dollars are 78 USD or 67 Eur right now. All in all food was about the same price as in Europe (which is cheaper than US) if not a bit cheaper.
Transportation was okay'ish.
Prices for POIs were mostly appropriate.
Some electronics are cheaper - I was eyeing a DJI Neo for quite a while so I got it there ~30% below EU price.
What was noticeably cheaper was Bubble Tea but probably because of the strong competition. Hint: If you wanna open a business here in Germany, sell bubble tea =D The two shops I know are often overrun. Even in winter.
Hotels were also appropriately priced.
Housing for actual living however is apparently terribly expensive! A million for a plain apartment for example.
**LOCATIONS/ATTRACTIONS:**
**Gardens by the Bay**
One of the few installations of the main city area with a lot of greenery. Consists of a series of attractions:
- Gardens by the Bay - Cloud Forest ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/DxUVZDrbSyNTbZyy8 ):
I'm writing parts of this right now at the "Cloud Forest" since this became about the only place except for some malls I went to visit twice =D
Everything here is truly a feat of artist, engineering and botanist excellence!
Not only is this a huge multi-level "garden" inside a dome with an immense waters, they even turned it into a Jurassic World. With huge animatronics and a fair bit of lore (between the many "Don't step into the planters"-signs xD ).
Sadly I missed the Avatar exhibition by a year and a half. If that one was of the same quality as the Jurassic park, it must've been amazing.
- Gardens by the Bay - Flower Garden:
A huge, way more dry garden in another, flatter but even larger dome. Not exactly my jam but was nice nevertheless. Seems to be mainly visited by people to take selfies xD
- Gardens by the Bay - Disney Flower experience
Not too bad, but the figures at Disney World Epcot were way more impressive.
- Gardens by the Bay - Supertree Grove ( https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/.....ree-grove.html )
Those artificial tree-like structures are one of the main landmarks. You'll find them on a lot of Singapore merch.
Certainly gorgeous and got a great view from atop!
**Sentosa**
Sentosa is a resort island in the south of the city.
They have a monorail system to get there from mainland. Pretty cool!
- Sentosa: Beach
It likely was the warmest water I've ever experienced in any sea so far. The beach itself was clean. Like everything in Singapore.
Guess they cannot control past their borders tho... As a result the water has quite a lot of plastic. Probably from the surrounding countries.
Nevertheless was nice enough to be in the water and swim. Did also snorkel but visibility was less than a meter.
The beach area was also the only place where I found food quite expensive. A restaurant gave me a cocktail even in a cheap plastic glass >: lol.
- Sentosa: Adventure Cove
A neat waterpark with quite an special attraction: The Rainbow Reef
It's a fairly large basin with large, tropical fish where you can snorkel in! Definitely reminded me of "Discovery Cove" from Orlando. Not quite as exotic (that even had rays, starfish etc.) and you were a bit more time limited (essentially round swim in a circle allowed) and for some silly reason, even adults had to wear a life jacket xD
Therefore way more affordable and still very fun! Even got to take some neat videos with my action cam (not sure really share worthy tho).
- Sentosa: Wings of Time
An awesome evening show with some fireworks and a huge lot of light effects. On a flat water stream they were projecting clips that formed a fun little movie/story.
Not quite on Disney World level, but still neat.
**Mandai Wildlife Reserve**
This was definitely impressive.
The huge area consists of 5 different zoos (of which I've visited four).
The main zoo was quite an impressive one. Lots of places to take great photos. The hot climate was of course making it a slight struggle, but at least there were a number of buildings with AC.
The "Night Safari" was the only slight disappointment. When I first saw that I thought, cool, let's experience the main zoo another time, now at night.
But no, it is an entirely separate zoo! o.o Yet at night you really see way less. There wasn't even a real focus on night-active animals as far as I saw. They had elephants, rhinos, tigers etc. Most of them hardly visible in the dark or were actively hiding.
Tbh. I don't quite understand why they are doing that effort of maintaining a second zoo. Maybe it's just me though since it was reasonably well visited.
Absolute highlight however was **"River Wonders"**. It had the most AND most impressive aquariums I have even seen. So many huge fish and other animals including manatees and otterrrrrs! <3 Also a lot I had never seen before. Genuinely didn't know non-ocean waters can be so fascinating.
First time I was in an underwater tunnel for an otter basin too. So cute to watch them swim!
In general so many things to see. It really beats all aquarium installations I've been to. If you go to Singapore, definitely check out River Wonders~
**Malaysia**
Friend took me to a one-day trip right over the border to Malaysia.
I have very little experience with crossing non-european borders by car. I do have a bad memory from childhood when Romania was not in the EU yet and I was traveling there by bus with my mom. For some reason the entire bus had to wait for about 3 hours. In bad head and after already having been traveling for like 10 hours. Noooot fun >_<
Luckily Malaysia was smoother, even if I had to somewhat hastily fill out a form with a bunch of data which was checked against my passport at a checkpoint.
Somewhat worse was returning to Singapore since friend didn't know either that I'd need a new entry form for them too. I had filled it out before the flight and it contained the data about the whole length of my stay. But apparently that's not enough, you gotta fill a new one when you cross the border. Oh well.
Anyways, that's boring to talk.
Actual Malyasia was not that boring. We got to visit a Legoland. Quite similar to the one in Germany (some attractions even identical xD ) but especially the area with large buildings were Asia themed. Those were quite cool-
Also been to their Sea Life but that was rather similar to others of that chain I've been to in Europe (River Wonders I mentioned before was incredible in comparison).
Sorta a highlight was to head to a food market/court. I let my friend order because I'd have been lost otherwise, but it was tasty and a neat experience feeling, well, more like a local I guess?
**MERMAIDS:**
For the fact that their mascot animal is literally a lion-merman - the Merlion ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlion_Park ) - mermaids were not that common. We did find two places though!
For once a temporary event: https://www.littlestepsasia.com/sin.....ontainer-park/
Several mermaids and a merman were swimming in a flooded container with a window. Sadly the space really was limited and the water was a lot less clear than in that ad photo there. Nothing too impressive or exciting for the aquaphiles among us, but more than what I'd get in central Europe >_< xD
A way greater highlight was the bar called "Fish Pool": https://www.thencoclub.com/fishpool
Holly molly that was a worthy show! A huge glass window the the performer was absolutely gorgeous. She was underwater for 40-50 seconds at a time and performed about twenty minutes. I have a couple clips I could share ( https://imgur.com/a/vC3lzVy ), but for the most part I wanted to just enjoy watching as well as the food c:
Definitely a place to visit and for having such a wonderfully set up attraction, the prices were good as well (unless you order some of the price wines I guess).
The show was at way lower depth than Weeki Wachee where I had been last year, but honestly this show impressed me more. She used no hoses and the tail was an actual silicone tail. Way more of an immersive show~ <3
**LITTLE ISLAND FURCON (LIFC):**
Purposefully I arranged my vacation around the in-person part of LIFC (
https://www.littleislandfur.com/ , saying "in-person part" because they also have an online version/event about half a year later. ).
It's a small convention. About 250 people last time and 300 this time but if course I only say small because I'm used to Eurofurence and Furvester.
That was fuuuun!
The first time at a convention outside central Europe and first time taking my fursuit onto a plane. It took roughly a third of my luggage space so that was a little bit of a struggle but was totally worth it.
People loved it a lot and somehow because the con was so small and I was not busy with visiting panels like the other cons, I probably wore it as much during this two day con than during the whole 5 day cons before.
Having a friend well networked in the furry community there and with an adorable suit of his own, helped a lot too of course. We even wore it briefly later at The Jewel, the huge mall at the airport.
Anyways, the panel and events of the con were of course not as refined, themed etc. like at the larger cons but the music events quite were on par and the friendlyness of all the furs around was making up for it.
It is hard to pinpoint what exactly was different about the con compared to ones it the past, but it stood out ^_^
It also had a bit of a nostalgic feel for me personally because the con's theme was "arcade" and the very first convention I visited, Eurofurence22 in 2016 (gosh that's 9 years ago already Dx ) had the theme 80ies which led to much of the arcade theme. We even did a Conga Line this time like it only happened back then. It's weird but the Conga line from back then remained in my mind due to being nearly the only interaction with others during that con. I was a very secluded person irl back then; went all alone to the con, almost not knowing anyone.
It felt great to relive an aspect of that now 9 years later where I feel much more involved in the whole thing and also have more confidence in myself~
One highlight not directly about the con was the hotel. It happened at a whooping 5 star hotel (the One Farrer: https://www.onefarrer.com/ )! o.o
Interestingly it was not more expensive than what the Radison Blu charges now during Eurofurence (they really made use of the fact that half Hamburg is booked out during the con >_< ) but a huuuge step up in quality of.. about everything.
Call me sexist but what uhm.. surprised me not having seen that before, the room maids were men xD
However the room itself was the tallest room I have ever slept at and it also had an enormous ceiling to knee-height window with a ledge you could step on. Not to mention the breathtaking view of the city from: https://imgur.com/a/8xg7nJ0
The AC was so powerful that it was literally getting windy in the room even at lowest fan speed.
The furry events were happening under enormous, luxurious chandeliers... Quite the experience.
At the beginning, especially arriving in shorts and wet (coming from an MRT trip with multiple luggage from the other hotel where I stayed most of the days) to this noble lobby, I felt a bit out of place.. But hey, I'm paying for it >:
Everyone was very incredibly polite.
One thing I missed a little was a form of fursuit parade and general furry presence outside the venue itself (which was essentially the 6 story of the hotel). It's such a great feeling in Hamburg or in the past in Berlin, to go into a McDonalds near the con and encounter every other person wearing a tail xD
Our only interaction with non furs was in the hotel itself. Funnily enough I ended up with a large, Indian family in the elevator - while in suit. The kids could not let go of my tail XD Good that it's a robust one, haha.
The adults were very polite and curious as well. Certainly well received~
One unique thing I noticed:
Furries were giving out furry business cards all the time xD In Europe I had seen some artists, fursuit makers etc. to do it, but over in Singapore like everyone did it. Cute cards, professionally printed, just with their furry identity on it; links to Twitter/X (which seems to be the core of the Asian community) and rarely furaffinity.
It's surely because business cards do have a bit of a cultural status in Asia even today. However it really is a good way to connect and establish a contact!
It's something we can learn from them here in the EU and US too. Maybe I should just make some myself~
**MALLS:**
Oh boy, Singapore truly is a consumer city xD
At every single corner you find a mall! Sometimes literally multiple, connected by short tunnels or bridges between each other. You could probably live for years there and not see every shop in 5 km radius.
Crazy.. I kinda wish my feet would not have been hurting often due to the things visiting during the days or I could walk around for hours through the malls every day, lol.
Lots of interesting shops, albeit hard to say what was fundamentally different from a mall in Europe (except for food; see below). Found a large, quite dense anime (etc.) shop that had every franchise from Dragonballs, a dozen different bikini girl animes, pokemon and even Avengers.
Yet of course I found the one thing not from a franchise (except for Avatar there's pretty much none I collect): A super cute otter figurine. Even had to get the manager to name me a price because it was more of a deco article for them, lol.
Say hello to this cutie, but careful, he has sharp claws! https://imgur.com/a/GW285Wb :3
Maybe he'll become a mate for my otter Ta'hira =3
That reminds me, while not in the anime shop but in a random toy store.. They had a whole corner of merch for Skibidi. Didn't even know that stuff was a real franchise, let alone merch in physical stores o.O'
**FOOD:**
Sooo many things to try!
As long as it's not too spicy or just greens, I'm in for about any food xD (much to the detriment of my struggles to have an acceptable BMI >_<' )
Which is kinda funny because as a child I was rather problematic regarding food, lol. My mom was turning all sorts of fruits and vegetables into juices for me to touch them at all. Admittedly, raw stuff is still my least enjoyment.
Aaanyways, this trip was definitely an experience in this regard!
One surprise I had was what people eat with. I expected it'd all be with chopsticks. But surprisingly you also often get to eat with a spoon + chopsticks. Sometimes also a spoon and a fork - a rather unusual combination for us in the West. Even more unusual: You are not supposed to put the fork in your --mouth--snout! You use the fork (or chopsticks) to help filling the spoon (in your main hand) and then use that to eat!
Took a little bit to get used to that but gotta say it is reasonably practical and allows you to savor a combination of your dish instead of unintentionally separating the food with the fork like in Western culture (e.g. picking first a piece of steak, then a potato slice as a side afterwards).
- Let's start with the most.. uhm.. infamous(?) one: Durian!
Friend funnily loves them and so I had to try at least, too x3
Honestly.. their reputation (which goes as far as there being "No Durian" signs in hotels and trains) is worse than it actually is.
At least I did not feel like throwing up at all. Cannot really say that I'd chose it over many other things (except raw tomatoes, urgh) but I can see/taste why it's enjoyed by some. Kinda crazy how we were given gloves for eating them, because you don't want your hands to smell. xD
- Classic Asian Food
Now I won't even start listing many specific things because I'll only embarrass myself not even really being able to distinguish between Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and actual Singaporean (if that's a thing) xD
Singapore is definitely a pot for all the cultures.
That includes Japanese too but with my fave restaurant at home being Japanese, at least I was able to distinguish that type of cuisine (which is far more than sushi by the way). Yet discovered a few Japanese dishes I had not encountered before. E.g. a donburi (bowl with a rice bed) that had cream cheese or cottage cheese, salmon slices, a soft cooked egg and salmon roe ontop <3
Annoyingly I did not write down the name and ChatGPT didn't really know a name either (but hinted that it was a western-influenced mixed dish). However I have to try making that at home~
A very cool thing were the "food courts". Those are halls (in every other mall) with many tiny shops that cook on the spot and enable you to mix and match. Wish that concept would be common here in Europe as well but it kinda isn't from what I've seen.
At a Chinese restaurant - where friend and his furry group teased me into trying lots of things - I had some more unusual stuff like "century eggs". From the description of those (which I saw somewhere before) I'd probably not have tried - their taste is way less intensive that one'd expect though. Probably would prefer those over a hard boiled egg tbh.
All in all, I liked most things even if I'll probably stick to Japanese being my fave xP
- Sting Ray
For once, trying this was my own idea. Have tried a handful of unusual fish on my family trips in Italy, but not those yet, so I was curious.
Well, they taste mostly like other fish, just more fatty? Nothing super impressive but they were good.
In the end it matters how you prepare a fish. In a Chinese restaurant on another day we had some unknown white fish that was friend and that one was absolutely delicious - mainly for how it was spiced, I think (while the ray was rather weakly spiced).
- Bubble Tea
I love those and are probably my guiltiest pleasure here near my home, lol. They are way more common in Singapore though.
One thing I noticed albeit that was like in half of the shops: They were way less sweet than what I'm used to at home. Also tapioca boba were not available everywhere - that appears to be more of a Taiwanese thing (and the shop I go to near home is Taiwanese).
- Drinks/Cocktails
Overall they seem a bit less alcoholic than in Europe (albeit alcoholic ones are still more prominent than "mocktails").
The group around my friend made me order "Tiger Beer" which supposedly is a beer that stereotypically visitors are meant to drink? xD Anyways, it's well, beer. Can't say much more than that, haha. I barely can keep the German ones apart when I order one for the sake of cultural drinking at a company meeting x3 Funnily enough, German beers are somewhat popular and regarded as more special in Singapore.
Cocktails are more my thing and there were some good ones albeit none really stuck out. I did like that the alcohol was not overpowering.
The one truly Singaporean "Singaporean Sling" was neat though.
One thing I planned to try but forgot to, is Sake. I should just finally buy a bottle here to satisfy my curiosity, lol.
**POLITICS and general feeling:**
The political status of Singapore is fairly neutral regarding the West and East as well as Inner-Asian conflicts as far as I've read and perceived. The Switzerland of Asia perhaps? xD
Maybe you have heard in the news that Singapore was used by China to circumvent the US' embargo on Nvidia chips. Wouldn't be surprised if the other way around happens soon now that China may embargo rare earths.
However what singapore is rather known for is to be a fine city ( https://dorfbladl.com/singapore-the.....e-city-teil-1/ ) ;)
And indeed the fact that they do display the amount of fines on ads is something I have not seen before and the numbers are certainly high. The Singaporeans do take it with humor as merch like this shows: https://saneeya.wordpress.com/wp-co...../fine-city.jpg
Now Singapore is known to be a strict country.
Some things like the fact that corporal punishment is practiced, is scary and absurd for us Westners. Also I have not seen in another country an ad that says "Look out for possible signs of radicalisation" and "What's your role in keeping Singapore safe from terrorism?": https://imgur.com/a/EN7Mgao
Not to mention a "No Demonstrations Here" sign on a random roof garden of a mall. Apparently there's a dedicated area in the city for demonstrations.
Ontop of this comes heavy use of surveillance cameras. Even at very large spaces like the beach, in every elevator etc.
As a German - with heritage from behind the iron curtain no less - it is hard not to think of such power and restrictions could be misused. My mom told me once a scary experience of hers. In front of a good friend and colleague, she had been complaining about company structure and the totalitarian Romanian regime (which was a thing back then). Her friend in genuine seriousness warned her - because that friend had the unofficial but extra paid position in the company to report acts of distrust against the government and its structures.
That happened a lot in Eastern Germany and of course at Nazi times too...
That sign about "report signs of radicalization" hits very close to that.
Putting this into very very modern perspective: Would the USA have a system like Singapore, they'd have an easy time finding and deporting the millions of people Trump wants to deport (on the other hand, such a thing like undocumented people are almost not a thing in Singapore).
However all this said, maybe humans just are doomed to suffer from others misusing their power at some point. I'm not confident that I won't experience that here in the EU either in my lifetime.
So what shall we do? Maybe we should just focus on what is now. The status quo counts more than what could be.
The status quo in Singapore is that as long as you have some money and stick to the law you will surely be a worry free citizen.
Less worries than in some other countries and isn't that a form of freedom too?
A very hands on experience I made along my friend was at a food court: As mentioned there are many tiny shops to get your food and mix&match. In a center area were a large number of food tables and those were a bit overrun. So you'll want to reserve a table when you see an empty spot before you get your food and would have to search with a tablet and drinks in hand.
Now how do you reserve if you don't have something not steal-worthy on you?...
Well, people there were just using their wallet (friend and I used a furry card xD ). Or their handbag. Just openly leaving on the table and walking away to get food that could be past multiple corners.
Other example: You can pay at the MRT and the buses by just tapping your VISA card on a device. Boy, over here there would be fake devices appearing rather soon if that were a thing...
And thanks to surveillance at the beach, I was not afraid of leaving my phone with my bag openly at the beach. Maybe that was paranoia but in the US I extra had a cheap secondary phone just for the beach... (and at a German beach I caught a weird guy rummaging through my bag once)
Those are freedoms I do not have as an European.
Furthermore their fines regarding littering, that chewing gum is forbidden and people are actually afraid of smoking where they are not allowed, are damn good things. The city is absolutely cleaner and you get to inhale less smoke than in most other countries.
So, dunno.. I did definitely not feel oppressed by anything or anyone in Singapore.
I might have eaten in an MRT if the signs/laws were not there and I was afraid to bring the cooling pads for my fursuit (sealed bags with mysterious liquid, lol), but that's it.
**One disappointment and conclusion:**
In one regard the trip did not pan out as planned.
After the incredible experience at Discovery Cove last year, I was looking for other places where you can interact with dolphins. Singapore has such a place with "Sentosa Dolphin Island" - just that annoyingly after my booking was set in stone, it turned out they are renovating for just two months around my trip Dx
Bad luck sometimes (and literally no communication by the place; I had even contacted their support), oh well...
Still not the slightest regrets to go onto this trip tho. If I had known of the renovation in time, I'd probably have shifted and thus never got to the furcon - never would have known what I missed >w<
Oh well, a motivation to visit a second time, right? xD
Maybe a dual trip since I'd like to see South Korea as well one day...
All in all an incredible time. If you want to see Asia for the sake of city life and not primarily nature, this is definitely the perfect place to start!
The fact that it is not overly crowded like many tourist hotspots is also a nice bonus.
Phew, if you have read all the way here, I admire you! X3
Met one of my oldest friends, done lots of sightseeing and ("weird") food tasting plus attended the smol but really lovely: Little Island Furcon.
Probably boring for anyone to read but I have time waiting in the plane and thus gotta just write down about the trip xP
Unlike the US trip last year ( https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10885264/ ) this was a more spontaneous decision but I love seeing the world and Asia was very high on the list to see next >w<
SINGAPORE in general:
- Small country, essentially a single huge city southern of Malaysia with almost 6 million people. Used to be a British colony until 1963, joined Malaysia in its independence at that point but then became independent on its own just 2 years later.
Today it is a massive, world-relevant commerce/trade and finance center. Its port size is only beaten by Shanghai.
- Weather:
Fairly hot and very humid >w< Definitely similar experience to Florida and a bit of a shock at the beginning (and every time you leave they typically heavy used AC areas). You start flowing sweat immediately if you even walk xD
There are hardly any seasons (just rain frequency may change). My trip was remarkably consistent with 28-32°C throughout the whole two weeks with just a few brief rainstorms. Due to humidity, for a landlocked European that feels like 36-38°C however.
Some places, especially open-street shops had free standing AC unit/tower thingies at the street. It.. certainly feels wrong to spend energy on producing hot air that's blown upwards, just to blow some cold air horizontally (but also into open space on the road). Yet.. gosh is it a blessing to stand in front of one of those after walking a while.
Why do humans decide to densely inhabit those hot&humid earth regions and put the funnest attractions there?.. XD
That said, after a couple days, while the sweating did not stop, somehow the heat felt less "defeating" to me. It wasn't something I'd waste time thinking about anymore at least. Vaporeons are an adaptive species owo ( and probably most species :) )
Did occasionally bring a fan with me tho and I saw many Asians do that as well. Just not my friend, he was even wearing long sleeves somehow ._. x3
- Language:
My friend put it perfectly: A trip to Singapore is "Asia on easy-mode": Pretty much everyone speaks English. Essentially all attractions are primarily English with other languages as an option to book sometimes. Exception may be things in Little India and Little China, however the bars/restaurants we've attended there worked out with English too.
English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil are officially languages of the country. Most public signs and in trains etc. are displaying in all of these throughout the country.
- Transportation:
Just 70 years ago, this area was essentially rural so guess the city designers had quite a clean canvas. The public transport is excellent. The "MRT" and buses do get you nearly everywhere.
The pedestrian experience on the other hand could be better. In many places it felt unclear where to go and many roads throughout the city are fast and not interrupted by zebra crossings. Traffic lights were also quite a distance away sometimes.
My best pedestrian experience in a metropolis was in London, however this may be skewed by the fact that I loose patience way faster out on the road in a hot country than in cool England xD
One interesting aspect regarding cars:
There are very significant, financial challenges imposed by the government to acquiring a car, so fewer people get one. Maybe that's "unfair" but seriously, that's likely better than NY or LA where the traffic congests everything. As far as I saw from foot or whilst in friend's car, the traffic tends to be flowing. Even what he called a jam is barely comparable to what I've even seen in Germany, lol.
That said, not only the roads weren't as overrun as one would expect with 6 million people. The streets and POIs weren't either.
In the buses think I always got a seat and in the MRT most of the time.
Guess it is noticeable that it isn't an extreme tourist hotspot like most places I've visited in the past and they also don't really have seasons where everyone streams to visit things (except for hollydays maybe) thus demand is spread across the year.
Even the beaches, while they had people, were not crowded by any means at all. Ironically the only thing I think I had to wait significantly in line for was the "Night Safari" (see further below).
- Prices/Costs**
Not too much to say about this. 100 Singaporean dollars are 78 USD or 67 Eur right now. All in all food was about the same price as in Europe (which is cheaper than US) if not a bit cheaper.
Transportation was okay'ish.
Prices for POIs were mostly appropriate.
Some electronics are cheaper - I was eyeing a DJI Neo for quite a while so I got it there ~30% below EU price.
What was noticeably cheaper was Bubble Tea but probably because of the strong competition. Hint: If you wanna open a business here in Germany, sell bubble tea =D The two shops I know are often overrun. Even in winter.
Hotels were also appropriately priced.
Housing for actual living however is apparently terribly expensive! A million for a plain apartment for example.
**LOCATIONS/ATTRACTIONS:**
**Gardens by the Bay**
One of the few installations of the main city area with a lot of greenery. Consists of a series of attractions:
- Gardens by the Bay - Cloud Forest ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/DxUVZDrbSyNTbZyy8 ):
I'm writing parts of this right now at the "Cloud Forest" since this became about the only place except for some malls I went to visit twice =D
Everything here is truly a feat of artist, engineering and botanist excellence!
Not only is this a huge multi-level "garden" inside a dome with an immense waters, they even turned it into a Jurassic World. With huge animatronics and a fair bit of lore (between the many "Don't step into the planters"-signs xD ).
Sadly I missed the Avatar exhibition by a year and a half. If that one was of the same quality as the Jurassic park, it must've been amazing.
- Gardens by the Bay - Flower Garden:
A huge, way more dry garden in another, flatter but even larger dome. Not exactly my jam but was nice nevertheless. Seems to be mainly visited by people to take selfies xD
- Gardens by the Bay - Disney Flower experience
Not too bad, but the figures at Disney World Epcot were way more impressive.
- Gardens by the Bay - Supertree Grove ( https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/.....ree-grove.html )
Those artificial tree-like structures are one of the main landmarks. You'll find them on a lot of Singapore merch.
Certainly gorgeous and got a great view from atop!
**Sentosa**
Sentosa is a resort island in the south of the city.
They have a monorail system to get there from mainland. Pretty cool!
- Sentosa: Beach
It likely was the warmest water I've ever experienced in any sea so far. The beach itself was clean. Like everything in Singapore.
Guess they cannot control past their borders tho... As a result the water has quite a lot of plastic. Probably from the surrounding countries.
Nevertheless was nice enough to be in the water and swim. Did also snorkel but visibility was less than a meter.
The beach area was also the only place where I found food quite expensive. A restaurant gave me a cocktail even in a cheap plastic glass >: lol.
- Sentosa: Adventure Cove
A neat waterpark with quite an special attraction: The Rainbow Reef
It's a fairly large basin with large, tropical fish where you can snorkel in! Definitely reminded me of "Discovery Cove" from Orlando. Not quite as exotic (that even had rays, starfish etc.) and you were a bit more time limited (essentially round swim in a circle allowed) and for some silly reason, even adults had to wear a life jacket xD
Therefore way more affordable and still very fun! Even got to take some neat videos with my action cam (not sure really share worthy tho).
- Sentosa: Wings of Time
An awesome evening show with some fireworks and a huge lot of light effects. On a flat water stream they were projecting clips that formed a fun little movie/story.
Not quite on Disney World level, but still neat.
**Mandai Wildlife Reserve**
This was definitely impressive.
The huge area consists of 5 different zoos (of which I've visited four).
The main zoo was quite an impressive one. Lots of places to take great photos. The hot climate was of course making it a slight struggle, but at least there were a number of buildings with AC.
The "Night Safari" was the only slight disappointment. When I first saw that I thought, cool, let's experience the main zoo another time, now at night.
But no, it is an entirely separate zoo! o.o Yet at night you really see way less. There wasn't even a real focus on night-active animals as far as I saw. They had elephants, rhinos, tigers etc. Most of them hardly visible in the dark or were actively hiding.
Tbh. I don't quite understand why they are doing that effort of maintaining a second zoo. Maybe it's just me though since it was reasonably well visited.
Absolute highlight however was **"River Wonders"**. It had the most AND most impressive aquariums I have even seen. So many huge fish and other animals including manatees and otterrrrrs! <3 Also a lot I had never seen before. Genuinely didn't know non-ocean waters can be so fascinating.
First time I was in an underwater tunnel for an otter basin too. So cute to watch them swim!
In general so many things to see. It really beats all aquarium installations I've been to. If you go to Singapore, definitely check out River Wonders~
**Malaysia**
Friend took me to a one-day trip right over the border to Malaysia.
I have very little experience with crossing non-european borders by car. I do have a bad memory from childhood when Romania was not in the EU yet and I was traveling there by bus with my mom. For some reason the entire bus had to wait for about 3 hours. In bad head and after already having been traveling for like 10 hours. Noooot fun >_<
Luckily Malaysia was smoother, even if I had to somewhat hastily fill out a form with a bunch of data which was checked against my passport at a checkpoint.
Somewhat worse was returning to Singapore since friend didn't know either that I'd need a new entry form for them too. I had filled it out before the flight and it contained the data about the whole length of my stay. But apparently that's not enough, you gotta fill a new one when you cross the border. Oh well.
Anyways, that's boring to talk.
Actual Malyasia was not that boring. We got to visit a Legoland. Quite similar to the one in Germany (some attractions even identical xD ) but especially the area with large buildings were Asia themed. Those were quite cool-
Also been to their Sea Life but that was rather similar to others of that chain I've been to in Europe (River Wonders I mentioned before was incredible in comparison).
Sorta a highlight was to head to a food market/court. I let my friend order because I'd have been lost otherwise, but it was tasty and a neat experience feeling, well, more like a local I guess?
**MERMAIDS:**
For the fact that their mascot animal is literally a lion-merman - the Merlion ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlion_Park ) - mermaids were not that common. We did find two places though!
For once a temporary event: https://www.littlestepsasia.com/sin.....ontainer-park/
Several mermaids and a merman were swimming in a flooded container with a window. Sadly the space really was limited and the water was a lot less clear than in that ad photo there. Nothing too impressive or exciting for the aquaphiles among us, but more than what I'd get in central Europe >_< xD
A way greater highlight was the bar called "Fish Pool": https://www.thencoclub.com/fishpool
Holly molly that was a worthy show! A huge glass window the the performer was absolutely gorgeous. She was underwater for 40-50 seconds at a time and performed about twenty minutes. I have a couple clips I could share ( https://imgur.com/a/vC3lzVy ), but for the most part I wanted to just enjoy watching as well as the food c:
Definitely a place to visit and for having such a wonderfully set up attraction, the prices were good as well (unless you order some of the price wines I guess).
The show was at way lower depth than Weeki Wachee where I had been last year, but honestly this show impressed me more. She used no hoses and the tail was an actual silicone tail. Way more of an immersive show~ <3
**LITTLE ISLAND FURCON (LIFC):**
Purposefully I arranged my vacation around the in-person part of LIFC (
https://www.littleislandfur.com/ , saying "in-person part" because they also have an online version/event about half a year later. ).
It's a small convention. About 250 people last time and 300 this time but if course I only say small because I'm used to Eurofurence and Furvester.
That was fuuuun!
The first time at a convention outside central Europe and first time taking my fursuit onto a plane. It took roughly a third of my luggage space so that was a little bit of a struggle but was totally worth it.
People loved it a lot and somehow because the con was so small and I was not busy with visiting panels like the other cons, I probably wore it as much during this two day con than during the whole 5 day cons before.
Having a friend well networked in the furry community there and with an adorable suit of his own, helped a lot too of course. We even wore it briefly later at The Jewel, the huge mall at the airport.
Anyways, the panel and events of the con were of course not as refined, themed etc. like at the larger cons but the music events quite were on par and the friendlyness of all the furs around was making up for it.
It is hard to pinpoint what exactly was different about the con compared to ones it the past, but it stood out ^_^
It also had a bit of a nostalgic feel for me personally because the con's theme was "arcade" and the very first convention I visited, Eurofurence22 in 2016 (gosh that's 9 years ago already Dx ) had the theme 80ies which led to much of the arcade theme. We even did a Conga Line this time like it only happened back then. It's weird but the Conga line from back then remained in my mind due to being nearly the only interaction with others during that con. I was a very secluded person irl back then; went all alone to the con, almost not knowing anyone.
It felt great to relive an aspect of that now 9 years later where I feel much more involved in the whole thing and also have more confidence in myself~
One highlight not directly about the con was the hotel. It happened at a whooping 5 star hotel (the One Farrer: https://www.onefarrer.com/ )! o.o
Interestingly it was not more expensive than what the Radison Blu charges now during Eurofurence (they really made use of the fact that half Hamburg is booked out during the con >_< ) but a huuuge step up in quality of.. about everything.
Call me sexist but what uhm.. surprised me not having seen that before, the room maids were men xD
However the room itself was the tallest room I have ever slept at and it also had an enormous ceiling to knee-height window with a ledge you could step on. Not to mention the breathtaking view of the city from: https://imgur.com/a/8xg7nJ0
The AC was so powerful that it was literally getting windy in the room even at lowest fan speed.
The furry events were happening under enormous, luxurious chandeliers... Quite the experience.
At the beginning, especially arriving in shorts and wet (coming from an MRT trip with multiple luggage from the other hotel where I stayed most of the days) to this noble lobby, I felt a bit out of place.. But hey, I'm paying for it >:
Everyone was very incredibly polite.
One thing I missed a little was a form of fursuit parade and general furry presence outside the venue itself (which was essentially the 6 story of the hotel). It's such a great feeling in Hamburg or in the past in Berlin, to go into a McDonalds near the con and encounter every other person wearing a tail xD
Our only interaction with non furs was in the hotel itself. Funnily enough I ended up with a large, Indian family in the elevator - while in suit. The kids could not let go of my tail XD Good that it's a robust one, haha.
The adults were very polite and curious as well. Certainly well received~
One unique thing I noticed:
Furries were giving out furry business cards all the time xD In Europe I had seen some artists, fursuit makers etc. to do it, but over in Singapore like everyone did it. Cute cards, professionally printed, just with their furry identity on it; links to Twitter/X (which seems to be the core of the Asian community) and rarely furaffinity.
It's surely because business cards do have a bit of a cultural status in Asia even today. However it really is a good way to connect and establish a contact!
It's something we can learn from them here in the EU and US too. Maybe I should just make some myself~
**MALLS:**
Oh boy, Singapore truly is a consumer city xD
At every single corner you find a mall! Sometimes literally multiple, connected by short tunnels or bridges between each other. You could probably live for years there and not see every shop in 5 km radius.
Crazy.. I kinda wish my feet would not have been hurting often due to the things visiting during the days or I could walk around for hours through the malls every day, lol.
Lots of interesting shops, albeit hard to say what was fundamentally different from a mall in Europe (except for food; see below). Found a large, quite dense anime (etc.) shop that had every franchise from Dragonballs, a dozen different bikini girl animes, pokemon and even Avengers.
Yet of course I found the one thing not from a franchise (except for Avatar there's pretty much none I collect): A super cute otter figurine. Even had to get the manager to name me a price because it was more of a deco article for them, lol.
Say hello to this cutie, but careful, he has sharp claws! https://imgur.com/a/GW285Wb :3
Maybe he'll become a mate for my otter Ta'hira =3
That reminds me, while not in the anime shop but in a random toy store.. They had a whole corner of merch for Skibidi. Didn't even know that stuff was a real franchise, let alone merch in physical stores o.O'
**FOOD:**
Sooo many things to try!
As long as it's not too spicy or just greens, I'm in for about any food xD (much to the detriment of my struggles to have an acceptable BMI >_<' )
Which is kinda funny because as a child I was rather problematic regarding food, lol. My mom was turning all sorts of fruits and vegetables into juices for me to touch them at all. Admittedly, raw stuff is still my least enjoyment.
Aaanyways, this trip was definitely an experience in this regard!
One surprise I had was what people eat with. I expected it'd all be with chopsticks. But surprisingly you also often get to eat with a spoon + chopsticks. Sometimes also a spoon and a fork - a rather unusual combination for us in the West. Even more unusual: You are not supposed to put the fork in your --mouth--snout! You use the fork (or chopsticks) to help filling the spoon (in your main hand) and then use that to eat!
Took a little bit to get used to that but gotta say it is reasonably practical and allows you to savor a combination of your dish instead of unintentionally separating the food with the fork like in Western culture (e.g. picking first a piece of steak, then a potato slice as a side afterwards).
- Let's start with the most.. uhm.. infamous(?) one: Durian!
Friend funnily loves them and so I had to try at least, too x3
Honestly.. their reputation (which goes as far as there being "No Durian" signs in hotels and trains) is worse than it actually is.
At least I did not feel like throwing up at all. Cannot really say that I'd chose it over many other things (except raw tomatoes, urgh) but I can see/taste why it's enjoyed by some. Kinda crazy how we were given gloves for eating them, because you don't want your hands to smell. xD
- Classic Asian Food
Now I won't even start listing many specific things because I'll only embarrass myself not even really being able to distinguish between Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and actual Singaporean (if that's a thing) xD
Singapore is definitely a pot for all the cultures.
That includes Japanese too but with my fave restaurant at home being Japanese, at least I was able to distinguish that type of cuisine (which is far more than sushi by the way). Yet discovered a few Japanese dishes I had not encountered before. E.g. a donburi (bowl with a rice bed) that had cream cheese or cottage cheese, salmon slices, a soft cooked egg and salmon roe ontop <3
Annoyingly I did not write down the name and ChatGPT didn't really know a name either (but hinted that it was a western-influenced mixed dish). However I have to try making that at home~
A very cool thing were the "food courts". Those are halls (in every other mall) with many tiny shops that cook on the spot and enable you to mix and match. Wish that concept would be common here in Europe as well but it kinda isn't from what I've seen.
At a Chinese restaurant - where friend and his furry group teased me into trying lots of things - I had some more unusual stuff like "century eggs". From the description of those (which I saw somewhere before) I'd probably not have tried - their taste is way less intensive that one'd expect though. Probably would prefer those over a hard boiled egg tbh.
All in all, I liked most things even if I'll probably stick to Japanese being my fave xP
- Sting Ray
For once, trying this was my own idea. Have tried a handful of unusual fish on my family trips in Italy, but not those yet, so I was curious.
Well, they taste mostly like other fish, just more fatty? Nothing super impressive but they were good.
In the end it matters how you prepare a fish. In a Chinese restaurant on another day we had some unknown white fish that was friend and that one was absolutely delicious - mainly for how it was spiced, I think (while the ray was rather weakly spiced).
- Bubble Tea
I love those and are probably my guiltiest pleasure here near my home, lol. They are way more common in Singapore though.
One thing I noticed albeit that was like in half of the shops: They were way less sweet than what I'm used to at home. Also tapioca boba were not available everywhere - that appears to be more of a Taiwanese thing (and the shop I go to near home is Taiwanese).
- Drinks/Cocktails
Overall they seem a bit less alcoholic than in Europe (albeit alcoholic ones are still more prominent than "mocktails").
The group around my friend made me order "Tiger Beer" which supposedly is a beer that stereotypically visitors are meant to drink? xD Anyways, it's well, beer. Can't say much more than that, haha. I barely can keep the German ones apart when I order one for the sake of cultural drinking at a company meeting x3 Funnily enough, German beers are somewhat popular and regarded as more special in Singapore.
Cocktails are more my thing and there were some good ones albeit none really stuck out. I did like that the alcohol was not overpowering.
The one truly Singaporean "Singaporean Sling" was neat though.
One thing I planned to try but forgot to, is Sake. I should just finally buy a bottle here to satisfy my curiosity, lol.
**POLITICS and general feeling:**
The political status of Singapore is fairly neutral regarding the West and East as well as Inner-Asian conflicts as far as I've read and perceived. The Switzerland of Asia perhaps? xD
Maybe you have heard in the news that Singapore was used by China to circumvent the US' embargo on Nvidia chips. Wouldn't be surprised if the other way around happens soon now that China may embargo rare earths.
However what singapore is rather known for is to be a fine city ( https://dorfbladl.com/singapore-the.....e-city-teil-1/ ) ;)
And indeed the fact that they do display the amount of fines on ads is something I have not seen before and the numbers are certainly high. The Singaporeans do take it with humor as merch like this shows: https://saneeya.wordpress.com/wp-co...../fine-city.jpg
Now Singapore is known to be a strict country.
Some things like the fact that corporal punishment is practiced, is scary and absurd for us Westners. Also I have not seen in another country an ad that says "Look out for possible signs of radicalisation" and "What's your role in keeping Singapore safe from terrorism?": https://imgur.com/a/EN7Mgao
Not to mention a "No Demonstrations Here" sign on a random roof garden of a mall. Apparently there's a dedicated area in the city for demonstrations.
Ontop of this comes heavy use of surveillance cameras. Even at very large spaces like the beach, in every elevator etc.
As a German - with heritage from behind the iron curtain no less - it is hard not to think of such power and restrictions could be misused. My mom told me once a scary experience of hers. In front of a good friend and colleague, she had been complaining about company structure and the totalitarian Romanian regime (which was a thing back then). Her friend in genuine seriousness warned her - because that friend had the unofficial but extra paid position in the company to report acts of distrust against the government and its structures.
That happened a lot in Eastern Germany and of course at Nazi times too...
That sign about "report signs of radicalization" hits very close to that.
Putting this into very very modern perspective: Would the USA have a system like Singapore, they'd have an easy time finding and deporting the millions of people Trump wants to deport (on the other hand, such a thing like undocumented people are almost not a thing in Singapore).
However all this said, maybe humans just are doomed to suffer from others misusing their power at some point. I'm not confident that I won't experience that here in the EU either in my lifetime.
So what shall we do? Maybe we should just focus on what is now. The status quo counts more than what could be.
The status quo in Singapore is that as long as you have some money and stick to the law you will surely be a worry free citizen.
Less worries than in some other countries and isn't that a form of freedom too?
A very hands on experience I made along my friend was at a food court: As mentioned there are many tiny shops to get your food and mix&match. In a center area were a large number of food tables and those were a bit overrun. So you'll want to reserve a table when you see an empty spot before you get your food and would have to search with a tablet and drinks in hand.
Now how do you reserve if you don't have something not steal-worthy on you?...
Well, people there were just using their wallet (friend and I used a furry card xD ). Or their handbag. Just openly leaving on the table and walking away to get food that could be past multiple corners.
Other example: You can pay at the MRT and the buses by just tapping your VISA card on a device. Boy, over here there would be fake devices appearing rather soon if that were a thing...
And thanks to surveillance at the beach, I was not afraid of leaving my phone with my bag openly at the beach. Maybe that was paranoia but in the US I extra had a cheap secondary phone just for the beach... (and at a German beach I caught a weird guy rummaging through my bag once)
Those are freedoms I do not have as an European.
Furthermore their fines regarding littering, that chewing gum is forbidden and people are actually afraid of smoking where they are not allowed, are damn good things. The city is absolutely cleaner and you get to inhale less smoke than in most other countries.
So, dunno.. I did definitely not feel oppressed by anything or anyone in Singapore.
I might have eaten in an MRT if the signs/laws were not there and I was afraid to bring the cooling pads for my fursuit (sealed bags with mysterious liquid, lol), but that's it.
**One disappointment and conclusion:**
In one regard the trip did not pan out as planned.
After the incredible experience at Discovery Cove last year, I was looking for other places where you can interact with dolphins. Singapore has such a place with "Sentosa Dolphin Island" - just that annoyingly after my booking was set in stone, it turned out they are renovating for just two months around my trip Dx
Bad luck sometimes (and literally no communication by the place; I had even contacted their support), oh well...
Still not the slightest regrets to go onto this trip tho. If I had known of the renovation in time, I'd probably have shifted and thus never got to the furcon - never would have known what I missed >w<
Oh well, a motivation to visit a second time, right? xD
Maybe a dual trip since I'd like to see South Korea as well one day...
All in all an incredible time. If you want to see Asia for the sake of city life and not primarily nature, this is definitely the perfect place to start!
The fact that it is not overly crowded like many tourist hotspots is also a nice bonus.
Phew, if you have read all the way here, I admire you! X3
Am I the only one who...
Posted 3 months ago..never searched with a gender tag (not here nor on Inkbunny where it's mandatory to tag), nor used the browsing function with a gender? xD
Crazy what a fuss there is about this topic apparently o.o
Btw. sorry for my little activity the last two weeks. Been on vacation in Singapore. A blog-like journal will follow shortly~
Crazy what a fuss there is about this topic apparently o.o
Btw. sorry for my little activity the last two weeks. Been on vacation in Singapore. A blog-like journal will follow shortly~
Truly a faithful creation - Lilo & Stitch (2025) [No spoile]
Posted 4 months agoJust came out of the movie.
It was soooo cute! They genuinely did not mess up what the original movies were like. Some scenes are one to one recreations of the first movie while some later passages include elements from Stitch has a Glitch (the 2nd original movie).
The actress' were wonderful and so was Stitch >w<
Besides some story tweaks that made the movie surprising even knowing the original, the main difference I perceive was in Jumba:
He was purposefully uglier and way meaner than what I remember from the original.
Pleakly did not wear any women outfits but there's no way an attempt to include that in live action would have made many happy on either "side" xD He was still uhm.. gay? I guess? XD Funny definitely!
Last but not least, there were absolutely unexpectedly several underwater and aquatic peril scenes o.o
And they gave an explanation for why Stitch cannot swim!
Watch it, you won't regret~
It was soooo cute! They genuinely did not mess up what the original movies were like. Some scenes are one to one recreations of the first movie while some later passages include elements from Stitch has a Glitch (the 2nd original movie).
The actress' were wonderful and so was Stitch >w<
Besides some story tweaks that made the movie surprising even knowing the original, the main difference I perceive was in Jumba:
He was purposefully uglier and way meaner than what I remember from the original.
Pleakly did not wear any women outfits but there's no way an attempt to include that in live action would have made many happy on either "side" xD He was still uhm.. gay? I guess? XD Funny definitely!
Last but not least, there were absolutely unexpectedly several underwater and aquatic peril scenes o.o
And they gave an explanation for why Stitch cannot swim!
Watch it, you won't regret~
Really, a law against "F.U.R.R.I.E.S" in Texas? ._.
Posted 6 months agohttps://www.dallasobserver.com/news.....hools-21926996
"Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education Act, pet-named the F.U.R.R.I.E.S Act"
America's going craaaaazy.
Funnily enough, won't surprise me if that has the opposite effect, lol.
I'll never forget how the way too many, contrarian classmates of mine, were reacting after we had a large gathering with someone from the gov. showing us a powerpoint about the dangers of smoking...
This is the chance for furries to become cool, because everything that's forbidden is cool xD
Looking forward to Uncle Kage to have a jab at this~
"Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education Act, pet-named the F.U.R.R.I.E.S Act"
America's going craaaaazy.
Funnily enough, won't surprise me if that has the opposite effect, lol.
I'll never forget how the way too many, contrarian classmates of mine, were reacting after we had a large gathering with someone from the gov. showing us a powerpoint about the dangers of smoking...
This is the chance for furries to become cool, because everything that's forbidden is cool xD
Looking forward to Uncle Kage to have a jab at this~
Shower thought: Avatar turns into Avatar?
Posted 7 months agoJust something crossing my mind during a midnight shower:
In the first Avatar movie we met Na'vi of the forest. Very earthbound ones.
In the second movie we met ones deeply connected to the water.
The third movie will be literally called "Fire and Ash".
Furthermore it was revealed there will be a traveling trader folk (nomadic?) who fly with floating creatures high up in the air: https://cdn.kinocheck.com/i/oxid3emrch.jpg
Kiri controlling those glowy fish also looked a lot like waterbending, lol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaCcdwzsQrI
Is James Cameron's Avatar turning into Avatar: The Last Airbender? xD
In the first Avatar movie we met Na'vi of the forest. Very earthbound ones.
In the second movie we met ones deeply connected to the water.
The third movie will be literally called "Fire and Ash".
Furthermore it was revealed there will be a traveling trader folk (nomadic?) who fly with floating creatures high up in the air: https://cdn.kinocheck.com/i/oxid3emrch.jpg
Kiri controlling those glowy fish also looked a lot like waterbending, lol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaCcdwzsQrI
Is James Cameron's Avatar turning into Avatar: The Last Airbender? xD
Are you using tag blocking? E.g. my kinks
Posted 8 months agoHi hi ^-^
Am quite glad they FINALLY added that feature albeit I personally do not see a need to use it.
However while nobody explicitly told me, I always feared that I am pushing away some people from my gallery by posting those two entirely different themes: Watersports and Aquaphilia (ironic that in a non kinky world, the former would just be part of the other XD ).
So the tag blocking should help with that.
But is that actually the case? Have you blocked tags I use frequently? o:
Am quite glad they FINALLY added that feature albeit I personally do not see a need to use it.
However while nobody explicitly told me, I always feared that I am pushing away some people from my gallery by posting those two entirely different themes: Watersports and Aquaphilia (ironic that in a non kinky world, the former would just be part of the other XD ).
So the tag blocking should help with that.
But is that actually the case? Have you blocked tags I use frequently? o:
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas ^.^
Posted 8 months agoLove y'all =3
Not a pandemic but still relevant: Spaceship You
Posted 9 months agoNever seen this video back when it was meant to be directly relevant but it still has a lot of good advice so I thought to share it here :)
[SOLVED] Somebody here have ZBrush?
Posted 9 months agoLong time ago (like 6 years) I've commissioned a lovely 3D SFW model of my derg:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/69z4.....i00vf&dl=0
Now I finally would like to do something with it, but I only received a ".ZPR" file which turns out to be 100% proprietary. Not a single free program out there can open it, no plugin for Unity or anything else. Not even the ZBrushCore Mini (quite a nifty program) can. Not even one cobbled-together thing on Github xD
The original artist is not around either anymore.
Would be awesome if somebody who has a license could export it for me to .obj and .fbx =3
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/69z4.....i00vf&dl=0
Now I finally would like to do something with it, but I only received a ".ZPR" file which turns out to be 100% proprietary. Not a single free program out there can open it, no plugin for Unity or anything else. Not even the ZBrushCore Mini (quite a nifty program) can. Not even one cobbled-together thing on Github xD
The original artist is not around either anymore.
Would be awesome if somebody who has a license could export it for me to .obj and .fbx =3
Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant
Posted 9 months agoAlso among the blue butterflies xP
Posted 10 months agoActually posted a 3-image commission there (with my story as alt-text) which I think is more than I ever did on Twitter xD
https://bsky.app/profile/mithemer.bsky.social
So don't follow me for content (nothing will be there that isn't on my FA or DA), but thought it cannot hurt.
https://bsky.app/profile/mithemer.bsky.social
So don't follow me for content (nothing will be there that isn't on my FA or DA), but thought it cannot hurt.
Spheres and the Peace of mind
Posted 10 months agoUsually one journal on a political topic is enough for me but I do see numerous people including friends panicking and their lives being impeded before anything has truly happened.
This is not a journal to tell that "everything will be good" or even telling what to believe, there are other people more convincing than me in that regard.
What I want to talk about is spheres we all have around us.
Three of them to be exact:
- The sphere of concern:
--> Everything that you believe will affect you.
- The sphere of influence:
--> That includes especially precautions you can take regarding possible problems or dangers from the Sphere of Concern. This also includes people who genuinely listen to what you say.
- and The Sphere of Control:
--> This refers to everything you alone influence. E.g. to your direct decisions, your physical room, who you work for, where you go etc.
You are at the center of all of these spheres.
The idea is, regularly evaluating what lies within these spheres will give you a peace of mind.
The truly cynical people will claim that's just "fooling yourself" but trust me it works! Our minds are complex and certainly not purely logical.
The core concept consists of one goal and one thing to accept:
The goal: Keep your sphere of concern as small as possible, ideally smaller than the sphere of influence.
And one thing to accept:
What lies beyond your sphere of influence cannot be changed, no matter what you do. Consequently that means any negative THOUGHTS have regarding these things are harmful.
To express it more clearly: For everything you perceive as negative, you do not gain anything from thinking about it if it's outside your influence (meaning you cannot take meaningful precautions).
This sounds simple and logical and yet you have to tell this to yourself (that we are not robotic logical minds shows in this aspect too). It's a bit like the "Just Do It" mantra.
This thinking has influence my decision making.
To bring a topical example: Have heard people desperate due to the supposed Project2025 and a p0rn ban in the US. What happens on that level of politics is (now) far, far outside your sphere of influence. Any decision you make, does not change it. Therefore do not waste your energy on thinking about it.
Focus on what you can control: E.g. The art or other content you make. The fun time you spend with people talking about naughty things.
I wrote all this off the top of my head. It's years since someone taught me this.
You can find a more in depth approach here:
https://positivepsychology.com/circ.....-of-influence/
...or if all that fails.. Go for some funny videos :)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2ZLSBzMv7rs
EDIT, since this might not have been clear:
No, the idea is not to just care about yourself alone, ignoring friends or others.
It's about limiting how much you care once it becomes harmful to you. No friend is actually helped by you getting hurt (or at least no true friend would want that)!
If you can actually help them because their problems affect you, then that IS entirely within your sphere of influence and none says you should not do that.
This is not a journal to tell that "everything will be good" or even telling what to believe, there are other people more convincing than me in that regard.
What I want to talk about is spheres we all have around us.
Three of them to be exact:
- The sphere of concern:
--> Everything that you believe will affect you.
- The sphere of influence:
--> That includes especially precautions you can take regarding possible problems or dangers from the Sphere of Concern. This also includes people who genuinely listen to what you say.
- and The Sphere of Control:
--> This refers to everything you alone influence. E.g. to your direct decisions, your physical room, who you work for, where you go etc.
You are at the center of all of these spheres.
The idea is, regularly evaluating what lies within these spheres will give you a peace of mind.
The truly cynical people will claim that's just "fooling yourself" but trust me it works! Our minds are complex and certainly not purely logical.
The core concept consists of one goal and one thing to accept:
The goal: Keep your sphere of concern as small as possible, ideally smaller than the sphere of influence.
And one thing to accept:
What lies beyond your sphere of influence cannot be changed, no matter what you do. Consequently that means any negative THOUGHTS have regarding these things are harmful.
To express it more clearly: For everything you perceive as negative, you do not gain anything from thinking about it if it's outside your influence (meaning you cannot take meaningful precautions).
This sounds simple and logical and yet you have to tell this to yourself (that we are not robotic logical minds shows in this aspect too). It's a bit like the "Just Do It" mantra.
This thinking has influence my decision making.
To bring a topical example: Have heard people desperate due to the supposed Project2025 and a p0rn ban in the US. What happens on that level of politics is (now) far, far outside your sphere of influence. Any decision you make, does not change it. Therefore do not waste your energy on thinking about it.
Focus on what you can control: E.g. The art or other content you make. The fun time you spend with people talking about naughty things.
I wrote all this off the top of my head. It's years since someone taught me this.
You can find a more in depth approach here:
https://positivepsychology.com/circ.....-of-influence/
...or if all that fails.. Go for some funny videos :)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2ZLSBzMv7rs
EDIT, since this might not have been clear:
No, the idea is not to just care about yourself alone, ignoring friends or others.
It's about limiting how much you care once it becomes harmful to you. No friend is actually helped by you getting hurt (or at least no true friend would want that)!
If you can actually help them because their problems affect you, then that IS entirely within your sphere of influence and none says you should not do that.
Did so many Americans fall for the lure of fascism?
Posted 10 months agoWhen in 2017 at the G20 here in Hamburg, Antifa was rioting, I was as ashamed as most of everyone else.
At least back then, the main topic that Antifa was propagating was anti-globalism. That's why they specifically targeted that one as well as other G-summits.
Highly ironic however that Trump is seen as anti-globalist as well.
So what is the explanation for all of this?
How can about 50% of people support a person who is so obviously drawn by power and represents strength? Is that not fascism?
Or have so many Americans actually accepted that approach even if they don't call it that way - in hope that this somehow improves their lives?
Oh well, as an European guess I will just watch and be ready to defend allied countries and values ourselves - as it should be.
We furries will prevail!
At least back then, the main topic that Antifa was propagating was anti-globalism. That's why they specifically targeted that one as well as other G-summits.
Highly ironic however that Trump is seen as anti-globalist as well.
So what is the explanation for all of this?
How can about 50% of people support a person who is so obviously drawn by power and represents strength? Is that not fascism?
Or have so many Americans actually accepted that approach even if they don't call it that way - in hope that this somehow improves their lives?
Oh well, as an European guess I will just watch and be ready to defend allied countries and values ourselves - as it should be.
We furries will prevail!
Politics influence a lot of our thinking
Posted 10 months agoAn interesting brand new video:
You really wanna see Freggie snuffed, huh? .///.
Posted 10 months agoCan't help but notice that the middle of the 3-page series where my frog girl looks fatally drowned, has over 50% more faves despite fewer views than the final where she survives >w<
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58662137/ vs https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58662244/
Kinky aquaphiles out here! >;3
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58662137/ vs https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58662244/
Kinky aquaphiles out here! >;3
If all galaxies were cereal flakes...
Posted 10 months agoIsn't it incredible how such a silly premise is being done in such high quality nowadays?
We really live in the best age there has been so far.
In an entirely different direction, James Cameron has a deep talk on the topic of AI, including the context of conflict and war:
We really live in the best age there has been so far.
In an entirely different direction, James Cameron has a deep talk on the topic of AI, including the context of conflict and war:
Some "hacker" might be claiming they are me (Discord)
Posted 11 months agoHey everyone,
my discord account is not compromised as far as I can tell. To be safe I've changed password. 2-Factor Auth was already active.
Yet someone contacted me here on FA saying someone they thought was me, has tried the typical "I have accidentally reported you and need your help!!!"-trick.
https://support.discord.com/hc/en-u.....y-reported-you
Be careful out there! :)
my discord account is not compromised as far as I can tell. To be safe I've changed password. 2-Factor Auth was already active.
Yet someone contacted me here on FA saying someone they thought was me, has tried the typical "I have accidentally reported you and need your help!!!"-trick.
https://support.discord.com/hc/en-u.....y-reported-you
Be careful out there! :)
James Cameron becomes part of the Stability AI Board o.o
Posted 11 months agoQuite the news: https://stability.ai/news/james-cam.....d-of-directors
I attended an art gallery about Avatar and others of James Cameron's works last year and there were some statements of his on AI there as he had some early insights in AI video generation too.
He mainly said it's useful for exploring concepts and for prototyping but not to be used to replace content of a movie itself.
Will be interesting to see if he has opened up even more to the topic.
In every case the best door opener to Hollywood this new industry could wish for and with the plans and workload for movies he already has (3-5 more Avatar movies plus Battle Angel 2) there's no doubt about him being genuine and not just in for the money.
Even if it feels a bit strange to imagine the man I admire a lot, be involved in the company that also provided the groundwork for the tools that generate tons of furry pr0n xD
I attended an art gallery about Avatar and others of James Cameron's works last year and there were some statements of his on AI there as he had some early insights in AI video generation too.
He mainly said it's useful for exploring concepts and for prototyping but not to be used to replace content of a movie itself.
Will be interesting to see if he has opened up even more to the topic.
In every case the best door opener to Hollywood this new industry could wish for and with the plans and workload for movies he already has (3-5 more Avatar movies plus Battle Angel 2) there's no doubt about him being genuine and not just in for the money.
Even if it feels a bit strange to imagine the man I admire a lot, be involved in the company that also provided the groundwork for the tools that generate tons of furry pr0n xD
PSA: Olympia opening did not just show the Last Supper
Posted a year agoIt's one of these times when things are being gotten so wrong that it hurts...
Have seen several articles about how the opening ceremony of Olympia in France is mocking Christianity by showing the Last Supper.
Of course that lead to the usual right vs left clash but the left naturally answers with it being art and religion has to take criticism and parodies and whatnot.
That is true of course, but all this misses the fact that this was not primarily a parody of the Last Supper!
Sure there are similarities, but it's doubtful that it's even the primary inspiration. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the ceremony, said the scene had not been inspired by "The Last Supper" and depicted a pagan feast linked to the gods of Olympus.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar.....-dionysus.html
Exact quotes:
But referring to the painting, Jolly insisted: “It [the Last Supper] is not my inspiration.”
He continued: “There is Dionysus (Philippe Katerine painted in blue) who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the God of celebration in Greek mythology. The god of wine, which is one of the jewels of France.
“He is also the father of the goddess Sequana, who is connected to the river, the Seine.
“The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus.
SOURCE: https://www.outsports.com/2024/7/28.....gbtq-backlash/
If you search images for "feast of gods" or "feast of dionysus" (which is a specific painting that has inspired many other paintings) you'll see a lot of similarities...
So that's what art does, it combines elements and takes their abstracts to make an impression. And boy was that ceremony as a whole impressive!
EDIT: Look at this image, the sun-like crown Dionysus has here is WAY more similar to the one in the opening ceremony than Jesus' halo:
https://www.greekmythology.com/Othe...../dionysus.html
Have seen several articles about how the opening ceremony of Olympia in France is mocking Christianity by showing the Last Supper.
Of course that lead to the usual right vs left clash but the left naturally answers with it being art and religion has to take criticism and parodies and whatnot.
That is true of course, but all this misses the fact that this was not primarily a parody of the Last Supper!
Sure there are similarities, but it's doubtful that it's even the primary inspiration. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the ceremony, said the scene had not been inspired by "The Last Supper" and depicted a pagan feast linked to the gods of Olympus.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar.....-dionysus.html
Exact quotes:
But referring to the painting, Jolly insisted: “It [the Last Supper] is not my inspiration.”
He continued: “There is Dionysus (Philippe Katerine painted in blue) who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the God of celebration in Greek mythology. The god of wine, which is one of the jewels of France.
“He is also the father of the goddess Sequana, who is connected to the river, the Seine.
“The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus.
SOURCE: https://www.outsports.com/2024/7/28.....gbtq-backlash/
If you search images for "feast of gods" or "feast of dionysus" (which is a specific painting that has inspired many other paintings) you'll see a lot of similarities...
So that's what art does, it combines elements and takes their abstracts to make an impression. And boy was that ceremony as a whole impressive!
EDIT: Look at this image, the sun-like crown Dionysus has here is WAY more similar to the one in the opening ceremony than Jesus' halo:
https://www.greekmythology.com/Othe...../dionysus.html
First time USA: Impressions overdose! O.O
Posted a year agoOr alternative title: Swim Swam Swum - I swam with the Dolphins =D
Feel free to ignore this journal; there's no really important info here xP
It's just me rambling about my vacation in the US.
Effectively it's a diary so I remember my impressions better years in the future. I thought why not share it~
Tho I did not expect this to become 8000 words long...
Soo, this was my first ever trip to the United States. Living in Germany I've visited many places in the EU; London, Dublin, Paris, Pisa (and multiple beach locations in Italy), Barcelona, Prague and Timisoara (due to relatives). Would say traveling is my major hobby besides software development, art commissioning and roleplaying.
This however was the first time leaving the continent!
The destination was Florida and that was semi coincidental. I definitely wanted to go somewhere with a beach, having been missing the ocean.
So it came in handy that one of my oldest furry friends is a Floridian and even living close to the beach.
Flights to the US are expensive though - especially when it shall be a direct flight because I was a bit afraid of troubles from changing planes. Therefore I quickly decided if I go for such a trip, I should make the very best of it, not just stay in one location.
I am a moderate Disney fan and thus Disney World (Orlando) was a great second destination. And it turned out there are even more amazing things in that city. An incredible one even... More on that later.
Had it been just myself, I probably would have invested just one or two days into Disney, but I would have regretted that approach - luckily my friend who grew up in driving distance to Disney convinced me to do more >w<
**Anyways, one after another:**
1. Customs and arrival:
Gosh was I nervous and paranoid >_< Not because of the flight (albeit almost 10h in a plane were a tad tedious), I certainly had an internet-overdose of horror stories of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That they would be investigating all your luggage, going through your phone and laptop and/or sending you back home...
I even uninstalled Telegram off my devices juuuust in case that somehow makes me suspicious.
What actually happened was that they didn't even look at the "Form 6059B Customs Declaration" I thought I needed. The guy behind a glass window scanned my fingerprints and during that, asked three questions about my job and where I had been in the last 5 years. Afterwards the gate opened and that was it.
Been greeted with a sort of celebration music on the other side o.o' Quite the thing they put up there to make you feel "you made it into the USA, hooray" I guess xD
The rest of the airport was pleasant.. until I left it for the first time.
ORLANDO IS HOT! XD
Seriously, it probably would not be such a surprise if the buildings were not heavily A.C. cooled but as the first impression of stepping out was like how I imagine it to be to step into a dessert - just way more humid, I guess.
2. The east-coast beach:
Said friend was so kind to pick me up from the airport. Wasn't easy to find each other with how large the airport is but eventually we worked it out.
The little beach motel I stayed at was neat. It was some distance beneath the Space Coast.
Finally got to see the sea!
Having arrived well after dark, I went right the next morning out to walk along the water and then jump in.
The area felt way different from Italy where beaches are usually very crowded anywhere where there are hotels.
In Italy there are usually ~2 streets parallel to the beach full of multi-story hotels.
In that region of Florida it's just occasional hotels/motels and a bunch of single-story condominiums (the first new word I had to learn on this trip, lol).
The result was a wonderful free beach to swim at hearts contents without bumping into other people.
I did have one annoying incident where I almost got into two fishers long-distance lines, but that was the only time I saw them.
Two things I noticed was: The water somehow does not smell "like salty sea" as I remember from Italy. That may be just me not remembering so well; not sure. And secondly, the water was very blurry. I did not think to ask my friend beforehand about such a thing xD It's sadly not a snorkeling location, for which I heard Florida to be famous for. Turns out you rather gotta head down to the keys for that. That said, I did have the most incredible snorkeling experience on this trip anyways - more on that later~
All in all the beach time was relaxing. There was some interesting ice cream available as well as breakfast restaurants and of course I went onto two short trips.
3. Kennedy Space Center (visitor complex):
Being in driving distance from where NASA, SpaceX and others launch their rockets that was of course a must-see location.
Friend and I drove there for quite an impressive day. They had a really cool recreation of the launch sequence of the Saturn V for the Apollo 8 mission and of course the Saturn V and many other rockets.
https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.....aturn-v-rocket
Being someone who finds robots fascinating, think my favorite were the Mars rovers. They had Pathfinder, Opportunity, Curiosity as well as Perseverance together with its cute helicopter (Ingenuity) which I would have missed if my friend did not point out that it was of course suspended in the air above us X3
They also had this.. thing: https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.....oncept-vehicle
Honestly that belongs to Power Rangers, not on Mars xD The vehicle from The Martian was way more realistic and they had a similar one near the rovers actually.
What I did realize only afterwards was that we somehow missed the building where the Space Shuttle (Atlantis) could be seen. Oh well, there may be another opportunity.
However it was a really cool day!
4. Boat trip on the Indian River:
That was not so super spectacular and the boat had no sun cover. Were of course looking for dolphins and we did see I think two peeking their heads out as well as some dorsal fins. Unfortunately I cannot really say that I felt close to nature through that trip. No manatees either :(
Watching rays swim right beneath the surface was cool though.
5. Weeki Wachee!!
Of course a major point to go to Florida was the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park - the place where mermaid shows were founded!
It was a very hot day and we didn't take swimwear, so we were only there for the mermaid shows.
It was quite fascinating to watch, albeit I do gotta say a bit that videos I've seen online of mermaid performers were a bit more impressive >w<'
The water was a little bit blurry (because it's natural river water, I think) and the girls were hardly freediving. Probably 20 seconds at most on occasions. Most of the time they had the hoses in their mouths. Plus the tails, quite qualitative, were fabric, not silicone.
Still they were moving very gracefully and performed a neat adaption of the original Little Mermaid folklore.
Additionally we also witnessed a training session of the mermaid performers. Was fascinating to hear how an instructor was telling the less experienced performers things like where the hose was when they dropped it for a short stunt.
All in all it was an awesome place and certainly cool to have this opportunity to see true mermaid performers <3
Little hint if you every plan to go: Do so during the week and come early. Their app was notifying me later on the weekend multiple times that the "park is at capacity" and thus are not letting people in anymore. There are no reservations or even online tickets.
Entry is cheap though (12$) - that was probably the cheapest event of my whole vacation, lol.
6. Disney World - EPCOT
After Weeki Wachee (at the west coast), friend and I did not return to the east coast but to the Disney Resort in Orlando. More on the resort later.
This is where my friend was shining, knowing those parks like his home XD
EPCOT was the first day. I vaguely had heard of it before, but I genuinely had no clue of the whole backstory.
The acronym stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" and was meant to be a futuristic place to live. This did not quite pan out and so they turned it into an entertainment park that celebrates cultures/people and.. life you could say.
Around a gorgeous lake are installations for many different countries including Japan, Germany, Canada etc.
Each of them incredibly unique. There's also various country-typical food available. Japan had a great, slightly higher level restaurant where we had our food cooked on a plate right in the middle of the table.
Of course all Disney themed - the chef made a 3D Mickey head out of onion rings and had it blow steam xD
The German area of EPCOT was of course more like Bavaria. Pretzels, huge beer "Stein" etc. - like most "German culture" is seen in other countries and movies. This video will tell you more about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgxGQct-Yao (and on top of that, the Bavarian ministry apparently purposeful scattered their culture across the world xD )
The "land and sea" areas on the other hand had a series of neat aquariums as well as green houses. They were growing crops vertically in there (and in sand) and you could visit that via a boat.
The Guardians of the Galaxy ride was really cool and my favorite roller coaster of all Disney World. I also dared to go to Space Mountain but while I wasn't at risk of loosing my food, it rocked me in the seat till it hurt and the light effects weren't my thing.
Finally another highlight was the fireworks and music show in the evening: Luminous - The Symphony of Us.
I would not have thought it possible that open space can achieve such good sound. They have some remarkable tech there.
Disney is probably singlehandedly financing a whole fireworks factory xD And I do feel a bit suboptimal regarding the environmental effect of that, but it was cool to watch/hear. Interestingly, they actually do work without gunpowder now: https://www.breeze-technologies.de/.....eir-fireworks/
7. Disney World - Animal Kingdom
No doubt this was my favorite of the Disney parks!
Call me uneducated but until my friend mentioned it at some point weeks earlier, I had no clue Animal Kingdom had.. well, real animals. I imagined mechatronic recreations and shows of various animals from Disney Cartoons xD
The safari (traveling in an huge rail-less truck with about 20 seats) was quite unique and the animal enclosures were probably greater than most zoos.
People knowing me well can probably guess another reason for loving Animal Kingdom: Pandora and the Valley of Mi'ara, I mean Mo'ara! (yep that's literally the name xD )
Absolutely incredible what they did there!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C-edbqVKbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpVMWo8wwRU
The alien plants look so real and are well intervined with real plants. The rocks are literally floating above your head and the sound effects are on point...
The highlight and my favorite ride overall is the "Flight of Passage", a ride on an Ikran! (Banshee in human language :P )
The bike-like device you sit on in a 3D environment literally inflates between your legs - the Ikran is breathing! That's as close as you can get to riding a dragon~
The Na'vi river tour was also very neat.
8. Magical Kingdom and Hollywood Studios:
When I planned the travel, Magical Kingdom was what I looked forward to a lot. After all it is the symbol of Disney and usually what we think of when referring to Disney World, I think.
Unfortunately we were a bit exhausted by the day we got to go there (more on this in #10 >w<). Still it was cool to see the castle, go onto a few rides.
The Haunted Mansion and especially the evening show Fantasmic was awesome. They used a flat sheet of water sprayed vertically in the air to project movie clips onto it. Very smart idea!
9. Disney Springs:
That is more like a shopping area (for which you need no ticket). There's an entire shop for M&Ms and one for CocaCola o.O
As well as a huuuge Disney merchandising shop. Quite crazy area.
Sadly I did not know that there's a Drone Show in the evening though.
10. Disney Resort, planning and other stuff:
Now this was my friends idea - we should get an actual Disney Resort to stay at. The Disney resorts are large, themed hotels near the park with good connection to the park. We stayed at "Art of Animation" of course in the room that fits aquaphiles best: "The Little Mermaid" room xD
More or less a coincidence that this fit tho because they way it works is, all rooms with one name/theme are in very similar configuration. The little mermaids room is made for 2 people having either a kingsize bed or two queensize. If you are more people you gotta get e.g. a "The Lion King Family Suite". https://www.disneyworld.eu/resorts/.....t/rates-rooms/
Aside of the hotel rooms themselves there was also a huge canteen and a main building with an arcade and an art-themed merchandise shop. A got quite a cool, large cup there, lol.
It was certainly cool, albeit to be fully honest, I'd probably not go with a Disney resort again unless I strike it rich xD
Yes, it was neat to have that 30 minutes early entry and the "Skylift" is bringing you to the park rather quickly, but that's about it with the benefits.
The decorations are fun, but not thaaaat much of importance to me personally. During all my city trips, I always saw the hotel as a necessity and not really part of the experience (maybe with exception of the 4-star hotel Estrel which hosted the Eurofurence back then - only got to stay there once sadly).
I made some calculations and staying at the hotel I was later at, instead, it would still have been way cheaper even accounting for generous 4 Uber rides a 20$ a day to get to the parks with a break at the hotel.
The location was not even that perfect - you had to walk on foot several minutes to the skylift and also to the breakfast hall as it was a different building.
One more thing I'd do different: Actually make proper use of the well thought out ticket offer for Disney parks. When you buy multi-day passes, e.g. for 3 days, you can use these days over a span of 5 days. Meaning you can give yourself some recreational time - and that is fricking needed >w<
Hence the title of this journal xD
We did not do that.. we filled the gaps with another park (#10) and chasing a Star Wars arcade machine that turned out to be in repairs XD
#10. Now finally to the main highlight: Discovery Cove!
It's a truly unique place. In 2017 apparently voted as the best park of the US by "USA Today" (not entirely sure how much that means, but still).
It consists of three main areas:
- Freshwater Oasis/Wind-Away river: A sweet water basin and slow lazy-river with a neat cave and some glass windows that let you look into an otter habitat.
- "The Grand Reef": A snorkeling area with an incredible amount of fish, corals and rays! Also some spadefish and probably many many other species. It was heavenly to snorkel in there! I wish I were better at going actually underwater but I'm too annoyingly buoyant >< Still it was amazing and made some incredible footage with my DJI Action 2 (an extremely compact action cam).
The fish were not scared of humans at all.. That alone was something I never experienced before.
- And of course... **The Dolphin Lagoon**!
Friend and I had booked the "Trainer for a Day" program that was in the meantime transferred into the "Ultimate Animal Experience".
Before I researched for this, I did not expect such a thing being possible on earth, let alone be affordable by a normal engineer. Besides some nice-to-have times like an hour in the snorkeling area before the park opened for other people and some photoshooting with an ant-eater and birds, this especially consisted of interactions with the dolphins... <3
They currently have 35 bottlenose dolphins in the huge area. The whole park is among other things a retirement home for former show dolphins from SeaWorld parks as well as an alternative, more calm place. Here the gorgeous cetaceans do not need to perform high speed stunts on a schedule anymore. Yet they can keep interacting with humans like they are used to most of their life if not their whole life (32 of the 35 have been born in captivity). As corona has showed, they do kinda desire that interaction to a degree... ( https://globalnews.ca/news/6973842/.....-brings-gifts/ )
First we had a backstage tour through the facilities. That huge amount of water for the very natural looking basins is being filtered entirely every two hours!
We also got to see a wall-sized whiteboard with info on every single dolphin. Each has their unique composition of fish that is updated regularly after examinations of each 'phin.
The digital age seems to not have arrived there yet tho. Guess you wont wanna handle a touch screen when you have gloves on and gotta haul fish buckets around xD
With that food plan they make sure the dolphins keep a mostly constant weight and it allows to react if they suffer of anything. The caretakers also provide them with unflavored (but colored for visibility) gelatin. The purpose is to contribute to their water supply! Just like us humans, drinking salty sea water would dehydrate them. In nature they get all their sweetwater from their food - which is why nearly all cetaceans have evolved to swallow their prey whole. Unfortunately fish does loose a certain amount of water when frozen which is why this addition is necessary in captivity.
Would be great if they could feed them live fish all the time, but guess that'd get pricey real quick since it's a fairly unique demand :(
At least it seems like they see the gelatin as a treat! The caretakers don't entirely know whether it's the texture that's so different from fish they like, or whether they actually feel it quenches thirst xD
After the backstage tour it was finally time to meet with the gorgeous swimmers face to bottlenose (okay, enough of the puns :P ).
Initially I had hoped we would go into deeper water, but at least in the waist-deep area of the large lagoon (of which there are 3), we could all focus on the dolphins instead of swimming.
They first told us about the individuals.
One of the two we interacted with was Capricorn - one of three last wild captured ones - captured 1972 and a movie star - he was "Sandy" in the movie Jaws III from 1983.
That means he is well over 52 years, probably in the realm of 60!
The other was "Prim", only ten years and born there at the Discovery Cove.
You can see a bit about their dolphins here by the way: https://www.cetabase.org/inventory/discovery-cove/
First they let us gently touch their backs. The trainer gave us clear instructions to be careful about avoiding the blowhole which is very sensitive to them.
Very obediently the cetacean swam in the shallow water along the five of us, as we formed a chain shoulder on shoulder.
Their skin feels so warm even in the reasonably warm water...
It's quite amazing that mammals function that way. Per bodymass they eat about five times as many calories as we do (e.g. 20K calories at 200Kg weight)! The swimming is surely a factor bur a major reason for that is to keep up the bodyheat that is lost to the water.
If I recall right, they next showed us their flukes and also brought attention to their dorsal fins.
The trainers said those are major ways they keep the 35 'phins apart (the first thing a new trainer gotta learn). Of course in this case that surely would not have been necessary. The elder one had so many bruises and scratches across its skin accumulated over the decades. Similar to humans, their skin looses its regeneration ability with age and thus it becomes obvious compared to the far younger one.
However, when they are of similar age, rostrum length (differs surprisingly much within the same species) and happen to not have distinct patterns on the skin, the fluke and dorsal fins are their fingerprints:
Small cuts in the skin and distinct shapes like the "median notch" which is the V-shape connecting the flukes. Except it's not the same V shape for all dolphins.
It was cool how calm the 'phins were showing us their tails xD We later got quite the demonstration how easily they can put their powerful muscles to use when they want to. The trainers accentuated how the 'phins all act voluntarily and indeed they were not always up for it, swimming a round in the area first before returning and that was fine.
The training methods they apply (also over at SeaWorld) is positive reinforcement.
I mention earlier how they are used to interacting with humans and appreciate the attention (not only the food, also the rubs and general attention via voice). Whatever the reaction from the humans is, it usually comes immediately - if it is a reward.
So when they do something right, they are rewarded with interaction and food and if they miss a cue, they receive no attention for 3 seconds.
We were supposed to count to three in our mind, not looking at them if they did something "wrong".
This was not something we saw in action at Discovery Cove as the ones we played with acted pretty much perfectly - but it happened with the Comerson's Dolphins over at Aquatica. More on that later (TODO: Number).
Yes, this has sadly not always been the preferred method. We gotta thank the outrages in the 80ies and 90ies that animal trainers (by far not only of cetaceans) have stepped away from negative training methods.
After what one could call body examination (which are what the researchers and caretakers do as well - e.g. they take blood samples when the 'phins present their flukes), the most fun part started:
Actually swimming with them! Or well.. they swimming for us? :D
We were carefully instructed where to hold onto, but it was quite like in the movies. One hand on the flipper, the other on the dorsal fin.. and gosh, 60 year old Capricorn was surely as lively as ever!
Pulled me forcefully through the water. I was a bit unsure what to do with my legs since we were told not to "ride" the dolphin obviously since the water was too shallow, yet I felt bad to let him do all the work XD
But after a few seconds I realized how futile that was and continued to just hang on and that was so fun! =D
My parents who have seen photos of this say they don't think they have ever seen me look this happy >w<
To my surprise we also got a second round - this time with Prim but her being on her back!
So she was holding her breath while pulling me with both her flippers >w<
Of course in both cases for 20 or 30 seconds at most but it was remarkable experiences.
In the end we had some photoshooting, sandwhiched between the 'phins and also them nuzzling our cheek. Admittedly that was very much led by commands. They do not act like, let's say overly friendly dogs or so with foreign people; that'd be too much to ask.
Think in total we were about 45 minutes in the water with the dolphins. A reasonable amount of time, I'd say.
It was also a really educative time as well.
Finally after a few more hours enjoying the rest of the park and watching playful otters, this concluded the most fun day of my life <3
If you do go to Discovery Cove yourself, unfortunately you will need to get the "Ultimate Animal Experience" (or guess the WIP experience if you are actually rich xD) since at least according to some online opinions, the "Signature Dolphin Swim Experience" is rather short.
Surely this made this likely the most expensive day in my life, but I have not the slightest regrets~ Besides commissioning art and supporting my parents, making experiences is what I work for :)
And honestly they were at least entirely honest with pricing. Food and softdrinks were included as well as parking and lockers (*looking at you, Aquatica, charging 35$ on site for a locker no matter the duration* >: ). You knew upfront what getting the photos would cost, etc. and only one person in the "party", aka friend and me, had to pay for all our photos.
Furthermore I got 14 days of SeaWorld and Aquatica for only 40$ extra which is a fraction of getting those separately.
Speaking of the photos, the photographers knew what hey were doing! Never ever could friend and I have taken good photos like that and while I may have been able to take some nice UW shots with the DJI, especially with that one, the risk that a 'phin snatches it was real. They love to play with everything and are only given toys that are too big to swallow xD
#11. SeaWorld and Aquatica cetaceans
Phew, I can't deny it, just like I'm right now a bit exhausted from writing all this (wrote this throughout several sessions from notes during the vacation), after the Discovery Cove plus the Disney parks, I was ready to travel home - but I had 6 more days booked in Orlando! xD
For these days the fellow furry had returned to his home since the other activities weren't his cup of tea.
So I took a day and a half "off". Recharging my "more or less introverts batteries" by watching Twitch (nice to finally catch an American streamer live without jeopardizing my sleeping schedule, lol) dabbling some code and RPing with an online friend.
The next days were SeaWorld and Aquatica. It was awesome to see the shows even if I do have to wonder if the dolphins truly enjoy those high speed actions they do. They do high speed in nature for hunting which they don't have to do there - that's the trade they have involuntarily made.
All in all I don't think the world would be a better place without captive dolphins though. It is the best way to remind people of the beauty of nature out there.
Real experiences are always better than documentaries or VR experiences (at least for the time being) and they inspire us to care about the real nature out there as well.
Meeting the two young Belugas was really cool. Had a short backstage tour with them as well and I felt like they were actually paying more direct attention to me than the dolphins at Discovery Cove xD
Of course that was far shorter and not in the water (you wouldn't wanna be in their arctic water anyways ._.' )
Over at Aquatica I got to meet the Commerson's Dolphins. That was actually not even advertised as a backstage tour (two were honestly enough for me), they just said "close up".
We were actually taken through the facility though and by crouching at their basin, even got to touch pet them. They were sooo cute!
In case you don't know Commerson's, they are way way smaller: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comme.....on%27s_dolphin
And they were also a bit more active than the Bottlenoses. Partially because of the smaller size which means more agility, but as we were taught by a really knowledgeable trainer, also because unlike their larger distant relatives, they are not near the top of the food chain. So they exhibit a bit of a territorial behavior and have to roam through their basin every few minutes to check that everything is in order.
Was fascinating to watch them. Their basin is also a special one. Since they do not try to eat or kill every fish around them (what Bottlenoses unfortunately do because they see larger fish as competition), they were actually held together with whole swarms of fish.
I've spent think two days total at SeaWorld. Cetaceans were of course not everything they had. The
SeaWorld Rescue Center had manatees and turtles who had been in trouble one way or another which are now being cared for. Of course also many, many other animals. There was also the by far most impressive penguin enclosure I had ever been at. .. I can't do all of that justice by writing >w<'
#12. SeaWorld rides
Animals are not everything even at SeaWorld. Giftsshops were at every corner, lol. But also roller coasters.
I was reminded of how I was at a classic entertainment park in Span as an early teen and I chickened out of all the rougher rides.
Later in life I never really cared, but here I thought I should learn my limits!
So I went onto the "Mako" as well as the "surf coaster" Pipeline. Certainly got my heart beating but no issues with keeping the food in or nausea. Will I hunt down more roller coasters in the future? Maybe, it's still not a must-do for me (especially if it means >30 min waiting), but reasonable fun. xP
#13. Aquatica waterpark
Besides the blurry water near Space Coast, Aquatica waterpark was probably the only disappointment of my trip.
I mean there were cool pools and stuff, but a place only a few dozen miles from where I live is cooler.
At Aquatica they have a waterslide that goes with a transparent tube through the Comerson's enclosure. That really is an idea that's better on paper than in practice. Splashing water doesn't let you see anything and even if you were to go with goggles, good luck spotting something in 1.5 seconds sliding through that tube xD
#14. Titanic Artifact Museum, Madame Tussauds and SeaLife
Three final stops were on my agenda.
The Titanic museum with a tour was very impressive and inspiring. They had a wall of ice there which supposedly was almost as cold as the water in the night of when the ship sank. The tourguide challenged us to touch it for 15 seconds. I made it, but... ouchy...
Madame Tussauds was cool albeit not my first experience by that since I had opportunity to go to the way more extensive original in London last year.
Certainly a must-see if you can't make it to Europe though.
Finally SeaLife was okay. It was inside the city thus smaller than e.g. the one I know at Lake Constance but at the aquariums with axolotl were really cool and so were the coral growing stations.
I remember how as a kid I was sad and worried to hear that we humans have not figured out how to grow corals. That seems to have changed.
**Other random topics:**
# Food
Of course besides the general culture and entertainment parks I also wanted to try out American cuisine. Gotta say except for one particular breakfast restaurant in Orlando where every was somehow tasting bland, all experiences were great!
Maybe it's not too surprising because we really are conditioned for American style food over here in Europe xD
An unexpected highlight was at the visitor restaurant/canteen at the space center. The dish was called "French Dip Sandwich".
I've been to France and it's definitely not something you typically find there though, lol. Turns out it's from LA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_dip
Was delicious though and I've found two spots in my home city that offers it too; gotta try some day.
Pancakes at a good breakfast restaurant were also awesome! Kinda like them more than crépes that are common here tbh.
Less American but certainly highlights were the two Japanese restaurants we were at. One had a grill directly in the table where the food was prepared and the other one had great Ramen and "fried cheesecake" OwO
Of course I also had to go to McDonalds - for comparison xP Apparently the German version of the "quarter pounder" is meant to be the Royal TS and Royal Cheese, but no they are not the same. The meat of the Quarter Pounder was smaller in diameter but thicker and overall way juicier!
Maybe it was because it was a late evening and I was very hungry but I found it better than what I'm used to at home.
Also had Wendy's and Taco Bell - those are like "meme food" to me because I only know them from internet memes xD
The dishes were okay, but not something I'd really seek out. While I do go to McDonalds at least once every two weeks, I can't say that I'm seeking out other chains that often.
Speaking of meme food, of course I had to try *sings in way too bright voice* **hot pockets** ;D
An add for that was one of the first things playing as soon as I went online with US IP adress, haha. Luckily the hotel at the beach had a microwave in the room!
Yummy, I can see myself getting those if they were available here. Wonder why they aren't since other Nestlé brands/products are quite common.
One more thing I noticed, food at stores is relatively expensive. Some things even very. E.g. a liter of milk was $2.20 at Publix.
In Germany you get milk for 90ct.
A mixed package with a few hundred grams (maybe half a pound) of different sliced sausage were 12$. I'm fairly sure that would not have been more than the equivalent of 6$ in Germany.
What I wish we had over here though was the really huge selection of premade meal components!
You do find various premade meal kits here too (usually not really good quality) but I have hardly ever seen just mashed potatoes or Mac'nCheese let alone a whole number of brands to pick from. Albeit.. maybe I should not wish those to be a thing here or I would be cooking healthily myself even less often X3
As for actually missing any food items from home - yes, but not what is expected from Germans, which is bread (it's something a friend of mine even confirmed that he missed the selection of breads when he visited the US). Actually I discovered "blueberry bagels" and am frustrated that I cannot find those here :(
What I was missing instead was sparkling water o.O If you go into any German supermarket at least 50% of all water brands/offers are sparkling (in two degrees).
In Florida I had to actively search and often it was only tiny bottles and one or two brands.
At ANY restaurant here if you ask for "water", you will either be served sparkling or will be asked whether sparkling or not. In the US I asked for sparkling and guess the waiter didn't hear it xD Maybe such have said club soda (which is a brand) so it's more clear, but it's likely they didn't have any.
Fascinating how there's such a difference.
# Public Transport and Uber:
Public transport really is kinda suboptimal. As much as we Germans like to complain about delays of the "Deutsche Bahn", at least there's a well frequented and dense chain of public transport quite literally everywhere (and I'm using it daily as I own no car).
My first drive with a bus was already a suboptimal one. Two people who likely didn't know each other and who were from different ethnicities got into a loud dispute. The bus driver was literally threatening to kick them out of the bus ._.
Those were not teens but grown ass men.. what the hell. I did not feel unsafe from that, but it was just ridiculous.
Also the fact that the bus drives a circle in only one direction is practically unheard of in Germany as it results in the way in one direction potentially being way quicker than the reverse.
Soon I got to use Uber, something I thought was actually not available at home but turns out it is.
Very convenient service and an acceptable price compared to taxi drivers. I know controversies around that since they don't have the same insurance etc. but the system seems to work...
Was amazed how quick there was a driver nearby.
# Safety
I had heard of things like "open carry" (which is not as much of a thing in Florida tho) which would have psychologically made me unsafe. But I have not seen a single gun except for the guards at the airport and other police officers and guards.
Except for the first few times crossing the road on those slightly different approaches at crossways, I can say I had no unsafe feeling on my trip at all.
Guess it helps that I'm just a normal looking white ._.'
Albeit my voice definitely gave me away as a tourist and as a German even since two people actually noticed immediately xD (one of them being an aquatic performer at SeaWorld who emigrated from Germany 20 years ago. Was quite cool.)
# Disney Vacation Club
Since my friend was reasonably interested, we had an info tour at a higher class resort about "Disney Vacation Club". Quite an unusual approach and am not quite sure whether I'd deem worth it, but it's a thing.
Somewhat inspired by timeshares. You buy a small fraction of a Disney Resort which is then represented as annual "points". You get fresh points every year for a predetermined time that's related to the lifetime of the resort. That can be up to 50 years!
Then you can spend those points for nights at ANY of the Disney Resorts, not only the only you bought yourself into.
It is pricey though and personally I'd feel too constricted by my hotel choice if I had such a thing. I wanna see the world with liberty.
Yet if you already have a house, car and retirement provision, I suppose it makes sense to put that as the next goal to buy. Don't forget the annual running cost of having that share though...
I'm still not even having a house and it doesn't make much sense for Europeans anyways xD
# Trying on a monofin!
On an entirely different topic and sadly a bit of a disappointing one. I brought with me a monofin as well as a lycra mermaid tail >w< (exactly one like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=d.....mmw&sns=em )
Public pools at home don't allow that and lakes are usually too cold. Thought this is my chance especially since it's not crowded at all - I would have been too shy in Italy among the masses of people.
Sadly the Florida coast didn't have what the Italian one usual has: Piers!
Putting on the monofin while being tossed around by the waves was a serious struggle. Not the slightest chance to have done that while also having the fabric of the tail on :(
At least I got to swim a bit with the monofin. Hard to tell whether I'd call it fun because obviously I had no prior exercise xD
Couldn't even take meaningful photos tho because of blurry water, lol.
Welp, I've tried ._.
I do plan to try again in high summer at Lake Constance though. That might work out.
# Tipping and service
Tipping in the US is expected to be higher than in Germany. I won't say much about that since there's enough online of why that's the case etc.
However what I do gotta say though is that service is certainly friendlier than what I'm used to. Paying more attention to you and ask whether everything is fine.
Albeit occasionally maybe too much as one time I was being offered another drink while the current one was only half empty xD
Got to experience packing service at some shops albeit something was a bit strange. In all places they had those EXTREMELY thin bags I had never seen before. And so when I got something slightly heavier like water bottles, they were using three on top of each other...
That brings me to the next point:
# Plastic
Oneway plastic stuff everywhere :/
At any visitor restaurant/canteen, McDonalds, hotel breakfast etc. Cuttlery, straws and cup lids were plastic. As mentioned, also the shopping bags were plastic with paper bags not even being offered as far as I saw. Good that I had some fabric bag with me.
I honestly was a bit disappointed about Disney in that regard. A company that claims to care much about the future of our children could really signal something by reducing plastic.
Hell if most of Europe managed to, it can't be "that" hard.
Hence McDonalds got rid of plastic here. Could they not have extended the supply chain efficiently to the US?
This unfortunately shows that change towards environmental care does not happen on its own with a fully free market. Governments need to take control.
I am proud of what the EU has achieved for us in this regard.
# Patriotism
That brings me to the topic of patriotism albeit I really don't have to say much. Think internet memes exaggerate a bit regarding Americans and their country.
Yes, there were US flags in many many places but that's it. I did not feel singled out by that fact or anything like that though.
Also luckily did not have any obvious interactions with MAGA supporters (not that I'd have started political discussions myself).
# English
All in all despite my weak hearing, I had not too much trouble understanding people. Especially all presenters at backstage tours and shows were having a clear voice and were using no regional words.
Only troubles I experienced were with my friend when we were both very tired or when he expected me to know american-only brands, games and other stuff like that xD
Occasionally there were new words for me since clearly there is a difference in vocabulary between what you speak in a business environment, what you write online, and what you speak in actual "every day real life". Naturally I only had experience with the former two (but many years of those). It was a neat to gather at least a bit of that "rl experience".
As for any Floridian accent or slang, I did not notice much. The English sounded to me the same like in American movies or by a streamer from the east coast. I may just not be good at hearing out the nuances though.
In every case I had no embarrassing incidents like in France or Italy where I was struggling to request what I wanted in a store X3
Or even like in England where a cashier was offering me a BUG... since "bag" is pronounced like that in British English apparently...
**Future Plans!**
Soo, for the very near future I don't really have traveling plans. I did save for almost a year for this trip (and by that I mean not adding money to long term savings for buying a house one far day) so I probably shouldn't do it too often.
I have the dream to see Singapore at some point (way shorter trip tho), maybe that's next...
Yet am quite sure some day in my life I'll return to Discovery Cove. It truly is an unique place...
Also gotta try out "SeaVenture" there where you dive with an air helmet!
There is certainly more of Disney to see as well. Checking out the Disney waterparks but that time hopefully swimming at the Florida Keys instead.
I do wonder where I could go to see another mermaid show though. Those are really hard to find.
Notes on what to prepare better in the future:
- Cable-bound headphones for the plane
- Actually watertight mini-spray with sun lotion! (having a small bottle of sprayable sun lotion was really really practical but it leaked twice in my pants >: )
- Cloth-sets separated as sets (e.g. everything for day 1-5, then 6-10 etc.), instead of by type. (that had been dumb of me and resulted in quite a mess among clothes on such a long trip)
- Plane seats on the side seem to have more space than the ones in the middle. So always reserve a seat. (I did only reserve on the initial flight and not the return flight and noticed a difference).
- Bring at least a pair of cargo shorts or similar that has solid zippers. On the roller coasters I was more afraid of dropping something than of an accident or nausea xD
Phew, Kudos to you if you have even skimmed over all this :P
Tl;dr: Had a lot of fun in Florida, visiting DisneyWorld and swam with dolphins =D
Feel free to ignore this journal; there's no really important info here xP
It's just me rambling about my vacation in the US.
Effectively it's a diary so I remember my impressions better years in the future. I thought why not share it~
Tho I did not expect this to become 8000 words long...
Soo, this was my first ever trip to the United States. Living in Germany I've visited many places in the EU; London, Dublin, Paris, Pisa (and multiple beach locations in Italy), Barcelona, Prague and Timisoara (due to relatives). Would say traveling is my major hobby besides software development, art commissioning and roleplaying.
This however was the first time leaving the continent!
The destination was Florida and that was semi coincidental. I definitely wanted to go somewhere with a beach, having been missing the ocean.
So it came in handy that one of my oldest furry friends is a Floridian and even living close to the beach.
Flights to the US are expensive though - especially when it shall be a direct flight because I was a bit afraid of troubles from changing planes. Therefore I quickly decided if I go for such a trip, I should make the very best of it, not just stay in one location.
I am a moderate Disney fan and thus Disney World (Orlando) was a great second destination. And it turned out there are even more amazing things in that city. An incredible one even... More on that later.
Had it been just myself, I probably would have invested just one or two days into Disney, but I would have regretted that approach - luckily my friend who grew up in driving distance to Disney convinced me to do more >w<
**Anyways, one after another:**
1. Customs and arrival:
Gosh was I nervous and paranoid >_< Not because of the flight (albeit almost 10h in a plane were a tad tedious), I certainly had an internet-overdose of horror stories of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That they would be investigating all your luggage, going through your phone and laptop and/or sending you back home...
I even uninstalled Telegram off my devices juuuust in case that somehow makes me suspicious.
What actually happened was that they didn't even look at the "Form 6059B Customs Declaration" I thought I needed. The guy behind a glass window scanned my fingerprints and during that, asked three questions about my job and where I had been in the last 5 years. Afterwards the gate opened and that was it.
Been greeted with a sort of celebration music on the other side o.o' Quite the thing they put up there to make you feel "you made it into the USA, hooray" I guess xD
The rest of the airport was pleasant.. until I left it for the first time.
ORLANDO IS HOT! XD
Seriously, it probably would not be such a surprise if the buildings were not heavily A.C. cooled but as the first impression of stepping out was like how I imagine it to be to step into a dessert - just way more humid, I guess.
2. The east-coast beach:
Said friend was so kind to pick me up from the airport. Wasn't easy to find each other with how large the airport is but eventually we worked it out.
The little beach motel I stayed at was neat. It was some distance beneath the Space Coast.
Finally got to see the sea!
Having arrived well after dark, I went right the next morning out to walk along the water and then jump in.
The area felt way different from Italy where beaches are usually very crowded anywhere where there are hotels.
In Italy there are usually ~2 streets parallel to the beach full of multi-story hotels.
In that region of Florida it's just occasional hotels/motels and a bunch of single-story condominiums (the first new word I had to learn on this trip, lol).
The result was a wonderful free beach to swim at hearts contents without bumping into other people.
I did have one annoying incident where I almost got into two fishers long-distance lines, but that was the only time I saw them.
Two things I noticed was: The water somehow does not smell "like salty sea" as I remember from Italy. That may be just me not remembering so well; not sure. And secondly, the water was very blurry. I did not think to ask my friend beforehand about such a thing xD It's sadly not a snorkeling location, for which I heard Florida to be famous for. Turns out you rather gotta head down to the keys for that. That said, I did have the most incredible snorkeling experience on this trip anyways - more on that later~
All in all the beach time was relaxing. There was some interesting ice cream available as well as breakfast restaurants and of course I went onto two short trips.
3. Kennedy Space Center (visitor complex):
Being in driving distance from where NASA, SpaceX and others launch their rockets that was of course a must-see location.
Friend and I drove there for quite an impressive day. They had a really cool recreation of the launch sequence of the Saturn V for the Apollo 8 mission and of course the Saturn V and many other rockets.
https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.....aturn-v-rocket
Being someone who finds robots fascinating, think my favorite were the Mars rovers. They had Pathfinder, Opportunity, Curiosity as well as Perseverance together with its cute helicopter (Ingenuity) which I would have missed if my friend did not point out that it was of course suspended in the air above us X3
They also had this.. thing: https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.....oncept-vehicle
Honestly that belongs to Power Rangers, not on Mars xD The vehicle from The Martian was way more realistic and they had a similar one near the rovers actually.
What I did realize only afterwards was that we somehow missed the building where the Space Shuttle (Atlantis) could be seen. Oh well, there may be another opportunity.
However it was a really cool day!
4. Boat trip on the Indian River:
That was not so super spectacular and the boat had no sun cover. Were of course looking for dolphins and we did see I think two peeking their heads out as well as some dorsal fins. Unfortunately I cannot really say that I felt close to nature through that trip. No manatees either :(
Watching rays swim right beneath the surface was cool though.
5. Weeki Wachee!!
Of course a major point to go to Florida was the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park - the place where mermaid shows were founded!
It was a very hot day and we didn't take swimwear, so we were only there for the mermaid shows.
It was quite fascinating to watch, albeit I do gotta say a bit that videos I've seen online of mermaid performers were a bit more impressive >w<'
The water was a little bit blurry (because it's natural river water, I think) and the girls were hardly freediving. Probably 20 seconds at most on occasions. Most of the time they had the hoses in their mouths. Plus the tails, quite qualitative, were fabric, not silicone.
Still they were moving very gracefully and performed a neat adaption of the original Little Mermaid folklore.
Additionally we also witnessed a training session of the mermaid performers. Was fascinating to hear how an instructor was telling the less experienced performers things like where the hose was when they dropped it for a short stunt.
All in all it was an awesome place and certainly cool to have this opportunity to see true mermaid performers <3
Little hint if you every plan to go: Do so during the week and come early. Their app was notifying me later on the weekend multiple times that the "park is at capacity" and thus are not letting people in anymore. There are no reservations or even online tickets.
Entry is cheap though (12$) - that was probably the cheapest event of my whole vacation, lol.
6. Disney World - EPCOT
After Weeki Wachee (at the west coast), friend and I did not return to the east coast but to the Disney Resort in Orlando. More on the resort later.
This is where my friend was shining, knowing those parks like his home XD
EPCOT was the first day. I vaguely had heard of it before, but I genuinely had no clue of the whole backstory.
The acronym stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" and was meant to be a futuristic place to live. This did not quite pan out and so they turned it into an entertainment park that celebrates cultures/people and.. life you could say.
Around a gorgeous lake are installations for many different countries including Japan, Germany, Canada etc.
Each of them incredibly unique. There's also various country-typical food available. Japan had a great, slightly higher level restaurant where we had our food cooked on a plate right in the middle of the table.
Of course all Disney themed - the chef made a 3D Mickey head out of onion rings and had it blow steam xD
The German area of EPCOT was of course more like Bavaria. Pretzels, huge beer "Stein" etc. - like most "German culture" is seen in other countries and movies. This video will tell you more about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgxGQct-Yao (and on top of that, the Bavarian ministry apparently purposeful scattered their culture across the world xD )
The "land and sea" areas on the other hand had a series of neat aquariums as well as green houses. They were growing crops vertically in there (and in sand) and you could visit that via a boat.
The Guardians of the Galaxy ride was really cool and my favorite roller coaster of all Disney World. I also dared to go to Space Mountain but while I wasn't at risk of loosing my food, it rocked me in the seat till it hurt and the light effects weren't my thing.
Finally another highlight was the fireworks and music show in the evening: Luminous - The Symphony of Us.
I would not have thought it possible that open space can achieve such good sound. They have some remarkable tech there.
Disney is probably singlehandedly financing a whole fireworks factory xD And I do feel a bit suboptimal regarding the environmental effect of that, but it was cool to watch/hear. Interestingly, they actually do work without gunpowder now: https://www.breeze-technologies.de/.....eir-fireworks/
7. Disney World - Animal Kingdom
No doubt this was my favorite of the Disney parks!
Call me uneducated but until my friend mentioned it at some point weeks earlier, I had no clue Animal Kingdom had.. well, real animals. I imagined mechatronic recreations and shows of various animals from Disney Cartoons xD
The safari (traveling in an huge rail-less truck with about 20 seats) was quite unique and the animal enclosures were probably greater than most zoos.
People knowing me well can probably guess another reason for loving Animal Kingdom: Pandora and the Valley of Mi'ara, I mean Mo'ara! (yep that's literally the name xD )
Absolutely incredible what they did there!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C-edbqVKbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpVMWo8wwRU
The alien plants look so real and are well intervined with real plants. The rocks are literally floating above your head and the sound effects are on point...
The highlight and my favorite ride overall is the "Flight of Passage", a ride on an Ikran! (Banshee in human language :P )
The bike-like device you sit on in a 3D environment literally inflates between your legs - the Ikran is breathing! That's as close as you can get to riding a dragon~
The Na'vi river tour was also very neat.
8. Magical Kingdom and Hollywood Studios:
When I planned the travel, Magical Kingdom was what I looked forward to a lot. After all it is the symbol of Disney and usually what we think of when referring to Disney World, I think.
Unfortunately we were a bit exhausted by the day we got to go there (more on this in #10 >w<). Still it was cool to see the castle, go onto a few rides.
The Haunted Mansion and especially the evening show Fantasmic was awesome. They used a flat sheet of water sprayed vertically in the air to project movie clips onto it. Very smart idea!
9. Disney Springs:
That is more like a shopping area (for which you need no ticket). There's an entire shop for M&Ms and one for CocaCola o.O
As well as a huuuge Disney merchandising shop. Quite crazy area.
Sadly I did not know that there's a Drone Show in the evening though.
10. Disney Resort, planning and other stuff:
Now this was my friends idea - we should get an actual Disney Resort to stay at. The Disney resorts are large, themed hotels near the park with good connection to the park. We stayed at "Art of Animation" of course in the room that fits aquaphiles best: "The Little Mermaid" room xD
More or less a coincidence that this fit tho because they way it works is, all rooms with one name/theme are in very similar configuration. The little mermaids room is made for 2 people having either a kingsize bed or two queensize. If you are more people you gotta get e.g. a "The Lion King Family Suite". https://www.disneyworld.eu/resorts/.....t/rates-rooms/
Aside of the hotel rooms themselves there was also a huge canteen and a main building with an arcade and an art-themed merchandise shop. A got quite a cool, large cup there, lol.
It was certainly cool, albeit to be fully honest, I'd probably not go with a Disney resort again unless I strike it rich xD
Yes, it was neat to have that 30 minutes early entry and the "Skylift" is bringing you to the park rather quickly, but that's about it with the benefits.
The decorations are fun, but not thaaaat much of importance to me personally. During all my city trips, I always saw the hotel as a necessity and not really part of the experience (maybe with exception of the 4-star hotel Estrel which hosted the Eurofurence back then - only got to stay there once sadly).
I made some calculations and staying at the hotel I was later at, instead, it would still have been way cheaper even accounting for generous 4 Uber rides a 20$ a day to get to the parks with a break at the hotel.
The location was not even that perfect - you had to walk on foot several minutes to the skylift and also to the breakfast hall as it was a different building.
One more thing I'd do different: Actually make proper use of the well thought out ticket offer for Disney parks. When you buy multi-day passes, e.g. for 3 days, you can use these days over a span of 5 days. Meaning you can give yourself some recreational time - and that is fricking needed >w<
Hence the title of this journal xD
We did not do that.. we filled the gaps with another park (#10) and chasing a Star Wars arcade machine that turned out to be in repairs XD
#10. Now finally to the main highlight: Discovery Cove!
It's a truly unique place. In 2017 apparently voted as the best park of the US by "USA Today" (not entirely sure how much that means, but still).
It consists of three main areas:
- Freshwater Oasis/Wind-Away river: A sweet water basin and slow lazy-river with a neat cave and some glass windows that let you look into an otter habitat.
- "The Grand Reef": A snorkeling area with an incredible amount of fish, corals and rays! Also some spadefish and probably many many other species. It was heavenly to snorkel in there! I wish I were better at going actually underwater but I'm too annoyingly buoyant >< Still it was amazing and made some incredible footage with my DJI Action 2 (an extremely compact action cam).
The fish were not scared of humans at all.. That alone was something I never experienced before.
- And of course... **The Dolphin Lagoon**!
Friend and I had booked the "Trainer for a Day" program that was in the meantime transferred into the "Ultimate Animal Experience".
Before I researched for this, I did not expect such a thing being possible on earth, let alone be affordable by a normal engineer. Besides some nice-to-have times like an hour in the snorkeling area before the park opened for other people and some photoshooting with an ant-eater and birds, this especially consisted of interactions with the dolphins... <3
They currently have 35 bottlenose dolphins in the huge area. The whole park is among other things a retirement home for former show dolphins from SeaWorld parks as well as an alternative, more calm place. Here the gorgeous cetaceans do not need to perform high speed stunts on a schedule anymore. Yet they can keep interacting with humans like they are used to most of their life if not their whole life (32 of the 35 have been born in captivity). As corona has showed, they do kinda desire that interaction to a degree... ( https://globalnews.ca/news/6973842/.....-brings-gifts/ )
First we had a backstage tour through the facilities. That huge amount of water for the very natural looking basins is being filtered entirely every two hours!
We also got to see a wall-sized whiteboard with info on every single dolphin. Each has their unique composition of fish that is updated regularly after examinations of each 'phin.
The digital age seems to not have arrived there yet tho. Guess you wont wanna handle a touch screen when you have gloves on and gotta haul fish buckets around xD
With that food plan they make sure the dolphins keep a mostly constant weight and it allows to react if they suffer of anything. The caretakers also provide them with unflavored (but colored for visibility) gelatin. The purpose is to contribute to their water supply! Just like us humans, drinking salty sea water would dehydrate them. In nature they get all their sweetwater from their food - which is why nearly all cetaceans have evolved to swallow their prey whole. Unfortunately fish does loose a certain amount of water when frozen which is why this addition is necessary in captivity.
Would be great if they could feed them live fish all the time, but guess that'd get pricey real quick since it's a fairly unique demand :(
At least it seems like they see the gelatin as a treat! The caretakers don't entirely know whether it's the texture that's so different from fish they like, or whether they actually feel it quenches thirst xD
After the backstage tour it was finally time to meet with the gorgeous swimmers face to bottlenose (okay, enough of the puns :P ).
Initially I had hoped we would go into deeper water, but at least in the waist-deep area of the large lagoon (of which there are 3), we could all focus on the dolphins instead of swimming.
They first told us about the individuals.
One of the two we interacted with was Capricorn - one of three last wild captured ones - captured 1972 and a movie star - he was "Sandy" in the movie Jaws III from 1983.
That means he is well over 52 years, probably in the realm of 60!
The other was "Prim", only ten years and born there at the Discovery Cove.
You can see a bit about their dolphins here by the way: https://www.cetabase.org/inventory/discovery-cove/
First they let us gently touch their backs. The trainer gave us clear instructions to be careful about avoiding the blowhole which is very sensitive to them.
Very obediently the cetacean swam in the shallow water along the five of us, as we formed a chain shoulder on shoulder.
Their skin feels so warm even in the reasonably warm water...
It's quite amazing that mammals function that way. Per bodymass they eat about five times as many calories as we do (e.g. 20K calories at 200Kg weight)! The swimming is surely a factor bur a major reason for that is to keep up the bodyheat that is lost to the water.
If I recall right, they next showed us their flukes and also brought attention to their dorsal fins.
The trainers said those are major ways they keep the 35 'phins apart (the first thing a new trainer gotta learn). Of course in this case that surely would not have been necessary. The elder one had so many bruises and scratches across its skin accumulated over the decades. Similar to humans, their skin looses its regeneration ability with age and thus it becomes obvious compared to the far younger one.
However, when they are of similar age, rostrum length (differs surprisingly much within the same species) and happen to not have distinct patterns on the skin, the fluke and dorsal fins are their fingerprints:
Small cuts in the skin and distinct shapes like the "median notch" which is the V-shape connecting the flukes. Except it's not the same V shape for all dolphins.
It was cool how calm the 'phins were showing us their tails xD We later got quite the demonstration how easily they can put their powerful muscles to use when they want to. The trainers accentuated how the 'phins all act voluntarily and indeed they were not always up for it, swimming a round in the area first before returning and that was fine.
The training methods they apply (also over at SeaWorld) is positive reinforcement.
I mention earlier how they are used to interacting with humans and appreciate the attention (not only the food, also the rubs and general attention via voice). Whatever the reaction from the humans is, it usually comes immediately - if it is a reward.
So when they do something right, they are rewarded with interaction and food and if they miss a cue, they receive no attention for 3 seconds.
We were supposed to count to three in our mind, not looking at them if they did something "wrong".
This was not something we saw in action at Discovery Cove as the ones we played with acted pretty much perfectly - but it happened with the Comerson's Dolphins over at Aquatica. More on that later (TODO: Number).
Yes, this has sadly not always been the preferred method. We gotta thank the outrages in the 80ies and 90ies that animal trainers (by far not only of cetaceans) have stepped away from negative training methods.
After what one could call body examination (which are what the researchers and caretakers do as well - e.g. they take blood samples when the 'phins present their flukes), the most fun part started:
Actually swimming with them! Or well.. they swimming for us? :D
We were carefully instructed where to hold onto, but it was quite like in the movies. One hand on the flipper, the other on the dorsal fin.. and gosh, 60 year old Capricorn was surely as lively as ever!
Pulled me forcefully through the water. I was a bit unsure what to do with my legs since we were told not to "ride" the dolphin obviously since the water was too shallow, yet I felt bad to let him do all the work XD
But after a few seconds I realized how futile that was and continued to just hang on and that was so fun! =D
My parents who have seen photos of this say they don't think they have ever seen me look this happy >w<
To my surprise we also got a second round - this time with Prim but her being on her back!
So she was holding her breath while pulling me with both her flippers >w<
Of course in both cases for 20 or 30 seconds at most but it was remarkable experiences.
In the end we had some photoshooting, sandwhiched between the 'phins and also them nuzzling our cheek. Admittedly that was very much led by commands. They do not act like, let's say overly friendly dogs or so with foreign people; that'd be too much to ask.
Think in total we were about 45 minutes in the water with the dolphins. A reasonable amount of time, I'd say.
It was also a really educative time as well.
Finally after a few more hours enjoying the rest of the park and watching playful otters, this concluded the most fun day of my life <3
If you do go to Discovery Cove yourself, unfortunately you will need to get the "Ultimate Animal Experience" (or guess the WIP experience if you are actually rich xD) since at least according to some online opinions, the "Signature Dolphin Swim Experience" is rather short.
Surely this made this likely the most expensive day in my life, but I have not the slightest regrets~ Besides commissioning art and supporting my parents, making experiences is what I work for :)
And honestly they were at least entirely honest with pricing. Food and softdrinks were included as well as parking and lockers (*looking at you, Aquatica, charging 35$ on site for a locker no matter the duration* >: ). You knew upfront what getting the photos would cost, etc. and only one person in the "party", aka friend and me, had to pay for all our photos.
Furthermore I got 14 days of SeaWorld and Aquatica for only 40$ extra which is a fraction of getting those separately.
Speaking of the photos, the photographers knew what hey were doing! Never ever could friend and I have taken good photos like that and while I may have been able to take some nice UW shots with the DJI, especially with that one, the risk that a 'phin snatches it was real. They love to play with everything and are only given toys that are too big to swallow xD
#11. SeaWorld and Aquatica cetaceans
Phew, I can't deny it, just like I'm right now a bit exhausted from writing all this (wrote this throughout several sessions from notes during the vacation), after the Discovery Cove plus the Disney parks, I was ready to travel home - but I had 6 more days booked in Orlando! xD
For these days the fellow furry had returned to his home since the other activities weren't his cup of tea.
So I took a day and a half "off". Recharging my "more or less introverts batteries" by watching Twitch (nice to finally catch an American streamer live without jeopardizing my sleeping schedule, lol) dabbling some code and RPing with an online friend.
The next days were SeaWorld and Aquatica. It was awesome to see the shows even if I do have to wonder if the dolphins truly enjoy those high speed actions they do. They do high speed in nature for hunting which they don't have to do there - that's the trade they have involuntarily made.
All in all I don't think the world would be a better place without captive dolphins though. It is the best way to remind people of the beauty of nature out there.
Real experiences are always better than documentaries or VR experiences (at least for the time being) and they inspire us to care about the real nature out there as well.
Meeting the two young Belugas was really cool. Had a short backstage tour with them as well and I felt like they were actually paying more direct attention to me than the dolphins at Discovery Cove xD
Of course that was far shorter and not in the water (you wouldn't wanna be in their arctic water anyways ._.' )
Over at Aquatica I got to meet the Commerson's Dolphins. That was actually not even advertised as a backstage tour (two were honestly enough for me), they just said "close up".
We were actually taken through the facility though and by crouching at their basin, even got to touch pet them. They were sooo cute!
In case you don't know Commerson's, they are way way smaller: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comme.....on%27s_dolphin
And they were also a bit more active than the Bottlenoses. Partially because of the smaller size which means more agility, but as we were taught by a really knowledgeable trainer, also because unlike their larger distant relatives, they are not near the top of the food chain. So they exhibit a bit of a territorial behavior and have to roam through their basin every few minutes to check that everything is in order.
Was fascinating to watch them. Their basin is also a special one. Since they do not try to eat or kill every fish around them (what Bottlenoses unfortunately do because they see larger fish as competition), they were actually held together with whole swarms of fish.
I've spent think two days total at SeaWorld. Cetaceans were of course not everything they had. The
SeaWorld Rescue Center had manatees and turtles who had been in trouble one way or another which are now being cared for. Of course also many, many other animals. There was also the by far most impressive penguin enclosure I had ever been at. .. I can't do all of that justice by writing >w<'
#12. SeaWorld rides
Animals are not everything even at SeaWorld. Giftsshops were at every corner, lol. But also roller coasters.
I was reminded of how I was at a classic entertainment park in Span as an early teen and I chickened out of all the rougher rides.
Later in life I never really cared, but here I thought I should learn my limits!
So I went onto the "Mako" as well as the "surf coaster" Pipeline. Certainly got my heart beating but no issues with keeping the food in or nausea. Will I hunt down more roller coasters in the future? Maybe, it's still not a must-do for me (especially if it means >30 min waiting), but reasonable fun. xP
#13. Aquatica waterpark
Besides the blurry water near Space Coast, Aquatica waterpark was probably the only disappointment of my trip.
I mean there were cool pools and stuff, but a place only a few dozen miles from where I live is cooler.
At Aquatica they have a waterslide that goes with a transparent tube through the Comerson's enclosure. That really is an idea that's better on paper than in practice. Splashing water doesn't let you see anything and even if you were to go with goggles, good luck spotting something in 1.5 seconds sliding through that tube xD
#14. Titanic Artifact Museum, Madame Tussauds and SeaLife
Three final stops were on my agenda.
The Titanic museum with a tour was very impressive and inspiring. They had a wall of ice there which supposedly was almost as cold as the water in the night of when the ship sank. The tourguide challenged us to touch it for 15 seconds. I made it, but... ouchy...
Madame Tussauds was cool albeit not my first experience by that since I had opportunity to go to the way more extensive original in London last year.
Certainly a must-see if you can't make it to Europe though.
Finally SeaLife was okay. It was inside the city thus smaller than e.g. the one I know at Lake Constance but at the aquariums with axolotl were really cool and so were the coral growing stations.
I remember how as a kid I was sad and worried to hear that we humans have not figured out how to grow corals. That seems to have changed.
**Other random topics:**
# Food
Of course besides the general culture and entertainment parks I also wanted to try out American cuisine. Gotta say except for one particular breakfast restaurant in Orlando where every was somehow tasting bland, all experiences were great!
Maybe it's not too surprising because we really are conditioned for American style food over here in Europe xD
An unexpected highlight was at the visitor restaurant/canteen at the space center. The dish was called "French Dip Sandwich".
I've been to France and it's definitely not something you typically find there though, lol. Turns out it's from LA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_dip
Was delicious though and I've found two spots in my home city that offers it too; gotta try some day.
Pancakes at a good breakfast restaurant were also awesome! Kinda like them more than crépes that are common here tbh.
Less American but certainly highlights were the two Japanese restaurants we were at. One had a grill directly in the table where the food was prepared and the other one had great Ramen and "fried cheesecake" OwO
Of course I also had to go to McDonalds - for comparison xP Apparently the German version of the "quarter pounder" is meant to be the Royal TS and Royal Cheese, but no they are not the same. The meat of the Quarter Pounder was smaller in diameter but thicker and overall way juicier!
Maybe it was because it was a late evening and I was very hungry but I found it better than what I'm used to at home.
Also had Wendy's and Taco Bell - those are like "meme food" to me because I only know them from internet memes xD
The dishes were okay, but not something I'd really seek out. While I do go to McDonalds at least once every two weeks, I can't say that I'm seeking out other chains that often.
Speaking of meme food, of course I had to try *sings in way too bright voice* **hot pockets** ;D
An add for that was one of the first things playing as soon as I went online with US IP adress, haha. Luckily the hotel at the beach had a microwave in the room!
Yummy, I can see myself getting those if they were available here. Wonder why they aren't since other Nestlé brands/products are quite common.
One more thing I noticed, food at stores is relatively expensive. Some things even very. E.g. a liter of milk was $2.20 at Publix.
In Germany you get milk for 90ct.
A mixed package with a few hundred grams (maybe half a pound) of different sliced sausage were 12$. I'm fairly sure that would not have been more than the equivalent of 6$ in Germany.
What I wish we had over here though was the really huge selection of premade meal components!
You do find various premade meal kits here too (usually not really good quality) but I have hardly ever seen just mashed potatoes or Mac'nCheese let alone a whole number of brands to pick from. Albeit.. maybe I should not wish those to be a thing here or I would be cooking healthily myself even less often X3
As for actually missing any food items from home - yes, but not what is expected from Germans, which is bread (it's something a friend of mine even confirmed that he missed the selection of breads when he visited the US). Actually I discovered "blueberry bagels" and am frustrated that I cannot find those here :(
What I was missing instead was sparkling water o.O If you go into any German supermarket at least 50% of all water brands/offers are sparkling (in two degrees).
In Florida I had to actively search and often it was only tiny bottles and one or two brands.
At ANY restaurant here if you ask for "water", you will either be served sparkling or will be asked whether sparkling or not. In the US I asked for sparkling and guess the waiter didn't hear it xD Maybe such have said club soda (which is a brand) so it's more clear, but it's likely they didn't have any.
Fascinating how there's such a difference.
# Public Transport and Uber:
Public transport really is kinda suboptimal. As much as we Germans like to complain about delays of the "Deutsche Bahn", at least there's a well frequented and dense chain of public transport quite literally everywhere (and I'm using it daily as I own no car).
My first drive with a bus was already a suboptimal one. Two people who likely didn't know each other and who were from different ethnicities got into a loud dispute. The bus driver was literally threatening to kick them out of the bus ._.
Those were not teens but grown ass men.. what the hell. I did not feel unsafe from that, but it was just ridiculous.
Also the fact that the bus drives a circle in only one direction is practically unheard of in Germany as it results in the way in one direction potentially being way quicker than the reverse.
Soon I got to use Uber, something I thought was actually not available at home but turns out it is.
Very convenient service and an acceptable price compared to taxi drivers. I know controversies around that since they don't have the same insurance etc. but the system seems to work...
Was amazed how quick there was a driver nearby.
# Safety
I had heard of things like "open carry" (which is not as much of a thing in Florida tho) which would have psychologically made me unsafe. But I have not seen a single gun except for the guards at the airport and other police officers and guards.
Except for the first few times crossing the road on those slightly different approaches at crossways, I can say I had no unsafe feeling on my trip at all.
Guess it helps that I'm just a normal looking white ._.'
Albeit my voice definitely gave me away as a tourist and as a German even since two people actually noticed immediately xD (one of them being an aquatic performer at SeaWorld who emigrated from Germany 20 years ago. Was quite cool.)
# Disney Vacation Club
Since my friend was reasonably interested, we had an info tour at a higher class resort about "Disney Vacation Club". Quite an unusual approach and am not quite sure whether I'd deem worth it, but it's a thing.
Somewhat inspired by timeshares. You buy a small fraction of a Disney Resort which is then represented as annual "points". You get fresh points every year for a predetermined time that's related to the lifetime of the resort. That can be up to 50 years!
Then you can spend those points for nights at ANY of the Disney Resorts, not only the only you bought yourself into.
It is pricey though and personally I'd feel too constricted by my hotel choice if I had such a thing. I wanna see the world with liberty.
Yet if you already have a house, car and retirement provision, I suppose it makes sense to put that as the next goal to buy. Don't forget the annual running cost of having that share though...
I'm still not even having a house and it doesn't make much sense for Europeans anyways xD
# Trying on a monofin!
On an entirely different topic and sadly a bit of a disappointing one. I brought with me a monofin as well as a lycra mermaid tail >w< (exactly one like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=d.....mmw&sns=em )
Public pools at home don't allow that and lakes are usually too cold. Thought this is my chance especially since it's not crowded at all - I would have been too shy in Italy among the masses of people.
Sadly the Florida coast didn't have what the Italian one usual has: Piers!
Putting on the monofin while being tossed around by the waves was a serious struggle. Not the slightest chance to have done that while also having the fabric of the tail on :(
At least I got to swim a bit with the monofin. Hard to tell whether I'd call it fun because obviously I had no prior exercise xD
Couldn't even take meaningful photos tho because of blurry water, lol.
Welp, I've tried ._.
I do plan to try again in high summer at Lake Constance though. That might work out.
# Tipping and service
Tipping in the US is expected to be higher than in Germany. I won't say much about that since there's enough online of why that's the case etc.
However what I do gotta say though is that service is certainly friendlier than what I'm used to. Paying more attention to you and ask whether everything is fine.
Albeit occasionally maybe too much as one time I was being offered another drink while the current one was only half empty xD
Got to experience packing service at some shops albeit something was a bit strange. In all places they had those EXTREMELY thin bags I had never seen before. And so when I got something slightly heavier like water bottles, they were using three on top of each other...
That brings me to the next point:
# Plastic
Oneway plastic stuff everywhere :/
At any visitor restaurant/canteen, McDonalds, hotel breakfast etc. Cuttlery, straws and cup lids were plastic. As mentioned, also the shopping bags were plastic with paper bags not even being offered as far as I saw. Good that I had some fabric bag with me.
I honestly was a bit disappointed about Disney in that regard. A company that claims to care much about the future of our children could really signal something by reducing plastic.
Hell if most of Europe managed to, it can't be "that" hard.
Hence McDonalds got rid of plastic here. Could they not have extended the supply chain efficiently to the US?
This unfortunately shows that change towards environmental care does not happen on its own with a fully free market. Governments need to take control.
I am proud of what the EU has achieved for us in this regard.
# Patriotism
That brings me to the topic of patriotism albeit I really don't have to say much. Think internet memes exaggerate a bit regarding Americans and their country.
Yes, there were US flags in many many places but that's it. I did not feel singled out by that fact or anything like that though.
Also luckily did not have any obvious interactions with MAGA supporters (not that I'd have started political discussions myself).
# English
All in all despite my weak hearing, I had not too much trouble understanding people. Especially all presenters at backstage tours and shows were having a clear voice and were using no regional words.
Only troubles I experienced were with my friend when we were both very tired or when he expected me to know american-only brands, games and other stuff like that xD
Occasionally there were new words for me since clearly there is a difference in vocabulary between what you speak in a business environment, what you write online, and what you speak in actual "every day real life". Naturally I only had experience with the former two (but many years of those). It was a neat to gather at least a bit of that "rl experience".
As for any Floridian accent or slang, I did not notice much. The English sounded to me the same like in American movies or by a streamer from the east coast. I may just not be good at hearing out the nuances though.
In every case I had no embarrassing incidents like in France or Italy where I was struggling to request what I wanted in a store X3
Or even like in England where a cashier was offering me a BUG... since "bag" is pronounced like that in British English apparently...
**Future Plans!**
Soo, for the very near future I don't really have traveling plans. I did save for almost a year for this trip (and by that I mean not adding money to long term savings for buying a house one far day) so I probably shouldn't do it too often.
I have the dream to see Singapore at some point (way shorter trip tho), maybe that's next...
Yet am quite sure some day in my life I'll return to Discovery Cove. It truly is an unique place...
Also gotta try out "SeaVenture" there where you dive with an air helmet!
There is certainly more of Disney to see as well. Checking out the Disney waterparks but that time hopefully swimming at the Florida Keys instead.
I do wonder where I could go to see another mermaid show though. Those are really hard to find.
Notes on what to prepare better in the future:
- Cable-bound headphones for the plane
- Actually watertight mini-spray with sun lotion! (having a small bottle of sprayable sun lotion was really really practical but it leaked twice in my pants >: )
- Cloth-sets separated as sets (e.g. everything for day 1-5, then 6-10 etc.), instead of by type. (that had been dumb of me and resulted in quite a mess among clothes on such a long trip)
- Plane seats on the side seem to have more space than the ones in the middle. So always reserve a seat. (I did only reserve on the initial flight and not the return flight and noticed a difference).
- Bring at least a pair of cargo shorts or similar that has solid zippers. On the roller coasters I was more afraid of dropping something than of an accident or nausea xD
Phew, Kudos to you if you have even skimmed over all this :P
Tl;dr: Had a lot of fun in Florida, visiting DisneyWorld and swam with dolphins =D
Vote in the EU please!
Posted a year agoIt is important.
