Singapore Day 3: Singapore Zoo

Ready for the wild :p

     First up in our itinerary for Day 3: Singapore Zoo! Agenda: To take good pictures of cool animals and to ride an elephant! :p 


     We took the MRT from Bugis to City Hall interchange, transferred to the red line to Ang Mio Ko Station. We then took the bus to Singapore Zoo. It took us about an hour and a half to get there. Whew!

Map and Admission Tickets

     We bought our tickets for 29sgd each. This came with a 5sgd unlimited tram ride ticket and a souvenir - a small, green towel. We should've just gotten the 20sgd admission ticket, 5sgd tram ride and bought a better souvenir. Hehe! :p

     Singapore Zoo, dubbed as the world's best rainforest zoo, is home to about 3,000 animals and is a part of Wildlife Reserves Singapore along with Jurong Bird Park and the Night Safari. The zoo is open from 8:30am to 6pm daily. 

Happy birds :D

     First up on the map, to the left of the entrance is the Treetops Trail, an wooden path a few meters above the forest floor. Animals around here include a golden pheasant, mouse deer, siamang (a type of gibbon) and a false gharial (cross between an alligator and a croc) down below.

Rawwrr! :p

White Tigers

     The next section is the Tiger Trek where awesome white tigers are featured as well as flamingos and the noisy but fun-to-hear howler monkeys, giving life to the otherwise quiet rainforest.

Rainforest Fights Back

     We then watched a 20-minute presentation called Rainforest Fights Back, a show about wildlife conservation. It featured how the animals teamed up and scared Vamoosh away, the villain who wanted to destroy the forest.

Kai, the native tribesman

Orang Utan doing a trick

     There was still time before the Elephant Ride Area opens and it was already past 12pm so we ate first at Ah Meng Restaurant.

Roasted Chicken

Hainanese Chicken

     We had chicken... again Haha! Both of our dishes were flavorful and filling, enough to get us going for the next treks. :p They were served with soup and veggies on the side. Each costs 8.90sgd.

Elephant Ride!

     After lunch, we headed to the riding area! We thought we could only experience this in Thailand. Good thing they offered this at the zoo, for 8sgd per person. The ride was too fast and short, though. It was a great experience nonetheless. :)

Fun ride!

     We then took the tram to get to the next part of the zoo. The trams with their cute animal-inspired designs had their own stops and suggested itinerary tourists can follow to enjoy the whole zoo experience.

Tiger tram :p

     We got down on stop no. 4 and walked to the Australian Outback where the animals from the land down under are featured.

Australian Outback

     Here, you could see frill-necked lizards, a carpet python and of course, kangaroos! We loved the roo with a joey in its pouch! It was an awesome sight! Also in this area are two sheds which showcase a variety of interesting reptiles as well as a cassowary, a flightless bird with a vibrant blue head.

Mob of roos

     Heavy rains poured so we weren't able to see some of the kangaroos that hopped away to get cover from the rain. Our other companions then decided to go to Expo to look at nifty gadgets currently on sale.

     With our umbrellas on hand, we then pushed through to the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia where the Hamadryas baboons, ibexes, mongooses and some jackals are.

Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia

     This part of the zoo simulates the habitat of some 90 Hamadryas baboons and ibexes - wild goats with large backward-curving horns.

Ala Great Rift Valley

Big baboons :p

     It was nearly 3pm so we then headed to Elephants of Asia where the show called Elephants at Work and Play will be presented. We got to watch and learn about the tricks elephants can do as well as their strengths and behaviors. We found the show educational, interesting and fun! They were so nice to watch! :)

Balancing act

Playful Ellie :p

 Ready... pose!

     We again took the tram at stop no. 4 and went to stop no. 2 to see Fragile Forest. On our way there, we saw white rhinoceros, cheetahs, zebras, and giraffes to name a few. From the tram, we also saw the orchid gardens and tropical crops plantation.

Fragile Forest

     Here, we got to appreciate lemurs, fruit bats, butterflies, iguanas and lories. Various trees, ferns, palms and shrubs are also featured at Fragile Forest.  Our favorite here were the lemurs, carelessly running and hopping about. We caught a photo of two lemurs seeming to be in deep conversation. Haha! ^_^

Can you see the frog?

Friendly Lemurs

     We also went to the naked mole rats, a small area with display windows of these hairless creatures. It's nearing closing time for the zoo so we decided to go back to the hotel so we wouldn't get caught in the middle of throngs of people going out. We chose not to ride the tram so we could go and see the other animals on our way out.

Zebras

White Rhinoceros

     We were not able to go to all parts of the zoo since it was so big! We failed to see the Ah Meng Memorial where a life sized bronze statue of the famous poster girl of Singapore Zoo can be seen.

     We suggest that you go there early so you could see everything the zoo has in store for guests. You can also avail of their packages that include a boat ride and jungle breakfast with wildlife from 9-10:30am. The Jungle Safari is under construction and will open next year.

     Near the zoo is the Night Safari, the world's first wildlife park featuring nocturnal animals. It's also a wildlife rescue center like the Singapore Zoo.

Fun at the wild

     We enjoyed our time here at the Singapore Zoo! Our most memorable moments were riding on the elephant, watching the Elephants Work and Play show and seeing the joey in its pouch. :) We also liked the white tigers, howler monkeys, and lemurs. Wish we could have gone to the Jurong Bird Park but there was no time -- maybe on our next trip to SG. Hehe! :)