Singapore: Day 3 (Singapore Zoo & River Safari)

Day 3 in Singapore was Zoo Day. We planned to visit Singapore Zoo early in the morning for a cooler stroll, but alas it was drizzling when we woke up. So we snuggled in bed a little bit longer while waiting for the rain to stop. At last it did. It took us about 20 mins by taxi from our hotel and it was about almost 10.30am when we reached.

While hubby went to get the tickets, I applied sunscreens on both kids and also sprayed them with insect repellent. I also took out their hats for them just in case it was still drizzling.
Shern was pretty excited to be visiting the zoo! 

11 Sep 2013 - Singapore Zoo

We got the 2-in-1 Park Hopper (Singapore Zoo and River Safari) as we wanted to see the pandas in River Safari. Some parts of the River Safari was still under construction, thus the ticket price is at a discount.

We also got the unlimited Tram Ride for all of us at $6.00 each, knowing Shern would be delighted.

Singapore Zoo & River Safari

Adult: SGD$39.00

Child: SGD$26.00

                      

In my opinion, the Animal Shows are very nice at Singapore Zoo, so it must not be missed. The shows are interesting and educational. Perfect for kids, and even adults!

Firstly, it was time for the Splash Safari Show at the Shaw Foundation Amphitheater at 10.30am. We ran there just after the show started.

We watched mischievous California Sea Lion superstar performed many tricks.

We sat higher up at the stage area as we didn't want to get wet. The first few rows were wet zones and those who didn't mind getting wet could sit there for some big splashy fun. Not us though!

Rather than watching the super star sea lion which was further away, Khye was watching everyone nearby clapping, and wondering what was going on. :)

Shern on the other hand was big enough to enjoy the show.
He clapped hard when the sea lion performed tricks and said the sea lion was 'so clever!'! ;)

The show ended at about 10.50am. We stayed back because Shern wanted to take a photo with the sea lion. The sea lion was so clever and kissed my cheek while posing for the camera! I was being kissed by a sea lion!
Too bad no personal camera was allowed, and it was SGD$25.00 for a piece of instant photo. No thank you. Guess the memory of it was good enough! ;)

The next show time was at 11.00am and so we had to run to catch it. It was the Animal Friends Show at the Rainforest Kidzworld Amphitheater which was quite a distance away.
Hubby and I was panting when we reached there. Not easy pushing Shern in the stroller, and me babywearing Khye while running!

Luckily, it was a cloudy day, thus not so hot. Perfect day.

We sat at the front few rows because no wet zones for this show, so it was safe to seat there. Hehe.
This Animal Friends Show is showcasing domestic animals, and the importance of their roles in our lives.

Then when the trainer called for young volunteers to help them with the show, Shern was brave enough to raise his hands!
And so Shern became one of their helpers. Can you spot Shern? He's the 2nd kid from the right holding a hoop.

And here Shern was on the most far right.

The clever dog jumped through the hoop held by Shern.

So proud of Shern for volunteering. This shows that Shern was not too shy and brave enough. And also he could answer some questions when they asked him what is his name and where was he from. He answered 'Yiu-Shern' and from 'Penang, Malaysia'. Good, huh?

He came back with a Paper Spectacle for being a helper! ;)

And after that, we stayed back again to pet the dogs.

And then once again we had to run all the way for the next show of Elephants At Work and Play at Elephants At Asia at 11.30am. It was really tiring.

There we had a rare close-up glimpse of the world's largest land animal at work and play with their riders, the mahout.

Here we saw the animals amazingly lift and push heavy logs the weight of a few men!

And these big beasts also know how to have some fun.
They played dead, stole food, and sprayed water far and at the right time.

But the nicest was after the show ended, there was a feeding session.
Shern got to feed the elephants with some bananas.

And I got to stroke the ellephant's trunk too!

After the elephants feeding session, we decided to skip the next last show.

And also we got tired to rush to the next destination.

So to Shern's delight, we went for the tram ride round the zoo.

I think the tram rides was the highlight of the whole zoo visit for Shern. He adores trains and this tram certainly looked like a train with its adjoining tenders.

We sat in the tram ride for many rounds round the whole zoo.
It was also there that I nursed Khye too.
We also got to rest our legs then and enjoyed the cool breeze as the tram zoomed past.

Shern wanted a photo of him with the tram, so here goes:

After that, we stopped at the Rainforest Kidzworld Amphitheatre for the pony ride. Saw a steam engine covered with bushes and Shern immediately said it looked like Hiro from the Thomas and Friends.

My big boy waiting for his daddy to get the ticket for his pony ride.

Shern sitting on his pony getting ready to go.

The lady who manned the Pony Ride booth was so unfriendly. She was not rude, but so unfriendly. Shern was saying to her 'I saw a steam engine just now' and she didn't answer him but she nodded I think.  Shern, being a kid kept on telling her things and she just kept quiet.

And then kept telling us 'the pony ride is just about a minute ride, and is guided and nothing much'. 

It was as if she didn't want us to buy the tickets and disturb her. But we bought anyway as Shern wanted to ride the pony.

The pony ride was indeed short, about a minute or so. But I was glad it was over as I wanted to get away from the unfriendly lady.
She was the only unfriendly person we met in Singapore. Gah!

Khye was asleep hugging onto me while waiting for his koko.

But Shern really enjoyed his second pony ride. His first time riding a pony was at the Penang Turf Club Expo last year. It was a dark brown pony then, and now it's a white one.

Shern measuring up with these horses and ponies. ;)

After that we had a turn at a coin elongated machine as a souvenir.
This is me and Shern turning the wheels and Khye giggling as we turned.

It was about 1.30pm then and we were hungry, so we went for lunch at Ah Meng Restaurant. It was packed at the air-conditioned area as it was lunch time, so we sat at the outdoor dining area. It was alright as it was a cool day.

Shern did some art and craft while hubby went to grab some food.
It's the same activity packed I packed for him for our flight.

He did some colouring..

And some cutting with the zig zag scissors, part of a stationery kit he received as a gift from Aunty Rebecca!

As for Khye, he has on his hand a toy car for him to roll on the table, or actually banged on the table! :)

Food was not nice. Prices were so-so.
But I was happy Khye opened his mouth for a little bites of potatoes.Yay!

Look, at 2+pm, it was still so cloudy and nice to walk about in the zoo. The sun JUST came out from behind the clouds. Really PERFECT ZOO DAY!

My cutie pie sunshine baby hugged on to me, and we had a few pics just me and him!

Then we visited the Polar Bears section. After food, all of us were energized again.
A photo of the 3 of us with this Polar Bear statue.

A photo of Shern on the Polar Bear's back.

Shern with Daddy.

And then to see the REAL deal. Haha.

The real one is also as big as the statue one outside.
Shern sitting down and gazing at the polar bear as it laid down lazily on the floor. Look at the size although the bear's at quite a distance from Shern.

The Polar Bear area is air-conditioned. And there is a pretend igloo inside where the kids had some fun exploring the igloo!

And here is Shern comparing the size of his palm with the Polar Bear's paw!

When tired, Shern sat in the stroller.

The scenery in the zoo was very green and lush. So pretty. Loved that stick-out branches tree!

After that we went for a quick stroll at River Safari, which was just next to the Singapore Zoo. It's a much smaller place compared to the Singapore Zoo.
A rare family photo.

We went by the rivers of the world, shown in squariums. I guess this is Sungai Mekong, where all the big fishes are. Shern staring in awe of the big fish.

Shern looking from underneath the duck's backside. Haha. He was ticklish at that!

Looking at the gigantic tail of the reptile.

One place of Singapore is that it is very stroller friendly. It is easy to push your stroller along anywhere and there were plenty of ramps available. No sweat.

Admiring the fishes.

Look at the enormous sting rays.

With its's really sharp tail.

Then to the highlight of River Safari, the pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia.

This is Kai Kai.

Shern having a peek at Kai Kai resting.

Another photo of the 4 of us taken by a good stranger. Shern was looking elsewhere though. Gah!

Shern was fascinated by the fact that a panda can eat 100 bowls of rice a day!!!

Just like the Singapore Zoo, River Safari was also a very interactive and engaging place. Here Shern learned more about the pandas by lifting up the flaps to reveal certain facts and knowledge about the pandas.

Shern comparing his palm with the paws of different bears; the Polar Bear, the Sun Bear...

and the Giant Panda...

A beautiful view of the long bridge along the Amazon River. 

And this is one of my favourite Family Photo of the whole 4 of us, taken by yours truly! Haha.

By the time we left the River Safari, it was already 4pm. As we strolled out of the place, both Shern and Khye fell asleep; one in the stroller and the other hugged on to me.

Both were really tired out by then. It has been so many hours of walking then.
They were still asleep when we transferred them into the taxi ride back to our hotel.

However, once reached back at the hotel, both were wide awake. Boo hoo. Hubby and me didn't have time to rest even though we were sleepy then.

After some rest and a shower, we decided to head out to Orchard Central mall as we received a Heritage Package SGD$80 vouchers from our booking at our Hotel. (will talk more about this later when I blog about our hotel).
What we had basically was SGD$80 in voucher forms to spend at selected participating outlets at Orchard Central mall. So we decided to have dinner there.

Took the MRT to the nearest station which is Dhoby Ghout station and walked over to the mall. Tried the famous Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. There was a queue of like 10 ppl more or more for it, so no choice, had to try!

The menu looked foreign to me. I didn't even know what is the difference between flavour and mix-ins.

Anyway, I ordered one of their signature creations and another something else, and the total bill came out to be SGD$20! That's like RM50 for 2 ice creams, freakingly expensive.
So were they good? They were good and creamy and rich, but then it was also expensive! Haha. Luckily we paid using the vouchers, so it was free!

And I made a new friend while queuing and she helped me use a SGD$10 voucher and gave me cash. So I even made SGD$10 out of it! lol.

Then we walked about looking for some snacks as the ice creams were really filling. Paid with vouchers again.

Liked these hanging lanterns, really pretty.

And then Shern wanted to eat 'mee-mee with soup and fishballs'. Aiks, where to find right so suddenly? Luckily saw this Japanese place (also one of the participating outlets) and ordered a bowl of ramen for him! He was happy!

Saw the friend again and she helped us use another SGD$20. So happy.

So we spent all the vouchers and even made SGD$30 from it! Totally not bad! Haha.

Saw these fluorescent footsteps on one of the escalators on the way walking back to the MRT station and Shern wanted to ride up and down the escalators. Little things like these make him happy. So we obliged since we were not rushing or anything. Best thing to holiday on our own with kids!

Went home at 10pm and we were all so tired.

Showered and after a bottle of milk for Shern, everybody fell asleep and snoring.
Good night Day 3@ Singapore!


To read more about our Singapore Trip, read click here.