Walking on the wild side

The happy tourist arrives

Orangutans <3

Malay Lacewing

This guy was very friendly

The giraffes have very big tounges

River 

Giant Panda wondering
why the tourists are all excited

Capybara, worlds largest rodent

Loved the Amazon River Cruise, this is taken
before I knew the boat was about to drop

One of the monkeys that got
too close for comfort

The day has finally arrived I am going to the zoo. Lets ignore the Aussie animals, head straight and to my main objective there they are, the ORANGUTANS big, orange and fluffy. I am amazed that they are in the treetops and on ropes happily playing away with no fences or cage. Two big ones are just sitting there watching everything but the rest are very active and feeding, climbing and playing, what a good time of day to arrive. The mother and baby are just the cutest.

Eventually, its time to move on, lets go 100% tourist and jump on the tram, thats good for the feet, the plan is to do a loop but I see butterflies ahead, stop the tram driver I want to get off. The butterfly aviary has all colours and kinds its cool and delightful and as it is earlier in the day I have the butterflies to myself, bliss.

The zoo is laid out so well, most of the exhibits look like natural landscapes and not fenced in, there are also lots of free-roaming animals I like the squirrels the best. A BIG thunderstorm arrives, lets just duck into the lion watching den and sit it out. This den is air-conditioned, extra bonus. Storm over back out and everything is dripping wet and maybe 1 degree cooler, or is that wishful thinking on my part? Onwards to explore lots more and eventually its time to exit through the gift shop (I did not buy anything, another first!).

Next door. Is the river safari this is a separate wildlife park themed around the rivers of the world, Mississippi, Nile, Ganges etc, but the drawcard is the Giant Pandas let me at them, so cute. Now I spy a red flash out of the corner of my eye, its in the foliage along the edge of the path. Its a tiny, long beak, it is it I have found Singapore’s unofficial national bird, the Crimson Sunbird. It even stays still long enough for a short bit of video.

Next up is the Amazon River Quest I have a boat to myself and expect to meander along at a sedate pace, however, we start with 2-metre drop and a splash and now I feel like an intrepid explorer spotting, monkeys, jaguars, flamingos and scarlet ibis as the boat goes down the river. But the best spotting is the capybara. I did not know they where here. A few years ago I met an Aussie girl who was was travelling to a small zoo in the north of England just to see a capybara, she had an obsession since her childhood. Every since they seem to pop up everywhere in shows or articles. They are the largest rat in the world and look like an overgrown guinea pig. The Amazon Quest was a total surprise, its my idea of fun, I think I will do that all again. Repeat. 

Lets go for something more sedate now a lake cruise, more Crimson Sunbird spotting and there is one final bit to explore, the Squirrel Monkey Forest, double gates, hmm, wonder why? Wow, its a big display and humans and monkeys are in together, I don’t know which way to look first. Video this, photo there, sooooo cute, running in front, squatting down to get more footage. One jumps on me, then another, and another, eeek, stay still, what should I do? Phew, the keeper comes running to shoo them away, I live to tell the tale. Now that was a close encounter!

Time to calm down and cool down, sit in the air-conditioned Amazon flooded rainforest for a while watching the fish swim by as there is one more event for today so I need to re-energise. Had a nice chat with a lady from Qatar where it gets to 55 degrees and feels like you are living in an oven but she finds Singapore heat even hotter.

Based on feedback from two other Aussies I set off with low expectations for the next event, Night Safari. Tales of crowds and can hardly see the animals is what I have heard. But it has to be done, so far the crowds part of the story is true. The line for the tram in unbelievable but hey it’s been such an amazing day, let’s just wait and go with it. Finally on a tram, off we go and yep, the tales are true, a total waste of time can barely see anything. I don’t understand how this is one of the highest rated experiences in Singapore on trip advisor. On the plus side, I saw the moon and stars my first time this close the equator, all the stars where in weird positions and I did not get attacked by monkeys in the dark!