The last time I remembered going to the zoo was during a field trip at the Riyadh Zoo in Saudi Arabia when I was a kid. I always thought zoos are just for children, until I got to experience the world famous Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. Thanks to Wildlife Reserves Singapore, I got to feel like a kid again!
The Singapore Zoo is really huge; I felt like I was getting lost in a wonderland of immense natural rainforest where animals roamed freely in their natural habitat instead of seeing them inside cold steel cages. There were a lot of exotic animals to see and free shows to watch. Not to mention numerous exhibits and interactive attractions to look at, you can actually feed some of the animals during their scheduled feeding times. Be sure to plan ahead to be able to watch all shows. I was disorganized and I arrived late so I missed out on a lot of shows. Luckily, I was able to catch the great seal show, which was very amusing.
Be prepared to walk a lot as the zoo is a huge area (it’s about 69 acres!). Fortunately, I was wearing my comfy sneakers that day. I strongly advise visitors to wear light clothing, bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated and not carry too heavy a bag while touring around because it will be really hot. Also, it’s best to come earliest possible to beat the heat in the afternoon.
I was not dissatisfied with the amount of species I was able to see that day, in fact I was not able to check out all of them as there are as many as 315! The animals are effectively separated in zones. For instance, the monkeys are located in Primate Kingdom and the koalas and kangaroos are in the Australian zone.
The Singapore Zoo is open from 8:30am until 6pm. At around 5:30pm, I went out to eat and rest at one of the F&Bs outside the zoo to prepare myself for my next adventure.
I have read about the Night Safari a long time ago and it is actually one of the places I wanted to visit in Singapore ever since. Naturally, I was very excited when the gates opened at 7.30pm. But before I went in, there was a live show just outside the Night Safari gate. The fire eating and fire spitting thumbuakar warriors were very amazing. A huge crowd gathered near the stage as the tribal warriors delivered a fiery performance and thrilling stunts.
Once I got in the Night Safari, I immediately went to the first show of the night, the must-see “Creatures of the Night”. It was a very entertaining 20-minute show with the night creatures performing various tricks. I particularly loved the otters. They were so adorable I just had to purchase the cute otter stuffed toys that were exclusively sold at the end of the show for S$10.
After the spectacular show, I went on ahead to explore the walk trails to get a close encounter of the night creatures. One thing to remember is not to use flash when taking photos of the animals since they are all nocturnal species and their eyes are sensitive to light. These animals are wide awake and active at night.
There are 120 nocturnal beasties to see. But just like the Singapore Zoo, the Night Safari is extremely huge, at about 99 acres. So when I got tired of walking I hopped on the guided tram ride, which took me to seven geographical zones in 40 minutes.
At the end of the day, I was absolutely exhausted, but thrilled. I’ve had one of the most exciting wildlife adventures ever.
The Night Safari is open from 7:30 pm and closes at 12am.
