Squirrels, Macaws, and Creatures of the Night

Today was completely dedicated to the two most famous zoos in Singapore, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. I took a bus at a stop close to my hotel and it took me to city hall area for transfer into MRT. Bus ride in Singapore was quite enjoyable because there’s lots of greenery on each side of the road, whether it’s rows of trees, vast grassland or serene parks. The concept of “city in the gardens” is fully manifested if you take a bus ride in any part of Singapore. I had breakfast in True Breakfast again and was surprised that the shopkeeper remembered my previous visit! I took the red line (North South Line) at City Hall station and alighted at Khatib station, where a friendly local pointed to me where the shuttle bus was, and it took me through the beautiful countryside of Singapore all the way to the final step, where River Wonders, Night Safari and Singapore Zoo are located (Bird Paradise is at the first stop).

The zoo was not very large but had a lot to offer, including various fun shows and animals from around the globe in their natural habitats. The zoo is located within a dense tropical rainforest along a beautiful and peaceful lake, making it very refreshing to walk under the shadow to watch varieties of species of animals active.There are some walk-in enclosures in the zoo as well, so I could have a closer look at the cute animals It’s said that every ticket sold in Mandai Wildlife Reserve comes with conservation included, which means that part of the money will be used for the environment and animal conservation in the Reserve.

A memorable event happening in the zoo was when I was hurrying to watch a show at a far corner, a squirrel hit my shoes on the ground and I was so scared that I jumped and when I got back to the ground I stepped on it. It then started bleeding, painfully moving across the walking lane trying to get to the bush but stopped moving at the middle of the path. I was so unprepared for the accident that I didn’t know what to do at the moment. When I was trying to look for ranges for help, a family of locals spotted the injured squirrel and immediately called the staff of the zoo. I felt very bad about myself for injuring the wildlife but the family kept consoling me and waited for the staff to come with me. At the same time, they guarded beside the squirrel and informed others walking by of being careful about it. When I came back to the site after finding a staff, they told me that a staff member had come and picked up the injured squirrel, telling them that it had been injured by other animals before the accident.

The family kept saying to me that “Don’t worry about it la”, and I felt so lucky to be helped and comforted by them in such a traumatic event.

After getting out of the Singapore Zoo, I had the Traditional Breakfast the second time, with soft-boiled eggs replaced by hard-boiled eggs, before I went to Night Safari. Night Safari is said to be the first zoo dedicated to nocturnal animals in the world. It offered a tram ride around the zoo to watch different species of animals in their habitats with pre-recorded audio illustrating details about the animals. There were also 4 walking trails to cover more areas of the zoo and watch those that didn’t live besides tram route.The experience in Night Safari was not as enjoyable as in Singapore Zoo though, since it’s too dark to spot the animals. When I was on the tram ride, a father next to me kept explaining to his kids the animals we passed by, making it challenging for me to hear clearly the instructions of the audio. Also, as a solo traveller in the zoo, it’s pretty scary to walk alone along the poorly-lit walking trail, while the howling of the lions could be heard from time to time. The show, Creature of the Night, was excellent though, and I watched it twice, because at least I could see clearly the nocturnal animals moving and be instructed about what they were.

Not knowing that the return Mandai Wildlife shuttle bus ride was free, I instead boarded a bus, transferred to red line MRT, and boarded another bus after the green line MRT had already stopped operation. It was a very tiring night.