Day 2 of our Singapore trip drew in with much trepidation as we have to cover quite a bit today. On our itinerary, today is the Jurong Bird Park along with the attractions at Singapore Zoo. With five of us traveling together, we decide to dump the MRT and LRT as it was going to take way too many changes and time and booked ourselves our Grab cabs for the rest of the day.
Jurong Bird Park
Jurong Bird Park is located about 40 minutes away from our hotel at MacPherson Road and tickets here are priced at SGD 27(INR 1350). We quickly buy in our tickets and get into the park. We also suggest buying tickets for the tram (SGD 5) as it allows you to move between one attraction to another without much of a walk.
The first birds that you find the moment you enter are the Penguins. Loads of penguins including the King Penguins and the other small ones roam around the enclosure in their typical style as one of the feeders has come in with a daily allocation of fish. You can also find a chance to feed the small African penguins as they are brought out from their enclosure at two different shows in the morning and afternoon.
There are another two shows that you must attend at the Jurong Bird Park: the High Flyers and the Birds of Prey that features Hawks. But the moment I head near Station 1 of the tram station, we find ourselves surrounded by the raucous calling of the models of the Aviary world, the Flamingoes. Bright pink in colour due to the Carotenes in the shrimp that they eat so much, these beauties just start cawing at the drop of a hat and moving their heads around.
Onto the tram, we headed out to the Lori Loft where a whole lot of Macaws have been kept. These lovely birds impress with their eye-popping colours and an odd throaty call that they have. This was followed up by some Pelicans at the Pelican Cove and Storks in all sorts of postures before we headed to the Parrot Paradise where a whole bunch of these colourful birds were making all types of sounds.
The Jurong Bird Park also has other places to explore including the Waterfall Aviary, a museum along with a man-made waterfall where you can find yourself in the company of even more wonderful birds. You can also head up to the Breeding and Research Centre where the young hatchlings are nurdled into the civilization. There is also an incubation room where abandoned eggs are given a good chance of hatching.
At Jurong, you can also find some places to eat and do some souvenir shopping before heading off to the other places. One of the restaurants serves Indian food while the other serves quintessential Singaporean food that we quite enjoyed a bit. Now, the Singapore Zoo complex is quite a bit of distance from here so you can take any of three options: Either hop onto the MRT/LRT but that will take you about an hour or so, secondly there is a shuttle between the two which charges SGD6 but as we were 5 people in the group, we again booked a Grab which came at around SGD 22+2(tips). At the Singapore Zoo, you’ll find four different areas: the Singapore Zoo, the River Safari, the Night Safari and the Rainforest Lumina
River Safari
We first head over to the River Safari where you can find a variety of fishes and other water animals from all over the world. But the best reason to visit River Safari are the Panda Couple, both of whom lie around frolicking all the time. You can also check out the Amazon River Cruise, where the waiting time is about 10-15 minutes and comes complimentary with the River Safari ticket. The Amazon River Quest has an additional payment but the waiting times are quite high (about an hour). But even with such a waiting time, you should definitely look to try it out. But be aware that these two close by 6 PM. The last part of the River Safari offers the Amazon Flooded Forest where you can even find yourself some otters.
Night Safari
After coming out from there, we head to the Night Safari. There are quite a few restaurants in front of the ticketing area of Singapore Zoo. You should plan to eat here early as it closes after the first batches of Night Safari ends. The Night Safari entrance is a bit far away, almost an 8-10 minute walk before you get to the initial ticket counter area. From here, you can see quite a lot of people milling around as there are quite a few restaurants and souvenir shops here.
It’s quite a walk to the where the Creatures of the Night performance takes place so be sure to head up there with quite a bit of time to spare (shows start at 7:15 PM in the evening and happen at 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM along with an extra show on the weekends at 10:30 PM). It showcases the hunters of the night including owls, hyenas, raccoons and even a pair of cute little mongoose. The half an hour show ends with a gigantic Python being showcased.
Do head out to the Safari as trams take you around the park showcasing a variety of animals including Lions, Tigers, Hippos, Elephants and even the native Sunda pangolin. It is quite interesting to notice these animals during the night time as it offers a different perspective. The tram takes about half an hour to go around the whole trip but you can also plan on taking walks through the Night Safari itself. If you plan to grab some dinner on your way out, do so by the numerous restaurants present outside as the ones outside Singapore Zoo are closed by that time.
Rainforest Lumina
The last attraction we did for the night was the Rainforest Lumina. An interesting audiovisual experience, it takes you through some areas lit up beautifully with LED lights along with sounds effects that will enthrall you and your kids quite a bit.
The tickets for all the 4 parks cost us SGD 76 while the ones with Rainforest Lumina are available for SGD 99. You can book your tickets here.
