The Singapore Zoo

Recently when we were trying to recollect some details of our itinerary etc from the past holiday trips....we could not recall as much as we would have liked to :-) So thought it might be a good idea to pen some thoughts on places visited so that we can refresh our memories later :-) But will keep it short and simple else will never be able to complete !

So starting with the Zoo !
Have never been too fond of zoos ! Somehow the word creates an image of sad looking lazy animals in confined and a little smelly spaces ! Having already visited the Delhi and Ahmadabad zoos (which we did enjoy to a certain extent but there was no deja vu feeling ! ) wasn't too keen on a trip to the Singapore zoo. But well, it is all so famous and then husband's company gave free passes and have a 4 year old so had no excuse for further delay !

So one fine Saturday (or was it sunday..see forgetting already :-) morning in Feb, we packed our lunch and camera and jumped into a cab and were inside the jungle in 20 minutes !

The stream of people there already created some excitement and Pranav wanted to sit on the cows statue at the entrance when we kept telling him there are some real animals inside.

To put it simply,I would have been a fool to miss this.We felt we were in a jungle. It was truly the zoological garden that all zoos should be. The animals seemed soooo near, you have to see it to believe it! it was as if they could jump out any time ! On a closer look there was enough security measures and planning like a transparent net and a deep valley separating the animals from us.

Though the spaces were confined, it was as if the animals were in their own habitat.The animals even seemed happy to pose for a photo :-)

We spent the whole day there and it is really difficult to pen what all I saw. Just mentioning few highlights.

Watching the Orangutans was amazing...the way they swing from one branch to other...Their hands are even longer than their body. Saw a happy family of three lovingly snuggling with each other. Would have liked to sit their and watch the activities for some time but had to move on!

Spent some time just sitting and watching the polar bears (mommy and son) swim graciously without resting. Reading the information and photos displayed since the baby polar bear was born in the zoo and how it's birthdays were celebrated and how it has grown and how the whole staff loves him took us into a different world.

The Giraffes looked huge and we were there at their feeding time. So fed some carrots to them. Love the photo of this lonely Giraffe.

We watched all three shows: Elephants at work, splash safari and the rainforest fights back. We were just strolling lazily for the first show when we were taken aback by the amount of people already gathered for the show and all seats taken :-) Pranav laughed and laughed when the sea lion splashed water on the audience ! All the shows were weaved very nicely and were quite interactive though only 15-20 minutes long.

Saw such big a tortoise for the first time...looked centuries old..and looked as if he was smiling while eating away the leaves !

The comodo dragon looked deadly and all the information written about it was quite scary !

There was also a big space for all sorts of vegetable and spices plants and we loved it.

By evening, we were dead tired. A lot of walking coupled with the humid weather doesn't make it too easy. I would like to go again and spend more time just sitting and looking at the activities of animals and read the whole bunch of very interesting information at display again.

Well, it was quite nice and all but don't know how much it could impress Pranav because when we ask him about his favourite animal, he still answers 'DONKEY' with full confidence as earlier to the visit and is not ready to budge even after some coaxing! On asking why.. he says 'because I like his 'Dhen chu Dhen Chu'. Had no option but to leave it there with a smile...after all kids will be kids and it's amazing to see them happy in their own world !