Singapore Zoo + Tekka Centre

Anytime we would mention we were headed to Singapore to someone who had been there before, they would immediately tell us to be sure to visit the Singapore Zoo.  So we did.  The Singapore Zoo tries to get spectators up close to the animals by displaying them in naturalistic, 'open' exhibits with hidden barriers, moats, and glass between the animals and visitors.  See what I mean:

Orangutans.

Zebras.

Rhinoceroses (not Jade’s favorite).

Giraffes.

Leopard.

We thought getting up close and personal with the animals was all well and good until a snake dropped from some vines to the ground right in front of us—if we had been three steps faster, it would have landed on our heads. 

The zoo is located on a reservoir in a heavily forested area, resulting in its gorgeous natural surroundings. 

Some of my favorite animal pictures:

Sun Bear.

Lions.

White Tiger.

Orangutans.

Speaking of orangutans, they were my favorite exhibit at the zoo.  They are kept in a free ranging area, meaning they could swing on the trees above our heads.  Which at one point is exactly what they were doing.  It was so cool we went back later to get video of it.  Not as many orangutans were out, but you can still get the idea. 

The zoo also has a large children’s area, complete with splash pad. 

The splash pad was definitely Jade’s favorite part of the zoo.  Ridge liked it to too, because it meant we could sit down and get him out to play. 

Inside the children’s area was a theater for a kids’ show.  I convinced Jade to take a break from her water play to go see it.  When they asked for volunteers, I told her, “If you want to go down, raise your hand.”  She promptly raised her hand and was the first one picked!  I’m sure her orange dress and blonde hair made her stand out in the crowd!  Here is a condensed video of her performance.  (Notice where Jade tells the lady she is from.  After this we realized we don’t even know where to tell her she is from!)

The super stylin’ glasses she scored for helping out.  She LOVED them.

She also loved getting to pet the dogs from the show. 

Just a cute picture of sister entertaining brother.

We didn’t want to keep our tired children out late for the Night Safari, so we headed to the Tekka Centre in Little India for dinner after the zoo closed.  I’m glad we didn’t push our luck.

I thought this place was really, really cool and so fun, but we were all hot, tired and hungry.  It turned out to be exasperating trying to figure out what to eat from all the various hawker stalls whilst finding a place to feed Ridge (at this point he was crying and Jade was whining because—like I said—we were all hot, tired, and hungry).  I ended up sitting down at the only table in a corner (so I could have some semblance of privacy) even though there was a man already sitting on one of the stools. 

It didn’t take him long after I pulled out my nursing cover and started feeding Ridge for him to get out of Dodge.  Meanwhile my good husband took charge and ran around finding scrumptious eats for us to try.  He did good.  Reeeaaalllly good.  Even Jade downed a bunch of it! 

Jade eating the yummy mee goreng (spicy fried noodles).

Left: Butter chicken, chicken tikka, and naan; Right: Roti prata.   

In the end we were able to get Ridge asleep in the stroller and we could calm down (and cool down) and enjoy our meal a little bit.