ZOO, SENTOSA & BIRDPARK

It usually rains cats and dogs in December, but December 2008 had been uncharacteriscally sunny. Perfect weather for outdoor activities.

One afternoon, Mommy decided to take us to the Singapore Zoo. My last visit was about 3 years ago and I was asleep for most of the trip, so have no recollection of it whatsoever. Su Ann has never been before. We arrived at the Zoo at 1300 hrs, and stayed till 1730 hrs.

We moved fairly quickly from one enclosure to the next, and managed to cover all the walking trails. I especially enjoyed watching the free-ranging orang utans swinging from branch to branch, the baboons fighting, those super long and fat snakes slithering away in the reptile house, and two giant tortoises kissing. I got to pat a pony and went up close to a kangaroo. The last I saw a roo was during my trip to South Australia in October 2007.

We caught one animal show, but didn't make it any of the animal feeding sessions. I also played a little while at the newly opened children's play area. We would have stayed much longer, had Mommy brought along my swimwear. What a pity that Mommy didn't know that a large water play area had opened up in the Zoo in November 2008! The water play area looked like oodles of fun. Oh well, we will just have to return to the Zoo one day then!


I thoroughly enjoyed my day out at the Zoo, and Su Ann did too. She was really excited to finally see the animals. Before the trip, she only got to see them on flashcards!

A week after our visit to the Zoo, Mommy took us to Sentosa Island. We parked ourselves at a shady spot on Siloso Beach, and I dug away happily with my spade. I haven't been on a beach since June 2008, so it was a joyous reunion with all the sand I could play. Su Ann had a good time too!
After playing on the beach, we adjourned to the fountain next to the beach for a splashing good time. I didn't want to leave Sentosa Island, but Mommy promised to take me back again to visit the Dolphin Lagoon & Underwater World.


Mommy kept her promise and we returned to Sentosa Island the following week. This time we took the beach tram to Palawan Beach.


We caught the Dolphin show at Dolphin Lagoon, then proceeded to the Underwater World by bus. Transport on Sentosa Island was free.


The Underwater World had two petting pools, one for fishes and a larger one for stingrays. The petting pools were the best bit for us. The fishes liked Su Ann. Whenever she put her hand in the water, they would all swim to her and the rest of us got to touch them. They were really smooth. I was impressed with the giant crabs and luminous jelly fish in the aquarium, more so than the sharks and dugong. A diver dressed as Santa Claus was amongst the fish in the aquarium too. Perhaps he was handing out Christmas pressies to the fishes?

Just after the New Year, Mommy took us to Jurong Birdpark. We saw some really brightly coloured birds, like the blue and yellow macaws and the chilli red scarlet ibises. There was a darkened area where nocturnal birds were kept, and we got to see different species of owls.


We watched two bird shows, the first of which (the Birds & Buddies Show) was highly entertaining. They had trained a parrot to count 1 to 10 in English and Mandarin, and to sing Rasa Sayang, Ke Ren Lai and Happy Birthday. Amazing! The second bird show featured some really big birds like the hawks and vultures. Those birds spooked Mommy when they flew too close to her and brushed their wings against her head.