Hello Pandas!

Really happy to visit River Safari with GT and XF on Sunday! :) It is one of the latest attractions in Singapore under Wildlife Reserve Singapore and is Asia's first and only river-themed wildlife park!

 

While it is a pity the river boat ride and some exhibits were not ready yet, some good came out of it: we paid $25 for admission (will be $35 later) and the park was not very crowded. We could visit the pandas twice without having to queue at all! All good reasons to visit now and again later (more reasons to visit next year perhaps to try the ride and to see Jia Jia and Kai Kai again? :)). They were so cute! Pardon me, but I think I will be repeating 'cute' many times in this post :P

 

Taking a picture for keepsake at the entrance of River Safari, next to the Singapore Zoo! I am like so dwarfed by the giant pandas :P

 

The park was designed by the river theme and we saw different animals as we walked through the different river zones e.g. Yang Tze, Amazon, Nile etc. We were impressed by the animal enclosures - thought they were really clean and spacious for the animals, and enhanced our viewing pleasure as well.

 

The animals looked so 3D from our angle - very 'real' as though we were swimming next to them :P

 

Besides fishes, we also saw alligators!

 

Lunch was at mama panda kitchen, right next to where the pandas were. Food was ok. Price was also ok for a tourist attraction - we paid about SGD10 each.

 

Hello Panda! Bun with red bean stuffing. According to the menu, this is the favourite of Jia Jia and Kai Kai. LOL. Almost every customer ordered one (Really!).

 

Typical (and literal) Chinese-theme decorations - bamboos and red lanterns :)

 

The beautiful red pandas were the giant pandas' neighbour. Very cute too! They were very active - running around all the times, chasing each other up and down the trees and fooling around :) Kept us so entertained! So cute!



Kai Kai, the male giant panda! He was sleeping the first time we saw him and then woke up for a while the second time. Found him to be a bit grumpy and clumsy as he moved around his enclosure a little before disappearing into the cave behind him :P Such a teaser! Very cute!



Jia Jia, the female giant panda! She was hiding in her cave the first time and we could only see a bit of her head and view Jia Jia via a live feed from a CCTV installed in her cave :) Apparently she is very shy! We were lucky the second time and spotted her eating bamboos! A hungry panda is shy no more! LOL. Very cute! Jia Jia is more dainty compared to Kai Kai, although she was ripping her bamboos apart!

  

Me and Jia Jia in the background :p

 


There is a serene air about River Safari. A bit quiet, a bit rustic... unlike Singapore Zoo which is more lively... Not sure if it is because the crowds have not arrived yet. But I do hope its serenity remains. Would be a very nice place to think away...



Graceful were the mermaids (Dugongs) despite their size!

 


It was a pleasure to see them dancing in their enclosure. And heart-warming to see happy adults and children dancing with them :)

 

Would say the mermaids are very lucky to have such a big and beautiful home! River Safari is beautifully and environmentally built, I must say!

 

The squirrel common monkeys were very cute too! You can see them up close and person in their enclosure :)



And I do think we have one of the best souvenir stores in our zoos that enticed even the locals (me!)! See the green hat and cap adorned with River Safari animals? Was so tempted to get them. Nice!

More cute souvenirs to make you happy! :)

 
It was drizzling most of the time and fortunately, River Safari is well-sheltered. It was a simple trip that made my day. Yes, happiness can be so simple! :)