Day - 2

The flamingoes..
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Day 2,

11 Aug 2007

We did not see or hear road rage of any kind…what a welcome relief after Dubai!!!

We decided to go to the famed Jurong Bird Park. Rosemary, the lovely English lady whom we had met in the airport shuttle to the hotel recommended it. So we had breakfast from Komala again and off we went to the Park in a taxi. We chose the taxi mostly. They’re plentiful and we find them the best option for getting around fast, and the drivers generally speak good English.

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The traffic was free-flowing. We did not see a single congestion or hear any car honking. We did not see or hear road rage of any kind…what a welcome relief after Dubai!!! Though I am sure some areas must be worse. Driving is British style (left side). Road signs and shop displays as well as nearly everything is in English…the radio stations, television, newspapers. This must be the influence of the English occupation. We reached the Jurong Bird Park around 0930am.

JurongBirdPark

Birds of Prey Show
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We asked the lady at the ticket counter whether it is best to take the train or walk around the park. She advised us if we had plenty of time do the exploration by walking. If we decided we needed to take the train later on we can do it inside the park too. So we explored it by walking. How to describe this place. An amazing colorful kaleidoscope of foliage and flora... Simply Marvelous. There around 9000 birds in that space. I cannot describe how beautifully they have displayed the birds in their natural settings.

The Pelicans
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Everyone told us not to miss the 10am Birds of Prey show. It was awesome. Eagles, hawks, owls and falcons swoop in loops and soar above us audience. They take us on a humorous and fascinating insight into their world.

The world’s tallest man made waterfall, the penguins, the pelicans, the flamingoes … There is simply so much to describe about the place. I let the pictures do the talking.

My favorite was this enclosure named the Lory Loft which is the world’s largest walk-in lory flight aviary. There are around 1000 lories flying free in there... the ambience is of a rain forest and for S$2 you can buy this special nectar mix & feed them. Offer it & these birds will flock to you. The money collected will be used for their upkeep. The colors of these birds are to be seen to be believed.

The Jurong Bird Park
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O God How much we walked. By 02 pm we had completely abused our feet. So we said we will move on. Took a taxi to the Chinese & Japanese Gardens.

Chinese & JapaneseGardens

So peaceful …That’s our first impression. These gardens are situated on two islands in Jurong Lake and are joined by a bridge called “Bridge of Double Beauty”.

The Jurong Bird Park
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There were some gorgeous courtyards; there is a fishpond in the centre which is named the "Fishes Paradise". Some other features were the serene lakes, Stone Boat and Tea House. Also the pagodas… I came to know that in ancient times, the pagoda was originally a simple tower located beside a temple which was used for the keeping of human bones by Buddhists. There was a Bonsai Garden. To know that some of these miniatures are older than you can make you smile. Some are 80 years old and still looking sprite. There was also this “Garden of Abundance” where one can find 100-year-old pomegranate trees.

Ostrich
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There this statue of a lady by the name of Hua Mulan. I could not resist taking a picture after knowing her history. She disguised herself as a male to join the army on behalf of her father. She was fearless, resourceful and had well served the army during her 12 years of service.

Girl power Zindabad!!

We enjoyed the surroundings till about 04pm. Then we took a taxi to the Singapore Zoo.

Singapore Zoo

Eagle
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Reached there by 0430pm. We were too tired to walk & and wanted to take the guided buggy tour. But the lady at the ticket counter said, they will be closing at 06pm and it will not be worth taking it now. Do the exploration by walking and we will see more in less time. So off we went to abuse our feet more. The Zoo's enclosures had the perfect setting to view all the beautiful creatures. They had used moats rather than cages in most of the cases. It was simply amazing... Orangutans, Tigers, Kangaroos, Giraffes, Rhinos, Elephants, Tapirs, the Proboscis monkey...that is the monkey with the unique nose. So much to see...And so little time. At 06pm we exited from the Zoo and went to see the Night Safari which is next door.

The Japanese Gardens
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Night Safari

This is apparently the world’s first wildlife park with a night view. Neat. You can explore it in two ways. Explore on foot. There are 3 walking trails. Or take the tram which pretty much covers most of the things.

Our feet were crying “tram tram”. So we took the tram. But first we went to watch the 0730pm “Creatures of the Night Show”. The way how these animals are trained for the show is simply wonderful. It is like an educational documentary in a humorous and fun way. The stars included a python, some raccoons, hyenas, otters, owls and many more. Unfortunately we could not take any snaps as no flash photography is allowed. It can harm the animal’s eyesight and they may turn blind. This instruction of not using flash had been emphasized a lot and was announced in at least 5 different languages by the hostess…but can u believe it, there were still some insensitive idiots who were taking them. At one point the entire audience turned on this one fellow who took a snap. The show was for about an hour.

Fish's Paradise
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Then we hopped on the 45 minute tram ride through the forest. Of course there was running commentary by a host. Along the way, we can see groups of animals living in their own environment with only some subtle lighting… No cages. Rhinos, Elephants, Tapirs, Tigers, Lions, Deer & so many others all in this shadowy half-light giving this magical feel. Again no flash photography.

It was almost 0930pm by the time we finished. Like I said before, there are 03 walking trails each about half a kilometer in length, where you can walk in the dark & quiet and see some of the areas from a different perspective. Supposed to be great, but the thought of walking again was daunting. So we skipped it saying next time Insha Allah. Back to the entrance area for the native dance and fire show. This was entertaining. Had Burgers for dinner. Taxi to our hotel & got in by 1100pm.Phew what a day!!!