I've always believed that it was best to go to a new place after the hype has died down. First, you get to enjoy a relatively lesser crowd than compared to when it first opens. Second, the place would've improve its facilities based on the feedback of early goers so when you head over later you'll encounter less problems. Third, you get to read the reviews of people who have already been there!
That pretty much explains why I haven't been to Adventure Cove, SEA Aquarium etc... I hate squeezing with the crowds and super long queues (unless I really have to, like fleas :/ ). Do you feeeel me?
So with the holidays, it was the perfect excuse to head over to River Safari on a weekday.
Thankfully we were blessed with great weather that day! It wasn't too sunny nor did it rain - perfect as it wasn't too hot that the animals would go hiding in their shelters.
To add on as a note, I got the tickets from a seller off Carousell at $16 so it was waaaayy cheaper than buying tickets at the venue itself. Do some research before buying your tickets because there're many other cheaper avenues to purchase them like Groupon, Qoo10, Carousell etc.
Have waaaayy too many pictures of the animals there 'cos I was snappy happy seeing all of them. I don't even remember when was the last time I went to the zoo! The view there was amazing and it was so cool seeing so many fishes and mammals that I didn't even know existed *o*.
And of course, we went to the Panda Restaurant to try out the food there. The first thing we ordered was the panda buns! They're so adorable. Everyone has mixed opinions about their taste but Dan & myself liked the Chocolate Custard bun so very much! The other bun has Red Bean Paste which I absolutely abhor so we didn't get that :x. We also got the Cappucino because... IT HAS A FIGURE OF KAIKAI ON IT. Nuff' said.
To make the best out of our trip, we also went for the Amazon Quest. Basically, we tried almost everything we could haha :x. It's best to go early so you can spend the rest of your time sight-seeing to your heart's content!
The website states that 25% of River Safari's animals are found here so the ride is actually quite worth the money. Most of the animals were visible but some were hiding in the shade due to the hot afternoon sun. The highlight of the quest is the Jaguar - never seen one before so I was quite excited but in the end we didn't see any :(.
Of course, we also went on the River Safari Cruise.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see. There was only the usual: giraffes and elephants, but nothing out of the ordinary as shown in their brochure. Apparently there are alot of animals and insects to be seen during the ride but we were probably there at the wrong timing. :(
This area is so pretty - but also gross. The walls of the glass is smattered with.... otter dump. Most likely. It was quite disturbing seeing it floating inside the place where they lived x_x. But otherwise, it was a nice sight.
There was an event going on to celebrate Kai Kai's and Jia Jia's birthday so we joined in the fun! Got ourselves a panda painted on our arms and also did a declaration to save the Earth by turning off lights etc.
It does sound like a disappointing day, but hey, at least we got to see both Kai Kai and Jia Jia in their enclosure! Most only see either one of them so I guess we're lucky ;). They were both sooooo adorable and looked so cuddly. I differentiate them by their hairstyles - look at Kai Kai's distinct clump of hair at the top of his head that gave him the nickname "onion head"! We kept returning to the panda enclosure 'cos the aircon was so comfortably measured plus it was scorching hot outside :x
This place is perfect for families, or even a day out with your friends. After visiting River Safari, you'll have this urge to go to the Singapore Zoo too (myself, and all my friends that I've asked before). We'll probably be heading there before the holiday ends!
