The first time Sofia visited Singapore, she was not yet 2 years old, and we did not live here yet. In between all the shopping and eating I wanted to do, I said I'd try to be a good mom and take her to the Singapore Zoo and she absolutely loved it! Surprisingly, we did too!
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| Sofia and her godparents @ the Singapore Zoo 2009 |
Even now, 2 years later, the Zoo still remain to be one of her favorite places in Singapore. She always asks me to bring her, at least once, every time we're back from Manila. At first, I wasn't really very cooperative. A trip to the zoo is not really cheap, especially if you've been there before. I spend over SG$100 every time we go for the cab fare, entrance fees, food and souvenirs. But then I realized that if we became "Friends of The Zoo", which is the annual membership package, and we learned how to get there by train and bus, it was not expensive at all!
The Friends of the Zoo Family Package only costs SG$180 for 2 adults and 3 kids. The 3 kids don't even have to be your own, so you can sign up the playmates of your child to maximize the membership. Entrance tickets cost SG$20 for adults and $13 for children. If you do the math, if you visit the zoo 4 times, then you've already gotten your money's worth. If you manage to do that by using the train and the bus (which would be a SG$2 fare per person, compared to a SG$20-25 cab ride one way) then what used to be an expensive trip is now a very cheap way to entertain the kids for the day. I think we maximized our membership after 2 months. Hahaha, but then we went to the Zoo with visitors.
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| Sofia and her friend Andie, leading the way at the Zoo November 2011 |
Our last visit to the Singapore Zoo was just before Chinese New Year.
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| They had this at the entrance |
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| They had a Special Komodo Dragon on Display |
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| Baby Komodo Dragon Did you know that a Dragon is a big Lizard? Well, you learn something new everyday! |
The thing I like about the Singapore Zoo is that they designed it in such a way, that you don't feel like the animals are all caged up.
Since we've been so many times now, we just go to our favorite animals, or what we feel like visiting for that day.
We normally take the trail that leads straight to the White Tigers, Pigmy Hippos that leads to the Australian Outback.
Can you spot the difference here too?
I hope they're careful when they transport the animals, these are precious cargo. Can you spot the difference here too?
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| My friend Anna, with her favorite animal The Giraffe |
Since we've been so many times now, we just go to our favorite animals, or what we feel like visiting for that day.
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| We love the White Tigers the best! January 2012 |
Can you spot the difference?
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| August 2009 |
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| January 2012 |
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| August 2009 |
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| January 2012 |
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| October 2010 |
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| January 2012 |
The other thing we like about the Singapore Zoo is it has a water play area inside RainForest KidzWorld.
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| Tickets are only for the pony rides, carousel or horse carriage. Entrance to Rainforest Kidzworld is free. |
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| This is the water play area. Kids gather in the Splash Zone when the bell rings. |
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| They like getting drenched from the big bucket above. |
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| My daughter prefers running around and making her own splash |
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| Andie and Sofia running through through the water spray tunnel November 2011 |
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| The kids can also opt to spray other people if they don't like getting sprayed My favorite little boy Yonchie! November 2011 |
On one of our visits late last year, we discovered that there was also a DinoWalk and a hidden playground by the river behind the water play area.
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| Sofia jumps off the balancing beams when she feels she's about to fall September 2011 |
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| Sofia likes running around the Dino Walk and scaring herself when she sees the dinosaurs. September 2011 |
If it's your first time to visit the zoo, here are some tips:
1. Don't forget to bring your rain gear. The weather in Singapore is so unpredictable, it can be totally sunny when you leave, and it can be raining cats and dogs when you get there. Since the Zoo is quite far, you will just decide to make the most of your trip rain or shine.
2. Plan in advance the shows you want to see. We've watched all the shows already so we normally watch what's convenient for us time-wise.
I think the best ones to catch are the:
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| Splash Safari Show |
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| Elephants of Asia You can feed the elephants after the show |
We used to like the Rainforest Fights Back Show, but they reworked the story so it's now more of show and tell, than an actual story line. Just Saying.
3. The kids normally order food from KFC at Rainforest Kidzworld. If you're Filipino, and rice as a staple of your kids' diet, bring your own cooked rice. KFC only serves french fries, mashed potatoes or coleslaw with their chicken here.
4. If you're also a Friends of the Zoo member, don't forget to show your card every time you buy something. They'll give you a members discount.
We'll be Friends of the Zoo until September of this year, so I'm sure we'll back back a few more times!
You can check out their website here for more information.
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