Night Safari
The first of its kind in the world, Singapore's renowned Night
Safari offers you a chance to view nocturnal animals from all over the world, at close range and as close to their natural
settings as possible. A visit to this unique safari is highly recommended.
Situated right next to the Zoological Gardens at 80, Mandai Lake
Road, the Night Safari (tel: 2693411) is a 40-hectare site of
secondary forest and is home to some 1,000 animals representing
about 100 species. It opens at 7.30 pm nightly until midnight, but
because the entrance queues (especially during weekends) is sometimes
so long, it is best to go there a bit earlier.
The park is divided into various habitats, such as Malaysian
rainforest, Indian jungle, or African sahara.
You can choose to walk along the many well-lit trails in the park,
where you will get a unique, close-up view of the nocturnal animals.
Or you can hop onto a tram, which will take you on a 45-minute
loop around the park, with guided commentary in English, Mandarin
or Japanese. We suggest you take a tram ride, then explore one of
the trails, which would take you one to two hours.
Admission to the Night Safari is SGD15.45 for adults and SGD10.30
for children. The tram ride costs an extra SGD4 for adults and SGD3
for children.
Botanic Garden
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a lush and serene 52-hectare
park right in the heart of the city centre. The main entrance to
this popular park is on the corner of Holland Road and Cluny
Road, just off the western end of Orchard Road.
A truly beautiful park, the Botanic Gardens was founded in 1859,
and is a great centre of research for students of botany the world.
This is where the region's first rubber trees - so infamously
smuggled from Brazil and then transported to London's Kew Gardens
- were first planted by Henry Ridley.
The park is a great haven for people who just want to take a leisurely
stroll, go for a jog or set up a picnic spot. On certain Sunday
evenings, when there are free jazz or classical concerts in the park, you'll find hundreds of people picnicking or just lazing
about in front of soaking in the music from the outdoor stage.
The Botanic Gardens are rather unique in that they contain a whole
variety of flora from differing climates, which make for some surprisingly
different settings within the park. Around the huge and peaceful lake, for example, are weeping willows and huge spreading trees
that recall a Monet painting, while a white summer house and rows
of neat flowers and lawns recall a Jane Austen-type setting. You
can also wander among 250 different species of palm trees in the
park's Palm Valley, or imagine you're in the midst of an
equatorial jungle in the Rainforest section.
Tucked in the Botanic Gardens is the National Orchid Garden,
which is well worth the $2 entrance fee. The Orchid Garden has the
world's largest display - over 60,000 varieties - of orchid plants,
including the Vanda Miss Joachim, Singapore's national flower.
The Botanic Gardens are open from 5 am to to 12 midnight daily,
and admission is free. The National Orchid Garden opens from 8.30
am to 7 pm daily.
Zoological Gardens
Singapore's Zoological Gardens, at 80 Mandai Lake Road (tel: 2693411), is well worth a visit, even - or especially- for
those who feel that zoos are gloomy affairs featuring caged animals.
The zoo has won accolades from around the world for its "open concept"
in displaying its animals - wherever possible, carefully hidden
moats replace bars, and the creatures are made to feel as close
to their natural habitat as possible. You can be walking
in a grove of trees and find long-tailed macaques chattering overhead!
The more popular exhibits are the Primate Kingdom, Wild
Africa, the polar bears and the pygmy hippos.
There's an area for kids called Children's World, where children
can pat domesticated animals, see a cow-milking demonstration and
watch sheep dogs round up sheep. You can also choose to have breakfast
or tea with the zoo's celebrity orangutans for an additional
SGD13 per adult and SGD10.30 per child.
There are also regular animal shows, with the Primate & Reptile show at 10.30 am and 2.30 PM and the Elephant and Sea Lion show at 11.30 am and 3.30pm. Animal feeding times at the zoo,
when the animals are at their most active, are at 9.30 am and 5.15
PM daily. The Singapore Zoological Gardens are open from 8.30 am
to 6 PM daily.
Admission for adults is SGD10.30, and for children of between 3
and 12 years, SGD4.60. You can also opt for a combined Zoo and Night
Safari (see below) package, at SGD21.60 for adults and SGD12.80
for children.
Mandai Orchid Gardens
If
you're an orchid enthusiast, the Mandai Orchid Gardens (Tel:
2691036), next to the Zoological Gardens at Mandai Lake Road, are
a must. These gardens are the centre of Singapore's thriving orchid
industry, and boasts four hectares of the fragile and beautiful
plants. Let the Orchid Gift Box Service deliver the flowers
to your loved ones to any address in the world.
The gardens are open from 8.30 am to 5.30 PM daily, and admission
is SGD2 for adults and SGD0.50 for children.
Jurong Bird Park
Another beautiful animal park built around the "open concept" is Jurong Bird Park (2, Jurong Hill, Tel: 2650022), which showcases
more than 8,000 birds of 600 species from around the world. This
20-hectare park has specially-designed aviaries made to resemble
the birds' natural habitats as much as possible.
Walk through the park and you will spot cockatoos, macaws, cassowaries,
eagles, peacocks, parrots, hornbills and birds of paradise. Night
birds like owls and kiwis can be found at the nocturnal sanctuary.
You can even watch penguins swimming in their air-conditioned aquarium,
or spot humming birds in action in the Hummingbird Gallery.
There's also a huge manmade waterfall at the end of the park, where
you can watch lories and starlings swoop down for their feed. For
a bird's eye view of the park, we recommend you take the 10-minute
Panorail ride, where you can watch the attractions from an aerial
vantage point.
Several interesting bird shows are held daily, such as the World
of Hawks at 10 am and the Kings of the Skies at 4 PM,
which feature birds of prey. There's also the Hornbill Chit Chat
at 11.45 am, a showcase for hornbills and toucans, and the All-Star
Bird Show at 11 am and 3 PM, which features more than a hundred
birds. Don't miss the simulated tropical Thunderstorm, which
occurs every noontime at the Southeast Asian Birds Aviary.
The Jurong Bird Park is open between 8 am and 6 PM daily and admission
is SGD10.30 for adults and SGD4.12 for children.
Jurong Reptile Park
This is Southeast Asia's largest reptile park, featuring over 50
species of reptiles including crocodiles, komodo dragons, snakes and tortoises. There are reptile shows at 11.45 am and and
2 pm on weekdays, with an extra show at 4 PM on weekends and public
holidays. You can also watch the crocodiles being fed, or have your
photo taken with snakes and other scaly creatures.
The Jurong Reptile Park (241, Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, tel: 2618866)
is right next to the Jurong Bird Park. It's open from 9 am to 6
PM daily, and admission is SGD7 for adults and SGD3.50 for children
and seniors.
East Coast Park
This large area of reclaimed land along Singapore's eastern coastline
is where many Singaporeans come to rest and relax during the weekends.
There's a long stretch of parkland here where you can cycle,
roller-blade or jog along the specially-built paths. The beach is
where people laze, while you can also go sailing, para-sailing or
weightboarding in the sea. Stalls which rent bicycles, canoes and
sailboards can be found along the park and beach.
If you wish to go bowling, or play a bit of squash or mini golf,
the East Coast Recreation Centre's the place to go. You will
also find many restaurants, fast food outlets and hawker stalls
here. For a really good dinner of black-pepper crabs and chili crabs,
head for the UDMC Seafood Centre, which is further down the
parkway at East Coast Lagoon. |
