Singapore: Singapore Zoo

I have always wanted to visit the Singapore Zoo ever since I saw that series/show on Animal Planet showcasing the zoo. All other guidebooks I've read have raved about this "award winning" zoo and as a person who loves animals and being around animals, I knew I had to include this into my trip.

Of course, the highlight of this trip for me was to see the white tiger and the polar bear, but unfortunately the polar bear exhibit was closed when I visited at the tail end of May 2012. Nevertheless, it was still a good trip as I got to see free-ranging orangutans, Malayan sunbears, white tigers, meerkats (the type you see on Animal Planet), pygmy hippos, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, lions and other fun animals.

This was the white tiger exhibit. A clever river barrier has been formed between the tiger and the zoo visitors. I was fortunate enough to see the white tiger swim in the mock river. The fact that there are no enclosures here made it very fun for me. This white tiger paced back and forth before jumping and swimming in the mock river. This is definitely one of the more popular animals in the zoo.

Although I have seen many hippos in Kenya, I've never seen pygmy hippos and not through clear glass like this. Usually you only get to see the top of the heads, but with this glass enclosure you get to see what they do underneath the water. Which just bumping into each other mostly.

Love the meerkats on display at the Wild Africa section of the zoo. Again as you can see there are no enclosures and a clever barrier has been formed between the animals and the spectators.

Ok enough about the animals and more on the practical stuff. While I enjoyed the zoo very much as an animal lover, I realise that some of the most important things people look for in blogs and the internet are the practical stuff.

So here goes:

1. There are lockers available to keep small items near the entrance of the zoo.

2. They have the Ah Meng's restaurant inside the zoo but before you enter the zoo there are coffee houses, ice cream cafes and some snack shops as well.

3. A tram goes around the zoo at 4 points where you can hop and hop off as you like. It costs SGD 5 to ride the tram. Once you purchase the ticket, you can ride the tram as much as you like. You can also just walk the zoo, but I wouldnt advise it as it is a big zoo. I had the tram ticket and I still didn't get to see the Outback and Ethiopian exhibits as I was too tired.

4. I spent about 2.5 hours there - it was enough for me to see the animals I liked and get a feel for the place.

5. I bought outside food and just ate it at the bench parks around the zoo as I predicted the food in the zoo to be pretty unappetizing and expensive. I think I was right, judging by the looks of things. A meal could cost up to SGD 10 ++

6. An ice cool slushie is about SGD 5.90.

To get here:

Take the MRT  to Ang Mo Kio and take the 138 bus from the Ang Mo Kio bus interchange. It will take about 40 minutes to get here from the bus interchange.

Attraction Website: www.zoo.com.sg