River Safari 河川生态园

Posted on April 16, 2013 by SengkangBabies

Think Animal Planet and River Monsters. Now imagine all these monsters appearing right infront of you. Man-eaters, menacing, powerful, 1 ton monsters, razor sharp teeth, these freshwater fish are the perfect casts for a nightmare!

Daddy ask Yi to pose below a real-size stingray. This fellow originates from Mekong, has a 2m wingspan and maybe weighs 500 kg (not our Bbq variant)

Last Friday, Daddy grab his company’s corporate card and we troop to Mandai. River Safari is in between Singapore Zoo and Night Safari.

River Safari is not only about the Pandas, but woe betide the parents who skip the Panda enclosure. What we wish to say is the giant fishtanks from Mekong to Amazon are cool, and should captivate everyone’s attention.

Talking about water tanks, a few are making splashes (the biggest, the tallest) in Singapore recently. River Safari, Marine Park (Sea Aquarium), and we even snorkel in the Rainbow fishtank at Adventure cove !

Kang loves the Alligator Gar (not related to alligators, adults around 2m and 100kg). Watch them feed with lighting speed (1st Video below)

Did you know River Safari is Asia’s first and only River-themed wildlife park? We get to identify 7 of the World’s river systems.

The cute Red Pandas greeted us at the Giant Panda forest. We saw his cousin in Hong Kong’s Ocean Park last year.

If you are going on a weekend, expect long queue for the pandas. We recommend that you book the earliest timeslot, and proceed straight to The Giant Panda Forest (15min walk)

Panda’s menu.

Video : Kai Kai(凯凯) and Jia Jia(嘉嘉) caught on video + various exhibits

In an earlier story, we knew how the Pandas (Very Important Pandas) took Singapore Airlines from Chengdu (China) to Mandai (Singapore).

Hello Panda, SengkangBabies are here to visit

Ironically, not many people will have the opportunity to photograph the Pandas together.

The hugh bamboo wallpapers outside the Panda enclosure is ideal for Panda portraits.

At every corner, information billboards allow us to learn about the habitats, ecosystem, and the animals or fishes. Daddy did not even know crocodiles exist in China’s Yangtze.

The information provide an immersive experience for the kids to learn through fun and interaction.

We cross Upper Seletar Reservoir to reach Amazon basin.

Looking at the map below, almost half of River Safari is dedicated to the Amazonian system! A pity the Boat ride (River Quest) down Amazon is not ready yet.

No Xena here, but we did caught a lot of cute animals ! (1230 at Amazon Square)

Eagles, Pelicons, Snakes and cute hedgehog thrill the audience. Those kids sitting infront get to touch the creatures, an unforgetable experience.

Squirrel monkies are so cute, and sometimes friendly. We still have to remind kids monkies are wild animals and we have to keep a distance

See, Hear, speak no evil, although we got some coordination problems

The Giant otters play hide and seek with us, Daddy told us these otters can be 2m long !

Not all monsters are carnivorous, the 1 ton manatees are herbivores, but some catfish (Goonch) has a reputation for feeding on human remains !

The amazing Amazon Flooded Forrest is Daddy’s favourite ! Imagine the 1000kg manatees cheek to cheek with yourself on the glass wall! Avoid their feeding time, as we found out the manatees will all be crowding around the diver haha

Video : Awesome Mekong and Amazon Fish tank

Random photos. There are too many to showcase, pop by our Fanpage for more photos.

We have completed one round (clockwise) of the River Safari, and we went through the earlier Rivers again. Basically it is the other six rivers Mississippi, Congo, Nile, Ganges, Murray and Mekong (we had skip them for the Pandas earlier).

Along the way, we had our Fun moments too, Daddy did remind kids not to roleplay the late Steve Irvin (our idol) and wrestle with real crocs !

Be it Crocodiles, Gharials or Alligator (gars), all look intimidating.

Our last stop is the majestic Mekong river. Daddy told us Mekong flows from China to Thailand! (Catfish can grow up to 3m and weighs 200Kg, Stingray can weigh up to 600Kg !)

Bye Bye our friends. This is the only group photo when Kai Kai and Jia Jia will pose together.

Tips :

1) River Safari is opened from 9 to 6pm. If you are the first visitors on a weekend, book the earliest Panda viewing slots (15 min interval). 3mins watching Kai Kai chew bamboo, 5mins searching for Jia Jia, and the remaining time spend with Red pandas :p

2) You will notice a lot of information about the fish, mammals, creatures, take time to explain to the kids (eg that 2m catfish can swallow a young child alive ! )

3) Everyday at 12:30, an “animal show” will be conducted at Amazon Square (after the bridge). This is a fun interactive event which all KIDS should not miss.

4) You will need about 3 to 4 hours to cover one round. A stroller might be helpful for the smaller kids.

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All our photos are on our Fanpage. The river is calling…

- Website
- Fanpage (WRS)
- Pricing (during soft launch, Adult $25, Child $16)
- Opening hours is 9am to 6pm
- map

credits .. All the maps above are from River Safari homepage

** Do you wish to compare Adventure Cove Waterpark, Sea Aquarium and River Safari?

Gardens by the Bay – Supertree and Cloud Forest

Posted on July 20, 2012 by SengkangBabies

Even when the Trees are out of focus, SuperTree Grove still look magical in the evening.

For first time visitors, the SuperTrees always look impressive from any angle, and time of the day.

Day or night, from the base, or from the top. Awesome !

Peeping down from the six-storey OCBC Skyway.

The best time to explore and absorb the romantic ambience might be during dusk. The moment before the sun sets, casting an orange silhouette across Marina Bay Sands.

Look at these two time-lapse lookalike clip of the dancing SuperTrees. At 1945 daily, Garden Rhaspody will dazzle you with light and laser show. Try staying near the centre of the SuperTree Grove. We will feel a surroud sound effect.

The trees bask majestically under the Blue hour’s illumination.

At the Cloud Forest, Waterfall and water droplets greet you at the entrance. Refreshing. Listen to the downpour, feel the wind.

At certain timings (9am, 11am, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm), mist will be released! You will be enshrouded by thick white mist. Super Cool ! Look up and see the “Yellow” lights breaking through the “mist”.

Imagine walking hand in hand with your darling or family. It is wet and slightly cold, but it is such a romantic experience.

The roof window panes have a lot of reflections. At some angles, Daddy thought it felt like stargazing.

**Useful information about Gardens by the Bay :
–> Gardens by the Bay fanpage
–> Gardens homepage

Do drop by our SuperTree and CloudForest albums for more photos.

Our previous Gardens experience :
–> Gardens grand opening
–> We were there during 2011′s Nov preview too

Thank you to Gardens by the Bay’s Ferne for the kind hospitability during our Gardens exploration. We hope more families will enjoy Singapore’s latest playground. SengkangBabies recommend that you drop by fellow Garden-bloggers’ reviews too
–> http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/garden-news.html

Gardens by the Bay opening

Posted on July 1, 2012 by SengkangBabies

Whether you are riding on the Singapore Flyer, swimming at Marina Bay Sands’ infinity pool or driving along East Coast Parkway, you will be able to spot Gardens By the Bay‘s (滨海湾花园) iconic structures like the SuperTrees, and the conservatories (Flower Dome and Cloud Forest).

Costing a cool $1 billion and spanning five years, Singapore’s latest Gardens for the people was officially opened last Friday. And we are telling you the night lightings and ambient is totally different from the day. The SuperTrees glow ! (pun intended).

We arrived on Sat afternoon, to be greeted by “Insects.” The performers don grasshopper, Ladybird backpacks, and kids were encouraged to pick up the loose balls.

Has Spring arrive in Singapore, nope, it is still 33 degrees :p

Grab your tripod along. There are so many vantage points to capture your family portraits.

This is one Garden build for families to enjoy.

As NDP is carrying out their rehearsals every Sat till 09Aug, you can see a lot of actions in the sky. The F15s Eagles were LOUD !

SengkangBabies is proud to Marina Bay’s amBAYssador, it gives us extra privileges at the Gardens
Gardens attractions are mostly free, except for the two conservatories and skyway. Do drop by Gardens homepage for pricing.

We started with Cloud Forest, as we have seen the cool waterfall and mist from news ,and other bloggers’ postings. Enjoy the spray of mist as you are welcome into another world, 100% different from humid warm Singapore.

The man-made waterfall seems to be cascading from a green mountain, we need to start from storey six and walk down the “mountain”. You will be mesmerized by the cascading waterfall. Someone say Cloud Forest resembles
Jurassic Park’s “Lost World”, we Love it !

As you follow the spiraling pathways downward, the glass wall allows you to peek out at neighbouring icons like Singapore Flyers and Marina Bay Sands.

The plants and landscaping are supposed to be the highlights in the dome, but Daddy thought the glass wall is an important feature. From any corner, you can just look up and be amazed at the amazing reflections.

Love the green reflections off the “mountain”! You do not realised how tall are the walkways unless you purposely try to look down. When you look up from the base, the feeling is surreal, you just conquered a scenic mountain

Six storeys, Six stories. Each floor offer another page to explore. Crystal mountain offers stalagmites.

Kids will learn about how our earth is coping with rising sea level, global warming etc. Will mother Earth still be around in 100 years? Will Singapore be submerged because the melting ice at both North South poles are raising the sea levels?

What happens when Earth’s temperature raised by another 5°C degrees in the next century? Kids will be exposed to the environment issues facing us today. The 3D projections at 5°C is Cool!

We pop inside Gardens by the Bay’s concept room, to find out more about Garden’s designs and functions.

Peep behind every window to discover another awesome sight !

We quickly pop into Flower dome, as time was running out. The conservatories and Skyway normally stop visitors from 2030 onwards. As we have visited Flower Dome at last Nov’s preview, we quickly headed to the central area to take more photos.

Outdoor, we headed back to the SuperTrees. Did you notice the yellow pathway linking the Trees? this is OCBC’s skyway, and day-entry fee is $5, L-O-N-G queue! You must make this your first stop at Gardens !

The SuperTrees will be illuminated in the evening. You must see it yourself to soak in the ambient. We can imagine the cool breeze if we are walking on top ! From 1945 to 2000, you can expect Laser shows too.

As we bid the Gardens good night, we notice more cars are streaming in. Gardens will close at 0200, in case you are in the mood for romance.

Thank you Gardens By The Bay, and Marina Bay for the invitation ! One day is definitely not enough to explore the Gardens. Daddy is confident the Dragonfly will agree with your tagline “Where Wonder Blooms!”