Night Safari

Swiftly after the end of the show Songs of the Sea in Sentosa, we hurried towards Beach station, rode a bus to Imbiah Lookout and finally boarded again a cable car that will take us back to mainland. Instead of going down at Mount Faber which is farther and where we originally boarded a cable car going to Sentosa, we alighted in Harbourfront Centre and took a train to Ang Mo Kio where we planned to take a bus that will take us to another attraction in Singapore - the world's first nocturnal zoo called Night Safari.


Bus service #138 - from Ang Mo Kio station, we were looking for the waiting shed where we can board this bus but we didn't see the right platform when we went out of the station and because it was already late, we decided to take a cab instead. Night Safari is a 15-minute ride away, located on the same vicinity where the famous Singapore Zoo is and the entrances for both parks are just a minute of walk away from each other. Upon arrival, we went straight to the ticket station to purchase our admission tickets that included a tram ride (SGD37 each).


We came in right just time to queue for to the last showing of Creatures of the Night Show that started at 10:30PM. The entrance to the show closes when there is no more room for additional audience.


host of the show welcomes the audience


a binturong crossing a long hanging line


a girl participant to touch the animal


hyena


serval, an cat specie that looks like a leopard


One of the highlights of the show is a phython hidden under the seats of the audience. Make sure to watch out for the box!


This is how long and huge the phython is. It must be scary for some who got near it!


a volunteer holding the phython


racoon


Of course, like most animal shows, an objective of the event is to teach the audience, mainly children, to take care of the surroundings and the natural habitat of these animals. We all can start by segregating our trashes as demonstrated by the animal.


The show ended at 11:00PM and we hastedly made our way to the tram station where we boarded the last run of the tram that night. Te ride took us around the safari instead of heading to the different trails by foot. The whole park was divided by continental regions and the whole experience is like jumping from countries to countries and continent to continent. The ride took us to the Himalayan Foothills to see the tahr, bharal and vultures, the Nepalese River Valley for the wolf, rhino and otter, the Indian Subcontinent for the lion, hyena and bear, the Equatorial Africa for other hyenas and giraffes, Malayan region for the deers and tigers, Asian Riverine Forest where tapir and the elephants are, South American Pampas where the wolf and anteater is and lastly the Burmese Hillside where the guar and thamins are. What I like about the experience is that you see the animals in an attempted copy of their natural habitats. However it was dark around the area so as not to disturb the animals and it was hard to take pictures. Flash photography is definitely a no-no here!

Some photos taken during the tram ride:

deers


flamingoes


rhino


deer


hyena


lions


African elephant

The 45-minute tram ride experience was definitely worth it especially for such a short time in the park like we had. After a few photos here and there, we left the park and decided to take a stop and relax for the rest of the day. It was almost midnight already when we left.
me near the stage just outside the park

There were bus service but since we are not sure where its heading and the MRT is already not operating past midnight, we took a cab instead to go back to our hotel in Bencoolen. The taxi cab we rode this time was a Mercedes-Benz E220 model. I had seen a lot of these around the city even on my last visit but had never chanced upon one. We didn't specifically selected this vehicle since we lined up for the cabs but it was all great! More comfortable ride and a nice experience for a slightly higher fare. It's been years since I rode a ride of this brand!


Reached Bencoolen past midnight. We realized we haven't had our dinner yet although we weren't that hungry maybe because of the excitement. A 24-hour open-air food court (I didn't get the name) is just a few steps away from our hotel and we decided to eat there. The stalls in the food court consists of Thai, American, Japanese, Chinese and Korean food. I'm not sure if there is a local Singaporean type which I initially wanted to try out so I opted for a Thai Food instead of Stir-Fried Pork with Basil.


food court area


my food, lemonade and stir-fried pork with basil. served with rice and delicious spicy fish sauce.


It was definitely a full day itinerary - from walking tours of landmarks in Singapore to Sentosa by cable car, around the island and lastly Night Safari! The late dinner was a nice tip of the icing for this jam-packed but very fulfilling day for the both of us. After a few minutes checking our next day's schedule and emails, we slept and recharged ourselves for the morning coming ahead.