Ever since I was little, I had wanted to go.
When I was in Primary 5 and was a new transfer student at Qihua Primary School, they had a school camp. I can't remember exactly how many days camp it was, but one of the highlights was that it included a visit to the Night Safari. I wanted to go SO badly!!
But...my mommy didn't allow me to. T_T I asked my daddy, he said if I really wanted to go, I can, BUT I need my mommy's approval too. Ahhhhh! that sucked. My mommy couldn't be persuaded. Hmph. I was so jealous of all my friends when they were saying how fun it was... =(
But it's OK! Now I have Mr Toh (and Sis) to bring me there..wahahha!
We met up at AMK Hub for dinner @ Pepper Lunch first, then took the bus there.
The weather was kinda dreary... it was drizzling when we reached the Night Safari. After we bought the tickets, we dillie dallied around waiting for 7pm. Meanwhile people were already queueing up to get in! Can you say kiasu? =X
We browsed around the shops, and bought this cute little white tiger! Hee. Super cute!
It then started pouring!!! Omg. *pouts* My first time there and it had to rain! *argh*
We sat at this foodcourt-like place to have some drinks and to wait for the rain to become smaller. And the prices of the food at this place is INSANE! It's crazily expensive!
Imagine S$17 for a set of chicken rice, vegetables and a bowl of soup! Or $15 for a bowl of laksa! Or $50+ for 1 crab! Omg! What the fish?! Luckily we ate before coming...
Anyway, around 8pm, the rain was getting smaller, so we decided to just go for it! We wanted to take the tram at first, but we were told we had to wait for quite long, so we decided to explore the walking trails first.
First up: Fishing Cats Trail!
The fishing cats are undoubtedly the stars of this trail. Guests are treated to a drama as the cats watch their fishy prey with intense concentration and suddenly lunge into the water to pin them down. (We did mange to see one fishing cat catch a fish! So exciting! wtf)Next, we went on The Leopard Trail.The greater and lesser mouse deer move around daintily with their pencil-thin legs. Not true deer, these animals do not have antlers and the males use their elongated canines as a weapon for defence. (Nothing much here...)
Other inhabitants along this trail include the small but ferocious leopard cats, the playful and noisy small-clawed otters (and smelly), a pair of Indian gharials and the largest bat in the world - the Malayan flying fox. (I suspect Mr Toh got bitten by one of them, he had this 2 puncture wounds at his back that was all swollen and itchy when he got home! But cannot be what! Mystery unsolved..)
Oh yah, and we got a special "treat". We were walking slowly as the ground was wet, when I felt something touch my right foot. I jumped a little, but I thought it was just a branch. But then Sis, who was behind us suddenly screamed! She saw the "branch" moving! Apparently, it was a snake! Thank goodness I didn't see anything, if not, I think I might have given up on walking the trails. =X But I was super kiasi later, and started stomping loudly so that any creatures will be warned of our impending arrival. Haha!
Last trail of the day: The Forest Giants Trail~A rustle among the trees standing in a shadowy forest. A leopard emerges from the dark and starts tearing apart a carcass which drapes lifelessly on a branch of a tree. Sounds like a scene from a wildlife documentary? No, this is one of surprises in store for you when you visit the Leopard Trail. (We saw one lying right in front of the glass! We were pretty noisy when we reached and this 2 ladies squatting in front of the glass 'Ssshed' us, rudely!! Wtf? We weren't THAT loud. Then those 2 dumbasses proceeded to take pictures of the leopard, with FLASH. I commented loudly 'Stupid.' And one of them looked at me in a way that looked like she wasn't looking at me. Ahahahaha, sorry, but I couldn't stand them.)
Another highlight is the tarsiers. These gremlin look-alikes have enormous eyes to spot their prey such as lizards, young birds, spiders and insects in the dark.
Also on display along this trail are the Malay and small-toothed civets, which mark their environment with foul-smelling secretions called "civet". The secretions, however, have a very pleasant smell when diluted and may be used in the production of perfumes. (I hope my perfume doesn't have civet secretions. Eek.)
After we finished the trails, we went for the tram ride! Weee~ The tram ride was fun!! We were SO close to some of the animals like this big fat tapir and lots of deers. On the tram, we also got to see the lions, which we didn't get to see on the walking trails! But they were just lazing around, probably cause the weather was so nice after the rain. Hee.This trail leads you through one of the few remaining pockets of undisturbed primary forest in Singapore. As its name suggests, this trail is a botanical display of awesome forest giants, some of which have been around for more than a hundred years.
The shorea can grow to a dizzying height of 45 metres while the Nyatoh, an important source of timber, can reach a towering 40 metres. Over 100 other native plants are found. Among them are rattan, gaharu, meranti and jelutong. The forest at night is teeming with the nocturnal activities of toads, frogs, crickets and other insects. You may even be able to catch a glimpse of bats, flying lemurs, night jars, owls, squirrels and tree shrews. (Actually I have no recollection of this trail! Haha, think it was boring, so my mind decided to forget it? =X)
Pictures of us before the ride started~
All of us! Sis's cousin, Sis, her BBD, and her friend Andrew, me and Mr Toh at the back~
After the tram ride, we were told that the last Creatures of the Night show @ 10:30pm was closing soon, so we hurried to the show venue. The show was OK, certain parts were quite funny, but nothing really special or memorable. But it was good that they were emphasizing on the importance of environmental awareness.
It was a really enjoyable trip even though we were really tired from walking the trials.
Took a bus back to AMK for supper~ Was really kinda hungry at this point. Hoho. Cabbed back home, took a bath and fell right asleep!
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