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River Safari: Pandas in Singapore

Today I am going to talk about being a tourist in the same country where I live. There is a  new tourist attraction called River Safari Singapore, Asia’s first and only river-themed wildlife park. Unfortunately since it’s so new, the river part (where you get to ride a boat on the river, how cool is that?) is not actually open yet, so the ticket prices are discounted at S$25.

So without the river part, what is there to see, then? Why, the pandas which were imported from China late last year! And when my friends Chi and Punch, a couple who call themselves the pandas, announced that they were coming here again this year, I knew they were the perfect ones to go see the real pandas with.

On the day of, we were off to a late start. When we got to the Ang Mo Kio bus interchange at almost 4pm, I saw that there was a sign saying the pandas were available for viewing only until 5pm. Drats. Luckily the bus ride (bus 138) took less than the hour projected on the internet, so we arrived at the place with some time to spare. Turns out River Safari is right beside the Singapore Zoo (which I’ve been to before with my mom).

River Safari

River Safari

 See what Punch did there?

We decided to head straight for the pandas because we were pressed for time. Turns out their habitat is at the end, so we had to pass a lot of aquariums along the way. There were so many fishes and turtles and other animals which we wanted to look at but said we’d come back for later, like this pretty turtle.

River Safari

 After a long walk, we finally arrived at the panda enclosure. We were informed not to use flash photography and to keep quiet so as not to startle the pandas. I nodded my head, fully intending to cooperate.

But the moment I stepped into the enclosure, the words “OH MY GOD!” escaped my lips, after which I hurriedly mouthed “Sorry!” when everyone turned to look at me. I couldn’t help it! I was so overcome by the cuteness of these red pandas!!!!! ✳️ dies ✳️ 

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 I just want to hug them and squeeze them and smother them with kisses. Seriously, can somebody please please PLEASE give me one for Christmas???

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 The most wonderful thing about this habitat, by the way, is the fact that it is an OPEN enclosure. So you can feel really close to these cute creatures and Chi was even worried when I went near the fence, saying, “Are you sure they won’t jump on you or something?”

She was worried about the wrong thing, she should have been more concerned that I would be the one to jump over the fence to get my hands on them!

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 If you’re sitting (or standing, whatever) there thinking, hmmm… they kinda look like the mozilla firefox browser… two points for Gryffindor! According to a helpful sign, the red panda is also known as the fire fox. Well hello there, Moz!

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 I eventually had to force myself away from my new favorite animals in the world and move on to the big pandas, who also had an open enclosure of their own.

This enclosure was not at our level, however, but way below, probably because big pandas are more dangerous.

We arrived just in time to see Kai Kai dining on bamboo shoots. Yes, this panda has an official name given to him, I didn’t just make it up.

River Safari panda

 He is so cute too, isn’t he??? So adorable! He looked so funny too, as he sat there with his legs all splayed about and he grabbed all the bamboo branches and nibbled on them, not caring that everyone was taking his picture.

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 I thought Jia Jia, the second panda, lived in the same enclosure but turns out she has her own space right behind it. At first I had a hard time spotting her because she was hidden in the bushes. When I finally spotted the black and white furball, I wondered if it was a real panda or just a statue coz she was so still! She finally did move after a while.
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Turns out Jia Jia is a very shy panda, according to this sign:
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After we had seen the pandas, we exited instead of turning back to look at the fishes as we said we would and found this canteen where you can eat panda paus, or chocolate custard-filled buns designed to look like pandas. So cute, right?? They were delicious! The filling was so hot, though.
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Outside the canteen I found a cute mural of the pandas and insisted on taking a picture. Based on this, I am the red panda! LOL. From now on, call me Mozzie.

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We asked someone where to go if we wanted to explore more and was told to walk on a bridge across the river to get to the manatee place. This is the view of the river we had to pass. So beautiful, right? Imagine when boats are finally available to ride on this. It would certainly be a treat!

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It took us a while to find the manatees. We passed the squirrel monkeys forest (but didn’t go in), several glass cages full of bright colored birds, even a giant snake reminiscent of Harry Potter (shudder), and tanks of dangerous aquatic creatures like this:

piranha

I know, those fish look so harmless, right? Those are actually piranha.

We finally did get to the manatees aquarium though. It was huge.

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It looked as big as the aquarium at MEMA (Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium).

Unlike in MEMA, though, the sea creatures here were fewer and they moved about so slowly. Watching them drift about gracefully coupled with the soft music and dancing soft light caused by the waves made the whole place so relaxing. It was like being under the sea or in a spa, and I just wanted to sit or lie down there and get a massage, you know?

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And those manatees!

Honestly they’re not much to look at (sorry!) and I always wondered how they could possibly have inspired the mermaid myths, but seeing how gracefully they moved about, I suddenly understood. Their graceful movement made them look beautiful!

After watching them for a while, I suddenly blurted out: “Can I be a manatee???” to which Chi replied in song: “I wanna be a manatee so freakin’ bad…”

But seriously. They lead such idle lives and I want that even for like a week or something!

manatees aquarium

We had to drag ourselves away from our newest favorite animals on earth after a while, and we had a chance to go back to those animals we rushed through the first time.

Our last stop was the tank with mallards and beavers in them. There was a video that explained that the beavers were named Justin and Selena. I was so slow because I didn’t immediately realize that this pertained to Justin Bieber and his ex girlfriend Selena Gomez. Justin Beaver… get it? LOL!

We had some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream before boarding bus 168 again. Then we headed to Newton Circus hawker to have a delicious dinner with Gelle and Joey. It was a very enjoyable day indeed! 😀

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37 Comments

  1. I love zoos… and panda bears!! Could spend hours in such a place. <br />Red Pandas? Didn&#39;t know there were red pandas! What an ignorant person I am!<br />Thanks for sharing these great pictures and experience at River Safari 🙂

    Reply

  3. Wow what fun adventures!! And that river is beautiful!!<br /><br />Thanks for the feature- I&#39;ve loved hanging out on your blog!!

    Reply

  8. Oh, I LOVE this! Those red pandas are definitely something I wouldn&#39;t mind getting for Christmas, either 🙂 Pandas are my favorite animals and I was over the moon when I got to see some at the Washington, DC Zoo. This definitely has a better enclosure, though. What a fun trip!

    Reply

  10. I hope Santa gives us both one for Christmas! Thanks Bonnie, glad you and your sons loved the photos and hope you find them too in your own zoo.

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  15. Dear Santa…. haha! Pandas are indeed such adorable creatures and I&#39;m glad you also got a chance to see them! My favorite animals used to be white tigers (now it&#39;s red pandas lol) and I was also so thrilled when I got a chance to see them so I know how excited you must have felt!

    Reply

  17. Time to draft that letter to Santa… he will definitely be surprised to get a lot of letters requesting red pandas. And one letter for a panda cake from you.

    Reply

  18. vfjndkjfnadsk<br />So I came here to catch up on you and instead spend 20 minutes like ooohhh eehhhh ooohhhh loook at hiiiimmmm! Over these pandas and now I just can not.<br />Dee. Give me your life.

    Reply

  27. Wildlife has such beauty. I wish they were able to roam freely without having to worry about their safety, i sure do feel for them being cooped up in cages all day. No matter how spacious! x

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  28. omgosh red pandas are my favorite!! 🙂 every time i go to the zoo.. they are always sleeping though. haha i&#39;ll have to check this place out next time i&#39;m in singapore.

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  31. Ahh that is true. But it&#39;s sad that sometimes they are in more danger out there lately, what with people who kill them for their meat or fur or whatever.

    Reply

  32. Ooh, finally, someone who knows what a red panda is! This is my first time to know about them actually, now they are my favorite animals ever.

    Reply

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