Day 13 - Jurong Bird Park

Since last night, I've decided that from now on, I would be going to the zoo once a week. I started since today, the first zoo that I wanted to go was Jurong Bird Park.

I took the MRT and went so far that if I would lost my wallet again, I won't be able to walk back home at all. I came out from Boon Lay MRT which interchanged with the bus station. It was a large station where several bus lines stopped here, I took bus number 249 which only around 10 minutes I then arrived at my destination.

The Jurong Bird Park is a landscaped park which is one of the most popular tourist attraction, and there were $30 Admission fee. The first birds I met were Penguins! I met them swiming in the pond. I was confused because I had thought that they should be only in the snow. I just realised today that there were many types of penguins.

The next birds which was next to the entrance were colourful Macaws and Flamingos which were arranged to welcome the tourists. I thought they can be found in every zoo. So, there were nothing interesting. Hahaha, I'm sorry birds.

There were many attractions alongside the walkway. My first stop was the Riverine which offered a "cross-section" view of a river with the unique scene of ducks, geese, swans even turtles without having to dive into the water.

After the Riverine, I walked along the boardwalk that passed through the Flamingo Lake, Pelican Cove and Swan Lake. The only thing that crossed my mind was such a hot weather! I couldn't focus on the living things in the pond much cause I was walking hurriedly.

At the end of the boardwalk stood a Waterfall Aviary which was another interesting attractions. The tourists could walk in a huge aviary until they found the high waterfall at terminal, I felt like I was a Tarzan that could be friends with the birds in this aviary. I could touch every single birds while I was strolling along.

After the Waterfall Aviary, I walked to the exit. On the way, I found the Birdz of Play which was a water playground in bird themes. There were many adorable families here. I guessed if I was younger than this, I would definitely play.

Next to the water playground was the Hawk Walk and there was a show in another 15 minutes. And I noticed Breeding & Research Centre next to the Hawk Walk which was like a museum of eggs and the nursery of little birds. So, I decided to stroll there and wait for the time.

After 15 minutes, it was a show time! The show displayed the king of the skies such as hawks, vultures, falcons, eagles and owls which came from around the world. This show was around 30 minutes long and had no fees, It was merged with the entry ticket fee.

After the show, I decided to take a zoo's bus tram before going back home. It allowed the tourists to explore the zoo with comfortable and convenience. I was surprised that there were many attractions in the zoo which I missed.

So, after I came out from the bus tram, I determined to stay here for a while. The last stop which I visited was the World of Darkness. I felt like I walked in the ghost house which was cold and silent. Of course, there were many types of owls here. Anyways, they won't get out from the dark much.

Day 12 - Orchard

I couldn't truly say it was a DAY because I spent almost half a day at home. I felt a little bit sick, maybe because I walked too much yesterday. I left home at 4pm and went straight to MRT. Actually, today I got missions to complete at Orchard.

Firstly, I had to buy new pair earphones because my old one was broken. I came out from Somerset MRT station and walked to Cineleisure which was an urban mall located at Grange Road near Orchard Road. I went up to 2nd floor and found the accessory shop named "Beadstreet" with the noticeable symbol -- a fishbone. I bought earphones at $5 or around 100 bath which was the cheapest price I had ever bought. I wanna buy them more and bring them back to Thailand in case it'll be broken again.

After I had completed my first mission, I went out from Cineleisure and came across this huge H&M building across the road.

I went to that building hurriedly. There were 4 floors of accessories, lingeries, and also clothes for men and kids. Besides, the clothes were cheaper than in Thailand. I almost fainted seeing those sales price tags.

After strolling around H&M for a long while, my concentrations were back on my missions. My next mission was to find the Topshop store at Orchard and find a shoes' price to compare with the price in Thailand's.

I walked along the Orchard road and discovered many brand name stores; such as, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, etc. Finally, I found Topshop and that shoes. Anyways, the price was not different much from the shop in Thailand. So, I left it behind.

My last mission, I would like to buy Garret popcorn. I then searched the location and it was located at B1 floor of the Wisma Atria which was not far from Topshop. This was the first time that I bought such expensive popcorn. I wasn't excited, just doubted why Thai people would queue up for a day to buy it. Anyways, after I tasted it, I understood why..

After I completed all my missions, I felt like I spent time uselessly. I gained nothing much from materialism society, so I decided not to go back home yet. I decided to go to Marina Bay to take the city landscape pictures and sunset.

I walked slowly while taking the pictures, there were many people jogging along the riverside.

I also found the Louis Vitton island maison which was located next to Marina Bay Sands. It was the luxurious store with greatest designed building ever.

I enjoyed the moment that I almost forgot the time. After I was satisfied with my pictures, I decided to walk to Bayfront MRT station and went back home.

But on the way back, I found the crowd of people at Marina bay sands shopping mall, I was curious. I then stopped and found out there was a grand opening of the Amazing Spiderman 2! There were many Hollywood stars here. Anyways, I didn't know them much and I hadn't watched it before. So, I decided to walked straight to MRT.

Day 11 - Nature Reserve

Today's plan is so unprepared that I actually left home without much preparations. Today I wanna go to "Bukit Timah Nature Reserve", which is a tropical forest walk. I searched for the routes, while I was taking MRT. This place somehow was the farthest destination since I had come to Singapore.

When I arrived Bukit Timah, the first thing that crossed my mind was Khaoyai. This place is one of the largest patches of primary rainforest left in Singapore. The activities available at Bukit Timah were strolling, running and hiking.

I found the board which described about the map and a number of hiking trails.

The blue trail is rated as "easy" and is 0.7 km. long,
The red trail is also rated as "easy" and is 1.2 km. long,
The green trail is rated as "moderate to difficult" and is 1.9 km. long,
and The yellow trail is rated as "difficult" and is 1.8 km. long.

I decided to choose the green trail which I thought I could finish. Along the trail, there were many tiny pillars provided with the colour labels for hiker so they would not get lost. Before I started, I noticed the forest's plate next to me which told me to leave my earphones and allow the sounds of the forest to enter.

On the way, I found variety of plants and animals; such as the group of monkeys, the beautiful moth, even the strange huge tree.

After I walked up and down, I felt something was wrong. I strolled deeper and deeper, and couldn't find the tiny pillar anymore. I got lost! So, I decided to find the sounds of human, trail and error. Finally I got my routes back and I walked back to the entrance.

While I was walking back, I just noticed this hill was very steep. I was surprised of how far I could go. After I arrived at the entrance, I bought a bottle of water immediately and took a rest. Anyways, I didn't want to go back home yet. So, I determined to find my next destination.

"MacRitchie Reservior Park" was not far away from Bukit Timah. It was the oldest reservior of Singapore.

There were boardwalks along the edge of the reservoir and a walking trails through the forest.

I chose the boardwalk instantly because I was done with the forest.

I walked along the reservior and took the landscape pictures for a while, I found the group of monkeys again! But this time we were so close. One of those monkeys bit my shoelace! I was scared. So I get away quickly.

At first, I wanted to stay here until I could take picture of sunset. But after I walked on the boardwalk almost 3 km., I realised that I couldn't wait that long. So, I decided to search the nearest MRT and go back home.