Back to the zoo!

Blogger has a new look. The blog looks the same, but the publishing desktop has totally changed. Hm.

Yes, I went to the zoo on Friday 7th May, with Newbie. Have to admit, when you're perpetually living in an urban concrete jungle, it's a great change to go back to nature, so to speak. When we took the bus into Upper Thomson Road, you could feel the change in the air, there was less people, more greenery, and no buildings in sight. Then when you changed to another bus to get into Mandai Road, it's even more deserted. We passed by Pierce Reservoir, and everything was so calm and peaceful, it didn't seem like Singapore at all.

Note to all out there: If you ever want a break from work/home/unemployment, take the trip up there, or check out the reservoirs. Very calming.

When we first arrived, I tot the zoo had undergone a complete revamp at first. The entrance was totally unlike what I had remembered it to be. Then again, the last time I'd gone to the zoo, I was something like half my present size, as I told Newbie, so this explains it. Turns out it was only the front entrance that had been revamped, and all the exhibits stayed mainly in the same place, so we didn't get too lost inside, hahaha.

Or maybe something did change from the last time I went. Everything seemed.... smaller. The amphitheatre with the animal shows, the cages, the enclosures, everything that seemed huge and imposing then, now seemed so much smaller when I looked at it through adult eyes. Even the elephants they used for the elephant rides didn't seemed so tall and grand as it used to be. Sad, when you revisit scenes from your childhood and you realise how much has changed, and how much time has gone by.

Anyway, it was fun, :). We managed to catch some of the animals feedings so we could stand there, watch them being fed and listen to the zookeepers' commentaries on the animals. The jaguar, especially, was a most amazing animal. Its closed cage may seem imprisoning at first, until the zookeeper tells you that it climbs, swims, and runs better than any human, and that it could jump to a height of 5m. Yikes. "Maybe in a worse case scenario, you could swim across the reservoir," Newbie jokes. "Yeah right, you'd drown before you even got halfway there." I retort.

And I managed to feed an arapaima! This is the largest freshwater fish in the world, and they were kept in a moat surrounding a monkey enclosure. The zookeeper first sticks a fish onto a bamboo rod, and then you hold it slightly above the water surface. And you know what? I didn't even get to see the fish, cos when it came, all I saw was this gigantic *SPLASH* and that was it. Bleah. Newbie's reaction was funnier, he said, "I saw this giant jaw coming out of the water, and I went WTF??" and he jumped back even further than I did! Hahaha! Later on,

"C'mon, try it! It's nothing! There's a stick for you!"

"No way."

"Or would you rather try it with your hands instead?"

"No WAY i'm trying it!"

Darn. No fun. :p

He did remark later, after dinner, that I didn't seem to be scared of animals when they came near me. I guess I was just brought up that way? No, that's not the reason either, cos my family doesn't keep animals. Maybe it's cos I was taught to handle them, to understand their thinking, and that's why I don't cringe and scream when a butterfly flies too near to my hair, like one Jap girl did at a walk-through exhibit. Sheesh. *Rolls eyes at ceiling* When you realise that they're much more afraid of you than you are of them... well, there ain't much to be afraid of I guess. Of course it also helps that most of the large, carnivorous or poisonous animals are either separated from us by a large moat, or by secure enclosures. Everything else was ok. :p

So that's my day at the zoo. Will be going to the Birdpark next, cos we bought saver tickets. :p so watch out for that one!

Interestingly a dragonfly landed on my shoulder on that day as well, a small, meek little thing that I didn't notice for a while, till he came into sight. I didn't wanna smack it, so I'm carrying it around for a while. See what happens next lah. ;)