River Safari & Amazon River Quest

Went back to the River Safari. Last visit was slightly over 6 months ago and the "boat ride" had not started then. To get to the boat ride, there is an extra $5.00 on top of the entrance fee. But frankly was a bit disappointed with the ride though.

The ride was the sort of lazy river ride that one get nowadays in the big water park. Just that we sat in flat bottom boat which winds round a small area of the park. There are supposed to be a number of animals along the way but maybe we were too early or it was too hot. We only got to see a few of the animals like this capybara, some howler monkey and some pig like animals.

The rest of the animals like the Brazilian Tapir, jaguar, giant anteater, wolf and some smaller monkeys were not visible at all.

Then there are the birds. The flamingoes were behind a netting which was kinda disappointing but there was a small flock of red bird - scarlet ibis(?) and they seems to be flying freely.

Of course the highlight of a visit to the Singapore River Safari is the panda and this time round we managed to see both of them and their cousin the Red Panda. Much more fruitful than the last trip.

This is Kai Kai

This is Jia Jia

The pair of Red Panda seems very stressed compared to the one we saw at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. I think it is because the enclosure is in an enclosed area and too near to the visitors.

Anyway, in my opinion, the Amazon River Quest is not worth the $5.00 especially if there is a long queue. But on the other hand, $5 is not too much and it is definitely better than the boat ride at the Bangkok Safari World where there are no real animals!

Pulau Payar, Langkawi

The highlight of the trip to Langkawi was the visit to Pulau Payar, a marine park off mainland Malaysia. To get there, we had to sign up with one of the many tour companies specialising in the visit there. The 3/4 day trip include the pick up from the hotels, ferry ride to the island, lunch, snorkeling gear and life jacket. There are unfortunately no bathing facilities on the island.

This is the main part of the beach where the tourists get to hang around and swim with the fishes and have their lunch and rest there too.

Although the tour guide said no feeding of the fish, they nevertheless still handed out bread to us to feed the fish. It was rather fun watching all the fishes fighting to eat the bread although I think it shouldn't be encouraged.

But the real purpose was of course to swim with the fish and that we had plenty of opportunities as there were fishes everywhere. The water was relatively calm and clear and we could see right down into the water.

But of course the best part was swimming with the fish and we don't even need scuba diving gear for that. But the beach do drop off quite sharply and it was overhead just mere metres from shore. So having life jacket on all the time is recommended for those who are snorkeling but it does make it more difficult to go deeper into the water to look at the fish.

And the Princess managed to took some amazing shots of the fish.

 Yes a shark!

 A puffer

Certainly this was more interesting than Redang Island which was much more rocky and the current was stronger. Definitely the highlight of the trip!

All photographs were taken by the Princess with the Nikon AW110 a wonderful little compact camera which can be used underwater!

River Safari

Our first visit to the Singapore River Safari. To my disappointment, it was only partially open with some exhibits still not opened. But what was open to the public certainly didn't disappoint. And the landscaping was good. The place was beautifully landscape that it was like being in a resort.

True to its theme, there were exhibits after exhibit of fishes. In this respect, I actually prefer this to the South East Asia Aquarium where what they have are the usual sea water fish.

Here there are more exotic fish like the alligator gar, the Cambodian fish, Siamese Catfish, piranha and manatee, ok that is not a fish but still it lives in the water.

 And of course the highlight of the place are the panda.

And the side show

All photos by Alicia.

Marine Life Park South East Asia Aquarium at Resort World Sentosa

Was recently at the Marine Life Park South East Asia Aquarium at Resort World Sentosa. This is touted as the world largest aquarium but I wasn't really impressed by it. Maybe it was too crowded and I didn't get to see all the exhibits close up but somehow I felt that there were less variety of fish compared to say the Underwater World also at Senotsa or the aquariums around the region.

Anyway, here are some photos of the fishes taken with my Nikon D60 using a kit lens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fish Farms and Golf Courses

I have been visiting the fish farms in Singapore for the longest time ever since I discovered the fish farms at Old Tampines Road.ever. I love going there to look at the fishes especially the koi  It was a sad day when the whole area was acquired for a new expressway. Fortunately, some of the farms eventually moved to Pasir Ris Farmway. Although the area has lost its charm as compared to the country like feel of Old Tampines Road, it was still a place where I spent quite a number of weekends just gazing at the fishes and getting replenishment for the fish tanks at home.

So it came as a shock to read in the papers and found out that the fish farms has got to go again because the area is needed for “industrial” development. The 13 affected fish farms including the popular Mainland Tropical Fish Farm occupy an area of 21.6ha of land. What I don’t understand is why the farms have to go? Does Singapore really need more industrial space? From what I heard and read, everybody is complaining about the expensive land cost here, scarcity of workers and moving out to Johore and China. So where is the demand for the industrial land coming from?

Fish Pond

Saw this poster promoting a fish pond.

But what exactly is Coil Fish?

 

Star Cruise Virgo Trip to Pulau Redang

Went for a short weekend break on the Star Cruise Virgo. The last time we were on this ship was so many years ago that I can't even remember when it was.

The magnificent lobby is still there with the beautiful stain glass on the ceiling

The most colorful part of the ship - the main reception deck with shops and lifts and fake windows

There are 3 giant bronze horses.Very gaudy but everybody seems to be taking photo there so I took a shot as well

We are non gamblers so we didn't even step into the casino which means the time on the ship can be pretty boring. Both night we went to the theatre to watch first a musical and then a ventriloquist. But then I felt asleep and miss all the nice parts.

Apart from the theatre, there was the swimming pool but it rained most of the time so we didn't get to soak in the pool or the jacuzzi.

There is also a children playing pool but our kids are too old for that.

The other thing that we do a lot is of course eat. But we were cheapskate so we eat only at the free outlets which means the buffet dinner at the Mediterranean Cafe. The food there is forgettable. For breakfast on Saturday we went to the Pavilion Chinese Restaurant. Breakfast was semi buffet comprising 4 type of dim sum and unlimited porridge and youtiao. The coffee was not free though. For dinner we decided to go to the Bella Vista a slightly high class looking place serving both Chinese and Western food. But the place was so crowded we were given a queue number to go back 1 hour later. But it was worth the wait as we had some nice food plus a bottle of wine.

The highlight of the trip was a day trip on Saturday afternoon to Pulau Redang.

The water there is gorgeous. Clean and calm. And we could see fishes everywhere! And we didn't even have to snorkel or dive to get pictures of the fishes. Definitely a place I don't mind going back again.