2015 Vacation Day 4 - Singapore

Today we're having breakfast with the orangutans. Singapore Zoo has an ongoing promotion where you can have buffet breakfast at Ah Meng Restaurant and have pictures taken with the orangutans. The zoo opens at 8:30am, and breakfast starts at 9am. Animal appearance is only from 9:30 - 10am.

Took the 138 bus from AMK Hub to the zoo. Protip for you. Once you clear the zoo entrance, head straight for Ah Meng Restaurant and start queueing up. This is how you get the best seats in the house (terrace, actually), right in front of the stage where the orangutans make their appearance. In our case, we took a leisurely stroll, looking at this and that. By the time we got to the restaurant, there's already a long queue of people.

The food is nothing to write home about - typical fare you'd get from a hotel breakfast spread. There's your scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, sausages, roti, steamed veggies, dimsum, hash brown, breads, pastries, fruits, fruit juices, brewed coffee, tea, ice cream, etc. Food aside, I guess most of the people are here for the orangutans. On cue, they came swinging down the trees, and walked across the branches towards a raised wooden log, which serves as the "stage". Some of the staff were on hand to prevent the visitors from getting too close. The orangutans started having their breakfast, while people line up for picture-taking. Another staff is holding a snake for people to pet and to put on their necks. More photo opportunities.

By 10am, almost everyone has left the restaurant to explore the zoo. By the time we got to the Shaw Foundation Amphitheatre for the Splash Safari Show, the show was almost finished. A volunteer from the audience was asked to throw a frisbee for the sea lion to catch. The guy kept messing it up; to the delight of the audience. The sea lion performed a few more tricks and splashed the audience with water as farewell. For the elephant show, we got to the venue half an hour early, allowing us to choose the best spot - under the shade and near the exits. Noticed that the emcee for both shows is the same lady who hosted the breakfast. Must be a demanding job. Last show for the day is the Rainforest Fights Back Show featuring lemurs, spider monkeys, otters, macaws, etc. The shows are pretty entertaining, humorous, sometimes informative.

Visited a few more animals' habitats before calling a day. The heat was just overbearing. Cooled off a bit at KFC nearby, then took the 138 bus back to the AMK Interchange.