Living Our Best Life Crazy Rich Asian Style – Day 7

We were awake bright and early again. We got up and ready. Then we headed for breakfast. Graham had orange juice, coffee, fruit, fried eggs on toast and porridge. I had coffee, fruit punch, tinned longans and soup noodles with fried shallots, beansprouts, and meatballs.

After breakfast, we went back to the room to pick up what we needed for the day. Then we headed out to the MRT station. We decided to take the train to near the end of the line where there was another interchange with the North South line and avoid the Orchard Road interchange. This was a little further, but it was quite an interesting trip through the suburbs. When we came out of the station, the bus to Mandai was just pulling in. This was perfectly timed. We had a clear run to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve. The bus went to Mandai Wildlife West first. Most people got off there, which surprised me a little. We stayed on until Mandai Wildlife East. This is a much larger area than Mandai Wildlife West and not as pretty. Part of this is because there is a lot of construction going on.

Having taken the long way around on the MRT and the fact that there was more walking involved to get to the entrance, I figured we had well and truly missed opening time. However, it turned out that River Wonders only opened at 10:00 rather than 09:00. we had actually timed this perfectly. This time round, we knew what to expect with the ticket machines.

River Wonders is one of the smaller parks in the Mandai Wildlife Reserve complex. It was the third park to open there after Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. It showcases animals that live in and around the rivers of the world. Most of the walkways are covered with canvas sails providing plenty of shade. The first area we got to was called River Gems, which featured small tanks with smaller fish as well as larger habitats that include both fish and birds like turacos and hornbills. I really liked the multidimensional habitats.

This led to Africa with three areas called River of Africa, Congo River, and Nile River. There were tanks with just fish and larger habitats with fish and birds. There was also information about the ecosystems and the animals that live in them.

After this, it was on to Asia with a slight detour to Australia. First up was the Ganges. This area was pretty scenic and featured a Hindu temple. There were more educational displays highlighting the cultural significance of the Ganges River but also talking about the ecological issues that the river faces. The biggest habitat was for a gharial, which is a member of the crocodile family. The next area represented the Mary River in Queensland, Australia. The main habitat in this area replicates a mangrove forest with fish like Australian lungfish and banded archerfish.

The next area contained the first mammals. The Mekong River area is the most diverse area on this side of the park. The first area we came to in Mekong Rivers was a lion-tailed macaque enclosure. There was a bench opposite, and we sat down for a while. The largest tank in this area is home to Mekong giant catfish, giant freshwater stingrays, and Siamese giant carp. There are also a number of smaller tanks as well as an aviary based on a rice paddy field in Thailand, housing painted storks, black-faced spoonbills, rufous night herons and spotted whistling ducks.

Yangtze River kind of set the scene for what for me was the highlight of this side of the park. It has a large tank with rare species such as a false gharials, Chinese giant salamanders, Chinese high-fin banded sharks, and sturgeons. There were also a number of smaller tanks. Once we exited this area, we came to a panda photo opportunity followed by a ramp leading to the Giant Panda Forest Pavillion. The first area we got to was the red panda enclosure. The red pandas were very shy that day and were hiding in the dense foliage. I only saw one quick flash of red fur. Normally I would have been a little disappointed by this state of affairs as I really like red pandas. Graham even adopted on for me at a nearby zoo for Christmas 2024. However, this time round, I had other fish to fry. I had wanted to see a giant panda for years but had never been lucky enough to do so. They have two giant pandas at River Wonders. Kai Kai is male, and Jia Jia is female. They had a cub Le Le in 2021. Le Le went to China in 2023. Kai Kai and Jia Jia arrived in Singapore in 2012, initially on 10-year loan. This was extended by a further 5 years in 2022. Unless this is extended again, they are heading back to China in 2027, which would be a shame. The Giant Panda Forest Pavilion is the largest panda exhibit built in Southeast Asia and overs 1, 500m². The pavilion is temperature- and humidity-controlled, but the pandas also have access to an outdoor area. The habitat also includes climbing structures as well as a waterfall with shallow pools that gives the pandas the opportunity to have a dip. They are two seriously pampered animals. Pandas are also solitary by nature, and they were in separate areas when we visited. We saw Kai Kai first. He looked very comfortable chilling in some greenery and chewing on some bamboo. I was so happy to get the chance to finally see a giant panda. There were less people near the area where Jia Jia was hanging out. Again, she was chilling and eating. For me, it was worth making the trip to River Wonders just to see the pandas, but there were some other real highlights still to come.

At the end of the Giant Panda Forest Pavillion was a small shop and just outside the pavilion is a cafeteria. Then we reached a boardwalk crossing the Upper Seletar Reservoir. We took our time walking across this boardwalk as the area is quite pretty and there was plenty of wildlife about. We saw a lot of different birds, fish, and turtles. Supposedly there are crocodiles living in the reservoir, but no concrete evidence has ever been found. We did a one point think that we had seen a crocodile, but when we were able to get a closer look, this was actually a rather large water monitor.

The boardwalk led us to the second half to the park. This concentrates on South America. There is also a ride and a theatre in this area. The theatre has a presentation called Once Upon a River. This had just started and needs to be reserved two hours in advance. The next presentation was in three hours, and we were not sure if we would still be in the park at that stage. We passed on this.

Next to this was the entrance to the ride at River Wonders. This is called Amazon River Quest and is not included in the ticket price. However, at 5 Singapore Dollars per person, it does not exactly break the bank. We decided to go for this. I knew that here were animals along the route of the ride that could not be seen anywhere else in the park. I figured it was just a scenic boat ride past various animal habitats. I was somewhat surprised when shortly after getting on the boat, we went onto a lift platform, and the boat was lifted quite a long way up. There was a drop near the beginning of the right and another one near the end. I got quite wet on the first drop, but as it was very warm, it did not matter, and I soon dried off. The drops were comparable to Pirates of the Caribbean. After the first drop, we saw the first animals. There was a recorded commentary about what we should be seeing. There was a good variety of birds and mammals. Not all of them were visible, but what we did see was definitely worth the extra money. Highlights were Brazilian tapir, giant anteaters, capybaras, and jaguars. They saved the best for last with the jaguars, which were in a beautifully themed habitat. After a final drop, we returned to the loading dock to get off the boat. Then we continued exploring.

Next up was Amazonia Encounters. This was a two-part adventure. The first part involved various enclosures with both aquatic and land animals. We were lucky that some keeper talks were taking place in the area, and we listened to those. We managed to catch most of the talk about the tamarins and all of the talk about the silver arowanas. There were various other fish in this area as well as an enclosure with green anacondas and another enclosure with Cuvier’s dwarf caiman. This area then led to something that looked like a free flight aviary. Indeed, there were some birds there like different types of macaws and curassows plus white ibis. Apparently, there are some other birds as well, but we never saw them. On top of this, there were two different kinds of tortoise, squirrel monkeys, white-faced saki and Azara’s agouti. The monkeys in particular were as curious about us as we were about them. Apparently, there are also capybaras in this area, but we never saw them. I would have loved to see one up close.

The final area was Amazon Flooded Forest. This is a large indoor complex that features a wide variety of species from the Amazon River. The first area you get to was a glass viewing tunnel of the type that is usually used to observe sharks in aquariums or sea life centres. However, the stars of the show here are giant river otters. It was fascinating to see them from this perspective. The tunnel led to multiple rooms with tanks of various sizes with various fish and amphibians. The final room on this level contains the largest tank in the park which holds the park’s group of West Indian manatees, arapaima, red-tailed catfish and pacu. We spent a fair amount of time in in this area. We then went up a ramp. There were viewing windows overlooking the outdoor area for the giant river otters. We had to smile. One of them wanted to be close to another giant river otters, but the other one wanted its space. This reminded us of us at times. We watched the giant river otters and then we continued up the ramp to the final room with the top of the manatee tank and also a pool with stingrays. We watched the manatees for a little longer and then we headed out. I took a photo near the entrance and then we retraced our steps to head for the bus. We both really had enjoyed this park and were glad that we had made the effort.

We had just missed a bus when we got to the bus stop. Fortunately, the next one was not far behind. When we got back to the station, I spotted a little supermarket. I decided to check this out. I had hoped for some unusual soft drinks. I did not spot anything that caught my eye in this regard. They did however have some pandan chiffon cake. I came across this in 2019, when I had a piece of this with some coffee when we fancied a snack. This was on my list of things I wanted to have before we left Singapore. The pandan chiffon cake is a light sponge that is flavoured with a juice made from pandan leaves. This gives it a bright green colour and a lovely delicate flavour that is subtly herbal. I got one to enjoy later.

When we got to the platform, we had a short wait for our train. This time round we headed towards the city as we had plans for a late lunch/ early dinner. We got off at Raffles Place. One thing that it great at the MRT stations in Singapore is that there is always a map as well as a list of which exit to use for which landmark near every exit. This makes navigating quite easy. The issue with that particular station is that it is right in the downtown core and there are a lot of streets very close together. Google Streetview showed me that the street we wanted had a 7-Eleven at the corner. I had a look around and found the right street very quickly. As soon as we had turned into this street, I saw our destination in the distance.

One of the things that was still on my to do list for Singapore was a meal at Lau Pa Sat. Lau Pa Sat was the first hawker centre we visited. Even though we have now sampled a number of different hawker centres and loved most of them, Lau Pa Sat is still my favourite. What is now Lau Pa Sat started as the Telok Ayer Market, which was a fish market. At the time, this was very close to the waterfront. Indeed, part of its structure extended out to the sea, so waste from the market was washed away by the tides and produce could be loaded or unloaded directly from boats via jetties. The original building was declared unsafe at some stage and was replaced with another building. In 1879, land reclamation work on Telok Ayer Bay started and Telok Ayer Market was no longer near the waterfront. The fish market was relocated to the new waterfront where it was part of a larger scale market hall. The present building was created as part of this move. Further land reclamation happened in the early 20^th century and again, the market was no longer located on the waterfront. The area around it had become a major commercial and financial centre and in the early 1970s, it was decided that this was no longer a suitable location for the fish market. It was repurposed as a hawker centre as early as 1972 and became a national monument on 28 June 1973 in recognition of its historical and architectural value. In 1986, a new MRT line was built which was due to run underneath the building. This meant that during the construction, the building was in the way. The building was taken apart and its cast-iron supports put into storage in Jurong. Once the construction of the MRT line was completed and Telok Ayer Market was reconstructed in the late 1980s. In 1989, the market was officially renamed Lau Pa Sat, which means Old Market in the Hokkien language, and which was what the locals had called it all along anyway. Since then, Lau Pa Sat has reinvented itself a number of times.

I remembered from 2019 that seating was a bit of an issue, but this was not the case when we visited this time. I am not sure if this was down to us visiting on a Sunday afternoon rather than on a weekday during lunchtime or if they added more seating when Lau Pa Sat was las refurbished in 2020 and 2021. They did do a steady trade though. We shared some boneless tandoori chicken and then I got ten sticks of chicken satay and ten sticks of pork satay. While I was waiting for my pager for the satay to go off, I got us both a mango juice. I noticed that the stall where I had got the mango juice did kaya toast with half boiled eggs. Once we had finished our satay, I got some of this along with a mango smoothie each. After this, we were full. I took some photos and then we walked up to the MRT station where we could get a train back to the hotel. Once we got to the platform, the train just pulled in and soon we were back at the hotel.

We had a bit of downtime to digest our lunch and then we headed up to the pool for a swim. Once the sun went down, we headed back inside to get showered and changed. The hotel had a self-service laundry room, and I decided to get some laundry done. I went to get the washing going and then headed back to the room. I set a timer and read. Graham was fast asleep when I got back. Once I had put the laundry in the dryer, I went back to the room again and read some more. At some stage Graham woke up and we had some of the cake hat we had bought earlier. When I went to get the laundry out of the dryer, about half of it was still damp. The problem that I had was that I was out of change. I went down to reception, and they were able to give me the tokens I needed for another dryer cycle and charge it to our room. I set the dryer going again and folded up what was dry. Then I went back to room to read some more. When my timer went off once more, everything was dry. I folded up the rest of the laundry and headed back to the room. I took some photos of our view at night and then I got ready for bed. I was asleep as soon as I laid down.