One great thing about having to extend my stay in Singapore is being able to visit the Singapore River Safari, which just had their grand opening this December. I was really excited—it’s an uncommon theme for a nature park, and it was the final one I had to go to here in the Lion City. Let me get down to my favorites:

Ok, hands down, my favorite part was the Amazon Flooded Forest, which simulates the water wonderland that the Amazon turns into during rainy season. I loved seeing the manatees (which are freshwater animals, as opposed to the dugongs, which you can find in saltwater).

 

I spent a lot of time there, and it was calming to see them swim, sometimes upside down.

 

I think I’ve seen way too much of the Upper Seletar Reservoir. But gasp, I don’t care;  it’s so clear.

 

In one of the tunnels, I was thrilled to see a couple of river otters swimming.

 

Like many people, I queued for a long time to get tickets to the Amazon River Quest boat ride. And later, another queue to get in during my timeslot. I was a bit underwhelmed, but it was nice to see some of the rare animals, such as this capybara. I hadn’t seen one since the New Orleans zoo.

 

The squirrel monkey forest was also fun to walk in, although I’m a bit scared of monkeys in general.

 

Next to the flooded forest, my favorite part was seeing the pandas. It was another (!) queue, but one that’s necessary, as the pandas were sensitive to noise and only a group of people can get in at a time. I loved seeing the red pandas:

 

It was also nice to see Singapore’s first two pandas. Here’s Kai-Kai:

 

And here’s Jia-jia:

 

I think it’s my favorite part of Singapore. Don’t miss it!

The Holiday Hackathon is an exploration/discovery project of me spending my last couple of weeks in Singapore. I just finished an art/science residency, and I’m hoping that asking questions and going to new places will help me figure out that next step/project.