Birthday Trip to the Zoo

This is going to be a long post. I celebrated my 27th birthday in a rather unconventional way, with a visit to the zoo! Haha, which 27 year old would celebrate their birthday at the zoo? Well, motherhood really makes a difference. It's no longer about me. The 'lil one's interest comes first.

We started the day fairly early. My usual work alarm woke me up at 7am. P woke up at about 7.30am, early by her usual standards. Luckily I had my mom stay over the night before, so she can help juggle P while I pack up for the zoo trip. I called a cab at 8.15am, and off we go!

The zoo's opening hours are 8.30am to 6.00pm daily. We arrived at about 8.45 am, and there was already a snaking queue. They only had 1 counter catering to the walk-in people, and 2 counters handling the priority queue (schools and travel agents) and the walk-ins if there is no one at the priority queue. The wait was longer than expected. I wondered why more counters weren't open to handle the walk-in crowd.

What's the best thing about visiting the zoo on your birthday? This! For spending my birthday at the zoo, I got my Wild Birthday Badge that grants me free admission and other perks. In the end, I only had to pay for my mom's entrance tickets. Adult admission ticket costs $22/pax, and it's $14 for each child between 3-12 years old. My mom's NTUC card gave us a 30% discount, bringing her ticket pricing down to just $15.60. P, naturally, gets in free.



Me and my Wild Birthday Badge. Picture only taken in the afternoon.

After entering the zoo, the first thing we did was to head to the stroller rental area. The zoo provides rental of strollers ($9), wheelchairs (free) and wagons ($15) for moving around. I was debating whether to bring my Quinny Zapp Xtra, and did some search online to see the kind of strollers they provide. I didn't manage to get much info on the stroller type though. Most websites only mentioned that the zoo provides rental of strollers, but did not mention the make of it. Due to the large bags we were carrying, we eventually made the decision to leave our stroller at home and bank it on those at the zoo.

The strollers at the zoo are of the Maclaren Volo series, a lightweight stroller that is light, but does not recline. They didn't look clean (which was expected), so if you are really particular about cleanliness, bring your own stroller. We lined the seat with a diaper changing mat followed by my Naforye Air Cool Mat before we feel slightly better about letting P use it.

If I could choose again, I will definitely bring my stroller because this is what we did when P took her afternoon nap.

The weather was really hot, and I found myself getting really thirsty soon after entering. Drinks are not cheap. Those on the top row and the first on the bottom row costs $3 per bottle. The vitamin drinks on the bottom row costs $4 per bottle. If you can bring your own drinks, good for you. Otherwise, you can expect to pay this price.

Some of the animals we viewed

Zebra, and Maclaren Volo

Giraffe, one of P's fav, so much that I can't get her to look at the camera for a proper picture

Leopard. Little one getting sticky and uncomfortable

Then, we went to catch the Splash Safari Show!

Let's nap before the show

Managed to take a photo with the orang utans!

Time for Kidzworld! We wanted to head over to the waterplay area, but heard sounds of the Animal Friends Show, so we headed to the show and caught the last part of it. After the show, the dogs are there for phototaking. Here's P patting the dogs

We went to KFC for lunch (where I got to use the perks of the birthday badge, 10% off). And then, it's the highlight of our day - Water play! P was kind of cranky and sleepy after finishing lunch. She threw a tantrum and refused to let us change her into her swim clothes. I had to haul a crying baby towards the water play area. The moment her legs touched the water, she never looked back. We spent the next 1.5 hours in the blazing sun (sunblock is a must), where she frolicked and splashed in the water. We had a go at the slides a couple of times too. For someone who hates water on her face and cries during bathing time when we try to wash her hair, P really surprised me today! She wasn't used to the spouts of water initially, and rubbed her eyes frantically to get rid of the water. Once she got used to it, there was no stopping her. I got totally drenched in the process of monitoring her, so you will need a set of clothes for yourself too. There are shower facilities next to the waterplay area (just behind the slide structure), so everyone can clean up after the fun.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

A bottle of milk after her shower sent P to dreamland (we had to tilt her stroller into lying down position), and I had the luxury to enjoy this! 

We ended the day with the Elephants at Work and Play show, and got stranded in the heavy rain after the show! 

Here's P proclaiming leopard "Papa, mama and baaaaabbbbbbbby" while we did a last stop at the gift shop before heading home.

It was a really fun day at the zoo! I think hubby was a bit sad he missed out on the fun. Hope we can go back soon!

Some tips for the zoo

• Mosquito patch and Mopiko will be your best friend. I brought 4 patches. Stuck a patch under P's stroller seat and she was quite spared from the mozzies. Stuck one on her shorts for added protection. Stuck one on myself for the fun of it. Changed P's patch in the later afternoon as it only lasts for 6 hours.
• Sunblock is your next best friend, especially if you are going for water play
• Spot the weather trends. For the past few days, mornings have been really hot and showers will pour in the afternoon. My mom was apprehensive about letting P go to the waterplay at noon, but I told her it's either now or never. True enough, the rain started while P was napping.