There. The title of this blog post said it all. But bear in mind that I don’t have aversion to zoos or nocturnal animals; in fact, my wife, Tina and I usually enjoy accompanying our son, Gabby to a few zoos we’ve been to and we consider each trip informative and educational. Zoos and eco-parks apparently promote environmental awareness and appreciation, particularly among those who have no chance of going to a real safari or experience wildlife. Zoos, to us, is the next best thing.
While we liked River Safari Singapore which is located a stone’s throw away from Night Safari, we felt otherwise with the latter. I don’t mean to discourage anyone from going there to see those nocturnal zoologic creatures. Our experiences and perceptions of course, may vary. What I don’t favor might be your preference and vise versa. What matters to me is the fact that the experience killed my (family’s) curiosity and the conclusion I made after that perhaps, one visit to Night Safari Singapore for me and my family’s enough.
Thank you, iVenture card See Singapore Package! 🙂
Thank God we didn’t spend a cent for the admission fees as our visit was sponsored by iVenture Card that provided us complimentary 2-day See-Singapore-Unlimited-Pass. Despite the fact that we didn’t have much fun at Night Safari, the other attractions and theme parks included in the iVenture Card package appear to be more fascinating, engaging and interesting. Check out the list below :
Sourced from iventurecard.com. With a lot of choices of packages to choose from (1-day, 2-day, 3-day, 4-day or 5-day pass) and a volume of theme parks and attractions to go to, iVenture card really spells convenience and value for money!
Going to Night Safari from Ang Mo Kio MRT Station and taking Bus 138 to the gates itself of this theme park wasn’t an issue, although it took us around an hour and a half travel time, one way and another almost two hours for return. Directions on how to get there and the other details of iVenture Card, click THIS!
Why I didn’t like Night Safari
It’s not about the waiting time. I’ve been to Disneyland in Anaheim, Disneyland and Disney Sea in Tokyo, and of course, Hong Kong Disneyland where waiting time on the queue per ride is usually longer than 30 minutes. So that of Night Safari wasn’t an issue too.
And more than 30 minutes, Tina, Gabby and I boarded one of these trams finally!
I told myself silently, “Nocturnal adventure, here we come!” I took photos of my family here and there. 🙂 However, my excitement plummeted after I heard the tour guide’s pleasant voice from the first tram prohibiting flash photography. Ugh oh. Frankly, I expected it. But what I wasn’t prepared of was the fact that during the 45-minute-tram-ride, the tram only slowed down where the featured nocturnal animals are and I personally felt that we didn’t have enough time to appreciate them. Obviously it’s dark and even if that the animals are under a few spotlights, we barely saw them unlike going to the usual zoo during the day (Too bad, we didn’t choose Singapore Zoo!). Yes, tourists can take a guided walking tour after the tram ride but as for us, we didn’t want to walk in the dark even if there’s a staff to accompany us and explain this and that.
What about the other shows and food available inside Night Safari? Are they as boring as the tram ride? Well, I can’t tell the show every weekend that we skipped called, Creatures of the Night. But we did watch that fire-dancing-fire-blowing acts while seated to fill our gastric pits with what we thought initially interesting safari menu. It was nothing new as we’ve seen far better performances in streets, circus acts and stages during fiestas and whatnot back home. Again, to each his own.
The participant from the audience gamely opened his mouth wide to eat fire.
Nah. The performers didn’t put fire on the volunteer’s mouth. The volunteer seemed to enjoy his moment. Good for him!
Schedules of this fire act were 6:30PM and 8:30PM, weekends. So after taking the tram ride for almost an hour, we went back near the entrance grounds, found a table to eat dinner and there were more fire blown here and there on stage, while we were waiting for our meals. Was it thrilling enough for my family to leave our table and seats and troop to the area near the stage? Not much. Thanks to the camera’s zooming capacity, Tina and I took turns in capturing some photos to share. Sorry, but even if we know the performers did exert efforts for the show, but the act looked nothing extraordinary.
These boys are on fayeeeeeeerrr!!! hahaha! 😀
On the food department, Night Safari has variety, from Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, to a few more stalls to fill in the hungry tummies. We chose Bongo Feast but weren’t satisfied too. With mediocre tastes of what we sampled, prices were too steep in my vocabulary (the meals, fyi, weren’t complimentary).
Spring Chicken for Gabby SGD 14.90++
Bongo Beef Burger for me. SGD 14.90++
Fish and Chips for Tina. SGD 15.90++
Tina had coffee but when I asked for creamer or at least milk, Bongo Feast had none. They didn’t run out but they really don’t provide. We didn’t even order black coffee, for goodness’ sake. Oh my! 😦
Have you been to Night Safari Singapore? Did you like it?
>><<
*While this is a sponsored blog post, the words are all mine unless quoted, and were never influenced by anyone.
*This family staycation in Singapore is made possible by :
iVenture Card Singapore | website : www.iventurecard.com
and ibis Hotel Singapore on Bencoolen | website : www.ibis.com
This post is a part of Singapore Blog Series : May 2013.
beyond toxicity @ docgelo.com 
Been to Night Safari during my first Singapore visit many years ago. Thought it was unique given all zoos elsewhere only operate in daytime. Can’t forget how my friend and I squealed in terror/delight as we entered the aviary where fruit bats flew so low, whizzing past our heads like a slight breeze on that humid night.
Overall, it was OK but something I did out of curiosity. Now that I’ve been to Serengeti and actually camped there with a hyena on the prowl nearby – a night zoo visit won’t appeal to me anymore.
oh yes, i loved your african safari blog series, dennis!
you’ve experience the wildlife in every sense of the word so i understand you clearly 🙂