She didn't see the need for a big do and I hope that in the end, the small surprise party that her Daddy's side of the family had put together for her on Father's Day, will forever be etched in her memory.
On her actual day, we were wondering what would make her happy. She said what would really make her happy was to bring her to one particular fish farm because they were bringing in new stock of Betta fish! So off we went. We ended up not just going to one but to several fish farms.
I'd suggested we visit the Singapore Zoo because ahem...if it's your Birthday, you get free admission and....and...if you hold a Taxi Driver's Vocational License, you also get free admission! Yes, you may think I'm cheapskate but you know, the entrance fee to the Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari is not cheap for the average Singaporean. That is the reason why we had stayed away from those places since the kids became too old to be included as kids in our 'Friends of the Zoo' annual membership. Otherwise, the Zoo had been our favourite place to hang out when the kids were young.
Anyway, I wasn't really sure if Mike and I would get complimentary entrance tickets to the Zoo (hearsay only about this free thingy for cabbies) and we went there pretty late (after the girl had a leisurely time at the fish farms) but were prepared to pay for the admission fees. Imagine our pleasant surprise when we found out we could not only get into the Zoo for free, but we could also get into the River Safari AND the Night Safari for free!! Haha. Yes, what glee! Do you have any idea how much money we had saved just because we had done our homework?
The Zoo hasn't changed very much since we'd last been there (how many moons ago was that?) and it was our first time at the River Safari. If it's your Birthday, you have to show proof of your birth date (Singapore I/C) to get free admission and they will also give you a badge to wear so that you can get discounts at their F & B outlets and souvenir shops (oh, and you get free ice-cream). The entrance staff were very observant and wished Tessa "Happy Birthday" when we walked through the turnstiles. In fact, the River Safari staff sang her the birthday song! So fun!
Tessa and Mike enjoying the creatures' underwater antics.
I think Tessa really enjoyed the River Safari. She was enthralled enough to go back to the tanks again; once at the start of our visit and again at the end of our visit.
Mike and I enjoying the Amazon River Quest boat ride.
We didn't buy their official snaps for us because, come on, they cost S$25 or S$35 a pop, depending on the photo frame you select. In my honest opinion, if Wildlife Reserves Singapore wants to make money from these souvenir photos, they should charge a more reasonable price (like S$10 to S$15) and more people would actually buy them. I mean, S$10 to S$15 is still expensive for a photo but we understand this is a souvenir from a tourist attraction. I would have bought at least one! Right now, they print many random visitors' photos and I assume, they end up discarding those not bought. Judging from the left overs we saw, I'd say majority of the photos would end up being discarded. Darn! I actually looked good in the Night Safari one but Tessa dragged me away and told me not to waste my money!
Because we had started our visit late, we had gone into the Zoo, only to exit (with our re-entry stamps on our hands) to the River Safari first for our Amazon River Quest boat ride (not free, paid for separately). We'd skipped the other scenic River Safari Cruise (next time, then) due to a lack of time. We spent most of our time at the River Safari and then popped over to the Zoo and bought our tram rides. When the zoo closed for the day, we went over to the Night Safari. It was PACKED even on a weekday due to the massive number of tour groups who had arrived there. We immediately queued up for the tram ride and were pleasantly surprised to find out that our complimentary entrance tickets at the Night Safari also included the tram rides (not so with the main Zoo).
Took a while for the trams to start and the ride was very, very peaceful and nice, except for the tourists seated directly behind me. They would NOT stop talking. Nope, not even when I gave several loud SSHHHHs! (and kena nudged by Mike for doing it). I could not hear the tram guide's commentary. Seriously. They pissed me off. I could not understand the gibberish but the father kept referring to his camera. Every time he took a snap, he would give a long commentary to his daughter while looking and pointing at his camera (yes, I turned around to look). The mother would not stop spraying this horrendous smelling oil and ruffling in her bag. One kid kept jumping up and down and tugging on Tessa's hair. Our tram was a mix of several nationalities and but those still queuing for trams were ALL in the same nationality as the noisy ones seated behind us! They were super noisy as they queued for their trams. When we got off the trams, they were all headed for the Creatures of the Night show but we decided to avoid them and instead spent some time chilling in the very nice outdoor restaurant.
The souvenir shop at the Night Safari was our last stop before we decided to call it a day. We went home and Mike and I were really exhausted. Tessa said she'd enjoyed her day and I guess, her parents aren't imaginative enough to come up with anything else for her 21st Birthday outing! Can't say I hadn't suggested swimming with sharks at the Underwater World to her (to which she had declined). That's as imaginative as I can get!
We had a fun family day out (John couldn't join us as he had a prior school engagement) and I'm keen to go on a date with my Ah Lau at the zoo again soon!
