FEB-27 (2nd posting): Night Safari

We were told that a must-do in Singapore was a night safari at the famous Singapore Zoo.  To be sure that we had an opportunity to do it, we made a reservation through our hotel concierge about a month before we departed.

TOUR DESCRIPTION

Take a ride into the wild at the world's first Night Safari.

Hop on a tram ride for a 40-minute long journey into seven geographical regions, from the Himalayan foothills to jungles of Southeast Asia. This tram ride allows you to come up close and personal to more than 2,500 nocturnal creatures while enjoying a live commentary.

The popular Creatures of the Night show showcases the unique abilities of nocturnal animals such as the binturong and finshing cat. Other attractions include the talented Thumbuakar performers,who will enthrall with their breathtaking fire-breathing stunts.

Explore the mystery of the night on your own with four walking trails that promise sightings of animals such as the elusive pangolin and the shy barking deer in their naturalistic habitats.Get up close and personal with creatures such as the wallaby and tawny frogmouth at the newly launched Wallaby Trails, which features 13 species of animals from the Australasian region.

THE TOUR 
Having actually been on night safaris in southern Africa, Pam & I were impressed with the realism of this tour.  The trams run dark (i.e. no lights) past areas illuminated by what may best be described as artificial moonlight.  The variety of animal life we saw was impressive.  We subsequently walked a trail with similar illumination and saw even more animals.  The tram and trail sightings make this tour well worthwhile.

The mechanics of taking the tour to the zoo are dull and a bit time-consuming.  We were told to be ready for pick-up at 6:30.  The van arrived at 6:45, then took us to a collection point where we transferred onto a bigger bus.  Fifty-five minutes after the scheduled pick-up time we found ourselves aboard the big bus one block away from our hotel.  The return trip was more efficient.

The entrance to the zoo was full of the usual tourist trap shops and 'exhibits' that created a moments pause wondering if the zoo would be more circus than zoological park.  For example, the fish spa where you can immerse you legs in the water and have fish eat off the dead skin.  Yum! 

Happily, once past such 'attractions', the zoo itself was excellent.

Did I mention the rain?  At times it poured; big, heavy drops.  The trams had side curtains for protection.  Pam & I had disposable ponchos with us.  With the temperature in the mid-80's, getting wet was more of a discomfort than a concern.

For anyone taking this tour, three observations:

• Sit on the left side of the tram.  There are numerous things to see on either side, so this is not a strong recommendation, just a subjective, modest preference.
• Be sure you can turn off the screen on your camera / camcorder.  They are quite strict about any light on the tram.  To use one of my cameras I had to cover the screen with a cloth.  The stated reason for the 'lights out' policy is the sensitivity of the animals to such lights.  My guess is the bigger reason is to inducing night-blindness in other passengers. 
• With regard to taking pictures, you may be happier sitting back and enjoying what you see.  Taking pictures from a moving tram of subjects illuminated by faint lighting yielded at few pictures that rose to the level of mediocre using a high-end camera and low-light lens.  Even on the trail where there was no tram movement,  the animals rarely held still long enough for the required time-exposure. 

We got back to the hotel about 10:45 PM.