This is part of a series of posts on Singapore. Did you miss the previous walkthroughs? Click here to access them all.

This is the day I learned that Singapore is a lot bigger than it appears. My morning was spent moving to my third, and final hotel, The Arcadia Hotel. It turned out to be a few minutes away from The Ibis hotel I first stayed in. Like that hotel, my room had no window. Unlike that hotel, the lack of window here did not make me feel claustraphobic. I had to change rooms due to a broken fan that wouldn’t stop making noise unless the light was on, and once I did, felt comfortable.

This hotel was in a pretty cool area. Right across the street, a new bakery opened while I was there, La Levain. I lucked into the pre-opening day and had myself a delicious green tea muffin and a delightful cup of coffee. I met the owner and learned he and his wife bought a home in New Zealand! He explained that Singaporeans will travel for food, which explained the mountain of congratulations flowers and cards outside his new shop.

A few streets away, I found one of those cafeterias where not much English is spoken, the food tastes (mostly) great and every meal is less than $5. I made a habit of going there at least one meal a day. Added bonus – there’s a huge Green Tara statue and temple right across from it, so I spent a few moments connecting to my Buddhist teachings of years past.

Getting To The Zoo

The journey to the zoo from the center of Singapore is longer than I expected. A taxi is fairly expensive, so I took the MRT to the Khatib stop, and then waited for the Mandai Express. Though inexpensive, the journey was at least an hour each way. 

What To Do At The Zoo

There are actually four zoo experiences in Singapore. For this journey, I booked the night safari for 9:15, and arrived just before 6pm, planning to see the main part of the zoo, eat something, and then do the night zoo. Several people had raved about the night zoo, so I was really looking forward.

I arrived at the turnstile to enter the main zoo at 6:02pm. My ticket didn’t work. A guard told me they closed at 6pm. Two minutes past and she couldn’t let me in. Really. I swallowed my disappointment and now had three hours to kill. I decided I’d grab a leisurely dinner and chill out.

No such luck. All the places to eat by the zoo also closed at 6pm. I saw the door to Kentucky Fried Chicken swing open and ran in. They let me grab the literal last box of chicken nuggets. Not the ideal meal, but inexpensive, and better than feeling hungry.

Once the pangs of hunger were satiated, I had to leave the seating area which was also closing. I decided to go to the night zoo, a five-minute walk away, and see if I could get in earlier, rather than twiddle my thumbs. Success! And, as it turned out, there were restaurants and nicer food on that side. I regretted the quality of my dinner, but not the price!

Exploring The Night Zoo

I wasn’t sure where to go first, so opted for the tram which offered a ride around the night zoo. I figured I’d orient myself and then figure out what to do next.

It was pretty dark, so, as we rounded turns and happened upon animals, it wasn’t always easy to see them. There were antelope, elephants, and an array of other animals. My excitement quickly diminished. I had tried to get this worry out of my mind, but as someone that has been to Africa and seen these animals in the wild, I just didn’t like seeing them in small viewing areas.

When I completed the tram circuit, I thought I’d try out the night entertainment. There was a “creatures of the night” show that sounded interesting! I got on line for it, and that’s when I learned they were fully booked, and, had I wanted to see a show, I needed to reserve it in advance. (Tip for you!) After two years of no tourism, I stopped pre-planning much of anything, so this was a bit of a bummer.

I ended the evening with the night walk. This was my favorite part because I could go at my own pace. Even though all the animals were behind glass, I did enjoy seeing my first pangolin! I’ve been hoping to see one ever since going to Africa, so this was a real treat. It was hard to get a great photo, but I appreciated what I got!

I won’t say my experience was fantastic, but I bet if I had been able to make the night show, and been aware of the zoo hours, I would have liked it more. I decided to return the next day in order to see the other part of the zoo I had missed. Pro tips: make sure to research current opening hours for ALL the zoos you want to visit in a day. The zoo, night safari, and river zoo are all close together. If you get the timing right, you may be able to do them all in one day.