After 30 minuntes MRT ride to Boon Lay station and a short bus ride from the terminal there (which happens to be more organized than the grocery lanes at Wallmart), we finally arrived here: The Jurong Bird Park.
The entire bird park is divided into different areas and stations. One could buy a Panorail ticket which would bring visitors to the Main Station, Lory Station and Waterfall station. There are also few interesting Exibits at some given times which provide good entertainments to visitors. It is also a good chance for guests to interact with the birds.
Just in time for the Birds and Buddies Show at the Pool's Amphitheater. Lories, hornbills, parrots, flamingos and many more performed well practiced tricks. One of these amazing stunts, is having a bird fly through this loop. Later that afternoon this amphitheater was used for another show, Birds of Prey which we regretfully missed.
Meet Amigo, an amazing multilinguist Parrot that has better vocabulary than I do and could and sing much better than FF! Ok, everybody/everything that could talk,mum, hum, squeak ang quak could sing better than FF...
Pink Flamingos, hornbill and a tree that looks cunningly like me from afar.
Flock of salmon colored Flamingos that needs no Facebook to socialize
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| I wish I have that do! |
We were halfway finished with the trail when pangs of hunger gave in. I guess seeing birds continuously peck food here and there is a good reminder. Just at the entrance of Jurong Bird Park is a fast food restaurant, the Bongo Burgers. It is artfully decorated in african safari theme and even service crew are dressed up for the part. The food was delicous and portions were big!. Look how huge their patties and stuffings are. They taste way better than the picture looks. Half an hour and quarter pound heavier later, we went back to the Park to discover the rest of it.
After lunch we went to the noisy Lory Loft and bought ourselves a cup of bird feeds.The Loft covers 3000 meters area and is about 9 storey high.It is the world's largest walk in aviary for Lories and Lorikeets. I guess those colorful birds know exactly what's coming because the moment we stepped into the place, a good number of them zoomed in like rockets and started digging it.
Competition is high so most often. beaks clash or share a cup. Only the strongest or at least the most energetic remains flapping. Basing on the number of empty cups I saw, not a day comes by that these lucky birds ever get hungry. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop them from showing their enthusiasm!
After another hour, we said our goodbyes to the magnificient and beautiful birds of Jurong Park and headed to the next destination:
The Singapore Flyer.
Constructed between 2005-2008 with a towering height of 165 meters ( the tallest in the world and believed to be 30 meters higher than the London Eye), this giant ferris wheel of Singapore offers spectators ang visitors a magnificent panoramic view of the whole city and beyond. It is said that by clear skies and excellent weather conditions, some islands of Indonesia ( Bintan and Batam in particular) as well as Johor Bahru of Malaysia could be seen. Since my eyesights is as bad as that of a bat, I could not see anything beyond the buildings.
The 150 meter in diameter wheel, contains 28 fully air conditioned capsules, each could accomodate and hold up to 28 passengers. The entire rotation last more than half an hour. Once the wheel starts turning, it doesn't stop! Passengers have to alertly go on/off board as the capsule opens as it reaches the bottom! Tip: Visit the restroom before climbling aboard. The 37 minute ride could be like an eternity when one's bladder isn't empty. At the base of the Flyer is a terminus that houses shops and restaurants.
After the Singapore fyler ride, FF and I decided to walk along the Marina Bay and visit the Marina Bay Sands. The trendiest and newest ( most expensvive in the wordl) complex that houses a hotel with 2,561 rooms, a casino with 500 tables, two theaters, art and museum, convention-exibition centers, two floating pavillions,Indoor canal offering gondola rides, fleets of celebrity chef restuarants and a shopping mall that even Paris Hilton could never say no. The entire complex is filled with curious visitors, gamers and shoppers.
One of the reason why people kept on pouring in, is the famous 340 meter long boat shaped ''Sky Park'' perched atop the three towers of Marina Bay Sands. Unfortunately, the queue going up to this sky park when we visit, was almost as long as the great wall of China, so we walked out. Afterall, I guess the view upstairs was exactly the same we saw at the SG Flyer ride.
The building that resembels a claw (?), broken egg(?) or a lutos flowerl (?) is underconstruction beside the Marina Bay sands. We've asked several locals what it was but nobody was able to give us real answer. They kept on saying, we have to come back in few years so we will find it out. Clever Singaporeans!
Time is a blur when one is having so much fun, before we knew it, the sun's down and we're starting to get famished. We headed back to Marina Square to look around for a place to eat . That day, luck was on my side.
I saw a Filipino Restaurant! The 7,107 Flavours. And oh boy what feast we had! The place was packed, almost all patrons were kababayans. To my surprise the entire place seemed busy and preparing for something/somebody. We took a seat outside since each table inside the restaurant was occupied . Service was rather slow, after giving us some drinks and taking our orders, I did not see any service crew coming againl After one hour of waiting our orders started coming. By then my diet coke and FF's SMB already traveled its way into our big intestines.We asked for more drinks, they wrote it down but nobody came back again. :-(
I have to stand up and find a waiter to give us something to drink. Anyway, the food was good! After seeing what's on the menu, I went completely beserk. Ang sarap nga mga ulam! I wished I had 3 mouths, fangs and 4 stomachs. I wanted to order everything! Despite of having non of those, we still ordered enough to feed a family of 6. The smiling (at us?) waiter barely contained his amusement as we placed our order for two. I wonder what's so funny?! For dinner we simply had:
Kalderetang Baka. The tomato based stew was flavourful with a tiniest hint of sharpness. The meat was tender and moist while the carrots and potatoes still have a bite to it and far from mushy.
Crispy Bingagoongan Baboy. Binagoongan just the way I like it. The pork liempo is fried to a crisp .Each bite crackles and ozzes with the glorious shrimp paste goodness. When animal skin is fried and crispy, it is indeed difficult to stop putting it into your waiting and salivating mouth . It's like dipping chicharon into bagoong. Who in his/her right mind would say no to that!
Inihaw na Manok, Yes we ordered the entire animal kindom. Or at least the kind that we don't have qualms eating, Sorry PETA! The charcoal grilled chicken is very flavourful and well marinated. It tasted strongly of calamansi and soy sauce, just like the inasals back home. The accompaniments , chili vinegar added a spicky kick into the dish,while the Achara's subtle sourness makes me want to keep on digging in.
Okey we don't want to fill our table with nothing but meat so I ordered Ensaladang Talong. FF hates eggplants so its all mine! Miiiiiiiiiiiiine! The grilled aubergine has a devine vinaigrette.It is subline and not overspowering, just enough sour to give the eggplant's lack of flavor a boost.I was scooping this vege like an ice cream. I honestly hope, Filipino cuisine will be represented throughout the globe. Such a shame that it remained foreign to a lot of culture and places.
After half an hour we were profusely sweating and full from neck down.I don't know if we were supposed to be thankful since the cook cleary forgot our ''appetizer ''. I ordered Sisig. I would have loved to feed FF with animal parts he would never dare put in his mounth.I intend to let him enjoy and savor it and tell him all about the chopped anatomical parts used in it afterwards. Looks like his invisible guardian perceived my evil plan and did something to stop it. By the time we were finished with the mains , we have to take a deep breath and loosen our belts. We were busted and happily so. Although I was all bloated and grinning contentedly , I still wanted to try their dessert. Filipino dessert, I'm dying to have some halo halo! Apparently, we could simply walk out sated without paying since nobody in the restuarant checks on their costumers! So I stood up and find another service crew and told him we wanted to order dessert, he said he will come to our table and bring us the dessert menu. He never did. So I stood up again, FF's said I could relate more to the people in the restaurant since they came from my ''hometown'', I wanted to argue and say I am Ilonggo and they are Tagalog but I am starting to get as annoyed as my overworked stomach. I searched for a service crew ( for the last time that night!) and told him we are leaving and I wanted to pay. To prevent him for letting us wait again, I simply walked with him to the counter and payed. They even want to ripped us off by charging us for the Sisig that never came! How disappointing.
I will blame you Edu, for all the confusions, chaos and the reason why we and the rest of the people outside were forgottten! But since you smiled at us and say ''hellow'' as you passed by , I forgive you.hehehehe. FF asked me who he was and what was the fuss all about, I said he is like the George Clooney of the Philippines. Only to remember Richard Gomez few minutes after. Dang!
yum! yum!
ReplyDeletelapit lang ni da sa imo pay! hahaha
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