River Wonders

I had so many things to talk about from today’s River Wonders trip! But first, let’s start with the most important part—food.

Brunch happened at Ya Kun Kaya Toast in Kampung Admiralty. I went for the classic set: two half-boiled eggs, kaya toast, and a cup of Milo. Sounds solid, right? Well, after eating, I honestly have no idea what the hype is about. It’s literally just... toast. Toast I could probably get from any regular kopitiam. But hey, this one came with a premium price tag—6.70 SGD. Very expensive for a breakfast/brunch, if you ask me. But whatever, it was just a stomach filler before the trip, so I let it slide.

After that, we headed to Khatib MRT to catch a bus to Mandai Wildlife Reserve, which took around 20 minutes. Upon entering River Wonders, we were welcomed by fishes—so many fishes that I lost track of their names immediately. Then, I met a super big, extra-large, XL-sized crocodile in a tank. This thing was huge—easily over two meters long—and let me tell you, it looked way scarier in real life than in National Geographic documentaries. I couldn’t stop thinking: What if I accidentally fell into the tank? Would I become the crocodile’s brunch? Probably.

Then came the tortoises—so many of them! I’ve never actually studied how many species of tortoises exist, but one thing about me? I love tortoises. And turtles. Absolutely adore them. Why? No idea. They’re just so cute. And honestly, whenever I need a little pick-me-up, I turn to this one adorable tortoise quote that never fails to cheer me up.

so cute

Then we arrived at the main characters of River Wonders—the Giant Pandas! 🐼 Meet Jia Jia and Kai Kai, two extremely spoiled pandas living their best lives in an air-conditioned room with unlimited bamboo buffets. We first saw them at 1 PM—they were eating. We came back at 4 PM—guess what? Still eating. The only time Kai Kai moved was to grab a drink, probably because he was dehydrated from consuming an entire forest’s worth of bamboo leaves. Their life is my impossible dream. Eat, chill, repeat.

But I have to admit, they’re ridiculously cute—especially when they were tiny, pink, and looked like adorable hairless nuggets. However, sharing the same space as these VIP pandas was a red panda, which, in my personal and very correct opinion, was way cuter than the so-called stars of the show. 🤭

Since it was my first time seeing a panda, I really took my time observing them. And something hit me—what’s up with those dark circles around their eyes? Would they still be this cute without them? Or would they just look like a really chubby raccoon? The world may never know.

Next, we went to the Animal Presentation at Once Upon A River. I’m pretty sure most people were there for the Capybara, but I genuinely loved the whole show. The animals were so well-trained, and my absolute favorite was the otter that knows how to recycle plastic bottles. This little guy is out here saving the planet while I struggle to remember which bin to throw my trash in. Respect.

We then took a boat ride along the man-made river. Unfortunately, the boat was moving a bit too fast, so I didn’t get a good look at all the animals. But I did spot three jaguars. And guess what? All of them were sleeping. Typical cat behavior. Even the big ones are just oversized, lazy house cats at heart.

Last but not least, we visited the massive aquarium filled with so many manatees—some of them were so round they looked like floating water potatoes. I was actually hoping to see a whale, but nope, no whales here.

That said, I had mixed feelings about the aquarium. On one hand, I wanted to see these animals up close, but on the other, I kind of wished they were free in the wild. Something about them being in a limited space felt... a bit sad. But of course, pandas are the exception—they could never survive in the wild. They’re too pampered for that.

Overall, the trip was totally worth it! I got to see so many animals I wouldn’t normally come across, and I’m definitely considering visiting again—maybe Singapore Zoo or Night Safari next!