Yogyakarta zoo and on to Singapore's attractions

We had an uncommitted day in Yogyakarta, so we went to the zoo! We made a zoo visit in Hanoi a few years ago, and the on-line reviews of this Jogja zoo were positive, with admission only about $4 US each. A 20-minute Grab ride from our hotel and we joined lots of kids at the zoo. 

We did find the animals all appeared well cared for. No scrawny animals, every one had shade and water.

We were impressed with how many interactive activities the zoo had. Kids could get carrots and veggies to feed the huge turtles. 

Owls watched the children warily from their perches.

Several bird enclosures allow zoo patrons to get into enclosures with them, using these hanging plastic-coated chains at the doors. 

This handsome blue guy in that bird enclosure followed us around, mistaking us for a zoo attendant with food. The zoo worker did arrive while we were inside, so it was lunchtime!

This is an Indonesian native, a Sumatran tiger. Sumatra is an island northeast of Java, which is the Indonesian island we are on.  Like all cats, they sleep alot.

The zoo had several different kinds of monkeys, including loud howler monkeys who were screaming at people. This guy was not a howler and just looked pensive chewing the grass.

They didn't have monkey enclosures for patrons to enter. We wouldn't have gone in one of those anyway as we had close encounters with thieving monkeys in the Philippines and Cambodia. The zoo did have an enclosure with lemurs. This ring-tailed lemur walked around us and didn't try to steal. Cute guys!

We walked the entire zoo, but crowds had really thinned out by the time we got to the kangaroos and wallabies as just before that area, the free trams had a stop. Groups of kids and adults bailed out at that time and headed back because of the heat and humidity. 

wallaby, not kangaroo

At the very end, to get to the gate we had entered, the zoo had a very welcome "travelator," an uphill moving sidewalk.

We ended our time in Indonesia with a one-hour drive to the Yogyakarta international airport on Wednesday morning, May 6. It was quite a distance but the traffic, slow in town, was nothing like the Jakarta traffic had been when we arrived in Indonesia. An uneventful flight on Scoot Airlines and a Grab ride to our hotel and we were settled in Singapore. 

Yesterday, we visited the UNESCO-recognized Singapore Botanic Garden. Founded in 1859, this is the only tropical botanic garden listed as a World Heritage site. I had wanted to see it when we were here before, but we ran out of time, so it was our first stop in Singapore. We walked for several hours, going thru most, but not all, of the Garden.

Phillip almost stepped on a lizard on the first side trail we took

lots of trees with varieties of bromeliads

look like mangrove trees, but they aren't

swan on Swan Lake

An area of the Garden was called the "Ginger Garden." It had a huge variety of plants in the ginger family, more than just the ginger we eat.

spiral growth pattern

Walk of Giants was the name of an elevated boardwalk in the Botanic Garden. This is a view of it from a lower platform near a pond. This section of the boardwalk was covered with flowering vines.

In addition to lizards, we saw small squirrels throughout the Garden. 

The main area of the Botanic Garden was free to enter, but its Orchid Garden did require an admission fee. We've been to orchid gardens and nurseries in several other countries, so we didn't go in, but I did take a picture at the entrance of some orchids. 

The Botanic Garden had some landscaped, grassy areas, like this one near the bandshell where symphony concerts are held. 

The bandshell pool had lily pads that resembled platters.

We also saw a lizard trying very hard to tear into a fence surrounding new water plant growth. We think the fence was there specifically for him!

On survival shows, we hear about needles on tropical trees, probably like these wicked looking ones.

Robot mowers were used on the grassy areas to keep them trimmed. Each lawn area one had a couple of these rolling around, quietly mowing. 

Today, we rode the MRT (Singapore's wonderful subway) to the Gardens by the Bay. On our last trip to Singapore, we were only able to visit about 2/3 of the area, so we walked to side we hadn't seen yet. First, a reminder of the Garden's Supertrees.

So many plants and walkways...

And pools and lagoons (contributing to the 90% humidity!)

Fun items are in the Gardens as well. Here's a topiary dinosaur...

These birds walk on the lily pads as they search for bugs.

Another pool with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel visible thru the trees.

This is a different view of the hotel than what we saw during our previous trip.

We made our way back thru the Gardens by the Bay and into the Sands Hotel. Passing thru the hotel, we ended up on the top floor of the adjacent mall.

The mall's lowest level had a pool with gondola rides. (You can see it in the high-floor photo.) The gondola ride was very short and for $15 pp, we didn't think it was worth it.

And finally, a picture of Singapore's Merlion, the city's mascot, part lion, part fish. During our last visit, it was covered for reconstruction. Looking at it from across the Bay now, however, it seems that they let it chew tobacco or something. Not sure what the dark stain is. 

We will be in Singapore until Monday, the 11th, when we travel to Malaysia by bus, so we'll have more Singaporean activities to post.