[22 Days Left, Part 2 of 2] Chinese Garden

After leaving Jurong Bird Park, decided to pop by Chinese Gardens for a visit. This is another place where my parents had brought me, on a few occasions when i was young, to sight see especially during the lantern festival, etc. when there would be a lot of decorations up to celebrate the festivities. I have taken the train many times towards Jurong East and have always admired the serenity of the place with the waters and olden architecture e.g. pagodas etc. Haha. I guess the expression 'feeling very zen' is quite applicable in this situation.

REVIEW: Upon reaching the place, i was surprised that there is no more charge/fee for entry to the place, and relished the slight irony that 2 indian security guards were stationed there despite the place being named 'CHINESE Garden'. Haha. Nonetheless, the scene that greets you past the guard station is beautiful and serene. Water and greens certainly make a nice combination. There were many mock terracotta soldiers placed at the entrances to various structures which give the whole place a nice touch of chinese culture. The 7-storey pagoda is indeed a piece of art. (Pictures at the bottom).

Moving on! One of the main, if not only, reason to visit the Chinese Garden is because of The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum! Saw on the news a few years ago about this guy who has a collection of turtles and tortoises, which are rare and of course, illegal to trade in Singapore. He is the only one (i think), other than the zoo n such, to be licensed to rear such animals. For $5/entry and $1 for a pkt of fish feed or a whole cucumber (optional), you can view and even have a petting and feeding session with the turtles. (Again, pics below!)

You'll first be greeted with the many turtles in many glass tanks in the viewing area. Many rare turtles are on display and the snapping turtles are truly a sight to behold. One snap of their mouth and there goes a couple of your fingers. Too bad the turtles in the tanks are out of bounds for you to feed.

Out of the viewing area is an outdoor landscape with a pond and a few enclosures. My, are there many, and i say, MANY tortoises in the pond. The various enclosures around the area house many different species of tortoises as well, which you can feed, pet, and take pictures with/of.

Last words: Chinese Garden is certainly a nice place to bring ur family for a picnic, visit the turtle museum, and that is about it. There is practically nothing much to do around and the place if you are looking for fun, games and adventure. But the turtle and tortoise museum is certainly worth the trouble if you are interested.

Chinese Garden
Take MRT to Chinese Garden Station
Entry: Free

The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum
Entry: $5
Misc: $1 for pellet food or cucumber