Wednesday Walk - To the National Zoo!

My post for the #wednesdaywalk will be my overdue post to the National Zoo of Malaysia with my families! I did not just went with one family but two families at different timings ON THE SAME DAY

This trip actually happened during the month of December during the last school holidays. It was the first day of the last school holidays when my sister from Singapore came for a visit with her parents-in-law as well. Coincidentally, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law from my husband's side also asked if they could join. Of course! I was excited for the boys who get to spend time with cousins of both sides on the same day.

I bought my ticket and my boys' tickets online as it is sold cheaper and it has the validity of 3 months so I figured even if we did not make it (if in case it rains on the day), we still have ample time to go on another day before it expires and mind you, the National Zoo is really really near me, like only 10 minutes drive from home!

(Which was why when new friends ask me where I stay, I will jokingly tell them I stay in the zoo 🤣 since it is the easiest landmark for others to identify.)

Nevertheless.... I had only been to the zoo once before this trip with my eldest, once when I was still single. This was my third trip and I feel it gets better each time.

Arrival

My sister's family and I arrived at an earlier hour at 930am. The husband was at work so it was me and the two boys which I was glad I survived with them. We met at the zoo entrance and upon entering the zoo, we paid RM10 for parking within the zoo vicinity. I went to the ticket counter to collect my tickets by showing them the QR codes provided by my online ticket seller. It was easily redeemed though I forgot to bring my children's identification cards, oops! Thanks for the favour!

We took a group photo at the entrance and I must say this was a smart thinking because the children may get more fussy when they feel tired later. My nephew and youngest son got to sit their strollers as this zoo is rather big to explore on feet. They do have buggy service but we thought walking around by ourselves and take photos of the animals will be more worth it.

I got us maps so my boys became so engrossed in reading the map. They went everywhere with it wide opened to try to identify where we were at. It was as if they were on a treasure hunt hahaha.

Some of these places were visited twice because I went once earlier with my sister's family and another time with my brother-in-law's and sister-in-law's family.

Marsupials

We went to see some marsupials such as gibbons and monkeys and some of which I have forgotten their names, pardon me.

We also saw some bats sleeping and hanging from on top of their cage.

The Children's World

Next, we visited The Children's World which is a new area that I did not see the last I came with the eldest 4 years ago.

In this area, there are a lot of parrots and different species of rabbits and hares and guinea pigs.

Some are within touching and petting distance.

There were also ponies too which can be fed if we buy food from their care givers. My sons braved themselves to feed the ponies. I guess it was a new experience for them.

We took a short rest here for the boys to drink water when I stopped by here with my brother-in-law's family.

Hippotamus and crocodiles

After that, we went past some hippopotamus and some crocodiles. They were just opposite each other.

We saw how big the hippo were.

We saw how big the crocs' mouths were too.

White Eagle

We went past a white Eagle on our way to some aquariums. It looked so majestic!

The aquariums and Penguins

In this area, it was right behind the amphitheatre where the animal shows will be starting at 11am. We saw some super big fishes.

Of course, my youngest was most delighted to see the animal he always imitates - the penguins! He gladly took a photo with one.

Giraffes, Storks and Tapir

This stretch of road was actually very nice to walk as it has lesser crowds and more greenery.

We saw some giraffe at first, then some storks and finally the tapir which is the Malaysian local animal in black and white, relaxing under the shade.

Deers and Lions

We went further up and saw some deers.

Coming up next were the king of the jungle - the lion and its lioness. The lion was pacing to and fro, hmmm hopefully not suffering from depression as these wild animals being in the zoo is actually unnatural for them.

tigers and leopards

The tigers looked more alive than the last I saw them. They were looking more relaxed as well.

Well, the leopard was so relaxed that I think it was taking its nap.

Elephants, Pumas and Camels

As we were heading towards where the pandas are, we saw some big elephants too. They were moving rather slow.

Then some pumas too were on our way up to where the conservation center for the pandas.

There were also 2 camels lying on the sand probably due to the weather being too hot.

Pandas!

For some reason, everyone seemed to love and anticipate to see the pandas. There are altogether 3 of them.

We needed to abide by some rules before we entered: We needed to park our strollers outside and leave all our food outside as well. We are also to be quiet around them. They even keep some people in there to monitor the noise level.

We took some photos with the pandas.

This was probably the most cooling place of the zoo.

We then checked out what they eat on a daily basis. The caregivers even bake cakes for the pandas.

These pandas are actually on loan from China hence I truly understand why we want to do our utmost best to really take good care of them. One day they may return to China again when the time is up.

Zebras, Rhinoceros and the Wallabies

We went past these 3 animals really quick though the boys started hopping like the wallabies.

The Amphitheatre Show

That was because we were rushing and running late for this show at 11am. Upon reaching, there was already a large crowd sitting at the area and we had to squeeze in because it had already started.

Suddenly my nephew got frustrated and started feeling impatient due to the crowd and heat too so my sister's daily had to bid goodbyes to me without meeting another sidebof my family who were there watching the animal show too. It is okay, I understand when young children are out, they sometimes can be quite random and if they needed to leave because of my nephew then they should go. He later calmed down after they brought him to eat at a cooler place.

We watched the seal do it's tricks and applauded it for them!

Part 2 of our Zoo Visit

After the show, we reunited with my brother-in-law's family. We took some time to snack first before we moved on.

Now more boys reunited. 2 from theirbfamily and 2 from mine so all 4 boys who love to play together!

Went back to the Children's World together with the cousins

Went Past the Savannah

Went to See One of the Most Important Animals

We went to see the Orang Utans!!! They are so important to us because they are my husband's favorite animals. He has always been speaking highly of them: of how intelligent they are, of how adapting they are, of how strong they are.

I was glad to see two of them. They looked really magnificent. Much better than the last I came and saw only one who looked depressed and looked like trying to escape.

Next to it were the chimpanzees.

It started to drizzle!

Guess who was the happiest? My youngest! He loves to use the umbrella and he just had to seize the opportunity. Look at how independent he was. He needed no help at all.

We went to see the tigers again and some other animals which I did not take anymore photos as I was trying to beat the rain and go faster.

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Bonding with family

It was such a heartwarming sight to see my youngest boy bonding with my sister whom he rarely sees. He would hold her hand and sometimes even ran to her, calling for her loudly.

My nephew got a bit jealous so he too wanted to hold my sister's hand so my sister had one on each side hahaha.

That was while I was pushing the eldest who complained tired of walking so he got the stroller instead of his brother.

Well his brother didn't mind as he loves to be down walking on his own too. He was not being angry though he might looked like he was in this photo haha. He likes to fold his arms and walk sometimes.

Well I very appreciate my sister's mum-in-law who helped me with my youngest and carrying him sometimes too. She asked him to call her the same name my nephew is calling her which is inek, meaning grandma in the Sarawakian Iban language.

We also had a blast with their other cousins and uncle and aunt whom are my boys' best friends that they most look forward to spend time with everyday and all the time. They too looked out for us, especially making sure my youngest son was following us with himself holding his umbrella and still walking independently.

This boy's resilience was something that really amazed me that very day. He walked on and on till we almost reached the exit which was also the entrance.

Then, he could not take it anymore so he finally dozed off in the stroller. So impressed and proud of his determination for a 3-year-old!

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Now the zoo is running a birthday promotion for whoever having birthday in the month you are visiting and you get to enter for free! Otherwise, if we get tickets online, it is about RM38 per adult and RM15 per child above 3 years old or senior citizen.

Location: Jalan Taman Zooview, Taman Zooview, 68000 Ampang, Selangor

Opening hours: 9am to 5pm

So glad to see the National Zoo back to being alive again. When it was during the lockdown, they actually almost could mot sustain themselves and the public came in to "adopt" animals to help them maintain their expenses for the animals and the vicinity.

I had to say this was the best trip to the zoo! Of course we enjoyed the animals very much but the ones that made it so wonderful was actually the company and the people we went with!