Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

 

We have officially entered the SCHOOL HOLIDAY!

*woohoo*

There’s time to work hard and, there’s time to … play! =D

So, here we are, … starting our holiday adventure!

 

 

We checked out … Taman Mini Indonesia Indah with a group of friends and their kids (and babies!)

Spent half a day at the Bird Park (Taman Burung) and Fresh Water World (Dunia Air Tawar).

Here’s sharing with you photos of our encounters with the birds and fishes!

 

First, check this out!

It’s ‘Elang Bondol’, the eagle that we can easily spot as the symbol of Transjakarta buses.

Didn’t know this before! =)

A man who looks after the bird came towards our group and asked if we wanted to take photos with the bird.

So we did.

Note:
Don’t forget to give a ‘tip’ the guy.  Officially it is supposed to be Rp.5000 per photo per person, but as we have a big group, we gave a lump sum as a token of our appreciation to him.

 

 

We were there at about 8.15am.

(Entrance fee : Rp. 20,000 per person, that’s about SG$2. Kids above 3 years need tickets)

It was a warm day, which was fine to me personally.

Just remember to bring along :

– Your hat
– Sunscreen lotion
– Insect repellant
– Cool bottled water

 

 

Tips:

Wear bright-coloured clothes =)

It let you spot your kids easier among the crowd.

Photos turn out better too when the colours of our clothes are happy and bright =)

 

 

I know some people don’t fancy being in the outdoors.

They don’t like the warm weather and the possibility of insect encounters.

While everyone of course has their own preferences, … to me personally, being under the sun is part and parcel of being in the outdoors

I’d like our kids to focus more on enjoying the greenery, the animal encounters and learning about world God has wonderfully created for us.

So, did the kids sweat?

Haha, yes they did. But they’re fine … =)

(Somehow I don’t sweat as easily as some people. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not … hmm)

 

[Vai with a huge Hornbill!]

 

Plus, I believe … loving and caring for the animal world starts from positive encounters with them, … up, close and personal.

 

 

Our next stop was the Fresh Water World, where we got to see creatures that live in the fresh water.

The entrance fee was Rp.25,000 per person, and it included entry to the Insect World next to it.

(We got into our cars and drove from the Bird Park to the Fresh Water World)

 

 

When we got there, there were also groups of school kids visiting the place.

If you’re traveling with young children, it’s best to keep them close to you.

Note:
The Fresh Water World is all indoors with not much lights in most places (I guess, it’s better for the animals inside?), so photos taken with your phone may not turn out well.

 

 

Some people told us, prior to our visit, that ‘there’s nothing much to see at the Fresh Water World’.

After visiting it ourselves for the first time, I’d say, there ARE A LOT to see and learn from this place.

Here’s my recommendation: 

Come early (eg. Be there between 10am – 11am) and follow the staff who’s feeding the animals.

One staff, Mr. Rohim, who fed the animals yesterday gave us lots of educational info on the animals!

We’re so grateful!

He has worked there since 1993. That’s 22 years!!

This man has learned so much over those 2 decades and I could see how he’s passionate about what he does!

He explained about the different creatures, and patiently encouraged the kids to explore and find out more about the animals.

 

 

And look!

Here’s a shot with a REAL PUFFERFISH!

We found out that a pufferfish could survive being NOT in the waters for up to 45 minutes!

Amazing.

Anyway, other than the pufferfish, we also liked watching real archerfishes in action!

What happened was: small food pieces were placed on pins along a stick, hung high up above the waters, and these fishes shot them down with water droplets from their mouth, without jumping out of the waters!

So fun to watch!

…

Didn’t get to visit the Insect World though.

Will come and visit Taman Mini Indonesia Indah again next time for sure! =)