It is a good opportunity for us to explore an enclave in the West known as the Singapore Chinese Gardens.
 |
| Entrance to Chinese Ggardens |
Upon reaching the entrance, we spotted a large sign proclaiming the existence of
The Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum (TLTTM). Being fans of the 4 legged creatures, we did not hesitate to ask our parents to include this as part of our trip.
 |
| The Chinese Bridge |
Given that the entrance of TLTTM is just a walk across the imposing Chinese bridge, together with the hot blazing sun shining upon us, it is a no brainer that our parents agreed as the TLTTM provided us a refuge to the heat.
 |
| Entrance to TLTTM |
TLTTM is a home to a collection of over 50 species of 800 turtles and tortoises. It started as a private collection to one that made it to the Guiness world of Records for having the world's largest collection of tortises and turtles. With accolades like that, who could refuse to take a peek inside.
 |
| The courtyard |
The museum is currently housed in the courtyard of Chinese Garden. Upon entrance you are greeted to a courtyard typical of a Chinese 'WuXia' movie. We started our exploration with a visit to the numerous tanks of turtles and tortoises located on the side of the entrance.
 |
| Hundreds of Tortoises and Turtles |
Before that, we were greeted by a large African Turtle guarding the entrance to the museum. In case you are wondering the difference between a tortoise and turtle is that the turtles primarily live in water and tortoise on dry land. We bet you did not know that !
 |
| African Tortoise |
Inside the museum, we were greeted by tortoises and turtles of all shapes and sizes. There were quite a number of species that we did not know even exist.
 |
| Pig nose turtle |
A few notable species caught our attention. They are the Pig nose turtle, the soft-shell turtle, the snake neck turtle and the alligator snapping turtle, otherwise known as the world's most dangerous turtle.
 |
| Soft-Shell Turtle |
The turtles kept on display are mostly kept as pets. They were subsequently abandoned by the owners and TLTTM rescued them. The reasons why they are kept in tanks rather than release back in the wild is because of survival issues. Being kept as pets for most of their lives, their chances of survival in the wild diminish as they have yet acquired the necessary skills needed to do so.
 |
| The Snake Necked Turtle |
Initially we were a little disturb by their captivity, however upon learning the real reason why they are here, we were glad that TLTTM existed for them.
 |
| Alligator snapping turtle or the dragon turtle |
Here is a sign explaining the cause of TLTTM
 |
| House Pet |
Do be careful and not put your hands in the tanks. Some of them do bite!
 |
| It bites! |
If you would like to feed the tortoise and turtles, vegetable feeds are available at $2 a stack
 |
| Feed is available at $2 |
It did not take us long to feed the tortoises and turtles. It is our favorite activity on site!
 |
| Feeding time |
One good thing about the museum is that there are tortoises roaming on site. It allows us to get close and pet them. You could tell that we enjoyed this very much!
 |
| Take a bite |
 |
| Have another one! |
 |
| Hello! |
Our favourite would probably be the African Tortoise roaming the grounds.
 |
| African Tortoise. |
Even though the sun was blazing, we enjoyed ourselves during this little excursion. The museum is hot and we do mean it literally.
 |
| Taking a break |
We spend a good 2 hours in the premises. Along the way we spotted a few interesting sculpture such as the laughing monks and even...
A merlion!
 |
| Merlion |
Admission is a reasonable $5 per adult and $3 per child.
Given the setting, we thought this is the perfect setting for the turtles and tortoises. Unfortunately it will not last long. Do be quick as we were told that their lease would expire mid 2014 and they would have to move to another premises.
 |
| Guiness world record holder! |
After the visit to TLTTM, we decided to take a stroll around Chinese Gardens
 |
| Courtyard entrance |
The Chinese Gardens build in 1975 has its charms. However with up and coming attractions such as Gardens by the Bay , this gardens had fallen to a disarray. The premises is still clean but there are minimum attractions within with the exception of its original structures. It is a waste that such a beautiful and natural garden be banished to the back of people's mind.Instead of scores of families in the gardens, it had since attracted a different weekend crowd.
 |
| Chinese Gardens |
We visited the 7th storey pagoda. I made to to the 7th storey with a little help from Daddy while Kor Kor decided the view from the 4th storey is sufficient.
It was a pleasant afternoon for us with the surprise trip to TLTTM being the highlight of the afternoon. It gave us hope that in modern Singapore, we can still find old gems that continues to fascinate us. Looking forward to our next trip to the path less travelled in Singapore.
A merlion!
Given the setting, we thought this is the perfect setting for the turtles and tortoises. Unfortunately it will not last long. Do be quick as we were told that their lease would expire mid 2014 and they would have to move to another premises. 
It was a pleasant afternoon for us with the surprise trip to TLTTM being the highlight of the afternoon. It gave us hope that in modern Singapore, we can still find old gems that continues to fascinate us. Looking forward to our next trip to the path less travelled in Singapore.
No comments