Birds @ IKANO

We have our school reunion coming up next weekend. Unfortunately I will be in Lumut at the time, but Puan Anita was keen to go. Yes, we went to school together. We were what you might say, childhood sweetheart. Yup! It is sad. We first went out in 1987, got married 1997, then got Idlan in 2004. We decided to enjoy our time in UK first before parenthood. It did not turn out half bad after all. Back to the reunion.

Yup! They brought the cages in

Since I will be able to make it, she will be going with a few of her old friends. You guessed it. New clothes, new bags, new make-up and most importantly, new contact lenses!. So, we went out to IKANO yesterday to get a new pair for her. When we stepped in, Idlan shouted out, “Hey! That’s the bird park in here!”. Apparently, for a couple of weeks, the KL Bird Park was doing a promotion at IKANO. They brought over a fair few of their prized possession and the main foyer were filled with birds inside a makeshift tent. The boys were not very keen to go in, so I was not sure how much we would have had to pay to get in. But if you spent more than RM100 at the centre - which we did - we were entitled to a special discount.

Irfan waiting for it all to cookRaw fish slices before being boiledIdlan contemplating his kind of lunchThe World Cup fever hitting the The CurveWe ended up having lunch there at the steamboat joint down there, then after a quick walk across to The Curve where we parked, it was time to go. Our new maid looked tired from her journey in the day before. We bought her toiletries and the kind then was back home.

Slideshow and video from Bird Park stroll

The last time I visited the Bird Park was in January 09, exactly a year ago. I remember coming here with my two boys with Idlan freaking out after being chased by a couple of peacocks. The owl was a big hit for them. For fear of an asthma attack, Puan Anita wouldn't let me take them near the lover's bird cage.

For the past year, there have been a few improvements. The giftshop ladies were more friendly for a start. There was also a new koi pond and a fountain being built with benches which I can imagine being nice to sit on while reading a book. The weather was pretty nice when I got there. I paid my RM15 entrance fee and started shooting away. A nice walk, listening to my iPod and sitting by the koi pond, I managed to get through some letters and emails on my phone. I guess work just wouldn't leave me behind.

For those keen to visit the place, yes, the entrance prize was rather steep at RM15. Apparently they charged more for foreigners. If you think that was expensive, they charged RM4 for a bottle of mineral water! Since it was a workday, there were hardly anyone else. The park is opened from the morning until 7pm. By the time I left just after 6, there were insects and mosquitoes. If you don't like insects, repellents may be a good idea. Another thing I noted was, the number of lover's birds, the small colourful ones featured on the slideshow was smaller than last year. I remembered heaps of them circling around looking for feeds. There weren't that many anymore. The usual attractions, owls, hornbills  and hawks were still plentiful. I am sure there will be more people during weekends, so if you are planning on snapping, maybe a weekday is better.