Hello everyone. At 7:30 am we were at our doorstep, all very excited because we were about to embark on a fun tour. 🤗 We decided to join the safari tour at the zoo. We traveled an hour from our area in Thailand, picked up other tourists from hotels and hit the road. The journey went by quickly as our guide shared interesting facts about animals and Thailand. Although we already knew much of it, we still learned new things.
We arrived at Khao Kheow zoo, which is an open zoo and quite large. The first thing that greeted us was the vendors selling food for the animals. We bought food for 30 baht and headed to feed the deer. Our guide mentioned that the zoo tour starts with the deer. They looked a bit hungry, perhaps they skip breakfast in the mornings. 😄
Our main destination was Lemur island. Our guide had booked us for a specific time, so we hurried to get there. We were told the lemurs were hungry, so it’s better to visit them early in the day.
When we reached Lemur island, old memories about masks came flooding back. It seems that lemurs have low immunity, so we had to wear masks. We sanitized our hands, which allowed us to get close to them.
The lemurs were adorable, not scary at all. Some of them even approached us to get food. Although I was cautious at times, they weren’t dangerous at all, so gentle and sweet. They would quietly come over, eat their food and return. Absolutely charming.
Lemur Island isn’t open every day, so I recommend checking in advance if it’s accessible on the day of your visit.Â
When we got hungry, we stopped at the café. The food was reasonably priced: burgers for 59, 89or 99 baht, nuggets for 49 baht, cheese balls for 49 Baht, hot dogs for 40 baht, milkshakes for 50 baht and coffee prices were also fair. They even had ice cream. Overall the food wasn’t expensive. Our group was small, just 10 people. Sometimes larger groups come on buses with 30-40 people, but for us, this smaller size was perfect. We could move quickly and see everything without wasting time.
Taking part in this tour was an amazing experience. We also visited giraffes and other animals.
Later we went to see one of the zoo’s most famous animals, a baby hippo. Many people visit the zoo just to see it. It was adorable, although it was sleeping when we arrived. The kids tried to get its attention, but it didn’t work. The hippo reminded me of a capybara.
Khao Kheow is a massive zoo where many animals live in natural habitats. Some are in enclosures, but most roam freely in their natural surroundings. Even tigers and lions aren’t caged. They are placed in a moat, which prevents them from reaching visitors but allows them to move freely. What’s great about zoos in Thailand is that you can see rare and wild animals in their natural habitats, an experience that can be hard to find in some other countries. Giraffes, for instance, aren’t found in every zoo.
Finally we visited the penguins. They seem to live in a very cold area. We fed them as well.
The baby hippo was the main star of the zoo. There were special toys made just for it. Not only hippo toys, but also flamingo toys and even capybara toys were available. They were all incredibly cute.
The zoo is divided into four different areas. We explored one first, but to reach the others, you need either an electric car or your own vehicle. After that, we went to feed the elephants.
There are many monkeys in the zoo. They live here, it’s their home. They love to steal food. They’re usually not aggressive, but if they see food, they might grab it immediately. Be careful when walking around with ice cream, as monkeys might approach you. In the past, people used to scare them away with rubber balls, but at Khao Kheow, this practice has been banned. It’s a new rule.
Later we moved to the second area. To be honest, I was worried that the tour would feel rushed and we wouldn’t get to see much, but we had plenty of time. We arrived at each spot, observed the animals, fed them and then moved on. We didn’t linger too long anywhere because the weather was very hot. The tour was really well-organized and the guide knew exactly when and where we needed to go, giving clear directions. We moved from one spot to another, sometimes on foot and sometimes by shuttle. This place is huge, with lots of greenery and beauty all around.
After that, we watched the monkeys and crocodiles. There were massive crocodiles and the fascinating part was that they live in saltwater. These types of crocodiles are only found in Australia and can grow up to 4 meters long.
There was also a very dangerous bird called a cassowary. These birds are aggressive and can deliver deadly blows with their powerful legs. It was intriguing to see such birds, but also a bit scary. I didn’t even know such birds existed. That’s why I’m glad we didn’t try to explore this zoo on our own for a whole year. We wouldn’t have fully understood everything. Of course, you could explore on your own and research on Google, but that’s not something we usually do. Everything here was so clear and well-explained. I was very pleased. It was a wonderful experience.
We ended our tour at Khao Kheow. It felt more than enough for me. If you take a tour focused solely on this zoo, you can spend more time in each area. But I think we saw everything and fed all the animals. It was a packed visit. We saw so many animals, though we did miss a few. Some were hiding behind branches or glass.
Lunchtime came and we had pasta, rice, vegetables and chicken. It was quite delicious. There was also salad and fruit. After a short rest, we moved on to the next zoo. This zoo had beautiful terrariums.
I loved all the areas. I was especially fascinated by the hippos and rhinos, not to mention the giraffes. Everything was fantastic. The group was also great. we were small and quiet. We didn’t have to wait much, everything was compact and everyone gathered quickly. We were lucky because there was a large group behind us with about 30 people. Being in a smaller group made it much more comfortable for us.
And that was the end of our tour. Initially we took this tour for our daughter, but we ended up enjoying it just as much.