Dear Steemit friends :
In my last post about Thailand, I had the pleasure of showing everybody the magnificent Namuang Waterfall and my expedition through a jungle to the very top!
What a challenge that turned out to be! It was an experience that I shall never forget, and one that opened my eyes not only to the serene landscapes, but also to my new found ability to persevere through challenges that I thought were impossible.
Today, we'll be taking a tour of Safari World, which is a park consisting of both a Marine Park and a Safari Park. As an animal lover, I always endeavour to visit the Zoo on location and spend some time with as many animals as possible.
Shall we see which animals I had the pleasure of meeting?
Follow me and let's have a look!
Taking a trip to Safari World from the centre of Bangkok was a lot easier than I thought. My Hotel had excursions to the park which not only covered the transport to and from the hotel, but also a tour guide.
Booking my place was as easy as going to the counter to sign up, then waiting in the lobby for the mini bus to come pick me up.
In under an hour, I arrived at the park, ready to see the cute animals!
The tour guide was a very enthusiastic young lady who spoke around 5 different languages, including Chinese!
As you can see, our mini-bus seated only 10 people, and it wasn't even full.
The landing area and entrance is beautifully designed with tropical trees everywhere you look. There are plenty of stalls selling drinks, refreshments, fruit and souvenirs
I really liked these white elephant statues which face each other and the Safari World golden altar.
Like most public places in Thailand, there is a tribute shrine to the late King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej who passed away late last year.
A lovely fountain with a rainbow!
Adjacent to the Safari park, we have the Marine Park entrance.
The roofs here are decorated with wonderful plants and flowers.
Look at the vibrant colours!
With such vivid colours, it's hard to actually see the beautiful row of parrots sitting on the tree branch!
Shameless picture with the park mascot!
Because the temperature is so high, (39 degrees C) the park has these water drop sprinklers all over to help visitors cool down.
As we cross the bridge into the park, we can see a life size model recreation of the floating markets unique to Thailand.
The bridge is actually quite shakey, I almost couldn't walk across it without falling over.
Here's another shot of the floating market.
And another shot of the shakey bridge.
Just before entering the Safari park, there is a toilet stop.
This hippo is crying out for you to sit on it.
I really like this archway which has been beautifully decorated with flowers and trees.
Although there are some parks which have trains which shuttle visitors between different areas, this Safari Park just has model trains. Still, they are beautifully decorated with such vibrant colours. I wonder what the yellow man is on the side of the train?
There are some more stalls in the leisure area selling drinks pop corn and sweets.
Onto the animals!
First up, the lazy cold blooded Iguana chilling in the shade. I tried to get it's attention.
I was ignored...
Moving on!
Not sure what this little cute creature is, I think it might be a kind of Ferret.
They are absolutely adorable though, they're literally the size of my tiny hands!
A Kangaroo!
Thailand and it's Elephants
The Elephant show is one of the park's signature performances.
First we are introduced to the elephants as they circle the arena.
Next, they show off their agile trunks, catching hoops.
Elephants can weigh up to 7000kg, it's amazing that they can stand up on two legs.
They've even learned how to paint!
There was a basketball shoot off between these two.
The trainer had the elephants pose in various positions.
And finally, they stand on the stools in an orderly line as they wrap up the show waving goodbye with their trunks.
Planet of the Apes
Chimpanzee's are incredibly intelligent creatures. No wonder they've made so many films about them taking over the world and overthrowing humans.
The Chimp show is also very popular. From the design of the stage, I could already guess that they were going have a chimp muay thai match.
It turned out to be quite a messy fight, and the chimp spectators were clearly not happy.
Meanwhile, the Orangutang band made quite the band performance!
Dolphins
No tropical country zoo would complete without an entertaining dolphin show, and Safari World does not disappoint.
Dolphins are incredibly swift in the water and can leap several times their height into the air.
They're also incredibly friendly with humans, so much so that the trainer feels completely comfortable swimming with them and being thrusted high up into the air.
Synchronised leaps into the air are such a marvel to see.
Sea Lions
I'm not sure why Sea Lions are called Lions, they are so cute, certainly not ferocious like the land type.
Weighing several hundred kilograms, the sea lions display perfect balance with their fins.
They can even do hand stands.
Walk on a barrel..
And stand up on their flippers!
Outside the Dolphin stadium, I was greeted by this very friendly looking Walrus.
He looks like he's enjoying the water very much.
So much so, that he wants to share some with me.
This area we crossed over earlier has some leisure games, the goal of this one is to hit the green button above the poor girl sitting on the ledge. She'll fall down into a tank of water if you succeed. I think it's much harder than it looks, I didn't see anybody win!
Time for the boat ride!
After wading through the sun for half a day, the boat ride was a much needed rest.
No, that isn't a real crocodile! In fact, all of the animals here are just life like models.
Very cool tribesmen.
A daring explorer crossing a rope bridge with crocodiles underneath.
Flamingos !
I can't believe how red these birds are, I think they're some kind of flamingo too?
Here's the timetable for the various shows. As you can see, it's quite a tight schedule, more or less moving from one to the next.
This flock of flamingo's are all facing the same direction. It's like an army of flamingo's standing to attention!
Lunch Time
My excursion ticket includes a buffet lunch.
Although the food was quite underwhelming, I loved the decorations inside.
Here we have a red flamingo and a pink one.
So many plants everywhere!
The fruit table. Aren't those little Banana's so cute?
Vermicelli and Noodles.
Vegetables and Fried fish with Leeks.
Plain rice and some stewed chicken.
A very impressive golden statue of dolphins at the salad bar.
Freshly sliced exotic fruits are sold in stalls all over the park
I decide to go with the Pineapple which was the only fruit I recognised.
The orange dust is a little salty, which is okay because the Pineapple was really sweet.
Wildlife Park
After lunch, the next item on the itinerary involves getting back on the mini-bus, and driving through this wild life park where animals are free to roam on a very large grass plain.
Zebra and a little zebra baby.
More zebras!
A zebra that thinks it's an ostrich.
Giraffes seem to be in their own little section. Notice how their hatched roofs are much taller.
Oh, and more zebras.
I've never seen Storks in the wild before.
Where's the babies!?
A family of tigers in their own area away from the herbivores.
Rhinos eating hay. (I had no idea they eat that!)
Quite a number of antelopes.
The antelopes here have such beautiful strips on their face.
Their horns are so pointy and straight!
The Bear necessities of life.
How could I turn down having my picture taken with these gorgeous Leopards.
He was really friendly and loved the attention!
I think he was a little thirsty from working long shifts all day! You know, wild cats and domestic ones are not too different.
They love a good rub on the head.
And of course, hugs!
Thank you for joining me on my visit to the Safari World in Bangkok. With so many beautiful animals to see, which animal is your favourite?
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