My apologies.
Although I did actually remember to bring my camera and snap a couple here and there of the animals, I managed to completely miss the point. We were the only tourists there. Seriously. The only ones. Can you imagine being all alone in an open zoo? I mean, at least in the jungle the animals are trying to hide and stay clear. Here they are out in the open. The OPEN. It was creepy, to say the least. Still, they looked happy and healthy, so that was nice, but, at some points, we were sort of terrified.
I didn't photograph any of the quiet or nothingness, but it was so so strange. All of the food stands were shut down, the trolleys weren't running. No one was in the park until we were at the end, and then just a few people who live there. Yes, some people live in the zoo. It's HUGE!
In one section there is a sign beside a cattle guard warning you to stay in your vehicle. Last time we didn't take the motorbike through and bummed a ride with a Thai family, only to realize it is absolutely the only way out. You must go through this area if you want to see the rest of the zoo. It's pretty tricky to do on a motorbike, obviously. This time we decided to rough it. Bridget was on the back of the bike with her camera ready and didn't get a single shot, because we were both paralyzed with fear for that 100 yards. Putting along, quietly breathing and thinking oh my god oh my god oh my god go go go. I was afraid to drive too fast and scare the animals, but absolutely didn't want to stop. By the way, it was mainly monkeys and wild hogs (which we could handle). We could not, however, handle the massive stags that were following us with their piercing eyes throughout the whole thing. Man was I happy when we crossed over the second guard back into relative safety.
Next we came upon the cat complex, which is their big to do. All of the cats we saw (jaguars mostly) were behind glass, but there were a couple we only heard. Think about that for a second, quite a reason to be scared out of our wits. We kept it together though. I just sat there thinking no way could this be possible. Then after a second it registered where I was. Oh wait, idiot. Crap; I'm in an open zoo in the jungle in Thailand. My feet were telling me to get out! We were walking across the lake to look at the cheetas (keep in mind we haven't seen another living soul in quite some time) and we hear this massive roar coming from out of the mountains. EEEKKKKKKK! We decided to head back to the bike at that point and stumbled upon a baby lion cub that appeared to be sleeping (completely without a cage) by the lake. Jesus, Thailand, you're killing me here. We were freaked.
Turns out it was a stuffed animal. Pretty mean trick if you ask me; I was totally believing it. Funny how something like that in the states would likely never get to me, but here I just never know what they think is okay. They might allow the young cubs to run free after hours, who knows. Luckily, they didn't (at least not in our path).
Aside from all the crazy creepiness of the day, the best part of the whole thing is the drive to and from the zoo. It's absolutely breathtaking, and one of the most beautiful places I've seen in all of Thailand. I plan to make another trip after school this week to capture some of the scenery. Hopefully, third time will be the charm when it comes to zoo pics.
Below are some I managed to get throughout the afternoon.
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