Safari World
Trip Start
Unknown
1
10
27
Trip End
Ongoing
Bangkok, Thailand
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Safari World is split into two sections. Namely Safari Park and Marine Park. You don't actually have to visit both as there are separate tickets for each. However, a combined ticket costs 700 baht for foreign adults with another 200 baht for the boat ride which we didn't do. For an average sized family, that works out to be an expensive day out. We decided to first visit Safari Park which was probably the highlight. This is an open park area with hundreds of wild animals roaming around. If you don't have your own car like us then you can join coach tours. However, having your own transport means that you can take your time and stop anywhere to take pictures. You can also wind down your windows to get better pictures.
Nong Grace loved this area. It was a great opportunity to get up close to some of the animals. Though, after an incident with a group of ostriches that tried to eat the car she was a bit nervous about winding down the window. But, she enjoyed taking pictures of animals such as Zebras, camels, storks, rhino, giraffes, deer and bears. We then passed through double gates to the area where the tigers and lions lived. However, as it was quite hot they were lazing away in the shade of a distant tree so we couldn't get really close. These are mainly nocturnal animals so you would have to visit a night safari to see more action.
We then drove back to the main entrance where we parked the car and walked into the Marine Park. Here you can rent dolphin shaped strollers for young kids that cost 120 baht for four hours. This is when we realized that we had made a mistake by doing the Safari Park first as we had already missed the Orangutan Show that had started at 10.20 a.m. We were also late for the sea lion show which had started at 11 a.m. and was about to finish. I asked when the next show would be and they surprisingly said that there was only one showtime per day! We next had the option of the Bird Show or the Cowboy Stunt Show that both started at 11.40 a.m. We opted for the bird show. Nong Grace enjoyed it though I was a little bored.
We next strolled around the park to visit some of the attractions while we waited for the Dolphin Show to start at 1.30 p.m. One of the first we visited was a new attraction called Mini World with many birds. The budgerigars here were very friendly. If you buy an exorbitant priced envelope of bird seed for 20 baht you could then easily attract the birds to your outstretched hand. You will soon find half a dozen birds on your hands, arms and shoulders.
Our next stop was the Safari Terrace which I think was my highlight. Here we went up a ramp which brought us to the same height as the giraffe's in the neighbouring Safari Park which we had toured earlier. For 40 baht, you can buy a small bucket of leaves to feed the giraffes.
Our next destination was the Beluga and Dolphin Show which started at 1.30 p.m. This was going to be the highlight for Nong Grace as she had never seen a dolphin before and was really excited to get a chance to see them jumping in and out of the water. The day before I had shown her a brochure for the park that showed the dolphins jumping through hoops, shaking "hands" with the trainers, and jumping up to hit a ball with their nose. Unfortunately, apart from swimming around the pool a few times we didn't get to see much action. The dolphins refused to cooperate and several times the trainers had to dive into the pool to retrieve the hoops and then the balls. It looked like this was then cut short and they brought in the next act which were the more cooperative beluga. These are small white whales.
Our next show was Spy War which started at 2.30 p.m. Like all the shows, everything was in Thai. Which of course is strange as the foreigners are paying a lot extra. You would think they would cater for this market if that is where most of their money is coming from. However, as it was an action show based on James Bond it didn't really matter too much about the plot line. It was pretty thin anyway. Nong Grace sort of enjoyed it though she spent most of the time with her hands over her ears. The last show at 3.30 p.m. was more enjoyable for her. It was the elephant show. They did the usual stunts such as tightrope walking and playing football. She did like it but by this time she was starting to get a bit tired. I think Safari World is a good day out for the family if you are not too concerned about the costs.
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