Today we took Samantha to the Zoo. We visit the Zoo alot, because it’s dirt cheap (less than $2 a person) and lots of fun.
We started our adventure at the big Bull Elephant. Samantha was actually brave enough to feed him today. The first time she’s ever actually gotten the food in his mouth without freaking out and dropping it. While she was feeding him, I noticed a little box on the table where they sold the food for the elephant. It said, “To Remember the Elephant” in Thai, and there were little trinkets inside that they were also selling. Made of Ivory!! WHAT! My kid is feeding and loving the elephant, and you’re selling ivory on the side?? It seemed strange, but I’m almost positive that in Thailand the elephants die naturally and then the ivory is used.
Moving along, we stopped to let Samantha ride the horse (pony, actually). She’s loves to ride the horses, and we want to give her as many chances as possible to learn to be a horse whisperer. I think once she was on the horse, she was little bored with being led around. This girl is a control freak and her inner equestrian waiting to be unleashed. After we ride a horse, we have to say ‘thank you’ and ‘bye bye’. Well, Samantha had been riding ‘The Grump’, so he turned on her and whapped her in the face with his teeth. From where I was standing, it looked like he tried to bite her. But Sean said it looked more like an instinctual maneuver that horses use with foals, to put them in their place. Either way, I was not happy! Samantha ended up with a bloody lip, and I’m hoping that she’s still brave enough to ride a horse.
We met two families with kids the same age, so we ended up enjoying the Zoo together. At one point we were all on the shuttle bus (this is a big Zoo, cover about 500 acres, 80% on the hill side) on our way to the next exhibit, when big lizard boarded the bus, followed by a Binturong and a Sulfur Crested Cockatoo. With handlers, of course. It was lots of fun for the kids to ride with the animals. When we got to the next stop, we discovered that this was the day for the Annual Chiang Mai Zoo Parade. So Samantha got to meet some donkeys, a camel (he was very friendly), the binturong, a Macaw, an owl, some wild pigs, and a host of other animals. The reason we love this zoo so much is that we often get to meet the animals, and feed and hold them.
After the parade was over, we headed out. At the entrance we met a young woman with a baby goat. It was her pet, but she could no longer take care of it, so she was hoping to give it to the zoo. Samantha loved it! So, the girl offered it to us for THB2000. For a moment I considered it – I’d love to have goat’s milk whenever I wanted it, for FREE! But, we don’t have room for a goat. Duh!
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