To the Zoo

Chiang Mai has a pretty extensive zoo. Cath and I didn't realize this when we were cheap in purchasing our admission ticket ONLY, not paying extra for the trolley ride or the monorail. So we walked about 10 miles around the place. It was fun, we just didn't know how much work it would be, and somehow forgot it would feel like 95 degrees the whole way.

The strange thing about this zoo was that they let you get close to the animals. I mean really close. We poked our heads over the hippo pool and we were just a meter away from their heads. It was really neat seeing their huge nostrils open up to inhale. It was not so neat smelling the hot air blowing in our face when they exhaled. Uffda.

We also got close to the giraffes, which was pretty cool. One of them got really close and when we were taking pictures of it I had the instinct to put my arm around his neck and smile for the camera. I didn't for my own safety. Cath and I got a kick out of not only the wide variety of live animals, but also of the extensive collection of animal statues. We played a game to see who could look most like the statue and take pictures. Cath has most of those pictures now, unfortunately for you. They're pretty funny. Another funny moment was when we tried to hop on the trolley without a ticket. We were walking for what seemed like way too long when the open-air trolley came like a dream. We (ok, I) flagged it down, and I didn't happen to hear Cath saying "don't Mia!" and we both hop on. The driver asks to see our tickets. We sigh and say sorry and get off, and I heard chuckling from some people on the train. Laughing at someone sounds the same in any language, you know.

That evening we went on an amazing dinner cruise along the Ping. There are several of these restaurants that do dinner cruises, but I'm convinced we chose the best. Riverside Bar & Grill, which looks like a cool place to eat on land as well, but you pay a little extra to get a table on a small boat. They take your order right away so they can deliver it from the kitchen before you depart the dock. Food was great; company was wonderful. Maureen has friends from school in Chiang Mai so they joined us. I hope to hang out with them again soon. It was someone's birthday on the cruise and they brought out a cake and sang (in English) and the family cut the cake and shared a piece with everyone on the boat.

Did I mention the weather is amazing just about everyday? There are some rain showers, but only early in the morning and after dark. The best time for rain if you ask me. Most shops and restaurants are completely open air; very few have doors that actually seal off the place. So you get to breathe fresh air all day. It's fantastic. And you get used to the sweating. I figured out the Thai's best kept secret...baby powder. No wonder why the sell it in bulk everywhere.

One last thing I forgot to mention about the zoo: there was a talking bird that spoke Thai. It is hysterical. I got a video of it and I will try to post it.