CHIANG MAI ZOO

How can this be comfortable, originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah.

SUNDAY 25 JULY 2010

I decided at breakfast to go to Chiang Mai Zoo as they have got a male, female and baby Panda there. I arranged with the hotel car to take me and pick me up. The entrance fee for the zoo and aquarium is 560 baht and it was extremely busy at is Buddha Day – most of the people there were Thai. The map was extremely confusing with very little English on it and most of the signs were in Thai only. Athough there was a bus and a Monorail it was difficult finding where the stops were. Some of the animals seemed to be in very small enclosures and although there was information regarding animal conservation, particularly of tortoises and turtles, Singapore Zoo and Melbourne Zoo are far superior, where the animals have plenty of space to roam around in. Some animals seemed to be kept as side shows. I eventually found where the Pandas were, and it was worth the extra 100 baht (2 pounds) to see them. Lin-Hui, the mother, was in an enclosure with the her one year old baby and although they were sleeping most of the time did manage to turn over for a stretch and a scratch. The father, Chuang-Chuang, in an enclosure on his own as adults like their own territory.

After a siesta, I went into the old town for the amazing Sunday street walking market which goes on from about 6 p.m. to midnight. There was stall after stall of all kinds of clothing, shoes, candles, silks, crafts, and food stalls.