I've had friends visiting from the US for a couple of weeks. It's nice to have house guests, and it also allows me to do some things that I normally wouldn't do. I mean, I could do them. I just don't do them.
In that spirit, this weekend we all bundled into the car and headed to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri. I don't know why I've never been there before.
A couple of years ago, a friend showed me some photos he'd taken at the zoo of him feeding a rhinoceros there, and I've wanted to go ever since. My visitors from the US saw the photos, and they immediately wanted to see the zoo as well. As a matter of fact, I think it might be one of the main reasons that they decided to come to Thailand.
If you've never been, the Khao Kheow zoo is just a couple of hours drive outside of Bangkok. You basically drive your car through the whole thing, and stop at the side of the road and park when you see an animal you want to get a better look at up close.
The place is just a little rough around the edges — there were things that obviously needed to be improved in the general presentation and upkeep of the park — but the animals all seemed in good condition, well-fed and happy. The enclosures all seemed big enough, and better yet, allowed zoo visitors to get quite close to the animals and even feed them at certain points.
There are hippos and penguins and giraffes and wildebeest and lots of other animals, but the highlight, of course, were the rhinos. If you've never been up-close and personal with a rhino, and most people haven't, I highly suggest going.
Seeing them just on the other side of a fence and hand feeding them was a truly wonderful experience. It's hard to describe the sight and sound and smell of such huge animals until you've actually been there. I've been close to elephants many times here in Thailand, but rhinos are a completely different experience.
Back in the US, it's almost impossible to get close to these magnificent creatures. There are all sorts of laws and regulations forbidding it, for various reasons. But here, the rules seem to be a lot more lax.
If you've ever been up close to a wild animal, you know what I mean about it being an amazing experience. I think more people should make the effort to see and touch and smell an animal that they've maybe only ever seen in books or on the TV. It gives you a whole new appreciation of them.
When you appreciate something or somebody, you're far less likely to take them for granted or to devalue them. A lot of the trouble we have in the world stems from just that kind of laziness. So if you have the opportunity to see something wonderful and unusual up close, I highly suggest you do it.
It could change your life.
Sean Vale
Editor
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