Matt Fong’s Blog

I posted a while ago about a visit I made to the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo and I wanted to compare it with the Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

I visited the Khao Kheow Open Zoo a month or two ago, but my blogging habits haven’t been the best lately. The zoo is only 15 minutes north in Chonburi by car from the tiger zoo but is miles apart in terms of its facilities and goals. The Khao Kheow Zoo is an “Open Zoo” and is essentially a huge parkland where animals can roam free. The wide-open atmosphere creates a pseudo-safari experience. It’s best to have a car otherwise (like me) you are stuck on the park’s tram. There’s a section where monkeys and weird camel look-alikes approach your vehicle, a section for cheetahs and cats, an enclosed bird sanctuary, and of course an assortment of Asian tigers. I’d say about 40% of the animals I saw were new to my eyes.

The day trip reminded me of an African safari (I spent 2 months in Southern Africa only 2 years ago) and it’s probably the closest thing most Thai’s will ever come to a real safari. Interestingly, in Africa while camping on a safari travelers weren’t allowed to wonder from the campsite and were escorted to the restroom by a guide for fears of lions attacking during the night. I’m told that 30 years ago in the Northern Provinces it was unsafe for locals to wonder outside their own houses for fear of tiger attacks.

Anyway, unlike the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, the Khao Kheow Open Zoo is geared more towards Thais than foreign visitors to Thailand. The open zoo is run by a government sponsored agency and only charges 50 baht per person compared to the privately run 300 baht admission to the Sri Ratcha Tiger Zoo (they actually utilize a double pricing scheme and charge 100 baht for Thais). More importantly, the setting and environment for the animals at the KK Open Zoo is significantly better than those at the Tiger Zoo. While you can dangle dead chickens above hungry alligators and watch a woman put hundreds of deadly scorpions on her bare skin at the Tiger Zoo the Open Zoo has a much larger array of unique Southeast Asian animals in a pleasantly natural environment.

The only negative aspect of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo: it’s difficult to get to without a car and is more easily enjoyed with a car.

Yesterday was the Queen’s Birthday and by that virtue was also the nation’s Mother’s Day, a holiday for most, except for people who work in the hospitality business like myself . Interestingly, the King’s Birthday in December is also Thailand’s Father’s Day. The queen made a televised speech and almost every newspaper paid tribute to her with front, almost-full page coverage. This is yet another piece of culture missed by the wondering backpacker.

On a similar note, on Wednesday I had a slight problem communicating with the hairdresser and I ended up with a shaved head. My hair hasn’t been this short since swimming in college and with my receding hairline, I’m not sure I’ll ever enjoy long hair again! Note to barbers: if you can’t understand what a customer is saying, DON’T START OFF SHAVING THEIR HEAD! To add insult in injury the “trim” cost me 150 baht, double the going rate.

I also watched a Thai movie the other day called Tom Yum Goong starring this Jet Li type action actor named Tony Jaa. He’s Thai and this is his second blockbuster motion picture. His new movie is the hype in Thailand and has been the talk around town. The movie has an underlying theme of Thais helping Thais fight criminal gangs of other Asian nationalities. To a certain extent the movie and its star is sort of a national icon, they’re proud of a Thai receiving international stardom. Anyway, the theater was packed like I’ve never seen before. Interestingly, the police were searching purses and bags for camcorders and video recording equipment to prevent illegal copies. It’s nice to see Thai’s protecting intellectual property, albeit it only for their own films!