Safari World - Friso Go Explore! Bangkok With Children Day 3

For our 3rd day at Bangkok, we booked a local tour to Safari World. Another early start to a day full of activities (ehem, walking). Very wordy post ahead due to local tour "extra" so please don't say I didn't give warning. Pickup at 7:45am from the hotel lobby and we're early (I had to emphasize EARLY as we ended up on a late start at Safari World). However this local tour is off on a not-so-good start as one other group cancelled at the last minute. We wasted precious time waiting for the local guide to make rearrangement (and not our fault for all this trouble too). In the end, another tour group joined ours with more people. Safari World is about 1 hour drive from Bangkok city center. We're already running late and reached Safari World around 10am. The place is already swarmed with tourists and visitors as it's a Saturday.

Safari World is divided into 2 parks, Marine Park and Safari Park. All the shows are at Marine Park except the feeding show which the local tour didn't take us (I think not enough time).

Around the grounds at Safari World entrance

We missed the first show even though we ran all the way - the Orang Utan Show at 10:20am. So we were ushered to the Bird Show instead. The show times are not presented in the map/guide but available on memo board at the park. Luckily our guide had marked down all the show times on the map she distributed to us.

The Bird Show is a good one, other than the usual tricks the parrots are also vocally trained. So impressed that the parrots can say greetings in various languages like "Sawadee kap", "你好", "How are you". They can also sing, they sang a short line of "Jingle Bells" and "Happy Birthday". We've never heard a parrot sing before, and it's on tune too! And it played the keyboard!

Bird Show, Sea Lion Show and walrus

We rushed to catch the 11am Sea Lion Show. We decided to take off before the Bird Show ended as we cannot miss the Sea Lion show. The children loved sea lions so much! And the show, it's amazing, exciting, funny, very entertaining.

Next we rushed to see the Elephant Show at 11:40am. There's a choice between Western Cowboy Stunt Show and Elephant Show at the same time. Decided to choose Elephant Show as safari should emphasize on animals, right? The place is so big and we kind of got a little lost. In the end we followed one of the staff who is on the way there with other families. It's at the other far end of Marine Park. Now you see why the rush? The show times are very close together, there are many visitors (need to trudge slowly to get out of the show area), the place is big and lugging two young children around takes time (and we need toilet stops too). Along the way, we stopped to see walrus right outside the venue of Elephant Show. The trainer was there, and he got the walruses to do the "sawadee kap" pose. So cute (even though walruses there are huge)! But we didn't manage to get photos as it happened so fast.

Now that I've mentioned toilet, even though I'm no toilet reviewer, I'm always observing the toilet condition and cleanliness of the places we went. Bangkok amazes me that all the toilets we went to are clean, even with heavy visitor traffic. The toilets at Safari World is even more amazing as they won the "Best Public Toilet of the Year" (although no indication what year). The toilets are jungle themed, one of those I went to is even build around a real tree. How's that fr natural? :)

Ok, back to the Elephant Show. Grand as expected, as Thailand really has done well with elephant shows. How about massage by the elephants? If you're not afraid of being stepped on, please volunteer :) And how about elephants painting, not one but four elephants together, each painting a different style. I told 姐姐, you better practise your drawing more as the elephant seems to be able to paint even better than you :P Of course, it also means the elephant can paint and draw better than me. 500B for each painting if anyone's interested to buy. Serene, calming music is played while the elephants painted. 爸爸 being the camera-man of our crew, was busy taking photos earlier, so I thought we would have a photo with the paintings the elephants had done. Mana tahu, he must be either too mesmerized, or feel sleepy with the soothing music that we didn't have a single photo at all. Bleh! (Posting here as I believe he will never read such a wordy post)

Elephant Show and Seal Cove

On the way to get our lunch, we chanced upon Seal Cove and just had to take a stop. From the Elephant Show, it's a long walk from one far end of the park to the restaurant.

Lunch is buffet style and included in the local tour package, nothing impressive as usual. We had already conditioned the children to eat whatever that's put in front of them, no choosy-choosy and glad to report they are co-operative. Again, like yesterday at Dream World, we refilled our water bottles at lunch as there are no drinking water fountains around. We had to make it quick for lunch for several reasons. One being, we already decided to take a photo feeding tiger cub (think queue again!). Second is we wanted to go to Safari Terrace to feed giraffes. Third is the next show, Beluga and Dolphin Show is starting at 1:30pm! Oh oh oh, how do you do everything in such a short time? We're staying only until 3:30pm. That's why have to be early ya, which in our case is not our fault. Again have to point out the downside of being late and grumble about it with the next development of our visit.

Already being short of time, the local guide had to tie us down by persuading the whole group to take a tour at gem factory after we're done with Safari World. She had already mentioned gem factory in exchange for Orang Utan Show after we came out from the Bird Show but I had cut her short as we cannot miss the Sea Lion Show. The way she said it is "I give you back the Orang Utan Show that you missed this morning. But we will be late getting back to the city, and I cannot send you back to hotel one by one. So we will bring you to gem factory and they will have free transport available to bring you back to your individual hotels". Huh? Since when did gem factory became free transport hub, is their business so bad they have to double as transport provider? Hey do you remember we paid for the tour package which includes TRANSPORT? We already told her not interested at all for the second time.

After wolving down lunch in 20 minutes, we rushed outside to where the venue where we can take photo with tiger cub. The local guide helped us secure our place in a jiffy while an army of other visitors crowd around, some still undecided and chatting among themselves. 399B for this family photo, and we loved the activity! The tiger cub is sucking at the milk bottle so fast (maybe faster than the way we wolved down our lunch?). The children say the tiger cub's fur is a little prickly and hard, not soft like cats (tigers are wild animals, remember children?). The local tour guide even helped us take our photo printout as she know we wanted to feed giraffes. Thanks to her for that!


Feeding tiger cub with milk

Next we bring the children feeding giraffes at Safari Terrace. This is one of the most outstanding activity at Safari World for me, as we have never got so close to giraffes before. We go up a platform and saw giraffes surrounding the platform to be fed. The platform actually borders Safari Park at the habitat of the group of giraffes. At the platform, we can see the Safari Park. We bought a bucket of sweet potatoes and bananas for the giraffes at 40B. The children were scared at first, they are so big and some of them seem so hungry! Their blackish tongue is lashing out whenever the children came nearer to them with the bananas or sweet potatoes. I was near squealing at the sight of their tongues :P

Safari Terrace feeding giraffes

No time to lose as we ran all the way back to watch the Beluga and Dolphin Show. Everyone had said it's not to be missed. Not to mention the children loved dolphins and were so disappointed they couldn't see them last year at Singapore Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon. Bravo, good show! I mean, let's not get into the heated debate on educational etc, it's fun show for the children :) Everything is in Thai, with very few words in English and Mandarin, but action speaks louder than words.

Beluga and Dolphin Show

To our surprise, there is photo session with dolphin! At 450B and with a toy dolphin thrown in, really cannot miss it. Both the children are so excited! We're given some liquid to disinfect our hands, and we waded onto the platform. The trainer will whistle for the dolphin and it will swim to and stay at the platform, hold its pose to take photo with us. So clever and obedient! The staff helped us take photos with our camera. 弟弟 was "massaging" the dolphin, and the children say its skin felt plasticky (haha what a way to describe).



Photo session with dolphin!

Next is the Spy War Show at 2:30pm, 弟弟 says he wants to watch this. Explosions and splashes at the wet zone  :)

Spy War Show and around the park  

White World and Orang Utan Show

Before we go into venue for Orang Utan Show, we had a quick look around White World. Only the white tigers there, as polar bear had been moved. We really do not have 缘 with polar bear, last year at Singapore Zoo they were moved too. Last show we saw is the Orang Utan Show at 3:30pm. Very funny and entertaining. The mock muay thai fighting is so funny, especially the mock prayers the orang utan did before the match. Hahaha! After the show, the children shook hands with one of the orang utan. They say her hands felt like human (of course dears, they are humans' closest cousins).

By now, I'm already so impressed with the shows at Safari World, and so are the children. Even though all the shows are in Thai, and we don't understand a single word except for the occasional English or Mandarin that they throw in, but we still enjoyed them very much. They really know how to put on impressive, entertaining shows. After every show, there is plenty of paid photo opportunities, up-close with the animals. It's very hot at the show venues (can see from the sweaty looks of the children's photos), so we're always using the fan that we bought there.

Last visit is to tiger's den, there's a little "glass house" and tunnel going into the den. Very low for adults, and even children stooped to get through. We scrambled out quickly, and only dared to go in as we saw another family going in earlier. Last minute buy of Thai-style pancakes, got some free ones as closing time soon.

Tigers' den and Safari Park

Then we met up with the rest of the group at the Marine Park entrance. The van we came in took us for a ride around the Safari Park. Photos will not turn out nice as it's dark in the van, and we're not allowed to open the windows. Tigers and lions are in separate area with electric gate (or so the sign says).

All the way back to the city, the children snoozed as they're so tired.

Guide map of Bangkok Safari World for reference

The local tour stuck to its words and detoured to a gem factory. There were pretty ladies at the front door dressed in Thai-style dresses (very glamour uniform wor). The rest of the group were asked to go down for a tour, but we didn't as the children sleeping. In the end, we waited in the van for about 10 minutes and our guide came back, and we're going back to hotel with the same van. Great, no need to hitch a hike with the free transport at gem factory :) However it's getting late, and there's traffic jam everywhere. Our van even took wrong turns and had to ask for directions to the hotel. I'm like, didn't you just came this morning, mister? By the time we reach hotel, it's already dark. Immediately had a quick freshen up and almost ran to Siam Paragon for dinner.

爸爸 recommend this Japanese food outlet to us, Fuji Restaurant. It's everywhere in Bangkok, and there's always a queue at meal times. Ravenous, as the lunch is mass-production fill-up-tourists-stomach type so we didn't have much. The other tour members actually had platefuls heaped with rice and dishes but we just take a small portion. I had to force 爸爸 to take photos for the dinner as he is just so tired of snapping photos. Apa la... how would the children remember it if no photos, right? That's why I chose to blog as they can no longer deny they had tried this or that :)

L: Fuji Restaurant, R: At Mango Tango for mango sticky rice

Outside Siam Paragon

Since it's going to be our last evening in Bangkok, we had to try Mango Tango, a dessert shop just a few doors from Novotel Siam Square. Photos of Mango Tango and the mango sticky rice above (120B per plate). The portion of glutinous rice is so small compared to the one at Siam Paragon Asian Food Hall. But the mango is sweeter and fresher. The children loved mango sticky rice! Well, they would love anything sweet :)

So full after dessert, we went back to hotel and the children watched Scooby Doo cartoon on Boomerang. Had to let them stay awake awhile to digest the food eaten, so that there's no repeat of indigestion problems.

Check out our holiday here:
Friso Go Explore! Contest - We are so lucky!
Day 1: Siam Ocean World
Day 2: Bangkok Dream World
Day 3: Bangkok Safari World (this post)
Day 4: Chatuchak Weekend Market and Chao Phraya boat ride

This is not a sponsored post.