Devilfish's Asian Adventure

Chang Siam (Siam elephant)

Chang Siam itself consists of a couple of enclosures for elephants and an elephant ride set back from the central covered square containing cafes, gift shops and a tiger cage. Around this and the car park are a number of other attractions, including monster world, the shark-hunting aquarium, crocodile farm, cobra show and monkey show. Elephants, including the large-tusked male, are the main attraction for visiting tour groups.
 
Crocodile farm

The crocodile farm doesn’t seem bad. As expected there’s an amphitheatre with crocodiles in the front enclosure, and a couple of enclosures for crocodiles of different ages. My favourite feature is a decent river exhibit filled with crocodiles. There is a barge which visitors can ride and actually feed the crocodiles from. A nice touch.
 
Monkey show

I didn't stay long at all. In fact, I only watched a few minutes of the show through the open gate, strolled around the site briefly, and left. I think this same arena is shared with the cobra show but I didn't see any snakes. Again, seeing chained macaques in one of the pens was unpleasant (though I think there were only five this time), and the show involved clothed male pig-tailed macaques being led round in circles on a chain, doing circuits on tricycles, through hoops, and running. Not nice.
 
Bang Saen aquarium

The next day I headed towards Chonburi and started with a visit to Bang Saen aquarium. A nice little aquarium which was well done, with a very interesting museum on the upper floor. This is another aquarium associated with the institute of marine science, this time attached to a university. Signage was generally good, but there are a lot of tanks where many inhabitants are no longer present. Overall a very nice collection of native marine life, though I often felt that I’d caught it at just the wrong time, with the unfounded impression that renovation of some tanks is imminent.
 
Khao Kheow Open Zoo

Transport was a real pain getting from Pattaya to Bang Saen, but Peter Dickinson’s hubpage offered some great guidance. Overall I was about 1h behind schedule when I arrived at the aquarium. After my visit I took a moto to a private collection, and then I went on to Khao Kheow open zoo. Detours, delays and loss of direction meant that I only got started in Khao Kheow in the early afternoon, which was much later than I had hoped.

Khao Kheow is an excellent zoo. My favourite in Thailand. I was treated like a king on arrival, with a friendly and knowledgeable veterinary assistant taking me round. The zoo is brilliant, with one of my favourite African savannah exhibits (though maybe a bit heavily stocked). Walking around is a lot more difficult than I expected, but the golf cart helped enormously. The walkthrough aviary is absolutely magnificent, and I know zoochatters including Jackwow, and indeed most other visitors will love it. There are a lot of breeding programmes on site, and I was kindly granted a tour of the amazing clouded leopard breeding project, where over 60 cubs have been born in the last decade. One of the things I really liked was the emphasis placed on genetic mixing; with their ongoing success rates, the project could easily produce many cubs, though they try to focus on lines which are under-represented in captivity. An amazing project which I was honoured to have the opportunity to visit.

So many enclosures are very impressive, and the collection is also outstanding. I visited the new Wildlife Wonderland exhibit, which houses koalas, douc langurs, giant anteaters and pygmy hippos among other species. I couldn’t really work out a link other than that they’re interesting or popular animals with the public. I was pleased by how well the doucs were shown off.

The bird aviaries were also nice, including five aviaries for three different bird of paradise species. Down from a few years ago, but that’s still more than Jurong has on show.

The cat complex was also an incredible exhibit. Some of the enclosures could be significantly nicer but the species list was absolutely outstanding. The marbled cat which died a few years ago would have been an amazing touch. In Thailand I think only Chiang Mai night safari can rival it for number of cat varieties on display. I’ll make a list soon enough.
A brilliant day, and one of the best of the entire trip. I wish I hadn’t booked my hotel in Bangkok so that I could have stayed for the evening trails and spent another few hours at Khao Kheow.
 
Pata Zoo

Pata was slightly better than I had expected, but that’s not saying much. Located on the top two floors of a Bangkok department store, most of the enclosures are not great but the species list is very special. The lower floor of the two actually seemed ok. With the exception of a small enclosure housing a large water monitor, I reckon almost all the enclosures would be accepted in Western zoos. Some of the vivaria for snakes and frogs were very small though, with a few ‘shoebox’ tanks, which I always dislike. There is an enormous number of Burmese and reticulated pythons, and monocle cobras spread around this floor. Surprises included a pair of young giant freshwater stingrays (the smaller of the two is very young and didn’t look great), and it was nice to see that the banded linsang is still alive as well. The upper floor is the disaster zone. Again, individually a lot of the enclosures might be deemed acceptable, but there’s a lot on this floor which is completely barbaric. The worst are the primate enclosures, particularly the great apes (including the lone gorilla). Around these are a series of small aviaries housing agitated birds and small mammals, many quite rare in captivity. The hornbill enclosures were generally acceptable, and apart from the cacophony I think the parrot enclosures are probably adequate, but leave much to be desired. Unfortunately (for me, at least) there are no longer any langurs on display.
 
Dusit Zoo

I finally got the chance to visit Dusit zoo on a Sunday afternoon. I really enjoyed the zoo. I liked the deer paddocks and the reptile house was also quite decent. A small aquarium was very strange, offering shark and tarpon fishing (I imagine it’s not too far off the shark-hunting aquarium in Pattaya); at the ticket desk for the aquarium is a two-headed stripe-necked turtle. The reptile house was nicely done, though there were a lot of mutant snakes on display. I liked the small geckos on display, and some of the turtles and monitors are also very special indeed. I made my way round to the nocturnal house in the rain but by the time I’d seen it (including the echidna enclosure which was being refurbished), the rain was too heavy to hang around, so I made my way to Siam Ocean World.
 
Siam Ocean World

Siam Ocean World is in the basement of the Siam Paragon Mall. Usually I dislike malls, but I really like the Paragon. The aquarium is very expensive to enter, but I was kindly given the expat price (60% off). I liked it. Many tanks weren’t too special, and a number of species advertised elsewhere aren’t on display, but it’s nice. Staff were friendly and honest; I was advised, for instance, that the behind-the-scenes tour wouldn’t be worth it for me. A very nicely done aquarium, and probably my favourite aquarium in Merlin’s group. I didn’t like that the giant catfish were labelled as Mekong giant catfish, seemingly in the hope that nobody would notice, but at least staff were happy to admit that they were only ‘a relative’ of the Mekong catfish. The underwater tunnel was also very nice, and good for photography, but I would have liked the main tank to be deeper. The final major exhibit, a jellyfish hall, is one of my favourite marine exhibits anywhere, and certainly my favourite jellyfish display. A circular dark room fitted with amazing Bang & Olufsen audio equipment, a round couch in the centre and three main features on each side; a video display of hydrozoans and strange jellyfish, a large tank containing moon jellyfish, and a series of tanks for other jellyfish species. It’s probably the first time I’ve noticed the ridiculous neon lighting and it hasn’t bothered me at all.
 
Dusit Zoo 2

On my last day in Thailand, I woke up early to try and finish off Dusit in the morning. I visited the Australasian zone, the bird island, and made my way back to familiar ground taking the long way round the lake. I took a few more photos of langurs and walked quickly through the nocturnal and reptile houses again. I was surprised to find that the rare geckos had been placed behind glass since my last visit, so I was pleased to have photographed them before.
 
Safari World Bangkok

Safari World was actually better than expected. During weekdays each show only runs once daily, and the schedule is arranged so visitors move en masse from one to another. I arrived as the dolphin show was starting – I thought it would give me a chance to see the beluga but it seems that it’s no longer part of the show. I then spent two hours in the pedestrian zone, including visiting the brilliant ‘Eggs world’ exhibit. There were a lot of visitors. The coach park was busier than any South East Asian bus/coach station I’d seen, and stadiums which seated several thousand were packed – the roars of excitement (mostly from schoolchildren, I imagine), were louder than any I’d ever heard outside a football (soccer) stadium. An amazing atmosphere. Surely there might be some good if every child ends up leaving this place with a love for animals?

Breeding programmes here are very successful, with hundreds of macaws on display and 156 giraffes. Ridiculous numbers, but it shows that they can be good at what they do. Even the giant freshwater fish pool was home to over 50 large Mekong giant catfish. I worry a bit about how such a controversial place got hold of douc langurs, and the orang-utan cages were horrific. Those off-show also appeared very plain.

I then took the coach tour of the safari route, which was very awkward. Maximum speed was 20 km/h, and the driver rarely went below that, slowing down or stopping only three times on the route. Again, an opportunity to see the huge numbers of animals. I think it was also the first time I’ve seen adult lions and tigers mixed outside of a circus.
I think this is only the third safari park I’ve ever visited.
 
That's it for a few days, but now I have the resources to post reviews and photos. I don't know whether I'll have time for all of them so if there are specific reviews or photos that you'd like to see soon, let me know.

Taking a quick look at my photos, quite a few aren't opening on my computer (they're now .exe files for some reason). Most of my Singapore photos have done this, including over 90% of the River Safari pics. If anyone knows how to fix this, I'd be grateful for your help.
 
devilfish said:
The next day I headed towards Chonburi and started with a visit to Bang Saen aquarium. A nice little aquarium which was well done, with a very interesting museum on the upper floor. This is another aquarium associated with the institute of marine science, this time attached to a university. Signage was generally good, but there are a lot of tanks where many inhabitants are no longer present. Overall a very nice collection of native marine life, though I often felt that I’d caught it at just the wrong time, with the unfounded impression that renovation of some tanks is imminent.
Click to expand...
I liked this aquarium much better than the Underwater World in Pattaya, even though it is nowhere near as flashy. When I went there (in 2006) were a lot of areas where tanks were apparently being put in or renovated, so I kind of got that same impression of catching it at just the wrong time!
 
devilfish said:
Around these are a series of small aviaries housing agitated birds and small mammals, many quite rare in captivity.
Click to expand...
do you have a species list for the Pata Zoo? I have no intention of ever going there, but it would be interesting to know what is there.
 
devilfish said:
I finally got the chance to visit Dusit zoo on a Sunday afternoon. I really enjoyed the zoo. I liked the deer paddocks and the reptile house was also quite decent. A small aquarium was very strange, offering shark and tarpon fishing (I imagine it’s not too far off the shark-hunting aquarium in Pattaya); at the ticket desk for the aquarium is a two-headed stripe-necked turtle. The reptile house was nicely done, though there were a lot of mutant snakes on display. I liked the small geckos on display, and some of the turtles and monitors are also very special indeed. I made my way round to the nocturnal house in the rain but by the time I’d seen it (including the echidna enclosure which was being refurbished), the rain was too heavy to hang around, so I made my way to Siam Ocean World.
Click to expand...
I honestly can't even remember the aquarium at Dusit, and I've been to the zoo twice. I'm thinking I missed it both times somehow! I'll make sure I see it this year round though!
 
devilfish said:
Siam Ocean World is in the basement of the Siam Paragon Mall. Usually I dislike malls, but I really like the Paragon. The aquarium is very expensive to enter, but I was kindly given the expat price (60% off). I liked it. Many tanks weren’t too special, and a number of species advertised elsewhere aren’t on display, but it’s nice. Staff were friendly and honest; I was advised, for instance, that the behind-the-scenes tour wouldn’t be worth it for me. A very nicely done aquarium, and probably my favourite aquarium in Merlin’s group. I didn’t like that the giant catfish were labelled as Mekong giant catfish, seemingly in the hope that nobody would notice, but at least staff were happy to admit that they were only ‘a relative’ of the Mekong catfish. The underwater tunnel was also very nice, and good for photography, but I would have liked the main tank to be deeper. The final major exhibit, a jellyfish hall, is one of my favourite marine exhibits anywhere, and certainly my favourite jellyfish display. A circular dark room fitted with amazing Bang & Olufsen audio equipment, a round couch in the centre and three main features on each side; a video display of hydrozoans and strange jellyfish, a large tank containing moon jellyfish, and a series of tanks for other jellyfish species. It’s probably the first time I’ve noticed the ridiculous neon lighting and it hasn’t bothered me at all.
Click to expand...
I liked Siam Ocean World a lot. I've only been once though, because it was pretty much the same as the KLCC Aquaria (same designers and owners) and just really expensive. I liked the jellyfish room too.
 
devilfish said:
Breeding programmes here are very successful, with hundreds of macaws on display and 156 giraffes. Ridiculous numbers, but it shows that they can be good at what they do. Even the giant freshwater fish pool was home to over 50 large Mekong giant catfish. I worry a bit about how such a controversial place got hold of douc langurs, and the orang-utan cages were horrific. Those off-show also appeared very plain.
Click to expand...
156 giraffes is insane!!

I haven't visited Safari World and don't intend to, given their connection to orangutan smuggling etc.

Did you see polar bears or giant pandas? I recall them supposedly having "white bears" and wasn't sure which one it was.
 
Chlidonias said:
156 giraffes is insane!!

I haven't visited Safari World and don't intend to, given their connection to orangutan smuggling etc.

Did you see polar bears or giant pandas? I recall them supposedly having "white bears" and wasn't sure which one it was.
Click to expand...

I think it may have been 'white pandas' - polar bears. I saw this term a lot on advertising material, but their signage was actually quite scientific. I'm not sure if it could have been a mistranslation. There was one on display in a new area called 'white world'; the only other exhibit here housed a few white tigers.

The number of giraffes is ridiculous. It's very impressive, but I think you can gain the same impression from far, far fewer than even 60 giraffes. I counted 138 on the field (but it's very difficult, as you can imagine), and there were a few in one of the side paddocks. There has also been a birth in recent days.

I had difficulty parting with so much money at the ticket booth when it was going to this place, especially as I'd made such an effort to avoid giving a similar amount to Siam Ocean World. However, I generally don't regret visiting controversial collections - Chiang Mai Night Safari was outstanding, and I'd never had any idea of the scale of Safari World's education programmes, the crowds visiting, or seen the science pushed for in Eggs World.
 
I‘m now in Istanbul. During my few days in London I’ve been attending a fairly intense course, which I shall resume next week. Tuesday was a day off, however, so I went with a friend to Crystal Palace Park Farm, the Horniman museum, and Eagle Heights. Not much has changed a great deal since my last visits, but it was nice to see a crowned eagle on display at Eagle Heights.

Today I got stuck in Istanbul airport’s passport control queue for far longer than expected, and so I visited Turkuazoo and Akvaryum Istanbul. I hope to soon visit the zoo, and maybe the dolphinarium if there’s time.
 
zoomaniac said:
Hi Devilfish

I just wonder if you still plan to visit Zurich within the next days/weeks?
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Hi zoomaniac,
I called my airline this mornibg to try and change my flights so that i could spend tuesday in zurich but unfortunately it's not possible. Unless there are severe delays, i doubt i'll be able to leave the airport this time round.
 
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