A Zoo like No Other

If you ever wondered what a zoo in the States would look like if there were no lawyers or animal rights activists, head to Burma.  The Yangon Zoological Garden is quite a scene and was at the top of our places to revisit while in town.

When we visited in 2006 we were just amazed by the enclosures that the animals are kept it.  The Vietnam zoo looks like Fort Knox compared to the one in Yangon.  Most of the cages that the animals are kept in are within an arm’s length of the protective fences.  Sometimes not even that far.  During our visit I fed a deer, a monkey and an elephant.  It’s also possible to feed the hippos but it was a little too hot for them to leave the water when we walked past.

Feeding the elephants was the most amazing experience.  Ascending the stairs I saw the great giants lined up on the concrete pad swaying back and forth as if they were dancing for their treats.  A man in a small stand sold baskets of 8 bamboo sticks for just over $1.  As I finished purchasing the sticks the elephants let out a loud call as if they were shouting, “Give it to me!”  I didn’t have to reach far as the trunks began to extend and reach for their afternoon snack.  They took the bamboo very gently from my hand, tucked it into their mouth and then bellowed out a call asking for more.

As great of an experience as it was, it was also a little sad to see all the animals kept in such small cages.  The lions and tigers were in cages on concrete floors and the monkeys barely had any room to play and swing about.  It was captivating to watch the monkeys take the small cone Jell-O treats, rip off the lid and then push out the tasty treat inside.  Though it’s almost a cruel joke to hop them up on sugar and not give them a lot of space to work it off. 

Overall the issues that I have with the Yangon Zoo are very similar to the issues facing Burma today.  I’d like to see things change but at what cost will those changes affect the identity of a place I have grown to love.  On one hand the proximity to the animals makes it an incredible experience, however the conditions that the animals are forced to live in make it less ideal..  These are the paradoxes an emerging country faces every day.  

This Place is a Zoo

It's hard to believe that yesterday was Valentine's Day.  Spending it walking around Saigon in the 95 degree heat certainly didn't feel like a the February holiday.

Kelly and I had a great day together yesterday walking around the city and going to the Vietnam zoo.  We really enjoy going to the zoo in a foreign country because it's very interesting to see the differences from zoos back home.  The biggest difference is how close the animals are and the short the fences.  I really can't believe how close they let people get to the animals.  The elephants couldn't have been more than 10 feet from us.  We watched people through fruit to them as they seemed to dance and bow in appreciation.  The monkeys were playing around and swinging from trees that were only separated from us by a small waterway.  I expected them to dart over to the nearby trees at any point and start stealing people's food.  It really was a cool experience and it cost us less just over $1 to get in!

The only drawback to the zoo was the scorching heat.  We both had sweat pouring from our bodies and felt some dehydration setting in despite drinking three containers of water.  We finished at the zoo we walked back to the center of the city to have lunch at Pho 2000.  It's a highly recommended Vietnamese restaurant that serves the traditional Vietnamese street dish of pho, a soup consisting of noodles made from rich, herbs and spices and meat.  I got the beef while Kelly enjoyed the chicken.  Eating soup with chopsticks is somewhat of a challenge and I'll admit to picking up a spoon a time or two but it is absolutely delicious.

Granted soup on a hot day may seem like an odd decision but it was totally worth it.