From the Ultimate Thailand Explorers Pattaya Blog [originally published 5 January 2010]

The Khao Kheow Open Zoo was a novel approach to a zoo. Guests can drive their car from exhibit area to exhibit area, travel by tram, or rent a golf cart. We chose the golf cart option and that’s where the antics began. Who wouldn’t want to parody Jurassic Park?

Happy New Year. See you in 2011!

*****

Hey Explorers,

You may remember our post from Flight of the Gibbon. Well located in the same wildlife sanctuary is the Khao Kheow Open Zoo. What’s an open zoo you may be wondering? It’s a novel approach to observing animals. Instead of walking from exhibit to exhibit, you drive. It’s an expansive park with all the animals you’d expect from a zoo.

You can visit the Continent of Africa

Or discover the bird species of North America in one of the best aviaries we’ve ever seen.

There are plenty of opportunities to feed the animals. Including hippos and elephants!

There’s plenty to keep you occupied here. It’s also great in combination to your Flight of the Gibbon experience, since they are situated side-by-side. It’s hot out there, so we rented a golf cart. For some photos of our trip to the zoo, visit our Flickr Site here.

We also made a YouTube video from our day at the zoo. Riding in a golf cart through the zoo made us feel like we were in Jurassic Park – so we filmed a few cheesy takes of notable lines from the film. The real animal shots follow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e0nOEu5f24

|Know Before You Go |

Appeals To: Families with Children, anyone wanting to make a full-day trip out of their Flight of the Gibbon Experience
Suggested Stay: 2-3 hours, depending on your pace
Cost: Our admission to the zoo was covered by Flight of the Gibbon in their package. Tickets just to the zoo can be purchased separately, but why not make this a day trip and do Flight of the Gibbon in the morning and the Khao Kheow in the afternoon?
Getting There: It’s a 45-60 minute drive from Pattaya, off the highway.
Don’t Miss: The zoo is divided in half. All the cats are on the other side of the lake. Be sure to make the drive out there. Get a park map to help guide you.
Visit Online: | web |
BTW: The zoo is under construction so not all the exhibits are “show ready”. We prefer visiting the zoo on our own schedule. You can take a tram, but it’s more fun on your own. Better yet, rent a golf cart. All you Americans and Canadians can feel like you’re at home – the steering wheel is on the right!

*****

VOTING MESSAGE: Vote for Pattaya. They have the biggest letters of all the 5 cities!

Post-Pattaya Post 20 of 26

Visit the adventures with ben online store for travel ebooks