Safari World, Bangkok is not just a Zoo!

When we were preparing an itinerary for Bangkok and considering how many days we should spend in this gorgeous city, I knew I had to keep an entire day to visit the Safari World. Safari World, Bangkok is not just a zoo, where the animals are bred in captivity! There is plenty of open space and vegetation. Safari World does not give you a typical ‘safari’ experience as well. Then what is the hype all about?

First things first. There are different animal shows, and believe me, you do not want to miss any one of them. So we decided to chart out how are day should be spent, even before landing at this place. You will be taken for a mini safari to this part of the park which features thousands of animals. You will be taken around in a luxury coach into the park where you can see them scampered around freely, in their own natural habitat and you’d feel as if you’ve landed in a jungle. If you make it early, you can watch the ‘Tiger Feeding Show’. Do not miss it! Trust me!

A pride of tigers was sitting languidly after a heavy meal… Unadulterated entertainment!

…large herds of Sambar Deer and Black Bucks stopped to identify if you are a predator….

… while the bears were taking some time off for themselves, oblivious to our presence. Cute and adorable and they let us be part of their world, even if it was for a day!

First up was the Orangutan Muay Thai show. Hilarious to the core, the Orangutans dished out trick after trick in a typical boxing stunt. They will tickle you with their humor.

Did you know that Orangutans are an endangered species? Known as ‘The Man of the Forest’ in Malay, these great apes are native to Indonesia and Malaysia.

The next show was in another 25 minutes and we walked along the park to get a glimpse of some exquisite breed of birds – the pelicans, flamingos and love birds. And then we were stunned by the moves of Sea Lions! Definitely, they were the Chiefs of Mischief!

We head to the Cowboy Stunt where the bandits and cowboys engaged in some gunfights, horseplay, bullwhips, fistfights and what not! Outright funny, they engage with the audience as well.

An hour and a half lunch break was what follwed in between the shows and my husband engaged is some silly games. But yeah, won one of those orange cushions for me! Gee!

And then we went about to see the prettiest Parrots, I have ever seen in life!

Out of the blue we heard Dhoom Taana song from Om Shanti Om playing in full blast. We turned to get a glimpse of this. Super-cute!

We had lunch from the Indian restaurant. It came with the ticket. The food was good. There were many stalls inside for it was arranged in a buffet setup. You can imagine the chaos when There is another restaurant with an International Buffet spread, much more cleaner and organized!

And then, the epic moment happened! This – the highlight of the afternoon!

We mussled up the courage to carry this hefty little guy. We had to pay a lumpsome amount though. But worth it! We head out to one of the amazing parts of the day – The Dolphin Show. It was a true delight to see the various stunts performed by this beautiful thing!

The way they have organised the show needs a round of applause. They engage with the audience before and during the show.

Spy Wars show was a breathtaking imitation of a James Bond movie. The stunts were out of the world and we sat in awe and wonder! As hilarious as it was, it was nothing short of an actual movie.

Then we went about to see over 200 giraffes, the largest herd in the world as the Park claims.

The best part of the evening was the Bird Show where such cute little parrots, canaries, flamingos, eagles and the mighty peacock gave us a visual treat.

Things to Know about Safari World, Bangkok

Opening and Closing Hours, Ticket Price

The Safari World, Bangkok is open throughout the year from 9 am to 5 pm. The Tiger Feeding happens in the morning and a luxury coach will take you to this part of the park at 9.45am. Since the Orangutan show begins at 10.20 am, there is a high chance that you would miss this show. We still managed to watch the last ten minutes of the Orangutan boxing stunt.

The Safari Park ticket will cost you 1400 baht. But do it online. You will get at a cheaper rate(half the rate actually!), including the buffet lunch.

You will be given a map to the Park upon reaching. It has all the information including the show timings. You can easily chart out your program of the day. For example, the Elephant Show and Cowboy Stunt was scheduled at the same time and we had to choose.

The park is well laid-out with sufficiaent markings and directions. You will not miss any animals here as you run around between two shows.

Food

There are two restaurants, Indian and International. They serve both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.

Do not carry water or food with you. It is not permitted. You can buy from the Park at the actual price itself.

Toilets

The toilets are clean and they are spanned out across the park.

Pictures with Animals

You can click pictures with the animals, especially a tiger cub, parrots, orangutans, dolphins, sealion or even the actors of the Cowboy and Spy Wars show. You need to pay separately for each of these and yes, it is expensive. The pic with the tiger cub will cost you 600 Baht, the one with parrots will be 400 Baht. You will also get a stuffed toy ( I got a huge red parrot ), or dolphin, depending on what animal you want to click a picture with. If with a tiger cub, they will give you a printout of the picture with a safari world photoframe. You can give your camera and/or mobile phones as well for them to click the pictures for you.

Safari World, Bangkok : How to Reach and Get Back

You will get taxis to reach the Safari World. Either use the GrabTaxi app to book one, or you can ask your hotel Conceirge. They generally partner up with the Park. A metered taxi and Grab Taxi will cost you about 300 Baht.

While returning, you can hire one from the many taxis you can see when you walk out of the Park or use Grab Taxi.

It was a spledid way to celebrate my last birthday as a twenty something! Spending a day with animals of all shapes and sizes from all across the world, they stole my heart with their antics. This day is something which I will never forget. As you walk of the Safari World, Bangkok give it some thought, some inspiration to serve wildlife and the environment. Do your bit, however, small it may seem. I wish every country should take a leaf out of this book and do something similar.

Thank you guys for sticking around this entire month, reading about my travel tales in Thailand. It was fun giving you a slice of this exotic country and I hope you guys will plan a trip soon. I am going back for sure!

Lots of love.