Close to my city is a zoo-like place that is part zoo and part zoofari (where you drive through the animal habitats. I've been there twice (the first time because I had never been, and the second time because Erin and I wanted to take our helper and one of her children).
This is the group that went on the first trip. In the backseat with me is our friend Ardi who we go to for all things regarding movies. He's our local American gentleman, always allowing ladies to go first, opening doors, etc. Very kind and good friend.
And this is who joined us on our second trip: Ibu Mila and her son, Agung. This was right before she freaked out and dropped the carrot. The nationals here tend to be scared. A lot.
This is one of my favorite pictures. Too bad I had to shrink all these pictures, because if you could see it, the orangutan would be gazing off lackadaisically.
This is another one of my favorite pictures, mainly because we were only ten feet away from this tiger.
Another of my favorite experiences at the zoofari are the camels that aren't afraid to stick their entire heads in our windows (as long as food is involved, anyway).
This one was hanging in a tree in the zoo part of the park, more free than the other animals.
I know by now you're probably getting bored of looking at animals you could see in any zoo, but look at this itty bitty baby and his really long tail.
This hippo was pretty close to us, too. He was about ten feet away. During this part, we were driving through the water. He almost looks fake, don't you think?
There is a funny story behind this one. So here are the people involved: 1 very large and in charge rhino, and one very small Asian man. The rhino had *somehow* gotten out of his little fence (they really have a false sense of security with fences here, but that's another story), and this man was just escorting it along the way, occasionally slapping its behind.
Here are the Nasty McNastiest--the komodos. Gross. Look at that tongue. Nasty.
This guy reminded me of the Jungle Book, one of my favorite Disney movies. You know the part where Mowgli and Bagheera are preparing to sleep, and the panther falls asleep. Shortly thereafter, Kaa (voiced by the same man who voiced Winnie the Pooh in the old cartoons) comes along to eat Mowgli.
There is another funny story here. Remember when I told you nationals are afriad of a lot of things? Well, Ardi here was afraid of this 4 ft tall deer. Too afraid to feed it. You see him laughing because he is nervous (note: his hand is on the window, rolling it up). By the end of the day, he was reaching out the window. As Chucky Finster in Rugrats would say, he was, "A big brave dog."
One of the lions. Both times we drove through they were being super lazy, all asleep within close proximity of one another.
A bear eating a melon. When we went the second time they were bathing. That was really cute, but I wasn't able to get a picture.
This is Ibu Mila, her daughter Olivia, her daughter's friend, and her son Agung. Ibu Mila works part-time for us as a cook/maid, and we are so thankful for her. Last Friday I went home with her to her village and was able to see her family's farm and meet some of her family members. Her husband often works in the capital, so he is away, but she also lives with her mother, two brothers, their wives, and a little nephew (who is 2, but is about the size of a 1 year old).
