Let's Go to the Zoo

There are lots of things to do and the chicken is finger licking good ... Each time I think of the zoo, that old school Kentucky Fried Chicken (none of that new fangled KFC abbreviation) jingle plays in my mind. Hubs and I haven't been to the zoo in ages and since Bubs is recognising some animals, we thought it'd be fun for him to see some exotic ones. The closest zoo here is the Taiping Zoo, the oldest one in Malaysia, and is about an hour's drive away.

Patience is not one of Bub's virtues and I was tempted to ply him with alcohol so he'd pass out we fully charged his iPod for him to keep him occupied in the backseat. We had a 10 minute stop at a rest area for him to stretch his little legs and to get a quick breakfast before continuing the drive. Surprisingly, Bubs was contented and didn't kick up a fuss throughout the drive until we reached Taiping Zoo. After carefully rubbing sunblock all over ourselves (which turned out to be a good decision because there were uncovered areas where the sun was really strong) and stepping past the gates: we were there!

There was a strong, heady scent of musk mingled with wet leaves throughout the zoo, if you're unfamiliar to animals, your nose would be wrinkling up at the smell. The grounds were huge with a lot of winding, sun dappled paths and scattered around were tall, leafy trees that provided shady areas visitors seeking a brief respite. We spotted a small group of monkeys wandering around and picking up trash from the bins. It felt a little surreal. 

Long, arduous walks call for serious measures. In addition to liberal dosing of sunblock, we came prepared with appropriate footwear: Crocs for Bubs and me and Tevas for Hubs. Adel told us that the pathways were wide and stroller-friendly so we brought along Bub's stroller which we used probably less than 10 times since we first got it. 

Bubs seemed more excited with his stroller (which he hardly gets to sit in since most of the places we go to in Penang are un-stroller friendly) and clambered up and down in it. He said "stroller" repeatedly and even got out to help us push it around for a while. Who knew all it took to keep him happy was a simple trip with his stroller ;) At steep paths going downhill, we'd warn "Bubs, hold tight" and he'd immediately grip the sides until we descended.

It was a really good walk though we sweated buckets from the stifling heat. We spotted some of Bub's more distant relations, LOL.

The zebras had a curious barking laugh that made him jump. For some reason, I kept thinking of the poor zebra in the book Life of Pi and half expected to see a hyena close by.

An hour of walking non stop and dodging the ever present trams made us all fatigued and we stopped for a very much welcomed ice cream break. Everyone else had the same idea and Hubs had to queue for some time to pay for the ice cream - you could make a fortune there selling icy cool treats! Bubs had the time of his life pushing the empty stroller about in his snazzy orange Crocs in between greedy mouthfuls of ice cream.

 After a short rest, we trudged on. This giraffe was decidedly the most friendly of all the animals we saw. It came close by to us and stuck its head over the fence, watching us curiously with its long, lash fringed eyes. A visitor offered his palm up to the giraffe and hurriedly pulled away when a long strand of giraffe saliva dribbled out. Bubs started feeling hungry as it was close to his lunch time and we gave him biscuits. 

By the time we reached the elephants which signaled the end of the zoo, we were exhausted, sweat drenched and hungry as the cafe was closed and there was no food to be found around apart from potato chips and fizzy drinks. It was a good thing we packed a hot lunch in a Thermos for Bubs and after feeding him, we wet a small towel with water and cleaned him a little. In hindsight,I should have brought a spare change of clothes :( 

Anyhow, Bubs fell asleep the moment Hubs started driving towards our next destination for lunch ...