15/01/11

Manila Zoo more like Manila Jail…

As an animal lover I couldn't go to a foreign country without checking out the zoo and native animals. I don't mean to compare Manila with Australia and I have tried not to with most things I have experienced here but I can't help but compare beautiful Taronga Zoo with Manila 'Zoo'. Although I can't act too surprised with what I saw, everyone I spoke to about visiting the zoo simply laughed and referred to it as 'Bilangguan', which means jail in Filipino, and they were right.

I think the lowest point was seeing the floating coke bottle in the Australian crocodile enclosure; maybe product placement in the Philippines has taken a turn for the worse…

Also the sight of the magnificent Asian Elephant was more sad then amazing. Elephants are very social animals by nature and in the wild it is common to find 20-40 members in one herd. This poor Asian elephant was alone in a stone enclosure with hardly any greenery, the poor thing looked so lonely!

Whilst visiting the Philippine monkeys I was half waiting for the little monkeys to pick up a bottle and start running it along the jail-like bars of its cage!

But of course there were highlights! They included watching a kamikaze chicken walk over the head of a HUGE python snake and when it cheated death he waddled directly for the next large python. The chicken obviously wanted to get out of Manila Zoo anyway he could… (check out the photos on my facebook!)

Another highlight was getting the chance to actually hold a real (and heavy) Philippine Albino python! Despite my fear of all things slithery for 100 Pesos how could I say no to a photo?

After the zoo Cedlef and his girlfriend Rachele took me shopping at a nearby mall where I stocked up on some Filipino souvenirs then we had a scrumptious Filipino dinner at their favourite restaurant, 'Recipes'.

Over dinner they taught me some Filipino words…

Salamat- Thank-you

Mahal- too expensive

Kuya- Older brother (Cedelf)

Mabuhay- Welcome

Mahal kita- I love you

We finished the day off with a stop at a cake shop in Makati where I had a delicious Oreo cheesecake! Food is too good in Manila!

From Manila lots of love,

Stace

xxx