A trip to Bangkok wouldn’t be a trip without visiting safari world, or at least that’s what we got told. We decided to check it out and see what the hype was about ourselves. To begin with I made sure I did my homework. We managed to book a ticket with a rep at the hotel for only 1,100 baht although ticket price at the park is 1,400 baht per adult. Happy with a good deal we got a taxi and off we went.
If you’re getting a taxi, it’s a lot quicker to take the highway although you will end up having to pay the toll charges which are normally between 100-150 baht depending on which way. I would also advise making sure the taxi doesn’t wait for you while you’re going around the park, our taxi driver tried to make out that he stayed at the park for three hours and that we had to pay him a few thousand baht! We got the hotel to step in and went to our rooms. The taxi driver didn’t wait around for us although as reception said they often try it on and try fleecing money out of tourists, be warned.
Entering the park..
So when you first get to the park your need to sort your ticket out, you’re also going to get a ticket for the food buffet, I’ll talk more on that later. Before entering the park consume any drinks as they will be taken off you at the security check point which is fair enough. They have an amazing plate service. Basically you can have a photo taken in front of a big fountain or safari world sign and they will stick it on a safari world plate for you. They are pretty cool so we decided to go for it! We ended up with two.
So entering, it can in all honesty be a little daunting. The area is a little difficult to get to grips with even with the many signs. One minute your be following a sign and the next the signs will have vanished. They have maps but they don’t actually tell you where you are so you need to guess and go from there. You will know you’ve made it when you pass a giant tree with several parrots on them! They make a hell of a racket but they are ace to look at. Overall the park is tidy and well kept.
I thought the park would be filled with us brits most of the day but I have to admit I didn’t see another Brit, I thought I did but they were German. In fact the park was full of Indian and Chinese people, maybe the brits need educating on this amazing place?
The attractions
So we only went and saw the elephant show. The others looked a little lame and the only other we wanted to see was the dolphin show, which wasn’t on!! The elephant show was really good, entertaining for the whole family. I was a little concerned sometimes for the elephants as they looked a little skinny but i guess you have to remember they have different rules and regulations here than they would back home. In all fairness you may have seen how I mentioned the animals were looked after at chatuchak market, the conditions here were a lot better although could be stepped up a bit.
Rant side note… now if you are going to go and watch the animal shows great! Go along and cheer. At the end however be thoughtful. When we watched the elephant show at the end everyone rushed down pushing people aside for selfies, although this was rude it wasn’t my main issue. Hundreds of people pushed to take photos with the elephants and some paid 750 baht to ride one for 30 seconds in a circle, good for them. However you can spend 100 baht like we did and get food for the animals. You’re able to feed them and pet them and the staff even let you take a proper picture with them. If you’re going to spend a fortune on riding the elephant or push to get a selfie maybe think about spending a tiny amount and feeding them? It was wonderful to feed them and you feel good at the same time!!
Okay now that that’s out the way I can talk about other stuff, like the tigers!! The cute, fluffy amazing tigers. I’ve always been a fan of tigers and these guys were super cute! I wanted to take one home but the best I could do was get a photo with them. We both had an individual photo with a tiger for 600 baht per person. It was the highlight of the entire trip if I’m honest! You get a photo print out In a nifty frame at the end of the day near the entrance!! Better value and way cooler than anything you would find back home!!
We also fed the lovely swans that looked a little battered I won’t lie. A bag of food was 69 baht and they loved it!! Again I was a little annoyed when people flocked over and started taking photos of them feeding. Maybe buy your own food and feed the poor animals!
The food…..
Now you get a free buffet included in your ticket price or you can eat at an Indian restaurant for a price, I think their normal guests are Indian hence the only restaurant being Indian. We didn’t eat there though we took advantage of the free buffet, we couldn’t film inside but I will let you know my thoughts. The food was bland and boring. They catered to Indian and Muslim people, the rest of the food was meh. They had dried cucumber….. fried rice and something with no tag everything else was empty. I couldn’t see any drinks apart from one glass of pre served warm water on the table… I mean I understand it’s a free buffet included with the ticket but meh, it was something I would give a miss and spend a little extra for food outside. If you’re like us and only went for a few hours you probably won’t eat but we wanted to check it out to educate others.
It’s also situated right next to the gift shop. A gift shop just like the ones back home. Full of tat and wayyyy overpriced. You can get gifts for a fraction of the price at the entrance so save your money and give the gift shop a pass. On the way into the buffet area and gift shop however you will have the chance to have a photo with a falcon or owl, we gave it a miss although if we ever go back I’ll have one with the falcon because they look sooo cool!!
Conclusion…
Overall the day was a good one. If you’re like me you may get annoyed with people pushing and shoving to get selfies or just being rude. I don’t like seeing animals treated crap and I wish more people would feed them and not just use them to fill their instagram feed! Taking a picture feeding an animal looks way better.
I would totally recommend checking the safari world out and having a nice day. On average as a couple I’d say 2-4 hours would do it. A family would maybe be 3-6 hours.
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