Safari World
The tour guide picked me up at my hotel around 7:30 a.m. and headed to several other hotels to pick up other people. There was a women from India with two sweet kids and was married to a German (who was back in Calcutta), a couple from Sri Lanka with the wife expecting their first child, another couple from Oman (the wife had the most beautiful henna design on her hands), and an Indian family of five (including grandparents). I never got their names, but I really enjoyed talking to them. The Oman couple encouraged me to visit their country sometime…they said it would be safe even if I traveled alone. I don’t know…I’m a bit squeamish about traveling to the middle east by myself.
The first part of Safari World was a drive through in the van. There were hundreds of storks everywhere and ostriches, many a bit nude since they lost most of their feathers (seeing a nude ostrich is pretty funny…makes you think about cooking it! LOL). When we got to the lion and tiger part we had to close our windows, so my pictures weren’t that great of them.
After the drive through, we got out and walked into the main park. The first thing I did was have my picture taken while holding a baby tiger and feeding it a bottle. OMG! It was too cute and I wish I could have held it all day! I did notice that they had trimmed its nails pretty short.
We watched several shows: orangutans (always funny), dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions, and birds. I opted not to sit through the cowboy stunt show or the spy show. Instead, I wondered over to the giraffe feeding area. There were about two dozen giraffes all vying for treats which you could buy and feed them. Some allowed me to pet them. I got a thrill watching the little kids feed the giraffes…there joy was contagious!
All in all, it was a good day. We had a short storm that cooled things down a tad. Now that I’m back at my hotel, my sinuses are wanting to act up and it’s making my throat sore. If I get sick, I’m going to be so mad!
After I shower and change, I’ll give Layla a ring to see if she wants to go to dinner.
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Layla didn’t return my text message, so I walked over to the next street and got some grilled squid and coconut juice from a street vendor. While delicious, I knew it wouldn’t be enough to last me until morning, so I popped into 7-Eleven for some snacks. Plus I thought I better get something for my throat in case it gets worse.
On the walk back to the hotel, a man started walking beside me and commented on my tattoo. He said he was from India and he continued to talk to me the whole way to my hotel. When I went to go inside, he begged me to stay outside and talk to him. Hmm…I smell a rip off in the making, so I told him I had to go in because I was expecting a phone call. Where was the doorman? The one time it would have been nice to see him and he’s gone. Oh well, I made it inside safely and never looked back to see if the man left.
