OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ZOO

 The zoo!  Finally made it this time around, even though we live two minutes from the secret back entrance (where, after a very brief language test, we entered with 'resident'-priced tickets ;) Above, we kicked off the fun last Monday (Makha Bucha day - a holiday) with a family selfie on the walkway over the deer park.

The Chiang Mai Zoo is laid out in a large loop, a road that climbs up the base of Doi Suthep, with different animal 'zones' scattered throughout the loop.  The big bonus of this layout is that you can hop in your car (or zoo shuttle) between zones, then hop out to walk amongst the animal exhibits.

 Or stop to grab an ice cream.

Another bonus is that for a nominal donation, you can feed many of the animals - during the day, we offered veggies to deer, elephants, giraffes (above, Ren shows us how), and - perhaps the highlight of the day - these amazing hippos.