Today was officially a free day for us. We (ok - maybe only Jen) agonized about activities to do. We heard great things about a safari zoo in Guangzhou but it was about an hour away. I also checked the weather. Temps in the high 90s...but heat index was 105. Our guide also shared that while we could take a taxi to the safari, getting one back to the hotel might involve a long wait. Our other options were to stay at the hotel and go to the local park. At breakfast, we asked families who attended the safari zoo yesterday. They talked great things about it and convinced me that it wouldn't be too overwhelming for Elise. Luckily, our guide John phone our room this morning and offered to show us how to get to the metro to take the subway to the park. We decided to take a risk and go. On the train (both ways) and at the park, we were the only Americans. It was a very strange feeling to be in the minority.
Entrance to the metro....just outside of our hotel.
Waiting for the train. The train ride was about 45 minutes in duration. We changed stops 3 times. The trains were VERY crowded...many people pushing to get in or get out. Once we got on the train, most of the Chinese people motioned for me to take their seat with Elise. It was very kind. John did an excellent job in helping us buy our tokens and showing us how to go through the turnstiles. The signage was very clear with colors, numbers, and station names written in english. We were able to navigate quite easily. It was so very clean and well layed out. Much cleaner than those in Chicago or New York. Derek said it reminded him of DC.
Once we made it to our final stop, we would take a bus transfer or walk about 8 minutes to the entrance. We opted to walk. It appears there are multiple parks at the same location (same owner name)....an amusement park, a water park, and a safari zoo park. Below is a sign...we hoped it pointed us to the safari park as we have NO idea what it said.
After Derek purchased the tickets, we posed for this picture right before entering the park.
Once we arrived, we took an electric cart to the north entrance of the park to take the park train. Was a nice ride...lots of animals. Funny thing is one can drive his/her personal car too.....along with the park "trains".
Instead of boring you with many animal photos, we've included only our favorites below:
Brett feeding a baby tiger
Regan feeding a baby tiger
Derek and Elise on the "train."
Derek and Elise in front of the giraffes.
We LOVED the pandas. This funny guy was lying on his back and eating. Seemed very laid back.
We watched this group of 6 pandas. Three of them were very intent to play with each other. We spent a lot of time here. It was also nice because it was air conditioned. We left after the bears went to get a drink and sat in their water "bowls". They sleep a lot...so we were lucky to watch this activity. They were quite funny. Even Elise seemed entertained.
Here's a snack we did NOT purchase...in the refrigerated cooler below....fresh crocodile meat with bones. Only 90 RMB - about $15 US.
We stayed until about 4 pm and then headed back. We braved the metro again. This time Derek asked for Regan to navigate us back. He wanted to use it as a "training" session in preparation for her upcoming trip to Spain. She did successfully.
Hard to see...but the train had this high tech sign that flashed stops that had been completed...and identified which one was next.
Derek and Regan on the metro.
When we got back to the hotel, we took Elise's picture with a future Gotcha day gift, the panda that is bigger than she is. To celebrate future Gotcha days (the day she was given to us), we've been picking up small gifts from China to celebrate her heritage. It will be a fun tradition to continue until she is 18. Hopefully she'll forget she saw this....and be surprised when we give it to her in a few years.
Elise was such a good baby. It was very hot...but I think due to living in the orphanage with no AC, she's more used to the weather than we are. She's going to be so easy to travel around with in the future!
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