Monday, July 09, 2007

Travelogue: in Bronx zoo...





The visit started out with a disappointment; the “Bengali express” - a monorail ride would open only on 28th April. We hoped that the rest of the zoo would compensate for the loss.
I was impressed by the way everything was presented - the zoo was clean, workers were always at work either feeding the animals, cleaning the glasses and ensuring everything was in order. We saw all the animals which were present in the zoo.
The indoor settings were awesome; there was a tropical zone area - an enclosure within a building where the humidity felt much like South India! The design was fascinating - it was as if a building were constructed around a tropical forest. I almost removed my leather jacket but was struck by reality (struck by the cold breeze actually) once I stepped outside the tropical zone.
The building of birds was also interesting - in many place there was no glass enclosure but the birds still remained inside their area - the corridors were kept dark while the area of the birds was well lit; and the birds didn’t venture outside because it was dark outside their area.
There were a few canteens within the zoo. And just like in the morning there was no chicken available - all chicken sandwiches and burgers were sold out! We settled for turkey sandwich!
The tigers and gorillas were separated from spectators by a strong sheet of glass. It was nice to catch close sight of them.

We went on a carousel ride as well since it was part of the package we bought. Wreet didn’t want to take the ride since he said it was for kids but I pulled him along. There’s a kid in all of us anyway. And there were a few adults as well in the ride (but most of them were accompanying their children!). There was a special zone with only butterflies - it was like a greenhouse with warmth inside to suit the butterflies and boy there were plenty of them.

At 5pm the zoo was closing down and the animals also went back into their hideouts - I guess they knew that showtime was over for the day!
We did our first time shopping in Bronx itself - just bought a bottle of water from a supermarket - a pretty large supermarket it was.
More pics coming soon...

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