Something tells me it's all happening at the Zoo

Ok, so some of you may have seen the picture of me with the tiger, but if you haven't. . . there ya go. And for those of you who have already seen that picture, well there are some good stories and images left to check out.

The second day in the Philippines provided a little more adventure than the first. We slept in (had to make good use of a real bed, even if it wasn't very comfortable) and then headed back out for some more shopping. I mean, I didn't get to see enough fake rolexes/handbags/polo shirts the first day, so you can understand why I had to go back. There are some pretty cool craft shops there though, and most are worth looking through, and some things are actually worth bargaining for.

Once we bought all of our essentials, we had to be near the ship after lunch to meet our ride to the zoo. Hector, Mark, and I heard stories from the day before and from other trips in the past about the amazing tiger exhibit, but it was nothing compared to actually being there. Most of the zoo was pretty standard compared to what you'd see anywhere else, with the exception of the monkeys that were out in the open (on a leash as opposed to in a cage) and the really annoying zookeeper that wouldn't let anyone stray from the group. The excitement, however, came with the last half of the day. First was the Tiger Safari. Chickens cost $4 (we bought 3) and the group climbed into cage-windowed vans and entered Jurassic Park-like gates to a compound of dirt roads, tall grass, and tigers. The chickens were dangled out of the van by a zookeeper sitting next to me through a small window. Apparently the cats were hungry, and enjoy raw chicken. I'll leave the next part up to pictures and video, because I can't really do it justice with a description.




After the safari (the best part) came the close encounter, where we basically got to see the tigers that weren't outside, but instead just in cages. It wasn't nearly as exciting, but they were still very impressive, and a couple of the cats inside were HUGE compared to the chicken eaters.




Just when we thought the excitement was over, they bussed us out to the crocodile pit. Same idea with the chickens, but this time, for $1, we each got a piece of raw chicken on a makeshift fishing pole. It seemed pretty fun to tease them by dangling the bait juuuust out of reach, but after a while, I figured that they're freakin' crocodiles, so teasing them would probably just bring some sort of animal karma back my direction, so it didn't take long to let them snatch up the food. Hopefully the pictures will do them justice.

The crocs were really the last part of the zoo, so we just piled back into the van for the trip back and another long night's sleep in the hotel. Ok, so we maaay have stayed out for a while shopping and hanging out with the ship-folk, but sleep was definitely high on my priority list, and did I mention how much I love sleeping in? ;)

And now - A few more pictures from the day.

Silly Monkeys - and no, they didn't throw anything at us.

Baby Tigers: Probably the most adorable things ever.

Reminded me more of two puppies.

Got away from the tourguide to play around at the zoo.

Is there anything about this photo that doesn't make you laugh?
Go Utes.
I got to feed him a leaf. I seriously thought they'd spit, but they didn't.
Probably would have been more effective if you couldn't see our bodies behind the board, but you get the idea! ;)

Gorgeous Sunset Colors. Wish the car wouldn't have been moving!