Visit to Manila Zoo

If there is one thing I would like to achieve in being a parent is to give my kids everything and let them experience the things I never got the chance to when I was a kid. To include in the list is to wander to different places and garner experience that we will cherish through the lifetime. I have a confession to make, I have never been to a zoo during my formative years and I have no recollection that my parents ever brought us to a zoo. The only chance I got to experience a real zoo was when I was already working. It may sound pathetic but I guess it wasn’t just my parent’s thing.

Anyway, ever since my little boy can recognize animals I thought it was a high time for him to bring to a zoo and experience the real deal. We went to the nearest zoo, which is the Manila Zoo two weeks ago.

It was a humid Sunday morning and lasted until the afternoon. We arrived almost three in the afternoon at the zoo and assumed that it closes at 5 p.m. We were just lucky that it was extended to 7 p.m. in the evening. So we still have plenty of time to go around the zoo.

At the entrance is the elephant, which my little boy was so excited to see when we were about to leave home and inside the car but when he saw the real thing, he got terrified! To the point that he wanted to run out of nowhere! “Run there mama! Dodo scared!” Ok fine.

When we were just about to move to the next animal after the weird looking fowl and never got the chance to get the name it rained hard! We even had to buy umbrella inside the zoo from the mobile vendors and wait for the downpour to stop.

After 30 minutes of raining we continued to go around the zoo while letting the little boy identify the different animals.

We were just a bit disappointed because there was no lion. But nevertheless they get to see a lot of animals especially the zebra that he was talking about non-stop after going home.

Few tips when going to the zoo with your kids:

• Bring extra clothes and burp towel, food and water, sanitizer, alcohol and umbrella.
• Always keep an eye on your kids.
• Don’t forget to put some anti-mosquito repellant.

By the way, we got a discount of php20 per head because we are Manila residents even with the parking fee! We presented our IDs with our address on it. Children three feet below are also free of charge.

Hope to visit another zoo next time.