Chiang Mai Zoo

We met Orm and all the others at the airport and then headed to the zoo. This was not our idea, but the plan Compassion put together for us. I had wanted to visit a local Compassion project and spend time with Orm there, or simply go to our friends house, but Compassion has rules and regulations about how and where child visits can happen.

So Karen took us and dropped us off at the zoo. It was hot, we were all tired and the zoo was big so we ended up buying bus tickets and riding around much of the zoo.

The very first thing we saw was this elephant and we bought some food to feed it. Orm didn't want to, but Sydney and Kayleigh both fed it. Pretty cool to be that close to an elephant!

You can see that it's not caged very securely. In fact, if you look in the next photos, you'll see that the elephant stepped over the fence to get closer to us.

There were several "extra" activities at the zoo - things you could pay more to do. I can't even imagine how hot it would have been to be trapped inside these balls, but the kids in them seemed to be having fun.

One of the extra exhibits was the panda bear exhibit. We paid the money to go in, but both panda bears were asleep so all we saw were their butts. One thing I thought was funny and interesting is that all the fees were cheaper if you were Thai than if you were of another nationality. 

We did see koala bears - a first for me, I think. One even got up and started walking around which was pretty cool.

It was late in the day by the time we got there so some of the exhibits were closed. I really wanted to go inside the bird sanctuary, but it had closed 15 minutes before we arrived. At the top of the cage was a peacock in full display. I couldn't see it well so I didn't get a photo, but it was strutting its stuff up there.

I think these next two birds are native to Thailand.

This is inside the enclosure we couldn't get in because it was closed. The male peacocks were outside, on top of the cage, displaying their feathers.

This bird was so interesting...I have no idea what it is or where it's from.

And this peacock was just walking around the zoo freely.

I was fascinated by all the different flowers, trees and plants of Thailand. I'll do a separate post of flowers, but here's a seed pod I found while walking at the zoo.

After the zoo we were supposed to go to a restaurant to eat together before saying goodbye. However, at the airport, Karen invited us to all come out to their house for dinner. I had proposed this idea to Compassion before we ever went on the trip, but they said no to a visit at a residence. But....the Compassion translator and staff worker quickly agreed to the idea. I think View,  the translator, was eager to meet Dave and learn more about Free Burma Rangers.

It was great because Dave, who speaks fluent Thai, tried his best to engage Orm in conversation and was able to share quite a bit about God and the gospel with her. After she left, he shared some info with us about the Wa tribe - a people group in Burma where her parents come from. Until 1979 they were literal head hunters.

I was a little concerned about her extreme shyness and Karen explained that some of it is cultural - but Dave told us he's never seen or met such a sad girl. Her parents are Buddhist (Thailand is heavily Buddhist - I'll talk about that later) and she's really on her own when it comes to nurturing and developing a relationship with Christ. I'm so thankful she's in Compassion's program. She spends every Sunday (all day) at church and then at the Compassion project.

Having met her, I am more determined than ever to pray for her. And despite the fact that she was painfully shy and we didn't have this great connection, I am hopeful that our visit was a demonstration of how much we love her, and that through future letters we can disciple this young girl.

And my favorite picture from the day....my girls.

Before I left I requested child packets for Thailand, specifically from Orm's project. I came home to find the packet of Kannika Lahun - an 8 year old girl that attends the same Compassion project as Orm. Let me know if you are interested in sponsoring her...