Kelsey In Korea

Monday, March 3, 2014

The Adult Tigers

The Adult Tigers

(9-18 months old)

YAWN.... its tough being amazing!

Awwww... he blinked!

Check out those claws!

SOOOO close to me!

SPLASH!

Last weekend I had the chance to spend a little time in Thailand. It was amazing! While I was there I got to go to Tiger Kingdom which is a place that has young adult tigers, cubs, and baby cubs. for about 20 US dollars you can pick what age of tiger you would like to go see. And by go see I don't mean like go see at a zoo. You get to go into their pen, play with and even rub their bellies!!! It was totally worth every single penny! I bought a package deal so I got to see the three different age groups and I paid a little extra to have a photographer follow me around. At the end of the day I got a CD full of the pictures he took.

Trip to Thailand

I was lucky enough to have a long weekend last weekend. So at the last minute I took a trip to Thailand. It was 97*F so it was amzing!! I was able to do a lot of things in the short time that I spent there. I went to the Long Neck Village, Tiger Kingdom, a waterfall, I saw snake tamers, and I went to an orchid/butterfly farm.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Swimming with the Sharks and Stingrays

Through the Manila Ocean Park I was able to swim with the parks sharks and stingrays. It only coasted 800php which is about 16 us dollars. The sharks were 8ft long and heavier than I had imagined. The trainer that was swimming with us only introduced his favorite one to us, her name was Babe. Then I went on to swim with the stingrays. There were many different kinds. There was the giant black stingray, the leopard stingray, the cow tail stingray, and the Philippines stingray.

The giant black stingray was huge! It weighed 250kilogrames which is about 550 pounds. Her name was Blanche but the trainer said they all call her Big Mamma. I got the chance to hold her, but even in the water she was extremely heavy and I could only hold her for a few minutes before my arms started to shake and I had to let her go.

The leopard stingray was the prettiest in my opinion but I was only able to hold him for a minute or two before he tried to get away. The trainer said it was because the leopard stingray was a male and the male stingrays don’t really like to be held they like to do what they want to do when they want to do it. (So basically males are the same in all species)

The cow tail stingray was more calm then the leopard stingray. She gets her name from the shape of her tail. It looks like a cow’s tail. The trainer said her name was Bell.

My all time favorite stingray that I got to swim with and hold was Jenkins. She was a Filipino stingray. She was so sweet. And every time she would start to slip off of my arms she would swim to get back up on them. She even let me kiss her at least 3 times.

I did not just get into a tank and swim with sharks and stingrays. I went to 15 minute briefing on what to and what not to do (and paid attention) when swimming with these amazing creatures. They may be animals in captivity but they can still be dangerous if they want to be so they need to be treated with love and respect. I had a fun but I always listened to the trainer that was with me. I suggest to anyone that has the opportunity to go swimming with the sharks and stingrays to jump at the chance. It was a truly unforgettable experience!

Oceanarium

The oceanarium did not disappoint! It was included in the $10 fee that we paid and it had so many different kinds of fish and underwater sea life that I had never seen before! There was room after room filled with all kinds of fish. I saw every fish that inspired the makers of Finding Nemo! There was also an underwater tunnel that gave you 220 degree experience in the water.

After you come out of the Oceanarium you will pass what looks like a little ticket booth. If you give them 150php (about 3 US dollars) and your name they will give you 40 minutes in the fish spa.

What’s the fish spa you ask?

It’s a pool that is filled with thousands of fish a little smaller than the size of a dollar bill. The pool is filled with maybe 2 feet of water and for your 40 minutes you side one the side of the pool and put your feet in. The fish will all swarm to your feet and begin eating you... no seriously they will eat all of your dead skin off the top of your feet, the bottom of your feet, and even from in between your toes! It tickles like crazy, and I’m not a ticklish person. At first it even hurts a little. But once you get used to it, after about 20 minutes of putting your feet in for a few seconds and quickly pulling them out, it starts to feel nice. Just don’t think of it as letting live animals eat you and don’t watch them do it either or you will never start to enjoy it. The end result was surprisingly worth it. The skin on my feet, ankles, and lower legs was really smooth after wards and I had a blister on my ankle, from all of the walking, was completely gone after the 40 minutes!

Fish Spa