Forget what you know about zoos. America is way too uptight, and China knows what people want!! People want to experience the animals, pet a Zebra or feed a bear, or possibly get mauled by a kangaroo, emu and/or rhino.
I have never experienced a zoo like I did today. Animals were roaming around, fences were mere suggestions of boundaries and the most guarded inmates were the hyenas, wolves and monkeys. Everyone else had pretty free range of access to humans. This means children could put their tiny hands through the emu fence, kangaroos could stand up and box a person in the eye, and giraffes could effortlessly step over the wooden barriers to their area. Llamas, deer, mountain goats and miniature looking antelopes ran around willynilly in and out of other animal's pens, and on the road where people could get hoofed or head butted quite easily. I petted a Zebra, made eye contact with a very ugly camel and feared for my life being next to the ostrich pen. Oh and I sat on an elephant's forehead with its trunk wrapped around me.
I don't get it. Safety is just a slight suggestion, a mere whisper of caution that most people here just ignore. The US is obsessed with making everything so extremely safe for people, and I think that creates this mentality that there is always danger around us. Here, people stroll around casually with their babies, near wild animals that could bite an arm or leg, with no second thought.
However they refuse to take western medications, drink cold water or eat too much sweets because its "so dangerous and bad for the health".
The cultural difference is mind blowing.
I'm pretty sure my view of the world has never been so expansive than at this point. That could be due to the amount of blood that rushed to my head during my bungee jump though. (Which incidentally burst a ton of blood vessels under my eyes and made me look like a caffeinated acupuncturist's first day's client.)
One week left in Shang Palace, then onto Lobby Lounge were the luxurious carpet cushions, the music soothes and cookies taste sublime.
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