I hit up Gabby today to explore Mumbai a little bit and we decided to go to the zoo as I hadn’t been there before. We walked to the zoo and it was nice to be able to explore Mumbai by foot. I finally got to see my cow fwends! I found out where the coconut stand was too and she promised coconuts on the way back.
Gabby nicely reminded me to keep my mouth shut when buying tickets but I was already familiar with the routine. Mouth stays shut so I pass off as an Indian resident and only have to pay 50 rupees vs the foreigner price of 400 rupees. Tickets in hand we set off.
The first animal we saw in the zoo was the elephant! This elephant was brown (just like me ;) in comparison to the gray ones that I have seen before. The elephant had come right up to the fence so he was really close. Apparently, he usually stays much further back so I guess today was my lucky day!
The next animal I got lucky with were the tigers! There were three of them and the biggest one was asleep while the two smaller ones played with each other constantly snapping and lunging at one another. The tigers really gave us a show. They kept snapping at each other on land and then one of them retired to the water. I learned that tigers are actually really good swimmers. As soon as one went in the water, the other followed of course and they swam right up to the window to where we were watching them.
The next animals we saw were the chonky hippos. Terrifyingly large animals that I will definitely not be going anywhere near. The zoo also had leopards, deer, penguins, turtles, and birds. Of course it was nowhere near the size of the zoos in the U.S. but I enjoyed it. I really loved how lush and green the area was considering it was in the middle of a busy city. All around you could see new developments towering above the zoo as the city continues to rise. The zoo was a tropical oasis in the middle of all of the high rises.
As promised we stopped by for coconuts on the way back and got two that were filled with coconut water and my favorite part - thick malai! Turns out Gabby also loves thick malai so it was perfect. I am looking forward to more adventures with her soon!
In the evening, Gabby and I met up again for an evening run at the Hill. I loved having a running buddy so much! She runs there everyday so I will try to go everyday to run with her.
Comments