Apr 26, 2007 07:52 PM
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(Updated Apr 26, 2007 07:59 PM)
I visited today, India's biggest zoological park at Vandalur, Chennai. I was not so much enthusiastic about the picnic to start with. But I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and my impression about the place has undergone a sea change now.
Chennai's zoo was originally in the heart of the city, near Central station! In 1979, it was shifted to the current location, which is about 35 km down south.
We arrived at the zoo at 9.00 exactly, the time at which it opens (closed on Tuesdays). Parked the car at a spacious lot (Rs 15), and purchased entry tickets (Rs 15 for adults, Rs 10 for children 5-12). On entering, I got my first (and very pleasant) surprise of the day. We are not allowed to carry anything wrapped in plastic - snacks, biscuits, water (but PET bottles allowed). Usually when such a rule is present, we are rudely told to throw away our food and other stuff. But here, they provided every one with paper bags to transfer the food stuff. The attendant even helped us transfer all our stuff! Very impressed by this thoughtful courtesy.
When I asked for a zoo map/guide, they said it is out of stock. I was given a spare one by a second-time visitor. It has a neat map, photos of highlights, and suggested trails. The same information is also available at a huge notice board which you reach after walking about 10 minutes straight down.
Second surprise of the day - I had feared a day out in the hot sun (last week of April), but the place is very cool, full of a wide variety of trees. They can really name it 'Zoological and Botanical Park' - there is such variety. However, to walk about 6 km to cover all the enclosures is out of the question, especially when you have children. So we took the battery car.
A word of advice - they have just 2-3 cars, each carrying about 12-15 people, and with the holiday rush, you'd be able to get on one, only if you reach early in the day like we did. Otherwise, you'd need 6-7 hours to cover, what we did in just an hour or two.
While waiting for the car to arrive, we visited some wild monkeys and plenty of caged birds - peacocks, parakeets, pheasants etc.
The battery car ride is for one hour, and costs Rs 12 for adult, Rs 7 for a child. It stops at four designated places, each time for 5 minutes, and in other places, it moves very slowly. It is completely open on the sides, only there is a roof, so we don't miss anything. It covers almost the entire set of enclosures in the zoo, except the safaris. The safari rides are available for Lion safari, tiger safari, bison safari and bear safari. But we were unlucky in that, some road maintenance is going on currently and it is closed for a week. Next time....
We saw a couple of leopards, a caged lion, several deer, lots more birds in a 'walk-thru' aviary, many varieties of snakes, crocodiles, fish and so on. What is very nice is that, each animal is provided with a specific type of enclosure, according to its natural habitat.
The driver of the car is very helpful and friendly and courteous. I tip him, though he doesn't ask for any.
The whole place is so very neatly maintained also. No rubbish anywhere. Many drinking water stalls. But beware - no bottled water is sold inside. In fact, in the whole zoo, they only have a single restaurant and 3-4 Aavin ice-cream parlours, selling nothing but cone ice cream. But of course, we have been allowed to carry all our snacks and water, and also provided with several sitting yards to eat and relax.
All in all, a very pleasant, educative and inexpensive alternative to the maddening theme parks!
Couple of suggestions to the zoo authorities:
They can allow bicycles inside. In fact, they can offer bicycles on rent.
We need more stalls selling food stuff.
And to the visitors:
Arrive early.
Don't miss the battery car.
You can take all of the food and drink you want inside - provided it is packed in PET / metal containers or paper bags.
