I was really pumped when Jing suggested we bring the boys to the good ol' Manila Zoo. Geez, man! Manila Zoo! One of the biggest foundations of my childhood!
I spent the whole morning psyching the kids up for the trip. The fact that it has been announced that the place has done major renovations got me all the more excited. Of course, this wasn't the first time Miro and Kenji would be seeing animals up close. But hell, this was Manila Zoo!!!
In the mere few seconds in the colossal world of animals... I was in awe! The facelift they did on this place is beyond marvelous!
And then, in a mere few seconds after that ...all that build up plummeted to the ground.
There used to be 2 elephants here. Now it's a lonely one.
There used to be a giraffe's pen right beside the elephant's. Now there's a brand new, brightly-colored playground. No giraffe anywhere on the premises.
There were a few tigers, but they wouldn't come out because there was a total lack of shade. See the dried-up 'greenery' around this guy?
There was a brand new wall of lush curve leading to what I remember would be the lion's cages. But when we got to the end, no lions either.
The saddest part is this pen for painfully malnourished horses. What is up with that?!
Even the solo happy camper hippo looked a bit too obese, don't you think?
Seriously, the Manila Zoo never looked so great. The make-over and added structural features like this scenic walkway are quite breathtaking.
But I hope due consideration would be given to the animals come the next fix-up. They need care, companionship...by God, they need presence! After all, at the end of the day, kids do go here to see the animals.
I was hoping my boys would leave the place just as invigorated as I was many years ago when I first came here. But they didn't. Instead they had questions, and frustrations.
Manila Zoo, maybe next time?
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