A Glimpse of Smiles Across the Miles

From Phra Nang Klao, Bangkasor, Nonthaburi, we took a free ride via bus number 18 to Dusit Zoo; although, normally, the bus fare was 7 baht per person.  We paid the required entrance fee and enjoyed the child and adult-friendly ambience of both people and animals.

Dusit Zoo is situated at Khao Din Park in Bangkok's Dusit Distric next to the Parliament House and Dusit Palace.  This zoo is the oldest zoo of the Kingdom of Thailand and was built by King Chulalongkorn, otherwise known as Rama V, being his private garden adjacent to the royal palace.  When the king died, the said garden had been unattended for years.  In 1938, Rama VIII or His Majesty Ananda Mahidol from the 2nd monarch of the Chakri Dynasty, gave this park to Bangkok City Municipality to be open as a public zoo in response to the request of the revolutionary government.  Rama VIII himself willingly donated deers and a number of various animals from the palace for public exhibition.  Bangkok City operated the zoo from 1938 to 1954 and has transferred its handling and governance of the zoo to the state Zoological Park Organization which is the same organization operating the Khao Khiao Open Zoo, Songkhla Zoo, Chiang Mai Zoo and Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo.