Beijing Zoo-- Panda-monium!

 Our driver took us next to the Beijing Zoo, where he dropped us off out front so we could buy tickets, while he went in and parked in the lot  (presumeably to have another nap)   We bought our entry passes, and went to our first stop..the Panda House!  You could just buy tickets to the panda exhibit if you wanted to, but we got passes for the whole zoo.    Just inside, there was immediately a crowd of people gawking through the glass at the pandas.   I was able to hold my camera above the crowd to get some shots, taking advantage of the fact I was the tallest one there!  The bears were happily munching away on bamboo shoots, which is pretty much the only thing they eat.  One of the main reasons pandas are endangered, is because their bamboo habitats are disappearing.

   (I noticed they had bamboo growing pretty much all over the zoo, so they always have a ready supply!)  There were also some pandas in an enclosure outside, they were all either eating or sleeping.   We stopped in the panda gift shop, which offered all sorts of panda paraphernalia.  I got a panda spoon for my mom, and a couple toy stuffed pandas as gifts.    We then went off to explore the rest of the zoo!  

We wandered from exhibit to exhibit, looking at the various animals...monkeys, kangaroos, etc.   We weren't planning on doing the whole zoo, just some of the larger attractions, such as the tigers and elephants.  The tigers were in a "big cat" room, which had different caged areas within, containing lions, tigers, pumas, and other large cats.

    The cages seemed to be too small for them, and many were pacing back and forth, especially the tiger.   The guys were anxious to get going to see the Llama temple, so we weren't planning to spend too much more time here.  Ok, I just want to see the elephants and rhinos, and then we can go!  I know Tyler will want pictures of them.   Doug had lagged behind at that point, and Lee went to look for him while Dave waited.   "Ok, I'll meet you at the elephant house!" I said as I walked ahead... I wanted to get a head start, because I spend a lot more time taking pictures than the rest of the guys, and they tend to get annoyed with me for that...this will give me time for pictures while they catch up.   As it turned out,  I wouldn't see them again for another two hours!!

I went in the elephant house, and immediately felt bad for them.  They had a couple of rooms to themselves, but they still didn't seem large enough for elephants.  One was pacing back and forth between the rooms, and a small one was in a cage by himself, separated from the bigger ones.  One of the big ones (probably his mom) stuck her trunk into his cage, and they were gently stroking each others trunks...heartbreaking!  You could tell they wanted to be closer, but were separated by the bars.  I took several photos, and waited for the guys to catch up.

As I waited just outside the elephant house, I decided to go and use the restroom next door.

   When I came out, there was still no sign of the other guys. After waiting there another 5 minutes, I started to get worried that maybe I missed them.  Maybe they came by, saw I wasn't there, and continued on to the Rhino house?  I decided to go there, figuring they were either there already, or would be shortly.  I passed an aviary on the way, which had several varieties of vultures.   The rhino house had another gift shop and restaurant in it, as well as several enclosures behind glass for the Rhinos.   No sign of the guys, though!   I waited there about 10 minutes, then decided they must have been and gone, and were actually way ahead of me by now.    Oh, well... I'll just head for the car then. ..they'll probably be there waiting for me!

I walked from the back of the zoo all the way back to the front, taking pictures as I went.   I was convinced that the guys would be at the car already, but the driver indicated through hand signals that he hadn't seen them at all. Hmm!  I went back to the Panda house, to see if they were there, but no luck.  I decided to wait right there, because it was a main intersection, and if they came by that way at all, I wouldn't miss them.   Well, I waited there 45 minutes, and no sign!  I remembered how they had all split up to look for me back at the Forbidden City, so I thought it was best at that point to go back into the zoo and look around until I found at least one of them.

  As it turned out, that would be another mistake!

Well, I went back into the zoo to search for the guys, another half hour wasted walking around, with no sign of any of them.  I walked back to the car again, and there they were!  It turned out, they had showed up there about 5 minutes after I went back in to look for them!   They were pretty mad at me for "disappearing" on them, but it was just a big miscommunication.  It turns out, they did make it to the elephant house, and saw me there taking pictures, although I never saw them there.  They then went back to the bridge over the waterway and waited for me there for about 45 minutes.  I had been waiting for THEM to show up at the elephant house, less than 100 yards away, and because I never saw them, I assumed they kept going, and I "followed" after them, while they had been waiting for me to come back the same way.  Oh well, "poop" happens...especially at the zoo!    We hopped back in the Audi and headed to our next destination...the Llama Temple!