Visit to Mykolaiv Zoo (Ukraine: wounded beauty fighting for us I)

I bought two tickets to Mykolaiv Zoo in March to support them during the Rashist invasion of its country and was determined to visit it in person. I finally fulfilled the wish on Nov 1.

What an amazing zoo, well maintained in the midst of war only 50km from the fiercely fighting frontline!






I was told the zoo was open only on weekends due to the ongoing war but still decided to go there even if I would be able only to take a peek from outside.

When I was peeking and wandering at the gate, a kind gentleman asked me to wait there. 

Soon a lady in charge came out to greet me and kindly allowed me in to have an exclusive tour after I explained that I bought tickets in March. I couldn't believe that I seemed to be the only visitor in the entire zoo at that time. Literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience.





The zoo has over 400 species very nicely arranged and housed. 

"Mykolaiv has not been shelled only 44 days since the beginning of the full-scale war". Apparently, butcher Putin did not spare these lovely Nazi animals in his "denazification" - a shell went right into the zoo in April.







I entered Mykolaiv around 10:30 after going through multiple checkpoints. Four S-300 missiles hit it the early morning that day. Taking photos is understandably not recommended. I did not take any outdoor photos except at the zoo.




Neither is the seatbelt recommended in a car to ease quick escaping.

I walked around for about 13km in the city. In the same spirit of security, please forgive me for being a bit vague in describing my observations.

I tried to make myself as conspicuous as possible to avoid any suspicion (e.g., walking on parkways in the center of boulevards). 

Some areas that must have teemed with people before the war are like ghost towns. 

I was nervous in these areas only because of the fear of being questioned and having to explain the 3 cameras (SLR, super-zoom pocket, GoPro) in my backpack that I carry habitually for such travels. 

Some areas are like the exhibits of Ukrainian resilience - life goes on with crowded markets and people busy with their businesses. 

More than half of Mykolaiv's 486k residents have left.  The remained appear to have normal demography - old, young, male, and female.  

The young gentleman who offered me the ride has moved from Mykolaiv to Odesa but goes back to tend to his very nice restaurant twice or three times a week.

I was completely surprised by the heavy highway traffic.

I seemed to hear distant shelling. I did not go beyond Mykolaiv. I am fairly sure no one would appreciate such a venture by a foreigner though the people in Mykolaiv are very hospitable as in other cities.

I left lovely Mykolaiv at 16:30. 

BTW, I effectively bought 10 tickets upon exiting the zoo.

Ukraine: wounded beauty fighting for us

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Google's Local Guides program's policy enforcement is the worst

Image
Google's Local Guides program's policy enforcement is unbelievably bad. It is despicable. Here is what it does things sometimes: Publishes a review initially, then rejects it later without notifying the reviewer. Suspends the reviewer's Local Guides account because of the above rejected reviews without notifying the reviewer. They do this to users who have made thousands of contributions over the years benefiting millions of Google Maps users. Continues to allow a suspended account  The review rejections are done by their flawed AI. Reposting the review without any changes will get approved often.  Notifies a reviewer of a rejection without giving a specific reason. This is the worst part.  It seems that one may get these punishments by posting multiple reviews quickly. I have not seen any online policy enforcement nearly as bad as Google Local Guides'. Bing Maps is worth trying. For reviews, Tripadvisor may be a better place. My journey of  Local Guides: I have made ov
Read more

PRC COVID mortality estimate: 3M - 5M

Image
Summary PRC COVID-induced excess deaths: Absolute minimum requiring a miracle: 1 M Likely minimum: 2.5 M Likely range: 3 M - 5 M How I derived these numbers: First, if you doubt the current high COVID fatalities based on anecdotes instead of official data, let's think in this way. People are paying what is equivalent to 2 - 3 months' salary to avoid unpredictable long waits at Beijing crematoria, so long waiting lines are common. Beijing has 12 crematoria and many more in its vicinity. If people could drive 100km or more to have timely cremation, they would not spend so much money to save the 1 or 2 hours of transportation.  If Beijing with the best healthcare resources has such a high fatality rate, you can imagine the fatality rates of other places. It is fair to compare the PRC with other East Asian countries. Japan, S. Korea, and TW are exemplary - high vigilance, high vax rates, and orderly opening, so they have much lower excess death rates than most other countries. If t
Read more

Thoughts on the Rashist slaughter in Ukraine

Image
I started to write down these thoughts in February 2023 before my second trip to Ukraine, paused for many months, picked it up intermittently in the summer, and finally finished on Saturday, September 23, 2023. I will not edit this post because I want to come back to it to see how my views will change or remain in the future. It has been a long and brutal 19 months since the Moscow KGB thug launched the slaughter in Ukraine.  My views on this war are simple and straightforward, not much different from freedom lovers who stand with free people fighting for their freedom. I wanted to provide some background. I have some slight differences from others that make me treat certain things slightly differently. Why I support the Ukrainians' fight for their freedom I firmly support people fighting for their freedom regardless of their political leaning (left, right, or center), race, or religion (Buddhists in Tibet, Christians in Ukraine, Muslims in Xinjiang, Iran, and Afghanistan). To me,
Read more