On a 29-hectare plot of land, which is about 15 minutes drive from Pattaya, a popular holiday destination - Ancient Stone Park - was opened in 1992.
Its organiser was a rich businessman Khun Suan Phanomwattanakul, who invented an unusual hobby - began to collect petrified remains of trees and huge boulders of bizarre shapes. The stones were brought from different parts of the country. Sometimes they were found on building sites when laying foundations, but more often they were found by chance in the jungle. The age of most of the stones is astonishing: one can assume that these boulders were touched by dinosaurs. All the specimens in Phanomwattanakula's collection have been moved to a park specially created for this purpose. Some of the stones were originally shaped like animals and birds, while sculptors worked on others to give them memorable shapes. Now you can see stone turtles, strange plants, mythological heroes, etc.
Another popular attraction in the park is the crocodile farm, where hundreds of toothy reptiles are kept, bred and entertained. For a fee, you can feed a crocodile. A piece of meat is attached to a rod-like stick and the crocodile is fed.
There is also a zoo in the park, where tigers, elephants, bears, giraffes and many other exotic animals are kept. Visitors take part in feeding them, take pictures with their favourite animals, i.e. have all kinds of contact with them, which is actively encouraged by the zookeepers.
