I never considered myself an animal person. Other than birds, which I love, I’ve never really cared too much about animals. Or so I thought. Then we started traveling the world.
The more we traveled, the more animals I met, the more I started loving them. I met exotic animals that I’d only ever seen in zoos, and I met regular animals that up close I came to love. So I started doing what any reasonable person would do: I took pictures with every animal I met.
I’m excited to share my compilation of every animal I’ve personally met during our eleven months of travel. I tried to take selfies with all of them, but sometimes it’s just my animal friend.
Every Animal I’ve Met Around the World
Click the red arrows to flip through the photo gallery.
This koala in Melbourne was too cute and snuggly for words.
My baby elephant bestie in Chiang Mai.
Angkor Wat is a pretty sweet home for this little monkey.
Snorkeling at Aulani gets you up close and personal with an underwater rainbow.
Wild cockatoos in the Blue Mountains near Sydney has to be the coolest natural wild life I've ever seen.
Just casually snuggling kangaroos in Sydney.
Street kittens are all over the world and I usually try not to actually pet them, but I couldn't resist this little guy in Vang Vieng, Laos.
The monkeys on Monkey Hill in Phuket were total jerks and would just steal people's drinks and dump them out, but I loved those little trouble makers anyway.
Casanova & Romeo. These studs were our personal escorts through the Sahara.
In awe of these gentle giants in Chiang Mai.
That time I played with this baby monkey in Chiang Mai. Like, I don't even know what could out-cute that. Don't mind the mud in my hair. I was just swimming with elephants.
"I'm going to need that report on my desk by noon!" This butterfly in Salento, Colombia was so bossy.
Met this guy on the side of the road in Morocco.
Hong Kong actually has a ton of amazing bird experiences, like this Aviary in Hong Kong Park.
This 3-month-old camel wanted nothing more than to constantly be putting his face on my face. We met on the side of the road in Morocco.
"Hey, can I grab a pic with you?" "No prob llama." Peru.
This is Allie, my favorite American cat. We have a love/hate relationship. As in, she hates how much I love her.
Monkeying around in Morocco.
I saved this caged bird and set him free from the top of Mount Phousi in Laos.
This cat in Salento also wanted nothing to do with me, but I loved her anyway.
This reverse zoo in Kyoto puts you in the cage to feed the wild monkeys. I dig it.
Sometimes you see tiny penguins in their natural habitat in St. Kilda, Australia, and your heart wants to explode.
Staring longingly into the eyes of a goat who is very happy that his owner runs a vegetarian restaurant in Morocco.
After this trip, birds are still my favorite animal, but I think monkeys are in a solid second place. Oh, and elephants! I had the best day with the elephants at Maerim Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai! What’s your favorite animal? Share in the comments; bonus points for including a photo!