BUFFALO PARK, LANGKAWI

Another agrotourism destination we visited in Langkawi was the Buffalo Park. Not something our kids see in their everyday lives. Agricultural fields and buffalos are not the usual sight you see in the city.

Although it was only 4.2kms from Mardi Agro, it was not an easy place to find. You have to be a local driver to be able to navigate the inside streets of Langkawi, from the main road to the unpaved, narrow streets. It actually brought back memories of driving to my grandfather's farm in the Philippines.

from Mardi Agro Park, the Buffalo Park Langkawi is just a short drive away

Upon arriving at the Buffalo Park we were greeted by a distinct smell - not something we had prepared for. The kids were put off by it but we told them that was because we were already in the farm (that's poop and animal scent for them). 

It was already a bit late in the afternoon so we didn't waste any more time. We headed straight to the entrance and were given welcome drinks - buffalo milk fresh from the source. We were handed small shot glasses half-filled with buffalo milk. It was something new and different for the kids to taste and something which made me miss some breakfast mornings at home (does buffalo milk on rice sprinkled with salt sound familiar?). 

We walked through the small corridor from the main entrance passing by a room where the buffalo milk is processed and out into the fields where visitors can ride buffaloes. Nobody wanted to take the risk though so we headed to the buffalo feeding station. That was where the kids had lots of fun.

There was a tractor that brought in as many heaps of grass as we could grab and use to feed the buffaloes. This wasn't the first time the boys have seen buffaloes because we've brought them to my grandfather's farm in the Philippines. He had one or two carabaos in the farm but this was the closest they have been to one without being scared of being gored.

The buffaloes were in a secure cage and were separated according to gender. The baby buffaloes / calves were also put in a separate location as some of them were still a bit weak and were being bottle fed.

Here were some of our photos during feeding time with the buffaloes:

Kelvin feeding the bulls

At first, the kids were quite scared of getting close to the cages to feed the buffaloes but after a few minutes with them and they were like pros. They said the buffaloes were quite strong and could snatch away the whole stalk of grass from them. Some buffaloes also were more aggressive and didn't want to share food so it got some scolding from the kids ("share or you won't get any grass any more!").

Ira feeding the younger ones

enjoying the time with his favorite animal

When we finally ran out of grass, we bid farewell to these gentle giants and headed back to the front of the building to check out what they had at the cafe. There were buffalo milk ice creams, chocolate and milk drinks as well as buffalo meat to sample. We got to taste all of them. The buffalo meat was a bit chewy, as expected. The drinks and ice cream were tasty. That's buffalo milk overload for us.

Buffalo Park Langkawi Fast Facts

·         Address: Kampung Nyior Chabang, Mukim Bohor, 07100 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

·         Tel: 604-966 7226

·         Operation hours: 10:00am – 5:00pm

·         Admission fees: RM5 per adult, RM3 per child