Koh Kong Safari World in Koh Kong is a small zoological park with more than 800 animals from almost 100 species such as bears, ostriches, kangaroos, giraffes, tigers, dolphins, deer and several other species from around the world. There are also several animal shows such as crocodile-show, bird-show, orangutan-show or a dolphin-show in the mornings and afternoons.

The animal theme park is great place for families and there is also a beach and a restaurant. Koh Kong Safari World is located near the Koh Kong Resort just 500 meters from the border between Cambodia and Thailand at Cham Yeam/Had Lek. There is also a caterpillar train service running between the Koh Kong Resort and Safari World.

Animal welfare may not be the primary consideration at Koh Kong Safari World, run by Koh Kong International Resort (the casino-hotel a few kilometres away at the border), but the Disneyesque gateway – in a style that Bavaria’s mad King Ludwig II would have found irresistible -doesn’t hint at anything sinister.

The park has the usual zoo animals but it also puts on the sort of live-animal shows banned in most countries, with performances reminiscent of a 19th-century circus sideshow. Every morning, and into the early afternoon, birds ride tiny bicycles, orang-utans dressed up as boxers throw punches and a man puts his head inside a crocodile’s mouth.