Aura Farm

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Thailand Fly & Drive – Part 41 (Khon Kaen)

Today, we decide to make full use of our car to take a day trip out of Khon Kaen City. Ever since our failed attempt to visit the Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai because of our little mishap with the car, the kids have been clamouring to see some animals.

As I was researching on the interesting places to visit in Khon Kaen, I came across a write-up of Aura Farm. It seemed to provide just the experience the kids were looking for… with all sorts of farm animals for them to see and interact with.

The farm is a bit of a drive from Khon Kaen City… 45km northwards along Route 230 which takes us almost to the edge of Khon Kaen province. The plan for the day was to make the trip out to cover both Aura Farm and the King Cobra Village, which is somewhat around the vicinity.

It was a smooth drive from town, taking us just 45 minutes. We arrive at the farm, and it is deserted. We don’t see any staff about, no one to tell us where to go and what to do. We do our own exploring.

The farm is very picturesque indeed. The buildings are designed in an English Tudor style with some beautiful greenery and fountains which seem transport you to a different time and place!

We wander around the place a little, and find ourselves at the “Aura Farm Train Station”. Very authentic looking, complete with a fuel pump, which is strange because the train engine looks like it runs on coal.

Wait, the train doesn’t even look like it goes anywhere. Are there even tracks under this thing? We climb up the steps into the engine room.

Yes, that definitely looks like it used to run on coal. Very fun for the kids to explore. They have never seen one of these machines before.

We cross over to the other side, eagerly in search for some signs of farm life.

Finally, we find the animals! The kids get excited, first to see some rabbits hopping about their enclosure.

Then we get to the lambs, who seem friendly enough to let the kids pet them. They still have those little horns though, so I tell the children to be cautious and not get them angry.

These little lambs though are undoubtedly the stars of the show. You can purchase milk bottles at THB20 each to have the experience of feeding them. The kids learn how to be little mommies and daddies, the little lambs happily drink up their lunch. There are smiles all around. This is a brilliant business concept! Open up a farm, and invite visitors to pay you to feed your animals! Looking around at how deserted the farm is today, I only hope the farm animals still get fed even when there are no visitors….

We move on to the next block, and we find the cow shed. However, the cow statues in the shed look happier than the actual live cows, who give us a sad look with their heads drooping down, their living areas a little bit cramped and dirty. We were hoping to see the cows being milked, but there is no staff around at all to entertain us. One worker did walk past, but he didn’t bat an eyelid.

Disappointed, we move on. The next stop was the Flora House which is a small building featuring floral arrangements. The highlight is a wall which features a beautiful set of angel wings made from flowers!

The kids then spend some time enjoying the gardens, playing with the swings. They definitely enjoyed themselves here, despite the lack of direction. Plenty of nice spots for great photos, and considering we did not have to pay any entrance fee, the whole experiences was definitely great value!

Value for Money (10/10): Some websites say that there is an entrance fee, but we didn’t pay anything to get in. It was THB20 per milk bottle to feed the baby lambs.
Quality of Exhibits (7/10): The building are nicely done up with an English flavour. There are interesting things to see and do, but could have done with more direction from the staff. We were left to our own devices and not really sure where to go.
The Kids Loved It (9.3/10): Little Lioness Cub (10/10) “I liked the bunnies” ; Little Lion Cub (10/10) “We saw so many farm animals!” ; Little Baby Lion (8/10) “I liked the cows”
The Adults Loved It: (7/10): The kids certainly enjoyed themselves with the animals, but I found it so-so. Could have been a lot better.
Memories Created (8/10): The buildings are very pretty. Plenty of photo opportunities with the buildings and also with the animals.
Crowds (10/10): The farm was empty.
OVERALL RATING: (8/10): Good place to come to expose the kids to farm animals.