New Yorker spent thousands, 50 hours traveling just to see Moo Deng — twice: ‘I am absolutely in love’
Everyone loves Moo Deng, but it’s rare that someone would cross oceans for her — twice.
Molly Swindall fell in love with the baby pygmy hippo at the start of her internet fame — and made multiple trips around the world this month just to see her.
“I am absolutely in love with that shiny, moist potato,” Swindall, 30, told The Post.
“She is fun and lighthearted,” the New Yorker said of Moo Deng, who has a penchant for biting zookeepers and dabbling in “moonwalking.”
“She is adorable, has a strong personality, and she is an absolute joy to watch.”
Swindall revealed that she traveled a total of 21 hours on her first trip on Oct. 1 — 18½ hours of that flying — and without much time off from work. But she kept her trip short: just 30 hours in Thailand, which she said cost her somewhere between $1,000 and $1,100.
“Moo Deng is a bright spot during a time where there is a lot of unknown,” Swindall shared. “People always need joy in their lives, and she is bringing that joy to people.”
Moo Deng became an overnight viral sensation when her keepers at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo, where she was born, started posting clips of the hippo’s funny moments.
The baby hippo has since been the center of many memes and was even the subject of a recent skit on “Saturday Night Live.”
But seeing Moo Deng online wasn’t enough for Swindall — she needed to peep her in person.
“I just love animals, and I love adventure, and so I made it a goal to go,” Swindall told CNN. “My dad passed away kind of unexpectedly six years ago, and at that point, I was just, like, ‘You know what? I’m always going to live my life to the fullest. I’m always going to have a sense of adventure.’
“And that’s why I decided to do what I did,” she said of her long journey to see the baby beast.
Her only destination was Moo Deng’s zoo home, and she shared a laugh with customs agents when she told them she was there solely to see the adorable animal.
She chronicled her travels on her TikTok account, @1989vinyl, where she has 158,400 followers and 38.9 million likes.
And she can now reveal that her experience lived up to the hype.
“I was able to see an icon. It was incredible to see her sassy, bothered antics in person,” Swindall told The Post. “[Moo Deng] is hysterical to watch and has so much personality.”
On this first trip, Swindall said there was no time limit to seeing the puny pygmy, so she spent about 3½ to four hours at her enclosure and got to stand at the barricade to see her up close.
While Moo Deng might’ve been the star of the show and the sole reason Swindall traveled all that way, she also enjoyed seeing the baby hippo interact with her mother, Jona.
“Anytime Jona was too far away, Moo would run as quickly as she could after her just to be near her,” she recalled.
The animal lover didn’t just see Moo Deng, whose name means “bouncy pig” — she also made a trip to Melbourne, Australia, less than two weeks later to witness “little wobble king” Pesto, a heart-stealing baby penguin and yet another recent, viral internet sensation.
And a few days after seeing Pesto, on Oct. 11, she even traveled back to Bangkok for a second trip because she “missed Moo Deng so much.”
“I knew I wanted to see both Moo Deng and Pesto ASAP, as both were getting older,” Swindall shared with The Post.
The second time Swindall saw Moo Deng, there was a long line to see the beloved hippo.
Swindall took a spot and waited and about 30 to 45 minutes later was able to see her.
However, Moo Deng’s zookeeper, Benz, knew about her long-distance journey and helped her get more face time with the cute hippo.
“He had someone ask if I was the girl who traveled there. When I said yes, they let me back in for three to four cycles,” Swindall explained. “Then Benz took my phone into the enclosure and got photos and an adorable video.
“I am so happy I’ve been able to see her twice now.”
The trips to see the viral animals cost Swindall a couple of thousand dollars, she revealed, but she felt lucky to have airline points she could use to offset some of the cost.
Swindall spent 20 hours traveling to visit Pesto, and for her second trip to Thailand, she was already across the globe, so she only traveled 9½ hours.
In total, though, she spent a whopping 50½ hours traveling to see the far-flung, popular pair.
Plus, she had time to explore Bangkok on her second Moo Deng trip, which was a highlight of her “magical” and “surreal” experience.
“The only thing I would change was being able to stay longer,” she wistfully told The Post about her “emotional” adventure.
“It was really sad to leave, especially once I had the realization that the next time I see Moo Deng, she will likely be fully grown.”
Vaccine passports not for the jetset, says WHO
Drone food delivery now available to the Great Wall of China
Delta will begin allowing more flight passengers in October
About The Author
