A swift traveled thousands of miles to reach eastern Thailand, the birthplace and home of Mu Daeng, the baby hippo that stole hearts around the world.
Molly Swindoll, a content creator known for her love of Taylor Swift, decided at the “very last minute” to fly from New York to Bangkok “to see legendary songstress Mu Deng.” she shared in a video on Tuesday. “I can’t wait to show her off.”
She made the almost 21-hour journey “specifically” for Mu Deng, the baby pig hippo who has become an internet sensation in recent weeks because of his cuteness and cheeky personality.
“Of course, I’ve seen Mu Deng all over the place, just like everyone has, and I think she’s very iconic,” Swindoll told USA TODAY on Wednesday. “I watched all the videos and saw all the memes and thought, ‘I want to meet her in person.’ And I always wanted to go to Thailand.”
Swindoll knew the short trip would be “tiring” but that it would work out logistically. She needed to be back in town by Friday to attend a Gracie Abrams concert with friends. So she was only in Thailand for about 30 hours.
Swindoll video-blogged the entire whirlwind experience, keeping viewers up to date on Moo Den’s adventures and giving away a pair of cozy Moo Den pajamas as the ultimate souvenir.
She said she was “insanely excited” to visit Mu Deng, and in another video uploaded late Tuesday, she wears a Taylor Swift shirt “to make her presence known.” He said that he chose a wet-cheeked look “to match Mu Deng’s aesthetic.” โ
“Today was a truly magical and unusual day. I love Mu Deng so much,” Swindoll said.
Meeting Mu Deng was โa dream come trueโ
On the plane, Swindal started to get nervous. Because he didn’t even know if he would be able to catch a glimpse of Mu Deng. Rumor had it that Moo Deng could not be seen on weekdays at Khao Kheow Zoo, located about two hours south of Bangkok.
However, after doing a little research, I found that other visitors were posting their experiences with Mu Deng on social media during weekdays.
“So I was kind of hopeful that I might actually meet her when I got there,” Swindal said.
She also contacted the zoo, who said visitors were able to see Mu Deng every day and was “really excited.”
When she first saw Mu Deng napping in the water with her mother, Jonah, after spending hours on the street and minutes walking through a crowded zoo, she couldn’t help but coo. I couldn’t stay.
“Oh my god. She’s so cute,” Swindoll said in the video.
After spending a few minutes with Mu Deng, Swindoll decided to go see the capybaras. The pouring rain dampened the festive atmosphere a bit, but she eventually turned back to see Mu Deng again.
“She came out and performed this whole show. Her personality shined through and it was really special,” she said. “It just brought me joy… It was really memorable and something I’ll definitely talk about for the rest of my life. For a few weeks… I’m going to tell everyone, ‘I met Mu Deng.'”
Mu Deng is a ‘really special person’ and probably a fan of Taylor Swift
It took a while for Moo Deng to become the famous songstress seen in memes and videos, but once she gets going, she’s hard to stop. Especially after a good power nap.
“Once she woke up and started moving around, she was definitely putting on a show,” Swindoll said. “And we got to see Mu Deng dressed in the typical meme and video fashion you imagine.”
Swindoll said Moo Deng did her signature fake bite, ran in circles and slid around.
“Her whole personality really started to shine through. And I sat there and was like, ‘OK, she’s so special.’ It was exactly what I had imagined from everything I saw online. โ
One of the “best parts” of the experience, Swindoll said, was being able to absorb the excited energy of the audience, just like at a concert.
“We’re all so excited together. A lot of us didn’t speak the same language, but I mean, we’re all excited and happy and smiling at each other and pointing things out and talking about her… “We have a heart-to-heart,” Swindoll said.
Swindal also thinks Mu Deng would like to think she’s Swifty. Especially since he didn’t run away when he played a 10-minute version of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” from The Vault.
“She seemed to like it, but I didn’t want to disturb her, so of course I was very reserved. But I like to pretend that she heard it and enjoyed it,” Swindoll said. said. “Icon recognizes icon. So of course she’s Swiftie.”
Contributors: Saman Shafiq and Julia Gomez