Tue 12 - Tigers And Elephants!
Thailand
A 04:30 wake up today as we were being picked up at 05:00 in order to get to the Tiger Temple for breakfast! We were really hoping that the early start and expensive trip was going to be worth it!
First stop was at the famous Bridge over the River Kawi! Unlike in the film the bridge was actually destroyed by Bombers and not some blokes blowing up the bridge! It was only about 6:45 when we reached it and was lovely and peaceful, we even timed it right to be half way across the bridge when a train came across!
We arrived at the Tiger Temple just before 07:30 and had to start the day with a food donation to the monks that lived at the temple and then sign our life away to say it's not their fault if we die...reassuring!
After that it was straight up to the prayer area where all of the baby Tiger cubs and some of the slightly older tigers were waiting for us. The tiger cubs were everything we hoped they would be! So cute and playful but despite all this they still had the potential to sink their teeth in. They were strong for such a young age. Bottle feeding them was great but like all of us, once they were full it was time for a quick sleep!
After a quick (and very spicy) breakfast thanks to the monks it was time for us to each walk one of the larger tiger cubs down to be washed. They were referred to as cubs but still larger than most dogs and a damm sight more powerful! It was surreal that we were walking something that at any point could turn around and eat you!!
After hand washing the tigers and feeding them chicken from the palm of your hand it was then time to go for a play with them! I'm normally game for most things but this freaked me out a bit. We were taken into what looked like any normal big area at a zoo where animals would be kept and the there were about 8 full grown tigers walking around on the sides and in the water! We were given large bamboo sticks with bags and rubber on the end of them to play with the tigers with! Now I'm sure they find them very amusing but I'm sure they were really thinking..."That Ginger one will taste good!".
The staff then had the tigers jumping all around us after these toys. It was at this point with various people screaming that I just freaked out and having these tigers running between us just didn't seem right....it would only take one moment for game over! Me and Em decided to watch the rest from a bit further back!
We then walked a fully grown adult tiger down to a canyon full of water where they could play. It was great seeing them enjoy themselves and you could see how they acted in the same way as normal cats....they just went after bigger prey!
It was a great experience and something we'd always wanted to do in life. Now if only we could see some elephants.....oh yeah...there's still the afternoon to go yet!
Full Moon was her name and she was a beautiful elephant! We rode on her bare back as she took us down to the river Kwai to play in the water! She was so playful in splashing us with water and dunking us until we fell off we loved every minute of it. The photos below will show how much we enjoyed it!
For some reason Em was allowed to guide Full Moon back to the base without any guidance...even more surprisingly we made it there! :-)
After fulfilling a day of life ambitions it was only right that we ticked another off the list that night! We headed to the Red Light district and night Market to witness one of the famous Ping Ping shows!
Well, I had an idea what to expect but being shot at (on target) from 10 metres away even impressed me....talented, if not quite rough ladies! A beer and standing ovation later and it was time to hit the Market for some last night shopping. I love the banter of haggling for the best price!
All in all we'd had an excellent last full day in Bangkok!
Photo Details
- Bridge Over the River Kwai - 1.jpg [Map]
- Ideal timing for a train! - 2.jpg [Map]
- Bottle feeding a Tiger Cub! - 3.jpg [Map]
- So cute..... - 4.jpg [Map]
- Can we keep one please? - 5.jpg [Map]
- A fully grown Tiger, we walked this one.....or she walked us maybe! - 6.jpg [Map]
- They certainly can jump high! - 7.jpg [Map]
- I told him to use the straw! - 8.jpg [Map]
- She won the water soaking competition! - 9.jpg [Map]
- But we had such good fun! - 10.jpg [Map]
- Emma stearing on the way home! - 11.jpg [Map]
Sent from my iPhone by My Vacation app (www.myvacationapp.com)
Thailand
A 04:30 wake up today as we were being picked up at 05:00 in order to get to the Tiger Temple for breakfast! We were really hoping that the early start and expensive trip was going to be worth it!
First stop was at the famous Bridge over the River Kawi! Unlike in the film the bridge was actually destroyed by Bombers and not some blokes blowing up the bridge! It was only about 6:45 when we reached it and was lovely and peaceful, we even timed it right to be half way across the bridge when a train came across!
We arrived at the Tiger Temple just before 07:30 and had to start the day with a food donation to the monks that lived at the temple and then sign our life away to say it's not their fault if we die...reassuring!
After that it was straight up to the prayer area where all of the baby Tiger cubs and some of the slightly older tigers were waiting for us. The tiger cubs were everything we hoped they would be! So cute and playful but despite all this they still had the potential to sink their teeth in. They were strong for such a young age. Bottle feeding them was great but like all of us, once they were full it was time for a quick sleep!
After a quick (and very spicy) breakfast thanks to the monks it was time for us to each walk one of the larger tiger cubs down to be washed. They were referred to as cubs but still larger than most dogs and a damm sight more powerful! It was surreal that we were walking something that at any point could turn around and eat you!!
After hand washing the tigers and feeding them chicken from the palm of your hand it was then time to go for a play with them! I'm normally game for most things but this freaked me out a bit. We were taken into what looked like any normal big area at a zoo where animals would be kept and the there were about 8 full grown tigers walking around on the sides and in the water! We were given large bamboo sticks with bags and rubber on the end of them to play with the tigers with! Now I'm sure they find them very amusing but I'm sure they were really thinking..."That Ginger one will taste good!".
The staff then had the tigers jumping all around us after these toys. It was at this point with various people screaming that I just freaked out and having these tigers running between us just didn't seem right....it would only take one moment for game over! Me and Em decided to watch the rest from a bit further back!
We then walked a fully grown adult tiger down to a canyon full of water where they could play. It was great seeing them enjoy themselves and you could see how they acted in the same way as normal cats....they just went after bigger prey!
It was a great experience and something we'd always wanted to do in life. Now if only we could see some elephants.....oh yeah...there's still the afternoon to go yet!
Full Moon was her name and she was a beautiful elephant! We rode on her bare back as she took us down to the river Kwai to play in the water! She was so playful in splashing us with water and dunking us until we fell off we loved every minute of it. The photos below will show how much we enjoyed it!
For some reason Em was allowed to guide Full Moon back to the base without any guidance...even more surprisingly we made it there! :-)
After fulfilling a day of life ambitions it was only right that we ticked another off the list that night! We headed to the Red Light district and night Market to witness one of the famous Ping Ping shows!
Well, I had an idea what to expect but being shot at (on target) from 10 metres away even impressed me....talented, if not quite rough ladies! A beer and standing ovation later and it was time to hit the Market for some last night shopping. I love the banter of haggling for the best price!
All in all we'd had an excellent last full day in Bangkok!
Photo Details
- Bridge Over the River Kwai - 1.jpg [Map]
- Ideal timing for a train! - 2.jpg [Map]
- Bottle feeding a Tiger Cub! - 3.jpg [Map]
- So cute..... - 4.jpg [Map]
- Can we keep one please? - 5.jpg [Map]
- A fully grown Tiger, we walked this one.....or she walked us maybe! - 6.jpg [Map]
- They certainly can jump high! - 7.jpg [Map]
- I told him to use the straw! - 8.jpg [Map]
- She won the water soaking competition! - 9.jpg [Map]
- But we had such good fun! - 10.jpg [Map]
- Emma stearing on the way home! - 11.jpg [Map]
Sent from my iPhone by My Vacation app (www.myvacationapp.com)
Sent from my iPhone
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