Having walked with lions in Africa we though it was only appropriate to lie down with tigers in Thailand. We had been a little skeptical about this as many had said the tigers are so drugged they can't move but this was definitely not the case at Tiger Kingdom. As we waited to visit the older tigers we watched the youngsters playing and fighting in their pool, one even pounced on the fence when a girl was taking a picture! Then the friendly guidees introduced us to Roy and Rabbit (both 18 months). Since they are hand reared you can lie down with spoon with them which was a unique experience. Roy sat up for his photo shoot however Rabbit barely moved- the guides joked she had drunk too much scotch whiskey!
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| Amusing sign at Tiger Kingdom! |
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| youngsters playing |
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| cuddling Rabbit |
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| Sarah and Roy |
From there we headed to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which is the biggest and most spectacular temple in the Chiang Mai area. Since it was sat on the top of a hill we had to climb over 300 steps to reach it (luckily we had a coconut pancake boost half way up!) The temple itself is mainly made of gold, which was slightly blinding in the sun, with a view of the whole of Chiang Mai.
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| Stairs and our friend Colleen |
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| A lot of gold! |
Next on our itinerary was an adventure say of rafting, swimming and elephant handling. Along with two other couples we went bamboo rafting, which involves sitting on 8-10 long bamboo logs strapped together. A man stands at the front and uses a bamboo stick to paddle which often means the back flings around and hits off rocks. This made the raft sink a bit-but it always rights itself eventually leaving us wet! Since we were already wet we headed to a waterfall to go swimming. It was really fast flowing and even though we are strong swimmers our attempt to reach the base of the falls resulted in us swimming in the same spot.
Then after a full banquet lunch (of more chicken and rice) we changed into some very attractive elephant handler outfits. We thought we would be pros after our African experience but we were wrong! These were not wild elephants and so they are very comfortable coming right up to you to say hello, especially the baby who demanded bananas! We set off on a trek sitting bare back on the elephant and were left in charge with only Mahout words to control them. These words are more like noises and our elephant just did what she wanted anyway. When she headed towards the river our excitement about bathing with her soon changed to terror when she charged! Having seen some more elephants up ahead she decided they were having more fun and so she wanted to join them leaving us screaming and gripping on for dear life! After this adrenaline rush we were more than happy to get off her and play with them in the water. The best part was when you told the elephant to suck up water and then use their trunk as a water pistol.
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| pretending we are in control |
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| An elephant kiss |
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| Water pistol! |
After all this adventure we thought we would treat ourselves to a massage-turns out a Thai massage is more like being beaten up!
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| Our colourful hostel in Chiang Mai |
Next on our itinerary was an adventure say of rafting, swimming and elephant handling. Along with two other couples we went bamboo rafting, which involves sitting on 8-10 long bamboo logs strapped together. A man stands at the front and uses a bamboo stick to paddle which often means the back flings around and hits off rocks. This made the raft sink a bit-but it always rights itself eventually leaving us wet! Since we were already wet we headed to a waterfall to go swimming. It was really fast flowing and even though we are strong swimmers our attempt to reach the base of the falls resulted in us swimming in the same spot.
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