Anyone who takes a Bangkok holiday will find a buzzing city, criss-crossed with canals & rivers. The sky line is one of high rises, shopping malls & international hotel chains but at the canal banks and side streets of the city, the traditional side of Thai life is clearly visible…
The business hub of the city is easily navigated using the skyrail & underground, but the more touristy areas around the Koh San road are less well supplied & Tuk Tuks are the main mode of transport.
Negotiate hard with your tuk tuk driver – a taxi will always be cheaper & has the advantage of air conditioning. However, be sure to agree that you’re charged according to the meter, as opposed to agreeing on a fixed price. Taxis will only take you at an agreed price after 3pm as from this point on you’re into rush hour and they are highly likely to spend hours with you stuck in traffic!
About 3 hours out of Bangkok towards the Burma (now Myanmar) border, in the province of the same name, is the town of Kanchanaburi where you can walk over the famous but tragic Bridge on the River Kwai. There are some interesting museums here where you can learn more about the history of this place of wartime tragedy & cinematic fame. There are also many opportunities for elephant riding in the surrounding area.
A 20 min drive out of town will take you to the Tiger Temple – a real highlight of any trip to this province. This functioning Buddhist temple is also home to about a dozen tigers of varying ages (& sizes!). The temple first took on this unexpected side line in 1999 when a tiger cub was found in a nearby village, it had lost its mother to poachers and needed round the clock care to survive. The villagers took the orphaned cub to the temple where the monks agreed to offer it sanctuary.
Word spread in the surrounding area and over the years more and more orphaned cubs were bought to the temple. Word also spread amongst the tourist population and in the present day, a mutually beneficial relationship exists between the tourist dollar and the conservation of the tigers.
A few dollars gains you entry in the afternoons when the tigers are napping in their canyon, photos can be taken from afar for free and if cubs are around there are opportunities for photos here also. For a few extra dollars you can have a picture taken with a fully grown tiger’s head on your lap – not an holiday experience easily found any where else in the world!
Don’t listen to whispers that the tigers are drugged – they aren’t, and are in fact very well looked after thanks to the diligence of the monks and the many (often western) volunteers. Of course lining up with lots of other sightseers to get your picture taken with a tiger isn’t exactly the ‘genuine’ experience a backpacker is after. However, getting that close to fully grown tigers remains awe inspiring and your money is going to a good cause so if you can stomach the crowds then get yourself down there.
If you want a more personal encounter then there are two other options open to you. First, you can volunteer – you must remain at the temple for an agreed minimum stay (think it’s 1 month) and assist as required; meals and basic accommodation is covered.
Second, if you’re lucky (this is not an every day offering) and if you can afford it (c. $50 when we visited), then you can spend the morning with the tigers – only 5 people maximum allowed for this so you will get the one on one experience.
A morning with the tigers involves arrival at 7am for breakfast with the monks, where you will get to bottle feed & play with the tiger cubs (including being locked in a cage with them & some squeaky toys for an hour of play time!). Next you will get to walk the ‘teenage’ tigers down to the canyon for their morning exercise – incredible to watch them pouncing on each other in the water. Following exercise time you will walk the tigers back up to their cages and give them a quick bath – just like their domestic cousins they aren’t great fans of this so handle with care!
Matthew Coe
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