07-03-2009

The last day in Thailand I went with Tyler, Nick, and Steve for a tour of Bangkok. The trip was organized by the hostel; we drove around in a large van with six other tourists and did tourist style activities. The first stop was a war cemetery, SO INCREDIBLY EXCITING. In actuality this stop was the least interesting for me all day, but we were on our way in just a short span of time.

We were then taken to the Chao Phraya river for lunch. There was a small eatery built on a dock/raft on the river and we were given an all I could eat lunch as part of the trip cost. Immediately afterward we took a brief ride on a bamboo raft down the river; the river was moving relatively fast so we just took the current back to the van.

The next stop was an elephant ride. There were maybe ten elephants and each one had a small platform, large enough to seat two, strapped to its back. The "driver" sat on the elephants head, shamelessly whacking the elephant at random moments for no apparent reason; this slightly bothered me. It was a bumpy ride; an elephants back is not stationary, it rolls side to side like an exaggerated version of a horse.

Next we went to a water fall; it was pretty chill. I do not have any photos up to this point because I had already gone through the second pair of batteries I had brought along. There was enough juice to turn on the camera and take one or two pictures before it died, but I was saving it for the main event. I refer to the Tiger Temple.

The Tiger Temple is a Buddhist monastery in which tigers are kept and domesticated. It is a major tourist attraction because the tourists can have their photo taken with the tigers. Having your photo taken with a tiger is nice because most people are unable to do this and because tigers are generally great.

At the first point their was a long line waiting to be led through the dozen or so tigers lounging in the canyon. Two helpers would lead you through, one literally dragging you by the hand and the other taking pictures with the camera you better have brought with you. It was funny because I felt like a little kid; I am serious she was dragging me by the hand. The tigers were all chained to the ground; they are quite friendly but I guess they might accidentally hurt someone with their unknown strength. It seemed strange for the tigers to lay still in what appeared to be a staged pose. I am unsure if the tigers were forced into this or not. This is me with a tiger:

At the second point there were much fewer people and only one baby tiger. They let you go in without being dragged and one helper took photos. It was my dream to get a small tiger bite as a souvenir. I would make sure it scarred so if anyone asked about its origin I could say "tiger bite..." I felt this stage was my best chance because the tiger seemed playful and the helpers weren't being too controlling. I tried giving him a hug but he turned around and started trying to bite me; bingo. Sadly at this point the trainer rushed over and started hitting the tiger on the head; when he let go of my shirt they dragged me away, seeming sort of angry with me...

Nick ended up getting getting a bite which resulted in a hole in his shirt and a small scratch on his side. I was incredibly jealous; if he picks the scab enough it would probably scar. Great fun regardless, now I want a pet tiger. This completed the organized trip for us, and by the time we got back it was time for a late dinner. Later that night I rounded off the vacation with an hour-long Thai foot massage.

At the McDonalds in Bangkok where we regularly went for ice cream: