I mentioned in my last post on my most recent trip to Thailand that I had been before with Jenny- this trip was originally mean to be spent on a train exploring the countryside from Thailand down to Singapore, but unfortunately we ran into booking issues with the online system and couldn't reserve our train tickets ahead of time. The result was that the ticketing office in Bangkok could sell us tickets to a town midway between the capital and the border but couldn't book us tickets all the way through because it was a national holiday and tickets had filled up.
Instead, we opted to buy stupidly expensive plane tickets (never fly Air Asia unless you actually get a cheap ticket, otherwise it's not worth it!) to get us to Singapore, and decided to hang out in Bangkok and make day trips to the surrounding areas. One of these epic day trips was operated through a large tour company via one of the many agencies at the train station; I would strongly recommend avoiding them at all costs and trying to book your own day trip instead. (I'll be posting in a future entry on the horrors of the expensive and generally offensive tour!)
Anyway, despite the other issues, the highlight of the trip was probably the visit to the Tiger Sanctuary where monks raise and care for tigers in an effort to save them from poaching. During the day, the tigers are leashed and collared with chains and bask lazily in the sun while tourists flock to have their pictures taken. Since tigers typically sleep during the day, they're pretty relaxed and don't seem to mind the human company at all. However, the sanctuary keeps strict hours because as dusk approaches, tigers begin to gain energy and can become more dangerous.
Aside from the fact that tigers are awesome, this was a special trip because the Chinese Year of the Tiger was approaching and Jenny is born in that year. The Chinese believe that with exception to your 5th cycle (your 60th year), one born with the current zodiac will have extraordinarily bad luck. The year before, the year of the Ox, was the year that I was born, and I can verify that I did, in fact, have horrible luck, despite going to our local temple and having a candle lit. Anyway, because Jenny's year was arriving, we thought it might increase her luck to hang out with some tigers.*
Although you don't get much time with the tigers- maybe one or two minutes, during which the abundant staff are watching the tigers and taking copious photos of you with said tigers, it felt like a magical eternity. These animals are huge furry masses of muscle, and even though these kinds of interactions are generally safe, when you sit next to such a large, powerful (predatory) animal, it really makes you realize just how dangerous these animals can be and is a really humbling experience.
Afterwards, the monks drive through the sanctuary and deliver baskets of fruit and other goodies for the other animals living on the grounds. It was an amazing sight to see; all of the animals, flock towards the truck to get first dibs on the deliciousness. Unfortunately, my camera was low on battery at that point so I only got a few photos, but it was totally surreal (think Disney movie where the princess is singing to a random assortment of suddenly omnipresent animals) to see all of the hooved cuties gnomming their evening meal.
*Though we can't say for certain, the hang out session seems to have worked because Jenny didn't have bad luck during her year!
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