I spent the better part of four days in Chiang Mai, but here we’ll just focus on two.
Chiang Mai is in many ways Thailand’s second city. It is up in the North Western part of the country and is certainly built around tourism. After the madness and extreme reverse culture shock on Bangkok. (I still need to write that post) It felt like home stepping off the plane.
My first day I headed out to the Zoo. Not a typical grown up thing perhaps but you se this zoo hosts two pandas (soon to be three) so yeah, enough said. I was pleasantly surprised by the zoo which is set in the foothills of the northern mountains and sprawled out across a huge area making it an exhausting walk but well worth it. Toronto zoo which kept the place from being two depressing. I got to feed some Gibbons, a Jaguar, and even pet two full grown shit covered hippos (The petting was not allowed and I almost lost an arm.) Anyway here are some pictures.
On the way to the zoo I’d noticed a sign that indicated a waterfall was not too far past it, so it being only 3:30 in the afternoon I decided to keep going. I found this amazing waterfall and as I do at most waterfalls push the boundaries of my ability to stay alive and climbed right to the top along the wet rocks beside the cascades. Sure there was a path up but it was removed from the falls themselves so clearly not an option.
I enjoyed a nice thinking hour of sitting, listening to music and letting the notes blend with the wonderful sound of rushing water and eventually, exhausted from the even more treacherous climb down, I headed back to Chiang Mai for some dinner and relaxation. It had been a great day.
Two days later though was on a whole different level and had to be one of the many highlights of my journey so far. I forced myself out of bed early and hopped into a tuk tuk on my way to tiger kingdom. Something I was more nervous than excited about. Tiger Kingdom is basically a tiger zoo/breeding centre where you pay money to enter the cages with the tigers. As with any organization that deals with animals, especially majestic endangered ones, there’s plenty of people who see it as morally wrong and will write anywhere they can about the terrible conditions of the tigers. From what I saw nothing could be farther from the truth.
Now to be fair, yes the tigers are caged, so right off the bat you have that as an issue, but every single tiger I emt seemed well fed, eneergetic, and certainly not drugged as some people accuse. The tigers would wake up and take off in charges at eachother playing suddenly which terryfying intensity. Being in the cage with them with just me and a guide who held only a small (And i mean harry potter wand size) stick of bamboo was a little nerve racking.
I met 20 tigers that morning. From 2 months up to 18 months old. The larger ones were bigger than me and all of them were utterly amazing and remarkably okay with em being there. Because I got there early in the morning they were still energetic and I was also alone with them not with other tourists which made it so worth the roughly 80 dollars I spent to see all the possible groups and have a photographer worry about the pictures for me. To hear these majestic cats heart’s beating, to nuzzle against their fur and feel the stunningly warm and soft pads of their paws was a one of a kind experience and not something I ever imagined doing. It was absolutely incredible.
Beyond the awe of it I was struck by how their movements and habits are so similar to what Scooby Doo’s once were (My late pet cat) Everything was the same. Oh and the smallest group were incredible, just like kittens and always happy to play, and since they’re less dangerous the staff dropped the rules involved a lot and you could really properly play with them and see how much they loved it.
So yes, if you hate the idea of any animal in any cage, give Tiger Kingdom a pass when you’re in thailand, but otherwise I’d come here and check it out. While they are no doubt making profit your money also goes to the tigers themselves and you will leave with an experience unlike any other. There’s way too many pictures to choose from. But here’s a few dozen.
