Northern Thailand -Tigers, Temples and Trails

---

I spent about a week traveling through central and northern Thailand. I first spent some time in Kanchanaburi where I hung out with some tigers at a monestary. It was a big animal sanctuary with the tigers as the main attraction. Although it looks pretty exciting, we were literally held by the hand and pulled along while getting our pictures with the tigers, who appeared to be heavily sedated. The highlight of Kanchanburi though was the Bridge over the River Kwai. I had just read the book so it was really great to see.

After checking out some old temple ruins in the cities of Authaya and Lopburi I headed up to Chang Mai. I did a three day trek in the national park nearby where we got to ride elephants, take a trip down a river on a bamboo raft and spend the night in a small village in the middle of nowhere. I played some soccer with the villagers but was unable to help my team out because I am horrible at soccer. However, I did provide some humor when I tried to head the ball and completely missed it by a good couple feet. Apparently there were not enough pairs of shoes to go around because some of the younger kids only had one shoe on while playing. The women in the village wear traditional clothing but the men just wear western style t-shirts with english writing on them, which makes the village seem a bit less authentic. I can't believe how many people I have seen wearing Yankees hats in Thailand. It is weird considering baseball is pretty much non-exsistent here. The Yankees are just that great (Go Yanks!). At night I was asked to help cook our meal in the village and was given a few shots of their rice wine, which pretty much tastes like whiskey but worse.

I travelled through Thailand on a few buses and also sleeper trains which were great since one of the rides took 17 hours. It was actually supposed to take 12. One of the best experiences I had in Thailand was getting on a bus from Chang Mai to Chang Rai as the only tourist. The bus was completely full and seriously hot but it was the first time I truely felt like I was in a foreign country. I have seen tourists in every other place I have been. The Thai people proved to be very friendly and helpful on the ride. When the guy sitting next to me said "hello", I thought I would try to ask him a question in English. I asked him how long the ride was. After repeating myself a few times, I realized he couldnt understand but he was then asking all his friends around him. I was trying to tell them not to worry about it since it really was not an important question, but within a few seconds two of them were on their cell phones calling their English speaking friends in an attempt to figure out what I was saying. Eventually, I did get an answer and I showed my appreciation by saying thank you in Thai ( Kawp Kun Krap) several times. One of the two words that I learned in Thai.

---

Photos

I only got close when there were bars between us
I wasnt going to risk it... i saw Outbreak too many times