Chiang Mai Tiger Kingdom

---

A big warm S̄wạs̄dī (hello) to the pretty city of Chiang Mai. This place is like a breath of fresh air (literally) after Bangkok. Take note that there's no public buses here but there are sŏrng·tăa·ou (pronounced sing tow), these are fancy pick up trucks with benches in the back and they take you round the city for about 20 baht. However, they go in a random direction, picking up other passengers as they go! Do take a red one as they are licensed ??. So, we had a craving for some western food and got pizza, this was a mistake budget wise (western food is not cheap here!), but at least we fixed our craving lol. So next on the agenda was to fulfill my bucketlist dream of playing with tiger cubs in tiger kingdom. We got a tuk tuk to Tiger kingdom, we bartered down the price, it's a must do here in Asia ? I had read mixed reviews on such places with some people saying the Tigers would have to be drugged to be so tame but we went along and were pleasantly surprised. The Tigers were very playful and the staff were playing with them and letting them splash in the water, to me, they live a much happier life than tigers in regular zoos. We went into the tiger cub center and paid for a photographer, I have to say this was an experience I will never forget, they really are such precious creatures, they love getting their tummies rubbed and don't mind you lying with them or petting them at all. It's lovely to see them playing together too. I have to say that the photographer was really worth the money especially if you are in a couple and want good photos together ?❤️ The photographer cost 300 baht so was very reasonable and we got over 50 photos on a cd. Next we went back to our tuk tuk our driver waited for us and he asked if we would like to go any where else. So we seen on a sign there was a monkey center and opted to go there. When we arrived at the center, my gut tightened and my heart broke to see the monkeys were on chains. They did a monkey show highlighting how smart these loving creatures are, they played basketball and everything. Their chains were very short and I was deeply distressed by how they were treated, others we met at the show were also upset. I wrote awful reviews on this place in the hope that it will get shut down when tourists stop going to it. I hope these monkeys will soon be living in better conditions in a conservation, free from the chains of man, free from the chains of greed.

Tomorrow we head to the northern town of Pai

Cheers,

#spudstobananapancakes

---