Small Bikes and Big Kitties

(I apologize in advance for the sideways photos. There is no photo editor on this computer, so I can't rotate them.)

Today was another motorbike day!! I always have the most fun on motorbike days :-)

My ride was a Honda Dream, whatever that is. Little thing, cute and fun, perfect for cruising around and exploring. I opted for a manual transmission, even though it's a bit harder to ride, it really is more fun. And I rode further than I ever have -- about 40 km on the highway, which was absolutely exhausting!

That's one of the reasons Thailand is so great - regardless of how much experience you have, even if it's absolutely zilch, they let you rent a motorbike for $5 a day and take it wherever you want. And its a perfect place to ride, because the roads are good, traffic laws are merely suggestions, its really safe, and the easy going nature of the Thai people makes them very forgiving of "road faux-pas," like getting in the way, cutting people off, or driving on the wrong side of the road. And Thailand is a left-side driving country, like England. I'm proud to say that after 3 separate days spent on a motorbike, I've always stayed on the right side. I mean the left. Correct side, how about that? I've stayed on the correct side.

See, isn't it perty?

Today was a little bit of history and a little bit of animals.

First I went to the WWII cemeteries, the war museum, and the Bridge on the River Kwai. During WWII, when the Japanese occupied much of Asia, they constructed a supply railway between present day Bangkok and Rangoon (in Myanmar). The Bridge on the River Kwai was part of it, although as I learned today, it's actually not called the River Kwai. The majority of the work was done by POWs, of which approximately 100,000 perished due to the horrific conditions they were forced to endure. I still find it strange that so much attention gets paid to the cruelties of Hitler during WWII, yet almost nothing gets said about what the Japanese did. Let's just say they weren't exactly humane either.

But the memorials in this area that have been created for those that lost their lives building this railway are a fitting tribute. I was really touched and very impressed by what I saw this morning.

Bridge on the River Kwai

In the afternoon, it was time for more lighthearted things. The Tiger Temple!!! There is a temple here where the monks have created a wildlife sanctuary, and they have about 10 tigers that have been rescued but are not fit to live in the wild anymore. I was really excited about going - ever since reading Life of Pi, I've been fascinated by tigers. (Anyone with even a slight interest in big cats must read that book!)

And like a dope, I totally screwed it up! I never got to pet the tigers, or have my picture taken with them. I found the tiger cages, spent a bunch of time there wondering why half of the cages were empty, and failed to realize that most of the tigers were down in "Tiger Canyon." That's where you get to pet them, and I didn't realize it until too late, when they walked the tigers back to the cages.

That part was cool though. There were about 50 or so tourists there at the time, and they herded us all over to the side. No one was allowed to sit down, because if the tigers saw anything that looked small, they might think it was prey and try to go after it. The staff also had to chase away all the stray pigs, chickens and cows that roamed the area, lest the tigers should decide to make a meal of them. Then they walked the tigers back to their cages - about 10 of them, full grown, on leashes. What a sight that was! It's amazing to think how easily those animals could tear us apart if they decided to. But as the brochure for the temple says, "With compassion, there are only friends." It is that philosophy that has allowed the monks to tame the tigers.

Did you know that tigers have white spots on the backs of their ears? False eyes to fool their prey and other predators.

Walking the tigers back to their cages.

There were also two baby tigers, but my chance to hold them got botched too. I had been there about a half hour, along with a handful of others, photographing the babies sleeping in their cages. And right when the monks decide it was time to open the cage, a huge tour group showed up and totally swarmed the cage. Basically, it became a situation where whoever was the most pushy got to hold the baby tiger. You would not believe how inconsiderate people can be when it comes to holding a baby tiger, holy shit! They were pushing, shoving, some actually climbed into the cage with it, man-handling the poor thing, passing it from person to person, like it was a doll, not bothering to support its back legs or anything. Obviously not cat people. Most of the group was of a nationality, which shall remain unnamed, that has what I am realizing is a well-deserved reputation on the travel circuit for being assholes. (No, no Americans, keep guessing. Friends of ours. Not the Brits either.) There were even two guys with their shirts off, at a temple of all places.

So I tried to get in there to hold the baby tiger, but people kept passing it to their friends, and eventually the poor thing started to get angry. It was growling, crying, squirming, barring it's teeth, obviously not happy, and I don't blame it. The weird thing was, although it was a baby, it wasn't a small baby, it was still a tiger, and it was really angry and people just kept passing it around, clearly nervous, but more concerned with getting that perfect photo. A few people got lightly scratched, and it seemed a little traumatizing for the tiger, but the monks were not concerned at all. And before I could hold it, it was time to put it away. I was so peeved. I hate pushy tour groups!



Baby tiger sleeping peacefully.

And then the tourists arrived!
I love this photo. The baby tiger was pretty upset at this point. Check out the woman's face.

I did get to feed a bear though! A smallish one, but still a bear. One of the monks saw that I had been there awhile and showed me the bear cage that everyone misses because they are so concerned with the tigers. And he let me feed her, and pet her through the bars. Bears remind me a lot of dogs, when you see their faces up close.


There was a little confusion in getting this photo, because the monk (who didn't speak English) kept gesturing for me to put my camera down on the ledge, and I kept trying to hand it to him. Then I realized that monks are not allowed to pass to or take things from women. I knew they weren't allowed to sit next to women and that women were not allowed to touch a monk or his belongings, but I didn't realize the rule extended that far. So when he gave back the camera, he had to set it down first, then I coud pick it up.


Her name is Mam-Mam, isn't she cute?

So now I want an elephant, a tiger and a motorbike. In that order.