The Adventure that trumped all Experiences
The wailing, squealing sounds that we had been hearing got louder as we walked on the rough-hewn dirt path through the thickets. We were inside the compound and were heading towards the large covered pavilion with open sides. Confused about the soft but distinct strange sounds we looked up and stopped dead in our tracks. Peeping down from between the bannister rails was the inquisitive face of a small tiger cub staring at us with interest. I knew my day ahead would involve seeing and petting tigers but it was surreal to see a tiger cub face to face. It’s markings were striking and graphic and gave it a look of distinction but its eyes were full of energetic curiosity.
We were a group of about 10 tourists including my daughters and myself. We had signed up for the VIP Tiger Experience Tour through Tours with Tong to go visit the controversial Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
Petting tigers had been high on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. Since I was going to be in Bangkok for a short holiday with my daughters, my niece from Bali had told me about the Tiger temple. She owned a hotel in Bali and a lot of her guests would always talk about this incredible experience with tigers. The more I read about it, the more excited I got even though there were conflicting reviews from people who talked about the possibility of the tigers being drugged or ill treated. I felt I had to go see for myself but above all, I really wanted to 'be' with tigers and this seemed like a great opportunity to do just that.
Tours with Tong seemed to be the popular choice to book this detailed tour. We were picked up from our hotel at 4.30AM by Niwat, a very pleasant and courteous young man. As we drove out northwards away from the quiet, slumbering city, Niwat tried to enlighten me a little about the history and geography of his country whilst the girls stretched out on an empty bench seat of the van and focused on catching up on their sleep. He mentioned that even though the Thai people belonged to different castes, for the most part they coexisted in peace. Muslims were mostly in the South and comprised of about 4% of the population. Almost 95% of the population was Buddhists. There were many traditions and symbolisms still followed from the Hindu mythology.
As we drove away from Bangkok he pointed out the many homes and mansions alongside the river. Hua Hin, he explained was now becoming popular as a trendy seaside resort for the Bangkok locals as well as luxury retirement homes for the rich. He talked about the beloved King Rama the IX, the world’s longest reigning current monarch.
We stopped on the way to get coffee and a quick bite at the only open restaurant at 5 in the morning – McDonalds! I was amused to see packets of hot sriracha sauce along with the customary ketchup and mustard sachets. My daughter reminded us to wash our hands well because she joked that the tigers might think her fingers were succulent strips of McChicken tenders!
We passed by farms growing sugarcane, tapioca and many varieties of chilies. Delicate creepers in the fields grew asparagus. He explained about the typical Thai cuisine where shrimp paste was used as the basic ingredient in most dishes. Fresh water prawns were smaller in size than salt-water prawns but the smallest were the tiny shrimps in the rice paddies.
We stopped by a large, open-air fruit and vegetable stall to pick up some bananas for the elephants we would be meeting later. Intrigued by the methodical, vibrant displays, I got off the van with him to explore the wares. He showed me the many unusual fruits and vegetables that I had never seen before. In the past I had savored exotic fruits like mangosteen, rambutan and passion fruit and they were juicy and bursting with flavor here at this unique fresh-produce ‘supermarket’ right on the side of a busy road. I plucked and sampled some brand new fruits– sweet and sour langsat, dragon-eye looking longan which was sweet and soft and luscious, and crisp and shiny rose apple.
Our first stop was the railroad Bridge over the river Kwai- often called the Thai-Burma Death Railway Bridge.
Thousands of POWs and forced laborers lost their lives when Japan undertook this risky operation of connecting Thailand to Burma via the 415km long railroad. We walked on the bridge and looked down on the lazy river below and tried to imagine the horrors of the laborers during World War II. Across on the other side of the shore was a large, rambling traditionally built building with an enormous, serene statue of the beautiful Guanyin, the goddess of Mercy.
We would be starting our tour with the alms offering to the monks. Niwat explained a little about the tradition of the monks. Every Thai man after the age of 20 should spend a period of time in monkhood. The monks and the novices live in the temples and besides studying the 227 rules of practice, spend their time in meditation, prayer, chanting and upkeep of the temple. The monks’ sects that live in cities wear orange robes whereas the ones that live in the forests wear brown robes. The monks eat only one or two meals a day that are prepared and offered by others in the neighborhood and village. Offering food is a meritorious act and the Buddhists look upon it as a virtue and a blessing.
At the tiger temple we were instructed on the strict system of alms-offerings. The monks walked up to us single file with the head monk leading the solemn group. Before us we had baskets containing packets of home made rice, curries, flowers, incense and other contributions. We folded our hands and bowed our heads in respect and then placed one or more offerings into their bowl keeping in mind that we women do not touch them or their bowls. We had to make sure that each monk received an adequate quantity of the offerings as no food or donations could be left behind on the table.
Niwat informed us about how the tiger temple came to be. In 1999, the first orphaned tiger cub was found by the villagers and brought to the temple for the monks to raise and look after. That cub did not survive more than 7 months but soon the temple became a refuge for abandoned animals. Slowly more animals were brought in including other rescued Indo-Chin tigers and today the temple proudly claimed to have 136 tigers.
Back at the temple pavilion as I watched the tiger cub watching me, my heartbeat quickened because I knew the tour we had booked would involve a lot of time spent with these magnificent creatures.
There were a lot of staff and volunteers around making sure we followed the instructions. At any given time, my daughters and I had 2 to 4 handlers and volunteers by our sides ensuring our safety and making sure we abided by the rules.
The cubs ranged from 2 months to 8 months, spread out all over the pavilion. We had to ask permission to ‘play’ with a particular cub and feed them from a milk bottle. It was an adorable experience holding these big cats in your arms and watching them slobber and suck at the milk bottle whilst their eyes gazed at you in amber fascination.
As their bellies would fill, they looked content and were happy to stretch out and chill but some of them got energized and would try swatting at the other cubs to goad them into a game. Some of the cubs were content to watch while others behaved like typical, feisty energetic cats and even tried swatting at our legs with their paws if we were not vigilant. It was so fascinating to watch cubs of different sizes and temperaments all around us whilst the monks sat on the higher platform and performed their prayers. We heard there was a two-week tiger cub and it was adorable to hold him in our arms and hear his mewling cry. After a good feed from the milk bottle, he wobbled on unsteady feet for a few steps and then his back legs splayed out.
We were offered a traditional Thai breakfast that the local villagers had donated for the guests as well as the volunteers and residents of the temple. The meal was plentiful, flavorful and exotic.
After breakfast we were escorted with our two guides/volunteers to an area where we had an opportunity to bathe older tigers. We were constantly reminded of the rules. We were corrected and prompted if we ever got distracted and turned away from the tigers. We were told to keep a safe distance from the tiger (we did not argue with that) One of us held the leash to the tiger while the others soaped its body and then we took turns. I remember thinking of my hyper Boxer dog back home who hated baths and would growl and grumble if we attempted to wash him, and here was this beautiful, big creature standing there relatively calm while we ‘bathed’ it. A few minutes into this grooming, our tiger decided it had had enough and turned around and scowled and lazily growled at us. We didn’t need a second reminder and promptly followed his command and handed over the leash to the staff to finish washing the suds off its back.
We were then given the opportunity to feed the tigers. We joined our hands together creating a bowl where a whole poached chicken was placed in them with the warning that our fingers should stay uniformly close and pointed down incase our tigers mistook our pink, robust fingertips as chicken tenderloins.
I remembered my daughter’s warning from earlier on in the morning and all that now seemed from a lifetime ago. I guess the tigers had gotten used to being fed at around this time every day and they calmly grabbed chunks of meat from our hands in lazy concentration and I watched their beautiful faces from a foot away. As its long, rough tongue licked the remains of its meal from my hands I actually felt the smooth, hard touch of its tooth. That was a crazy sensation and a unique experience.
From there we were led to an area where each of our mini groups was given a larger, almost full-grown tiger on a leash to ‘take’ for a walk. We were told of the obvious rules- don’t get in front of your own or another tiger so that it may not surprise you from behind. We were warned that even though we may be holding the leash, we better not forget that it is the tiger that is taking us for a walk!
One of the other tigers that was being walked by another visitor was feeling particularly energetic and would scramble off in one direction and then set off at a brisk pace in another direction. The poor lady holding his leash frantically ran to keep up with him. Thankfully our tiger was well behaved and stayed at a calm yet spirited walk. As we kept up alongside its flank, we could stroke its back and feel the muscular strength of this amazing animal. For a brief second we had to remind ourselves of our activity – we forgot for a moment that we were in the presence of multiple tigers and were interacting with them. It was simply too dreamlike an experience.
Our next activity was an energetic exercise in stimulating the tigers. We were in a large wooded enclosure where each of our mini-groups had two handlers with us who were holding the tiger ‘toys’ in their hands…Crinkly garbage bags were attached to the ends of long poles with empty plastic bottles and cans inside them. Once these poles were vigorously shaken, they created enticing, loud rustling sounds that these tigers found just as captivating as domesticated cats would find their teaser feather toys. We were told to energetically whack the poles on the ground to attract the tigers’ attention. By rustling the noisy garbage bags with frantic gusto we wanted them to bound and pounce on these tiger-toys. The idea was that just before they land on these poles (that we were feebly holding on to!), we were prompted by the handlers to raise them up in the air so that the tigers jumped up gracefully to try and catch the loudly swishing garbage bags. What ensued was true bedlam! About 10 or more tigers would be coming at these poles from so many different directions trying to outpace us by jumping on the poles, straddling them and ‘attacking’ the garbage bags before we could lift them up in the air away from their clawing grasps.
Again we were reminded not to have our backs to the tigers but in the fast-paced melee all around us we almost forgot once or twice as we stepped forward to see what other tricks they were up to. At one moment when I was standing sideways watching a tiger sail through the air to lunge at the pole, another tiger brushed past me and I could feel the heat from its body as it sprinted inches away from me towards another tiger. It seemed to be eager to play with a friend rather than an annoying pole toy. That was as close as I have ever going to come to a bounding tiger on the loose and that was close enough for me!
I scrambled back to my safe area with the two handlers. We did this for about 30-45 minutes and it was so interesting to see their intent expressions as they watched the beating poles with narrow-eyed concentration. We even saw them prowl low to the ground ready to go for the kill as they soundlessly stalked towards the sticks and then leap off in one graceful lunge to capture the pole and its offending bags with a snarl. Apart from a wildlife safari, this was a pretty good depiction of tigers in the wild just following their instincts and doing what came naturally to them. Seeing their exuberant and fascinated expressions, and their energetic prancing I could safely surmise that this was not the behavior of drugged tigers.
Our next excursion was a walk down to the canyon. This is where we had the opportunity to pet the biggest tiger of the lot. Neptune was large and magnificent and sat majestically with his golden eyes watching everything around it. One by one we were guided by 2-3 handlers to position ourselves quickly and as unobtrusively as possible behind the big guy. The handlers would then take its massive head and lay it on our laps. As soon as that giant head hit my lap with a humph sound, the weight and the size of this beast’s head felt so heavy and unfamiliar. I stared down at this creature observing the long whiskers, the size of its ears, the dramatic coloring and the enormous paws. This amazing moment made me catch my breath in disbelief and I realized that the tiger experience on my bucket list that I had waited so long for, had finally come true. I was almost delirious with happiness and grinned around in stupefied wonder as Niwat clicked away to capture this moment.
After all of us individually had the experience to cradle Neptune’s head on our laps; we were led to what looked like a man-made quarry area. All us visitors were shepherded into a makeshift, flimsy cage and it almost felt like we were the creatures in the zoo while many full grown tigers loped around us and ignored us (thankfully!). While we watched from our enclosure, the handlers and volunteers entertained us with a robust spectacle of energetic tigers. They had the same pole-toys and they shook these to entice the tigers and get them to jump in the air into the water or leap from one boulder to another and even spring out from the water on to the side of the canyon.
All around us was this frenzied activity of tigers jumping and playing, and handlers shouting out and attracting their attention. We did not know where the look and the tigers totally ignored us as they busied entertaining themselves. At one point, the mighty Neptune decided he had had enough and suddenly took off at a run in the opposite direction and the other tigers after a moment’s pause raced off behind him and the handlers after hesitating for a shocked moment ran helter-skelter behind the departing tigers calling out to them and banging the sticks on the ground to round them up and herald them back to where they needed to be. For a few brief minutes, we were the only ones in the area staring at each other in concern, wondering where every person and every animal had taken off to and worriedly puzzling if this was part of the ‘act’. In a little while they all returned – tigers and humans together and we heaved a sigh of relief. When the tigers showed signs of losing interest in their toys, we wound up this activity and that brought our incredible VIP tiger tour to a close.
