Meeting the Tigers of Chaing Mai

K So I have realized this trip really is about plans B,C,& D.

Once we got into Chiang Mai we decided we were much to tired to figure out very many plans. We booked the Zip Line adventure for Monday and headed out to an adventure. But soon realized a lot of things (AKA Elephants & Tiger Kingdom) were closed. Luckily we checked with the front desk, who informed us that Tiger Kingdom was open despite what the website says. We went with a very pleasant driver out to Tiger Kingdom, he told us a bit about the area of Chiang Mai. He joked about being scared of the tigers. (I mean who wouldn't looking at that back paw..)


There are several different packages you can purchase for visiting the Tigers.  Jamie and I did the Smallest (around 3 months old) the Small (I think still under a year but bigger) and the Large cats.  We also decided it was worth it to pay for the photographer, since we split the cost for one photographer and that way we didn't have to worry about taking pictures.



We started out with the smallest, they require you to wash your hands and put on a special set of slippers before going in to see the babies.  It was very nice that we had the tigers to ourselves, granted it was the off season, but there was no crowding. The babies were adorable, so sleepy. One was feeling a little playful to the annoyance of the others.

 The staff was so great to work with, and I know there are lots of rumors about drugging the tigers, but these guys did not look, nor act drugged. All their lazing about is what they do, they are Cats after all...














We went in to play with the small tigers next, and with each enclosure you have a tiger keeper/trainer who accompanies you in for safety. These guys were great and perfectly playful, and co-operative.















Then on to the large cats... They crack me up, these cats are so used to people they have adopted an attitude of "do what you want, and if you really need me to wake up, I will".

Later as we sat in the cafe eating lunch, we watched one of the trainers have a one on one interaction with his large tiger.There was much respect there.

From there we headed back to Chiang Mai.  We stopped off at a jewelry store, many drivers have deals with the jewelers, if the drivers bring their customers by, then the jewelers give the drivers a gas card, even if you don't buy anything. So we just went along, and found some really great, but expensive jewelry... Some day.


We found a great place for food on the river bank, perfect romantic setting if you ever, (ahem MATT) need a great place for a certain questions ; ) We went with our classic pizza Margherita but so many of the dishes sounded absolutely delicious. I definitely would recommend eating or staying at the Sala Lanna.
We ended our day at the night market. I loved this place, it looks small but it keeps spreading out thru alley ways. Tons of good, handcrafted stuff. I got a great skirt, Jamie bought a darling carryon bag.
Once thru we thought we could walk back, but we were so turned around, we asked one of the stall owners and she got her friend, a driver, to come tell us how to get back... in the end he gave us a good price and drove us home since it was a bit farther then we wanted to walk at night.

* All my picture skills apparently got used up for the day with the tigers, oops.... Enjoy!