It was a very early start this morning as we were being collected from our hotel at 5am. For breakfast we had stocked up on supplies from the 711 but our options were pretty limited - we had spicy beef noodles (and boy were they spicy), pork noodles, chicken porridge, croissants and ham and cheese croissants. Let's just say they did not taste good.
Our driver headed out of Bangkok towards Kanchanaburi. Thai roads are a hair raising experience. We picked up our guide near Kanchanaburi and stopped not far from the Tiger Temple to buy breakfast supplies as an offering for the monks. Poor David was feeling quite nauseous during the 2.5-3 hour drive.
When we arrived at the Tiger Temple we were led to a table to set out our food for the monks. Our guide also explained the etiquette for making an offering to the monks - we were to remove our shoes and each of us must pick up one food item in 2 hands and gently put it into the monk's bowl in a prayer action, and must then pray. This would be repeated for each monk who came through the line in procession. Under no circumstances must a woman touch a monk.
Once we had finished giving offerings we were led to the temple. Here were we able to bottle fed and pat cubs, observe the monk's in morning prayer and share a Thai (extremely spicy and hot) breakfast. David didn't eat as he was still feeling very unwell.
After breakfast there was time for more patting cubs of various ages and sizes (there are 102 tigers at the temple) before we were able to walk a cub back to the enclosure for washing and feeding. David and Connor walked one cub while Ryan and I walked another. They weren't always the most co-operative walkers!!!
Next we went into an enclosure with 4 cubs and 6 other people and had the chance to bath a cub using shampoo and to hand feed her chicken. Poor David was still feeling very unwell.
After the bathing and feeding it was time to play with the cubs. We had plastic bags on sticks and blown up balloons for them to jump for. They were just like overgrown kittens chasing the toys.
Unfortunately while we were playing with the cubs one of them bit David on the calf. He said it was incredibly painful and it drew blood. Part of the problem was a young child, whose parent had chosen to go with the big cats rather than the cubs, who was running around the enclosure. This was encouraging the cubs to think they could chase people.
Initially the staff didn't realise David had been bitten. Once we drew it to their attention they tried to help clean him up. David was feeling very faint so we asked to let him get out of the enclosure to sit down. As the cubs were getting more and more wound up and had also bitten a little girl and tore the trousers of another I also removed Connor and Ryan from the enclosure. I wanted to be outside to help David who now not only was feeling really ill and weak but had been bitten and was bleeding and in pain. One puncture wound looked as if it may need stitches.
Initially the staff didn't realise David had been bitten. Once we drew it to their attention they tried to help clean him up. David was feeling very faint so we asked to let him get out of the enclosure to sit down. As the cubs were getting more and more wound up and had also bitten a little girl and tore the trousers of another I also removed Connor and Ryan from the enclosure. I wanted to be outside to help David who now not only was feeling really ill and weak but had been bitten and was bleeding and in pain. One puncture wound looked as if it may need stitches.
David really wanted to go back to the car to lay down but our guide assured us we only had about 30 minutes to go. So he pushed on while we had a photo with a 2 and a half year old fully grown tiger, Saifa, and then Connor and I helped walk Saifa down to the tiger canyon where the large tigers are exercised.
When we got to the tiger canyon we were shepherded into a cage between the tigers and the water. Ryan really wasn't keen but there was no option as staying where he and David were meant they would be in the firing line once the tigers were released. Once we were all safely inside and had been given a safety brief the tigers were released and came running past into the water area. We spent about 40 minutes there watching them play. It was good to watch but David was really struggling with the heat, being unwell and bitten. At times he needed to be held up.
When the tigers had finished exercising and were taken back to their enclosures we were released from ours and were free to find our guide and leave the temple. Although we had enjoyed ourselves we were glad to be leaving.
David made it outside the temple gates to the bathroom before repeatedly vomiting. Once he was okay to travel we got into our minivan and drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Understandably David could not face eating anything. The boys and I had a quick, non-spicy lunch while David lay down. It was then we decided to abandon the rest of our day's activities and just head straight back to Bangkok. After being sick David was feeling a little better but was very weak and exhausted. It was obvious there was no way he would be capable of riding elephants and bathing them in a river. So we loaded back into the mini-van for the 3 hour drive back to Bangkok.
Once back in Bangkok David went straight to bed. The rest of us watched TV, went for a swim and ordered room service for dinner. This was a new experience for them and a real novelty. We were glad to go to bed after an unexpectedly eventful day.
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