Sleeper train was very nice, 4 bunks to a cabin. Got paired with
a nice couple (English Girl and Thai guy), who both live in Chiang Mai. Ate
dinner on the train (Curry, Rice, Stir Fried Chicken and veggies and bananas)
and then went off to sleep.
Woke up the next morning as the sun was coming up to get two
hours of the train ride in the daylight. Beautiful view with fog covering the
mountains, and rising as we came thru. Attendant brought me breakfast. All breakfast
sausage here is chicken sausage, and it is the Clemson Orange and is not very
good. Ham is deli ham. No bacon. Thailand you could do better with your breakfast
meats.
Checked into the hostel, nice little room then arranged a
tuk tuk to be my guide all day. He spoke very little English, so I had someone
translate everywhere I wanted to go, and he would wait while I explored. $14US
for his whole day!!!!!!!!!! (Most people here would look at that and say I overpaid)
You all know how cheap I am, but for me it comes down to how much are you
willing to pay vs what is the least6 you could pay. And I have found that if
the driver treats you much better if you don’t haggle with him over $1US
(suggests an extra stop at a temple, will get you the “Thai Price” for your
food, etc). I have been trying to get all my guides and drivers to eat with me
when we stop. For another $1 I hope I made him happy with me, and in return I feel
like they help me out.
First stop, Tiger Kingdom. Let me preface all my animal
adventures with this. I love animals, and do not knowingly support places that I
don’t feel treat animals appropriately. Before coming I read a lot about Tiger
Kingdom. There is controversy, but it seems that those who were against, felt
strongly about caging animals in general, and don’t seem to know the facts
about these big cats. While I love animals, I think I’m a realist. As long as
its big enough and natural, I am ok with it. Keeping them in a concrete
enclosure that is 10x10 isn’t ok. Also, tigers sleep a lot, and these didn’t appear
to be drugged, just lazy. I’ll also remind you it is 105 degrees and very
humid, I would just lay there too. Although there were a couple that were very
active. I opted two do the two-year-old and 9 month olds. When I think of a
nine month old, I didn’t think 125lbs. I also didn’t realize how active they
would be. Like scary active. Jumping on
logs, playing with sticks and rolling in the grass. Great pictures, also got
two full CDs of pics from my photographer. Great experience. you will see some better ones when I'm back.
Next up was lunch at a great overlook. Prawn Pad Thai. Really
good and great view. Then went to an orchid/butterfly farm. Rows and rows of
them. Admittedly I let him take me here because it was free and he got a
kickback if I went. Glad to accommodate and see something I wouldn’t have
otherwise done.
Now the Monkeys. I went here off a suggestion from someone
on the train and I wish I wouldn’t have. At first, everything seemed great. Multiple
people walked up with different types of monkeys, some on leashes (didn’t bother
me, dogs wear leashes) and some just being held. Also got a great video of the monkey
playing with the dog’s tail. After spending time interacting with them, I went
to go look at more. They were all chained around their waist in very small
concrete cages. This is what I’m not ok with. So what do you do? You can’t ask
for a refund, they don’t care what you think about living conditions, and plus
you paid. I decided it was best to just leave at that point and not wait around
for the show. It pays to do the research and I didn’t for this one, just went
off tourist suggestions. Lesson learned, stick with what you know, and for me
that is having a plan and doing exactly what I had found beforehand.
Last on the day were the temples. Huge, and beautiful. Solid
gold statues.
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