12/11/2012

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright at Tiger Kingdom, Chiangmai


Drinking in Dorset
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 24 attraction reviews
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Taxi Chiangmai:  Patrick 081 617 2116 E-mail: neomart@gmail.com
Round trip: 600 Baht car/driver/gasoline
5 of 5 starsReviewed November 23, 2012
In researching a holiday to Thailand on Trip Advisor there were numerous posts about various tiger sites, many expressing concerns about the conditions the animals were keep in, whether they were drugged or mistreated and whether such ventures should be supported.
I should say right at the outset that Tiger Kingdom is a quality outlet unlike several others I have seen and I have no hesitation in recommending it to fellow TA members.
Our morning visit there saw hands washed and then it was in to an enclosure and up close and personal with some adorable tiger cubs which were inquisitive, playful bundles of fun.
There are four age groups of tiger it is possible to visit and much more caution was needed when we opted to go in with the two-year-olds.
These magnificent animals leave you in no doubt that they are creatures of the wild.
While we posed for pictures they were docile, clearly being well fed and looked after because their coats which we touched were sleek and in top condition.
It was a very different scenario full of menace when the unexpected was introduced next to the enclosure we were in.
That incident involved two tigers play fighting in a pool, sunlit droplets of water showering the air as they twisted and turned in mock attacks against each other. All that stopped when a gardener arrived about 50 yards away near a hedge within sight of their area.
Instantly all pool play stopped and they stalked him, heads thrust forward and bodies close to the ground. It was a perfect reminder that these are killing machines with instincts no amount of containment can change. By the way, the gardener clipped the hedge and left, protected by wire mesh fencing between him and the tigers who nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed sneaking up on him as close as they could. I saw them do the same thing when a child apopeared at a viewing window. You can take take the tiger out of the wild but you can't take the wild out of the tiger.
Definitely worth a visit and £6 for a professional photographer to record everything you do on a multi-picture disk is well worth the money.
Visited November 2012

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