Tigers and Elephants and Snakes, oh my!

Turns out my friend Gwen has no fear and will try just about anything once. VERY good quality in a travel companion. After I shot this pic, she actually held the snake. Me? Notsomuch.

Elephants are considered good luck in Thailand and we came upon this cutie-pie - by the side of the road! Our next stop was the Tiger Temple in Saiyok. It is a Buddhist temple, as well as an animal sanctuary. In the late '90s, someone gave the monks a tiger cub they found, and their collection of tigers grew from there. The tigers have either been orphaned or abandoned, and now the monks employ a vet staff that breed tigers. The monks take an active role in the tiger's lives and the head monk actually names each cub.

Once inside the temple grounds, it becomes a very spiritual place, as the first thing you notice is the almost absolute quiet. There is a stillness to the compound that is only broken by playful tigers.

Any person visiting the temple can choose, for a small fee, to either play with young tigers (10-12 months) or feed baby tigers (2-3 months). Gwen, my fearless companion, jumped at the chance to tussle with young tigers who looked like this: Me? I like my tigers tiny, thankyouverymuch. So into the cage I bravely went to play with and feed bottles to the most amazing creatures. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets

I spent part of trip in Bangkok outside the city with my friend, Gwen, and one of the days we went to the Floating Markets which were surprisingly fun. I was expecting a small stream with some touristy shops, but no. This was an extensive canal system with businesses, homes and yes, some touristy shops, but mainly an entire community built right on top of the water. We had a wonderfully fast driver, some cold Thai beer (purchased from another boat) and lunch all afloat.

Wat In & Wat Pho

Images from The Temple of the Standing Buddha (Wat In) and The Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho).

Grand Palace, Bangkok

The Grand Palace was built/established in 1782 when King Rama I ascended to the throne of Thailand. It houses the king's palace, throne halls and government offices. The current king of Thailand, Rama IX, moved his official residence out of this compound to allow the compound to accommodate tourists. It is truly one of the most magnificent places I have ever been.This next photo shows the building where the former Kings would change into their ceremonial wardrobe and the platform where the Kings would climb onto the elephants. My tour guide was hysterical. She kept saying "King used to use elephants to get around. No more elephants. Now only Rolls Royce".The compound is guarded by good demons, lucky elephants and 1/2 women/animal creatures. The guide kept saying to me "The monkeys have no shoes. The demons have shoes. Demons good. Monkeys bad".

The craftmanship was amazing from the individual-laid gold leaf to the ceramic tile to the hand-painted walls.

The compound also houses the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha. You can't take photos of the statue itself inside the building. The Buddha is actually one whole piece of jade and the King comes to the temple several times a year to dress the statue in his Summer, Rainy Season or Winter outfits. The Emerald Buddha was discovered in 1434 and had previously been covered in plaster, until a monk noticed a piece of chipped-off plaster on the statue's nose and saw green underneath. Can you imagine?? Outside the Temple is holy water that you can sprinkle on yourself for good luck.

W.O.W.

my week in Bangkok is rapidly coming to an end - I have so much to share and pictures to post. It was an amazing week - lots of free time and wonderful food, tons of walking, catching up with a good friend and once in a lifetime experiences....

Thailand is Color