Thailand Trip: Day 1 – Tigers, Elephants, Erawan

Thailand Trip Index:

• Introduction
• Day 1 – Tigers, Elephants, Erawan
• Day 2 – Chinatown, Krabi
• Day 3 – Phi Phi Island Hopping
• Day 4 – Massage, Hike, Beach
• Day 5 – Cooking Class, Sunset Island Hopping
• Day 6 – Back to Bangkok, Siam Niramit
• Day 7 – Ziplining, Night Bike Tour

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We left Tampa on an early Tuesday morning – 4AM to be exact.  We flew from Tampa to Dallas to Hong Kong (16 hour flight!!!!) to Bangkok.  We finally arrived at our destination after 30 hours of travel around 1PM on Wednesday (Florida time).  It was midnight in Bangkok.  We arrived at our hotel around 1:30AM.  We slept for a few hours but had to be up at 3:30AM because we were being picked up by a driver at 4AM.

To preface, I should mention that we have a hard time planning a calm, relaxing vacation.  If I go to the other side of the world I want to experience as much as possible.  So, we knew we’d be exhausted after 30 hours of travel and 2 hours of sleep but the adrenaline kept us running.  We had booked a customized day tour with Tour with Tong.  It included a VIP spot at the morning program at Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno (Tiger Temple) in the Kanchanaburi province, about 3 hours outside of Bangkok, riding elephants, and a trip to Erawan Falls.

This first day in Thailand was AMAZING!  It’s one of those things you wonder if you dreamed it all up once it’s over.  I kept saying, “Ben, we are in Thailand feeding a tiger!”  “Ben, we are in Thailand riding an elephant!” “Ben, we are in Thailand eating Thai food”   It was a really busy day but so much fun!  Maybe even our most favorite day?  It was a once in a lifetime type of day.

On to the fun….

We met our guide, Chris, in our hotel lobby around 4AM. We slept in the car during the first two hours of the drive. We stopped around 6AM to buy something to eat.  I ate my safe strawberry chia bar but Ben was adventurous and bought this pastry.  I wasn’t impressed.  It tasted like wonder bread with pudding in the middle. Ben enjoyed it, though.

Our first stop was the Bridge at the River Kwai (Khwae Yai), The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. Plaques near the bridge commemorate the thousands lives that were lost during the construction of the railway from Thailand to Burma which was a key part of the planned land invasion of India by the Imperial Japanese. It was a somber stop but a part of Thai history.

We knew we had found the Tiger Temple when we saw these large jaws out the car winddow…

The Tiger Temple is partially run by monks. Most Monks only eat once a day, before noon, and receive their food only from offerings. So, to begin the tour, we offered food to the monks. To do so, we took off our shoes and with two hands placed the food in their bowls and bowed in respect.

After being blessed by the Monks, the 10-12 of us in the VIP group went to the temple where the tiger cubs were. We got to bottle feed and play with them. Most of these cubs were already pretty big! Ben and I were amazed by the size of their paws.

This little guy did not like Ben one bit!  He liked me, though, he bite my side.  I was worried he’d torn my shirt and I hadn’t brought a spare.  Thankfully, he hadn’t!

The monks were saying prayers during this time. Once they finished we ate breakfast with them. Spiciest breakfast of my life. My mouth was burning!

The cubs needed to be taken to another area of the sanctuary for their morning bath. We got to walk them there and helped scrub them down. We also fed them cooked chicken. I think the purpose of the chicken was to keep them distracted so they wouldn’t try to attack the person bathing them. Many of the workers there did have scars which I wasn’t expecting, actually.

Next, it was time to help the adolescents run some energy off. They took us in an enclosure where 8 – 10 big tigers were running around. They handed us tall sticks and told us to make them jump. What?!?!! This part got my heart pumping! The staff and volunteers were very careful about safety but I was having an Are-You-Sure-This-Is-Safe moment. They are tigers and all.

 

For the grand finale, we walked this big guy down to the adult area. They put us in a fenced-in area and turned the adults loose to run freely.  It was amazing!

When I say, “fenced in area” this is what it looked like.  These two ran past us and the fence practically fell over.

You can really see how they can blend in to their environment.  Their camouflage surprised me.

No doubt, this was a morning we will never forget!

We were sad to leave but excited to know more fun was to come.

We had a half hour drive through the beautiful moutains and jungle up to the elephant village.  It was a simple little place.  As a matter of fact, we were the only tourists there.  We were told to bring a change of clothes and a towel but had no idea what to expect other than we were going to get wet.  We went down to the river to wait.  We were entertained by the two women there – one washing her clothes and the other catching fish for lunch.

Then the elephant and mahout arrived. They went straight into the water and invited me to join them. I considered running for safety but knowing I couldn’t get a refund decided to forge ahead. We hopped onto that huge animal and the mahout gave a command and the elephant filled it’s trunk with water and whipped it back into our faces. All we could do was laugh.

Next the man told us to hold us tightly.  He yelled a command and the elephant started rocking back and forth.  It was like trying to stay on a bucking bull.  We didn’t stand a chance.

We’d crawl back on and she’d rock us right back off.

After a little while we took a few pictures and rode the elephant up the mountain, back to our car.

Note: all the guides there are practically professional photographers.  They took my camera and would instruct us how to pose and then would snap away 🙂  Made my life easy!

By the way, when you’re on top of an elephant it looks like a really long way down if you were to fall. After having seen how easily it could buck us off I kept worrying if it sneezed or something we’d go flying. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

It was a fun experience to be that close and interactive with such an amazing animal!

One place my mom had recommended we visit was Erawan Falls, one of the “most beautiful places I’ve ever been” she told us. We weren’t sure we could fit it in but Tour with Tong said it was possible. Yeah!

Erawan Waterfall is famous for its seven layers of cascading falls, swimming holes, natural slides, and waterfalls. The trail is easily marked, though, the upper area was rocky and left me wishing I’d packed tennis shoes. After a little instruction our guide sent us up alone. It was so peaceful and beautiful! It was a little magical, actually. The forest felt very much alive and enchanting. We must have said 15 times, “I’m so happy we came here!” It was a wonderful few hours alone to hike, soak our feet, talk, and take it all in.

There were fish that would latch on to our feet when we put them in the water.  I was way too ticklish to endure it but Ben (seen below) quite enjoyed it…..

Chris had ordered us dinner and it was waiting for us when we were done…..

We slept most of the way back to Bangkok, finally arriving around 8PM. It was a fantastic first day and everything we had hoped it would be!