The Travelling Life of Silvan Colani
April 2008 - Kanchanaburi, Thailand
I was rudely awakened as the driver slammed his foot on the breaks to avoid an oncoming SUV in the usual fashion of Thailand’s erratic driving style. I’ve been dozing in and out of the traffic situation since we’ve left the Sukhothai Hotel in the early hours of this Sunday morning on route to Kanchanburi, some three hours north-west of Bangkok.
Our destination for this little day trip was the famous Tiger Temple where monks – and tourists – roam freely with these majestic animals. The temple is a sprawling – albeit not particularly attractive – complex of cages, Disneyesque animal performance venues and green mud holes where buffalo heads stuck out. We were welcomed by a wild boar that must have recognized my smell as something familiar. But we arrived there early, too early in fact, as the tigers were still locked up behind bars so we decided to visit the other famous attraction of Kanchanaburi – The Bridge Over the River Kwai.
Made famous by the movie of the same name, the bridge was a small piece of the infamous Death Railway from Myanmar to Thailand, built by an estimated 16,000 prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army during their occupation of Thailand during World War II.
Despite is horrendous history, the bridge is actually quite picturesque, spanning the gentle waters of the Khwae Yai River. You can cross the bridge on foot and there is surprisingly little in terms of safety railings and I was tempted to take a leap into the river below but eventually decided not to.
Back at the Tiger Temple, the tiger cubs were brought out to mingle with the guests in a refreshingly unrestricted manner. I don’t think you can get any closer to these beautiful animals unless being hunted down for lunch! Although docile and playful, the teeth of these kittens were already sufficiently sharp to inflict some serious damage.
Their larger cousins were also out and about, chained to the ground and looked after by a small army of yellow-clad attendants who kept a close eye on the camera-toting tourists ensuring everybody kept a good distance from the tigers’ “striking radius”!
Then it was time to take the tigers for a walk. We were lined up in a single file behind a large tiger on a leash. One by one we were brought forward to stroll with Men’s New Best Friend but were clearly instructed NEVER to step in front of the tiger. Exposing your neck to the animal apparently is tantamount to a free lunch offer.
The procession eventually ended up in a large canyon where several large tigers were assembled and you could make a donation of 1000 baht to have your picture taken with a tiger head in your lap. This was a bit too touristy for my taste plus the animals looked like they were on tranquilizers – probably necessary given so much juicy fat western prey within such easy reach. Yum!
All-in-all, however, a visit to the temple makes for a great day trip from Bangkok and is absolutely worth the often near suicidal road trip.
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