Playing with Tigers

I consider myself to be a smart person.  I honestly do.

This was, quite possibly, the dumbest thing we did on our trip.  But since we didn’t die, it also goes down as one of the coolest things we did on our trip.  That’s usually how it goes, right?  Amazingly awesome or darwin award.

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Kingdom is a popular spot in Chiang Mai.  But as a result of my “take it easy” mentality, we had no idea about it until we arrived.  Thankfully, everyone we talked to suggested we visit the popular spot.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to take pictures with tigers, right?

They have a really bad website, but the actual grounds are quite nice and felt the most western out of almost anywhere we visited.  There is a constant debate as to whether the tigers are or are not drugged and how humane the Tiger Kingdom actually is.  In my opinion, it’s fine.  I didn’t go behind the scenes or see the inner workings of the place, but the tigers weren’t drugged (or if they were, the drugs weren’t working) and I never saw one abused.

PS Have you ever been to the zoo? Stopped by the tiger cage? What were they doing? Probably sleeping.  You get to do that when you’re at the top of the food chain.

When you first arrive, you are handed a number, immediately.  This is your spot in line.  Then you pick out which tigers you want to see (smallest, small, medium, and large).  We selected a package that got us the smallest (duh, who wouldn’t want to pet baby tigers), small and large tigers and added on a photographer (now that I get paid to take photographs, I tend to appreciate someone else taking photos for me – that, and we were told that our trainer wasn’t allowed to take pictures of us, and I wanted at least one photo with the 2 of us in it).  After we paid, we were escorted to the “smallest” tiger area.  We waited until our number was called and then entered with the trainer and our photographer.  These little guys were cute.

Then we headed to the “small” cage where they were a bit more active.

And then it was time for the big boy’s cage.  It was here that we realized this a poor decision.  Siegfried and Roy.

They had me pose with this fella, and each time he turned around, yawned, or basically moved, I jumped back about 5 feet.  Because that would have saved me…..

Then the tiger rolled over and they told me to rub his belly.  I and I drew the line.  So of course, Nick jumped in.  All the while saying, out loud, “yeah, this probably was a dumb idea.”

Then we got our family photo, with this gigantic beast.  They tell you to touch them like you mean it.  If you’re too light handed, they might mistake you for a bug or an itch and swat at you.  Awesome.In the end, we came away unscathed with some pretty sweet pictures.  And some pretty awful ones too 🙂  Yep, I saved the best for last.  Read on for “Awkward Family Photos, Tiger Edition.”

7.  Yes, they told me to grab his tail.  It was heavy.  And then they told me to make a mustache with it.

6.  Here’s the tiger, being the little spoon.
5. Tiger claws!  Yes.  The photographer really said it and I really did it.  Not one of my prouder moments.
4.  A prime example of the difference between Nick and I.  Me, just following directions.  Nick, kinda following directions, but definitely questioning before going full tiger claws.
3.  But he eventually he succumbed to the pressure.
2.  And then they told us to pretend we were sleeping with the tigers.  Seriously.
1.  And my favorite.  Ha! Tiger paw on Nick’s chest, while I kiss his cheek.  This is top notch stuff right here peeps.  All in all, we had fun and have some great stories to talk about.  And we didn’t die.  Which is critical.