We're not cat people...we're tiger people!

The bridge over the river Kwai

For our final days in Thailand, we decided to head to Kanchanaburi, which is about a 2 hour drive by car, or a 4 - 5 hour drive by bus, which we took. Kanchanaburi is famous for its location near the famous bridge over the river Kwai, which is part of the Death Railway. The Death Railway is a railroad that was meant to cross Thailand and then travel into Burma. It was built by the Japanese in WW2 using the forced labor of POWs and local laborers, all of whom were subjected to absolutely terrible living conditions and brutal treatment by the Japanese soldiers. During the construction of the railway 16,000 POWs and 90,000 Asian laborers

died. During our time in Kanchanaburi, we spent time seeing the bridge, as well as a museum about the prisoners. The next day, we booked a tour with a company called Mellow Treks and were picked up by our guide, Usi, at 6:00 AM. We set off first to the famous and controversial Tiger Temple, which is a Buddhist temple where the monks have taken in and care for tigers. They offer a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience for visitors, as you are able to get up close and personal with tigers of all ages and sizes. We started out first thing in the morning with an offering to the monks, followed by our first encounter

JEATH Musuem at the bridge.

Baby tigers are pretty cute

with the baby tigers.We were first led to a group of tigers that were a few months old, where we were able to bottle feed them. They were already pretty large, and Senushi's tiger really wanted the bottle. It used its huge paws to reach for the bottle and push her arm down, which Nush was not liking. The bottle was turned over to the handler, and Senushi came to sit by me while we finished feeding. After the feeding we were free to play with the tigers before breakfast. Fortunately, we were one of the first groups to get to see and hold the temple's newest group of baby tigers, which immediately melted Senushi's heart and made her forget about the earlier experience. 

This one is only 3-weeks old and can't even roar

We bottle fed these 1-month old tigers

Taking baby tigers for a walk

A full grown tiger...and us!

They were only three weeks old, and were the cutest and funniest little creatures I have ever seen. They don't know how to walk properly, nor are they able to roar, so they awkwardly walk around while making all sorts of strange sounds.

Giving the baby tigers a bath.

After this, we had a quick breakfast with the monks, before taking our tigers on a walk across the grounds to get them washed. Walking a young tiger feels pretty similar to how you would imagine walking a big house-cat would feel. The tiger kind of walks were it wants, and you just keep up with it as it decides when and where it wants to move. After finally getting to the washing area, we were able to soap up and bathe our tigers, which was pretty entertaining. After the bath, the trip to the temple, made an abrupt switch from entertaining to terrifying as we found out that we were done with the baby tigers and that we were on our way to "tiger island" to play with the adolescent tigers. The adolescent tigers were absolutely huge, and it was really scary to be surrounded by them. When we entered the enclosure, we were given a long stick with a bag on the end of it, and encouraged to use it to play with the tigers. We were both really nervous, but it was a neat experience to see the large tigers up close. After we left the enclosure and breathed a big sigh of relief, we were able to get our picture taken with the full grown tigers and then walk them to the canyon where they would then be allowed to play. We thought the adolescent tigers were large, but they paled in comparison to the big guys.

Playing with the adolescent tigers

After watching the big ones play for a while, it was time to go. We left the Tiger Temple behind and headed for the Hellfire Pass museum, which is built on the site of a particularly brutal part of the Death Railroad. It was a very well-done and touching museum, and it is hard to imagine going through what those people were forced to endure. We spent about an hour at the museum before heading to the beautiful Erawan Waterfalls.The falls consist of seven levels, each of which is very different. We spent most of our time at a level where you are able to slide down a slick boulder into a deep pool. It was a really great time, and the cold water felt great after a long day in the heat.

A baby monkey and its mom

These monkeys are particularly mischevious

There are also some strange little fish in the water that are famous for giving pedicures. If you keep your feet still in the water, you will start to feel these little fish nibbling on your feet. They supposedly just eat the dead skin, but it was one of the strangest feeling I have ever experienced, and neither one of us could take much of it. Overall, it was a fantastic day! Usi was a great guide, and we had one of the best days of our trip.

At the top of the boulder getting ready to slide down