Probably the best day of the trip. We woke up early, but didn't really move until after seven. Made our way down to the little cafe (that served as the check-in counter as well) and ordered ourselves some breakfast while we waited for Clarissa to get up. Afterward we took a tuk tuk to Tiger Kingdom.
Nikki and I had talked about going to see the Tigers in Thailand before we even moved to Japan. The original one we had heard about had rumors of animal abuse and drugging, often in front of visitors. Neither one of else felt comfortable with supporting a place like that, so for a while we believed we would not get to go. Fortunately, Nikki continued doing some research and found Tiger Kingdom. They raise the tigers from birth and there are no reports of abuse or drug use to keep the tigers calm (though skeptics think it may still be going on). If a tiger gets too big, they do not put it down, as other places do. All over the park, there were signs asking the visitors to advise management if any abuses were seen.
When we arrived, Clarissa's sister and her friend were just sitting down to eat, so we waited for them before buying tickets. From the balcony, we could see the big tiger pen. Fascinated and excited, we watched the lucky people who had gotten there early interact with the tigers. Unfortunately, the first thing we saw was a jerk who thought it was funny to tease the tiger. We were impressed by the way the tiger growled warning then found the nearby staff member and buried his head in the man's leg as though to say "daddy, he's picking on me." We watched as the trainer comforted the tiger before leading the idiot out of the pen.
Tiger Kingdom has different options. You can pay to see one set of tigers, two sets, three sets or all four sets (baby, small, medium and big). We decided to pay for the two and chose small and big. Sadly, the option to see the baby tigers only came with the third and fourth, and was a lot more expensive. We have decided that next time we will need to do the fourth option. We saw the pen for the baby tigers, and you actually get to hold and feed them.... Sooooo cute!!!!!
The wait to get in was over an hour, but they gave us the option of looking around. There were separate cages with more room, so we were able to look at other tigers while we waited. It was amazing to see how close we were, even with the tigers being in cages. Several rules were posted, such as not sticking anything into the cages and staying away from the tiger's face (they think you either want to play or are food). Remaining calm is definitely a good idea.
Since Clarissa's sister and her friend came with another group (the groups were determined by the vehicle in which you arrived in), we ended up having nine people because they allowed us to join our two groups together. First we went into the small tiger cage. They were soooo cute. Clarissa got to sit down first and was lucky because another came up and sat down behind her, so she got two tigers.
Candace, the friend of Clarissa's sister, sat down but became scared and afterwards asked to be let out of the cage. She did not go with us into the big tiger cage. I felt bad for her, but it's probably better not to be in there if you are scared.
Another half an hour to an hour wait and then we got to see the big tigers. It was so amazing!!! I did not want to leave. I kept shaking my head at the nervous people who would jump if the tiger moved his/her head.
Best day EVER.
Afterwards we returned to the hostel and just hung out. We were not all that hungry, so we waited until after seven before going any where. We ended up at a little cafe--we were sooo hot and just wanted a place with air conditioning--and eating desert until they closed. It was really nice and relaxing.
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