Nov 28, 2014 Tiger Kingdom, Botanical Gardens

Friday, November 28

Today we have hired a driver to take us north of ChiangMai for a few adventures.  We had Yae (or Yai?)again, the same driver who took us to Doi Suthep.  He is fun and good driver - actually uses his turn signal, which I think is even more rare here than in Houston! His English is pretty good and he is proud of his country and we covered a wide range of topics.

Our first stop was Tiger Kingdom, about a hour's drive.  We purchased tickets and waited a bit to get to see "our" tigers.  You could choose different sized cats and we chose the oldest group who were around 19 months old.  All four of us entered a large enclosed area that held four or five LARGE tigers. One or two were sleeping (they ARE cats, after all). There was a trainer for each group of tourists.  He reviewed that you should not approach cats from the front, not touch their heads or paws and pet them firmly not lightly, use no flash, etc.  As the tigers got up and moved the trainer moved us around and we only approached them when they were lying down.

What huge animals!  Their power was obvious and awesome!  We took photos as allowed, rather than paying their photographer to do so.  They say the animals are not drugged, but are raised from cubs. The only control the trainers had was a small stick about 18" long, and hand motions.  I was petting one and he rolled over on his back just like a cat to have his tummy rubbed!

We spent about 15 or 20 minutes with them, then left and walked around looking at the other tigers.  There were several cubs that were born in September and October in a nursery - very cute and rambunctious and chewing on everything, including each other!  We were impressed with the cleanliness and care shown.

After this experience we headed up the mountain to the Queen's Botanical Gardens.  The current Queen, who is in her early 80's now, did a lot for the country in conservation, beautification and preservation of forests and wildlife.  The Botanical Gardens consisted of outside gardens, and about a dozen green houses with plants from all around the world, including carnivorous plants, cacti, beautiful orchids, rain forest trees and plants, medicinal ones, and more. There wasn't much English on the signage, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.  Nice lake and pretty view as well.  There was also a small Natural Science Museum.

 Very unusual tree with waxy fruit that looks like half lemons dipped in wax. - we never did find out its name or where it comes from.

 many gorgeous orchids here and all over Thailand.

This water lily was blooming under water - note the tiny fish.

Banana Blossom and bananas below it.

Going down the mountain we stopped at Mae Sa Noi Waterfall for a brief walk.

Next stop was a tribal village - a government sponsored area which featured small villages for various tribal people, most of whom were demonstrating crafts and selling items.  We approached on a small one-lane dirt road and had to pass an elephant lumbering the other direction. We later saw several including this one who picked up his dinner on the way home!

There were people harvesting rice near the villages.

 We saw Hmong and Longneck Karens as well as a few other.  Some of the people were dressed up (for tourists) and some wore everyday clothes.  Many children playing here and there - the longneck little girls were already wearing the neck rings.  Our driver says the rings cause many problems as the ladies age and most die prematurely, but the tradition continues.

Most of the tribes came from Tibet or from Myanmar (Burma), some fleeing persecution and some just nomadic.  They have their own dialects, but many now can speak Thai as well.  The lady we are buying scarves from in the photo spoke English fairly well.

 We purchased a couple of woven scarves, which they said take about three days to complete and sell for $5-$20.  Some of the housing away from the craft area was pretty primitive, but they did have some electricity and we saw one woman carrying a crock pot!  And there was a small church (Catholic!) at the top of the village. I think I read that there are about 500 Catholics in ChiangMai Province, and there is a Cathedral in town.

We were back at the hotel by 5:00, in time to get cleaned up are ready for a taxi at 6:00 to go meet Chap and Mam at a small German restaurant that is one of their favorites.  The owner is German with a Thai wife who lived in Germany for a few years.  Beautiful buffet with roast pork, sauerbraten, worsts, sauer kraut, mashed potatoes and lots more.  Lovely salads and beautiful desserts! All done by the owner and his wife.  What a feast!

We took a taxi home as Chap, Mam and Mook headed home in the opposite direction.