No Monkey, Bad Monkey!
Trip Start
Aug 20, 2005
1
32
38
Trip End
May 26, 2006
Lopburi, Thailand
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
I travelled by train from Ayutha to Lopburi, well to get a seat on the train I decided to have breakfast, well the cost of my America breakfast (eggs,toast,sausage and coffee) was 7b (0.14c) dearer than my ticket for the hour long train journey.I tell you railway catering is the same the world over :-) So for my next journey I had to get a local bus (no air con just fans) from Lopburi to Suphanburi.I left my hotel hopeful as I had a bus number and I knew they left every hour.When I got to the bus station none of the bus had numbers, and all the signs were in Thai. ABC in Thai looks like ΏΤα‘ , luckily there was some nice people who showed me where my bus was before I got confused. One of the first things that struck me that was odd about the bus, was the front two seats had been replaced with a baby's cot.There was a few passengers on the bus,I confirmed my destination with one woman (who had three kids with her).She actually turned out to be the ticket seller for the bus. So after we left the bus station, she sold tickets to all the passengers and then sat down with her baby. She then began to breast feed the baby, when she finished we had pulled into a garage, she nipped in to change the little fella while the driver, maybe her husband who knows :-), started to fill up the bus with diesel. She gets back on the bus, sits down and promptly dust the baby all over in talcum powder, not a bad smell folks I might add. She feeds the baby some pureed baby food and he settles down for a nap.I tell you the baby was happy out. The rest of the journey was uneventful just passing by paddy fields,temples and the odd house.
When I was in Oz a lovely couple told me about the "Tiger Temple".A monk, who else :-), rescued a tiger cub. He trained him and the tiger is tamish.So he rescued other tiger cubs and he now has a collection of ten fully grown tigers,four cubs, water buffalos and assorted pigs and deer.You can actually visit this temple, for an "obligatory donation" you can visit and pet a tiger. I mentioned earlier Buddist monks do not kill any living creatures.Well this monk had a bloody big stick with him!The stick was more like 3 foot of "decent, thick wavin pipe and the pipe was scarred,I tell you he is one pacifist I like to have in my corner :-). I read in the web site that tigers are raised by the monks, are tamish, but are still a bit wild.The tigers are not drugged, indeed they are very bloody alert :-)and are heavily chained to the ground.As our group approached the tigers, a couple of them roared, a fearsome noise I can tell you.There are quite a few assistants about, who lead you slowly,by the hand around the back of the tiger.You are told to be very quite and don't make any sudden movements."Coz you don't want to surprise a large tiger now, do you sir!" :-).The tigers are big about three feet off the ground, all muscle, they maybe 15 stone but it is sinew,teeth and muscle.They are like a big house cat, their hair has the same feel but you know they can have you, literally, for dinner.This was something that I really wanted to do but when I heard the roar and saw the chains a primitive self preservation instinct kicked in. There was about eight tigers, twenty or so assistants, one monk and a dozen doubtful tourists.It is an incredible experience to be close to one of the most powerful animals on the planet, it is in a word brilliant! If you ever go to Thailand you must do this.
