Feline Friends

In an attempt to make up for an entire day of bed ridden illness, I set out on the open road on my scooter. With the wind in my hair (this time with a helmet) I ventured out beyond the moat of the old city, into the outlying areas of Chiang Mai. As I entered the Super Highway I immediately recognized the facade of invincibility I was living as merging cars swarmed around me increasing their speed. I was vulnerable on a motorbike without the armored walls an automobile provides. Intimidated, but determined, I headed North, obeying the illustrated and "universal" road signs directing motorbikes to the left hand side of the highway, as the monsterous cars ferociously zoomed past me. I didn't feel comfortable in my unarmed position on the bike to exceed 50 km/h... the speed limit was 60 km/h. Fortunately, unlike honk-happy Americans, the Thai drivers wove around me without complaint.

As I made my way out of the city, the road signs (save for the illustrations) were written less and less with the English alphabet, and instead offered only the cursive curly ques of Thai font. This added to the challenge of making my way out of town, and somewhere along the way, I took a turn off in the wrong direction, heading East when I wanted to head South. Fortunately, I have a great sense of direction (especially when the sun is shining), and I hodge-podged my way back on track using a combination of sun-compassing, and asking non-English-speaking Thais which way to the 107... to which I mostly received puzzled and embarrassed expressions. Eventually making it back on track, I continued on toward Mae Sa, a valley stocked with tourist attractions such as butterfly farms, botanical gardens, a monkey centre, and... my ultimate destination... Elephants!

Along the route, I saw a huge billboard advertising Tiger Kingdom (http://www.tigerkingdom.com)! What?! My Lonely Planet didn't mention anything about a Tiger Park!!! Being the feline lover that I am, Cats definitely trumped Elephants (at least in chronological order), so I headed off towards the tigers first!

The park catagorized the tigers in terms of age: newborn (3-5 months), adolescent (5-7 months), and adult. 400 Baht to spend 15 minutes with one group, 1000 Baht to spend time with all 3... of course I opted for all 3. Quite expensive by Thai standards... but $30 for the opportunity to actually touch, hold, and spend time with tigers seemed like a deal to me.

I headed off toward the newborns first. Seeing all the tigers in tiny cages definitely triggered a twinge of guilt for participating in the captivity of wildcats... but, as a friend pointed out later, there really is no tiger habitat left, so its captivity or nothing for these felines. I still don't know how I feel about it... sad I guess.

The kitty cubs were so cute! And their paws were as big as mine (tho, with my "baby hands," that's not saying much. All of the cats seemed docile and lethargic... and I wondered if the Park didn't give the tigers some kind of sedative in order to allow visitors this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Ignoring the radical thoughts of my conscience, I tried to simply be present with the tigers... enjoying my time with them... and telepathically transmitting consolation that, "It's okay, I'm not like the other tourists... I'm a friend... and I empathize with their life in these cages with all of these silly tourists pointing and prodding, and that I, unlike all of the other visitors, understand them." And then I realized that, I, just like all the others, exclaimed in excitement whenever the cats did whatever it is cats do, when they're simply Being... and really, I was participating in and part of the exploitation as much as anyone else. So, I left the continuation of these thoughts at the cage door, and reveled in being a tourist.

My favorite moment was in the newborn cage when one of the attendants put the kitten (that was almost as big as me) on my lap! So amazing!

I got a good number of pictures with the cats, using the "swap cameras with the other tourists" method.. you can check them out in the slide show... and if you wanna skip picutres, just send your cursor over the slide show, and arrows will appear that you can click to skip pictures.

I continued up the Mae Sa Valley after my 45 minutes of tigers, in search of my original destination, the Elephants! The mountanous road with corkscrew turns wound up and up in elevation... a whole new adventure on the motorbike... as turns made me most nervous. I arrived at the Elephant camp just after closing... which was okay, because I'd rather attend a camp where I can sit on the actual elephant, rather than on a bench strapped to the elephant. I got to see them anyway... and continued up the valley. In all, I drove over 80 kilometers, and got really comfortable on my bike. And just as I feel like Thailand is seeping in, and I'm beginning to be changed by the Spirit of this land, it's time to go.

I am now in Bangkok, getting ready to leave for India (this evening). I'm leaving my laptop in Thailand, so it is likely more time will lapse between updates... Account after account has warned me that India is indescribable, untrustworthy, and unreliable... and that nothing can really prepare me for what lies ahead.... I'm nervous and excited... and very much looking forward to arriving at Amma's (www.amritapuri.org). More to come!