Today was my earliest start for 2 weeks, I was booked on to a tour through the hostel that left at 07:00! It includes the floating market and tiger temple!

Boarded the minibus, it would take us about 2 hours away to Damnernsaduak floating market, as soon as we left Bangkok I was asleep (I blame the piriton that I'd just taken) and an hour into the journey I can around, and started chatting to some of the others onboard. The journey was long, once we got their we jumped into longboats, and they took us down the canals to the floating market, it was chaos with so many tourist- me included!
Got into paddle boats which meant we were able to go up the canal, seeing what people were selling, and buy gifts, fruit and spices, it was hectic, and for most of the time we were stuck surrounded by other tourist boats! It was so uncomfortable as well, I was glad to get off! Wondered around the market and took some photos. I decided to do the cobra show that was an addition that everyone could do, so for 250 Baht, (£6) - thought I might as well...
(I'm not the best snake fan!)

... The first part of the cobra show was a bit like a zoo, where you can see some of the animals in cages and pens. You then arrive at a little stage area, with aprox 100 seats, taking a seat close, but not the front row, you could just see a mongoose walking back and forth in a cage...!!

(This is pretty sick, you might not want to read!)
.... I can honestly say that I have never seen anything so brutal, I have loads of pictures and some videos, so won't go on to much detail on here, but I found out that snakes have 2 willies, which the staff kindly showed us, not sure why, it was messed up? Then if you think that's bad, they then got a cobra, and chucked it into the cage with the mongoose- and said fight to the death...!? WHAT...!?
The guy talked then said he was joking as the mongoose grabbed the cobra head with its teeth, it might not have been death. But the snakes head was bleeding after only 30 seconds... As they pulled the snake out, the mongoose still hanging on to the cobra's head.... YUK... They had to pull it off.

(if you skipped that bit out, you can read again now!)...!
Back on the minibus now, on route to the Tiger Temple, on route we stopped for lunch at a service station, it was all included and the food was ok... One last stop before the Tiger Temple...

The WWII & Jeath War Museum, which is near the bridge over the River Kwai, which I later found out it was quite a bit place in the war, walked around the museum in about 10 minutes, reading about the history, and then walked over the bridge...! This stop was only 30 minutes, so didn't really have long to look around.

Arriving at Tiger Temple, there was a grand entrance, and the minibus parked up, got my ticket and headed inside... I really don't know what to say, if Margate had a Tiger petting zoo, this is properly what it would look like... It looked rough, not completed, and was in the middle of nowhere. First stop for me was the Tiger Canyon, there must have been about 25 tigers, just laying about in the sun, each one with a trainer... Honestly it looked like they had all been sedated, or at least each of them had drunk a bottle of whiskey! You pass your camera to one of the staff, and they walk around with you taking photos with different tigers, I'm going to sound two faced now, some of the pictures looked good! But overall I think it's so cruel what they are going though... Moving onto the cubs, they were cute... On leads but were playful, and again you can have a picture with one... (my blog pix is of one of the cubs!).... I decided I'd had enough, grabbed a bottle of water and waited for the 3 hour journey back to Bangkok! Halfway back you could see the sky's turning darker and darker... Then the rain started, followed closely by the thunder and lighting... My first day with rain!

Arrived back at Khao San Road, and that's where I'm sitting now writing this, having a beer, with a full tummy, listening to live music, as I can see its raining cats and dogs outside! (The stall traders will just chuck them in the next curry!) lol...! ( only joking, they don't eat cats and dogs in Thailand!).

As soon as I get back to the hostel, I'm going to bed! Night UK