Despite the additional noise, the rough ride and the drivers inability to pull away smoothly, we both slept reasonably well. As we were arriving in Bangkok we spotted the sky hotel where we will be staying when we come back to Bangkok! Exciting! We arrived late in to Bangkok but still had just enough time for coffee and muffins! We had to get to a different station for our train to Kanchanaburi and Mark found a lovely tuk tuk driver who was desperate to take us! After leaving our coffee for some homeless people we set off in the morning rush! We'd only seen Bangkok in the dark before so were intrigued! There are lots of pink taxis!! We passed the government buildings which were being patrolled by armed police and the army because of all the current protests. There were a few people in red hanging around but nothing to exciting! The journey took longer than we thought but we made it just in time! The train was very old and no air con this time, just wide open windows! We were the only white people around but the Thais aren't ones to make it obvious so we didn't mind! The journey was about 3 hours and we were kept amused by two very cute babies!
We arrived to a rather warm Kanchunaburi and were collected by our guesthouse. We had noticed that Chiang Mai was cooler, but didn't realise just how pleasant it was! Our guesthouse is a little away from the main street but set in lovely gardens beside the river. Our room is very modern and we actually have a separate shower area for once! Woo!
After sorting ourselves out we had lunch in the cafe. The owner, Apple, is known for her cooking and runs cooking courses so we knew it would be yummy!
We managed to book on to a minibus that was going to the Tiger temple so we quickly got sorted and jumped on board! We had read reviews about the treatment of the tigers and that many people think that they are drugged as they are so docile and accepting of strangers. We wanted to see for ourselves and as Mark likes tigers it was a good photo opportunity. Obviously its a temple so monks live there and you aren't allowed in unless you are dressed appropriately, and not wearing red or orange as it can confuse and excite the tigers! It isn't just home to the tigers, there are many wild animals freely roaming around! We were greeted by a few goats!
The tigers themselves were away from other animals in a canyon. There were about 10 tigers in the canyon who were sleeping or chilling watching everyone. The guides work in pairs, one guides you around and sets you up for the photo while the other takes your pictures. It was all done very efficiently and you were able to sit with about 5 of the tigers there. It was a good experience and it was lovely to be so close to such a wild animal! However, there were a couple who looked a little dopey and as though they were unable to control their movements. I watched one guide move a tiger from where he was lay down to sitting with his head on his paws, and then slowly the tiger slid back to lying down. But the monks who care for them deny drugging them and claim that they are tired after exercising and because of the heat, which could well be true as its pretty warm here!
Anyhoo, we went up to another area where more tigers were. There was a baby one skipping around on a lead with a guide. He was very bouncy and very cute!! We hadn't been there long and we were all moved to a safe area as some of the tigers were being brought up. They were led up on leads and then tied to a tree where a monk came to feed them a bottle of milk. Time was getting on so we made our way back to the minibus, we stopped to admire a beautiful peacock who was showing off his feathers!!
We got the driver to drop us in town and we had a mooch around. Its not as great as Chiang Mai and there wasn't much to see other than the river, which we can see from our guesthouse! So we made our way back and spent the evening chilling, having dinner and frog spotting in the garden!