Tiger Temple Part 2

After feeding the three month old tiger I got to hold and cuddle a one month old tiger. There were only two one month old tigers there. We weren't supposed to pick them up and carry them or drag them around. If you did, they would squeal. One of the handlers handed me the baby and I headbutted it as long as it would tolerate me. The tiger gave me a little bath, licking at my hand, but of course (just like Bailey), wouldn't lick Ross.

This is our guide, Jackie. He was super cool and the tiger knew him, so wanted to be with him instead of me.
After we cuddled the baby(est) tiger, the monks said prayers. We sat quietly and pet the tigers if they came around. After prayers we had breakfast. They brought out the stuff we had presented as offerings, except for what the monks had kept for themselves. The monks only eat once a day, and apparently they likes they shugga. Only a couple of the chocolate wafer cookies made it out front, and the Dunkin Donuts were gone. Yeah, one group brought donuts. The tourists were allowed to eat first. I was first in line, and actually Ross, Jackie and I were the only ones in our group who ate--the rest of the food went to the volunteers and staff. Ross had rice with green curry. I had rice and vegetables, and some noodles.

Oh, our group. As a bonus, lucky unbirthday present there were only 8 tourists that morning. One of the guides said that the last couple of days had been crazy, with over 30 tourists. The limit is supposed to be 20, but you know how that goes. With only 8 tourists we weren't fighting over the tigers. Each couple got their own 3 month old to feed.

After breakfast we continued playing with the tigers. The female on the right was a jerk. She kept waking up her sister, and then she was biting the baby--and the poor baby cried. Here I am telling the older tiger to quit being a jerk and to leave the baby alone. The lady in the white shirt in the background was crazy. She totally played with the jerk and let it bite her repeatedly.

After temple time with the youngest tigers we moved on to some bigger ones.

Thailand: Wat Pho

Our first official stop in Bangkok was Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. We saw a large sitting Buddha, a large standing Buddha, and then the epic reclining Buddha as the grand finale.

There were courtyards in the temple surrounded by rows of Buddhas that looked out into the courtyard. This is a row of the sitting Buddhas. A separate courtyard had rows of standing Buddhas.

The reclining Buddha had mother of pearl inlaid into the soles of his feet.

The Buddha just towered over us as we walked by.

Ross had fun saying "Wat Pho!?!" for the rest of the trip.