Just outside of Chiang Mai is the Tiger Temple at which you can walk among dozens of full-grown tigers. While they are chained to stakes, there are no bars separating you from the tigers. You are able to get so close to the tigers that you can –and may- reach out and touch them. I moved my family to Asia so that we could rack up some new experiences. I really wanted to touch a tiger. A friend of mine went last year and I have to admit, the picture of him kneeling next to and petting a reclining seven-foot tiger with more tigers lying around in the background is pretty darn-tooting cool. What a FaceBook profile picture that would make.
Before leaving Hong Kong, I researched the Tiger Temple on the internet.
It’s controversial.
The Buddhist monks who take care of the tigers are not trained biologists or breeders. They have been accused of letting different types of tigers interbreed. There have been allegations that they have illegally sold tigers.
And then there’s that whole letting-tourists-walk-among-the-tigers thing. (In the monks’ defense, there have been no tragic incidents to date.)
So I had to make a decision.
At first I was conflicted. But in the end choosing not to go to the Tiger Temple turned out to be a pretty easy decision.
A visit to a Kayan Lahwi long-neck village -on the other hand- was an all-together different story.
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