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Aug. 13th, 2010 12:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maggies_lensShots from the day tour to the Kanchanaburi province. We went first to a cemetary which was very beautiful but extremely sad.I got a bit choked up walking around there. It REALLY drives it home to you seeing all those gravestones. Feeling the incredible heat they worked in. Knowing I was just k's from where all these brave young men died. Thousands of them, guys. Thousands of them gave up their lives. There were some kids running around screaming and laughing and one tourist was scowling at them, I couldn't help but think, well, these men died so that these kids COULD run around having fun...
After that we went to the River Kwai. It's very commercial there but that doesn't take away from what the place actually is. Saw the cages they kept the men in. There is only a very small amount of the original bridge left. It was bombed by the allies. They re-built it in iron for the movie etc. It was here where I got to pat my very first tiger!!! Local small zoo with good rep had a baby leopard and a tiger cub. I had a little play. After that we walked out onto the bridge. HOLY COW I was SCARED! I'm not real flash hot with bridges at the best of times. So yeeeeah... :D
What is left of the original bridge, it was wooden. They say the river was so thick with dead bodies of the men forced to work there you couldn't see the water some days :( And to think they still don't teach the kids in Japan about what happened here, or they didn't last I heard, anyway.
This is the one they made for the movie and also so that we can walk it etc.
Looking down the bridge. Yep, narrow. Yep, one person at a time. Yep, take a guess what you have to do when there are 2 people wanting to pass.
The view from where we went to have lunch. Isn't it just beautiful? :)
HELLO, TIGER!!!
Walking the cubs
I made friends with this little fella :) I made him roll over while I was scratching his back and tummy :)
I HAZ A HAPPY!!!!!
Oh yes, hiiiiiighly abused drugged up beaten starving to death tiger *rolls eyes* They treated them with soooo much respect but also clearly love, I can't think WHY anyone who has ANY knowledge of animal husbandry would think they were mistreated. Such big fat happy cats, seriously. And the keepers were VERY protective of them. I earned a nod and smile for the way I handled myself around them from one of the monks :)
NOT impressed someone splashed him!!!!!
Fat bellies, long leashes, a pond and little mountains to play on, and a monk nearby smiling and patting them all the time. Life is good for the cubs at the Temple.
Cutie!!!
Big boy and his wife, having a swim. They have an active breeding program at the Temple. Some say it's not a good thing as they don't keep Western-Standard breeding records. Some say it's a good thing they are breeding a species rapidly dying out in the wild faster than they can be bred in captivity. Make up your own minds.
Monk beating the crap out of a tiger *rolls eyes* See the sheer terror in the tigers eyes?
Walking the tiger!
The head monk leading down one of the groups. He posed for me :D This is the one who nodded at me and smiled when he was watching me move around.
Me! And Craig behind me getting his photo taken too. Tiger fur: softer guard hairs than you would think. EXTREMELY soft and plush under that. This guy enjoyed the scratchies :D
he was ADORABLE!!!!
My absolute utter favourite shot of me EVER! EVER!!!!!
After that we went to the River Kwai. It's very commercial there but that doesn't take away from what the place actually is. Saw the cages they kept the men in. There is only a very small amount of the original bridge left. It was bombed by the allies. They re-built it in iron for the movie etc. It was here where I got to pat my very first tiger!!! Local small zoo with good rep had a baby leopard and a tiger cub. I had a little play. After that we walked out onto the bridge. HOLY COW I was SCARED! I'm not real flash hot with bridges at the best of times. So yeeeeah... :D
What is left of the original bridge, it was wooden. They say the river was so thick with dead bodies of the men forced to work there you couldn't see the water some days :( And to think they still don't teach the kids in Japan about what happened here, or they didn't last I heard, anyway.
This is the one they made for the movie and also so that we can walk it etc.
Looking down the bridge. Yep, narrow. Yep, one person at a time. Yep, take a guess what you have to do when there are 2 people wanting to pass.
The view from where we went to have lunch. Isn't it just beautiful? :)
HELLO, TIGER!!!
Walking the cubs
I made friends with this little fella :) I made him roll over while I was scratching his back and tummy :)
I HAZ A HAPPY!!!!!
Oh yes, hiiiiiighly abused drugged up beaten starving to death tiger *rolls eyes* They treated them with soooo much respect but also clearly love, I can't think WHY anyone who has ANY knowledge of animal husbandry would think they were mistreated. Such big fat happy cats, seriously. And the keepers were VERY protective of them. I earned a nod and smile for the way I handled myself around them from one of the monks :)
NOT impressed someone splashed him!!!!!
Fat bellies, long leashes, a pond and little mountains to play on, and a monk nearby smiling and patting them all the time. Life is good for the cubs at the Temple.
Cutie!!!
Big boy and his wife, having a swim. They have an active breeding program at the Temple. Some say it's not a good thing as they don't keep Western-Standard breeding records. Some say it's a good thing they are breeding a species rapidly dying out in the wild faster than they can be bred in captivity. Make up your own minds.
Monk beating the crap out of a tiger *rolls eyes* See the sheer terror in the tigers eyes?
Walking the tiger!
The head monk leading down one of the groups. He posed for me :D This is the one who nodded at me and smiled when he was watching me move around.
Me! And Craig behind me getting his photo taken too. Tiger fur: softer guard hairs than you would think. EXTREMELY soft and plush under that. This guy enjoyed the scratchies :D
he was ADORABLE!!!!
My absolute utter favourite shot of me EVER! EVER!!!!!
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Date: 2010-08-13 02:29 am (UTC)<3 tigers!!!
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