Yup, that is me with a tiger tail as a mustache.  Sometimes life is full of unexpectedly amazing moments.  Never in my life did I think I would have this photo or be telling myself that I should probably change because my shirt was too covered in tiger fur, but that is exactly what happened in Thailand.  While in Chiang Mai, I took a trip to Tiger Kingdom and spent a day visiting with tigers.

I want to throw it out there again as I did with my elephant sanctuary post that being responsible about your choices when it comes to wildlife in your travels is really important.  There is a lot of information available, so try to do your homework before you go.  I choose this experience for myself after reading a lot of controversy over whether or not this tigers are drugged, but after talking to some locals, I choose to see it for myself.  I'm not a wildlife expert by any means and I could never know for sure, but I did not feel the tigers were drugged.  I was escorted into the cage with a trainer who never took his eyes off the tiger guided me the whole way and there were only certain ways and places I could approach and touch the tigers.  The tigers I met were pretty actually quite active and the trainer I had even got the small ones to get up and play through the water like a little kittens.





At Tiger Kingdom, the animals are divided into different age groups so you can choose which sizes you'd like to interact with.  I choose the smallest, small, and biggest.  I started with the babies where I was invited in to give one a little morning snack with the bottle and then I got to sit and rub some bellies and do a little snuggling.  The little ones were fun and sweet to be with, but it was the big guys that terrified me a little.