Hong Kong with Tom and Jenneke: Tiger Kingdom and Elephants!

Thailand, Day 1
One of the things we wanted to do the most in Thailand was ride elephants. I found a highly rated tour group that had a half day elephant interaction package. It included transportation to and from our hotel (about 1 hour each way). The package also included dropping us off at Tiger Kingdom and waiting for us on the way if we wanted. (I'm sure the guide/tour company gets a commission for the people they bring). Tiger Kingdom has cages with all different sized tigers and you can get in the cages and interact with the tigers. Originally, the idea of the Tiger Kingdom intrigued us, but we decided against it because what responsible parent lets their children play with tigers? Then I was reading more about it online and one of the reviews said there was a nice buffet restaurant there where you could view the tigers without buying a ticket to the park. We decided we would try that instead. We could gauge the place during lunch, and if nothing else we would get to look at the tigers while we ate a nice meal. Tommy at first was very adamant he did NOT want to get close to any tigers. Then, as we ate lunch and he saw the adults interacting with the full-sized tigers (and not getting attacked), he got excited and really wanted to do it. Kids under 15 can only go in the cages with the very smallest tigers, about 2 months old so we decided we would try it. The kids loved it. Our guide had told us on the way there, the afternoon is the best time to visit (especially with kids) because the tigers are usually fed in the morning and then they sleep in the afternoon.

They let us in the cage in small groups (2-5) and each group had a trainer that stayed with them the whole time. He had a stick he could use to keep the tiger away if it got too feisty. We spent a couple minutes with each of the tigers. One of the tigers had just woken up from his nap and clearly wanted to play. He kept jumping on the trainer and biting his jeans. The trainer quickly moved us to a different tiger behind a different gate. (That tiger actually ended up biting one of the women in the other groups. It didn't break the skin or anything, she just had a small red mark on her arm. Kind of like a baby with new teeth that wants to bite everything.) The kids were great with the tigers and thought it was a lot of fun. We even got to lie down on one of the tigers and use it for a pillow.

holding hands with the tiger

After the tigers, we headed to the elephant farm. We changed into outfits they provided so we were covered and didn't get our own clothes dirty. (They told me on the phone they bought new outfits for the kids the day before. I guess they don't get many kids that age). We went over and met the elephants and made friends with them by feeding them lots of bananas. The farm only uses female elephants for riding because female Asian elephants don't have tusks. Male and female African elephants both have tusks. We put the bananas right in their mouths which meant sticking most of your hand in their mouth as well. Charlotte wasn't so sure about it at first, but she eventually warmed up to it.

Tommy feeding our elephant

Charlotte feeding the elephant with some help from our mahout

This angle looks like we are feeding Charlotte to the elephant

After we finished feeding the elephants, we sat on the steps and the owner went through some basic Thai elephant commands. Tommy kept whispering questions to me, he was concerned we were done with the elephants. Then it was time to ride the elephants. Tommy and I got on the first (and smaller) elephant. Normally, the elephant kneels down and you put your leg on her knee, then kick your leg over like you would mount a horse. The mahouts (elephant trainers) quickly figured out the kids were way too small to do this, so they had the elephants lie down and we lifted them up.

Tommy and me

Charlotte and Tom

This program is designed for two riders on each elephant. There were 2 ropes on each elephant, but because I was sitting so far forward to keep a grip on Tommy, I wasn't able to sit in the correct position to have a firm grasp on either rope. I was also sitting right on the shoulders so I was moving back and forth a lot with each step. I felt very unstable as we started to walk. There are many different elephant farms that use this area, and about that time, we saw a group go by that had seats on top of the elephant on which to sit. I was really second guessing my decision to book a bareback tour instead. I realized that maybe putting my small children 10 feet off the ground on top of an elephant wasn't the most responsible parenting decision. After the tigers this morning, I was sure someone was going to revoke our parenting license.

After walking about 100 feet, we were ready to cross the river. The mahout noticed I was uncomfortable and had me move back on the elephant so I could really grip the second rope. I was only able to keep one hand on Tommy, but I figured it was better to have one hand on him and be secure myself, than have a firm grip on him while I fell off. After that I felt much better. When we crossed the river, our mahout sat on the elephant's head so he didn't have to get wet. I think he also wanted to have better control of the elephant. I had promptly forgotten the one Thai command I needed. My elephant kept veering to the left to eat everything in sight. I could only remember how to tell it to go left and straight, but not to the right. Tom and Charlotte's mahout walked in the river behind the elephants and the elephant snorted a trunk full of water at him.

We walked along the river and up and down a small hill for about 10 minutes, then we went back into the water. This time, we got off and got to bathe the elephants. It was a lot of fun. The elephants really seemed to enjoy it. The mahout had Tommy stand on top of our elephant for a picture. He didn't speak much English, but he kept saying "for photo".