Efficient driving. Low revs, early gear changes. Ensuring road-speed matching. Changing down only when necessary. Accelerating progressively, yet gently. These are all things that our driver had no knowledge or intention of following. Sitting at the back, I was lucky enough to be somewhat oblivious to the dangerous driving that we were all enduring; at one point we were actually doing 108 km/h whilst less than one foot from a car infront. Yes my watch had GPS-lock, so that's measured.
All of this lack of health and safety (and more, such as the handrail-less Bridge below), is strangely refreshing. No longer was I bound to the paper-pushing, nanny-state communism of the UK; I was free to take my own decisions and face the consequences of acting stupidly. And how many people have fallen off this bridge - none, according to the guide.
On from the bridge to a train stop 30 minutes away, we all boarded a train, perhaps constructed during WWII. The journey took us over a bridge crossing a perilously steep drop. I was bold enough to hang out of the train to capture a quick snap, though one of the girls in our convoy was not so lucky - her camera was taken by a theiving tree branch whilst she carelessly dangled her entire upper-frame from the window. Tut tut, bad tree, bad.
And finally a quick, but all too brief stop to visit the puddies. According to the girl from Surrey on placement, it turns out the best way to experience the Tigers, is by early arrival and paying around £100 for a full day. I'm happy with my half an hour spent debating whether to touch the tackle of this thing or not - it didn't matter how much the very nice Thai lady said "you can touch, you can touch", I just wasn't all that keen.
On large chained leaches and fed cooked meat, so as not to associate blood with food, I'm quite certain that the Tigers receive better dental and health care than the locals that look after them. I still feel, and quite strongly, that these majestic creatures should be in the wild where they belong and not subject to the "oohs" and "ahs" of passing-by punters.
So an intriguing day; one where I met an exceptionally well travelled and friendly gay couple from Singapore - one of whom is a fellow Dragon Boater. A couple from Minesota that I was convinced were in fact mother and son. A pair of girls from Chigaco, more interested in themselves and purchasing jewellry than culture and history. A German solo traveller, whose eyes were created from precisely the same substance as the emerald buddah. Yet throughout the day we all bonded and formed relationships, which whilst some may become stagnant on facebook, have gone some way in restoring my faith in humanity.
The Tigers are amazing but did you notice they had been declawed? I have seen those tigers on The Lion Man, they are treated like gods arent they? The priests love them so much. Brilliant pictures ...
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