Tiger Temple / Kanchanaburi Province. (thoughts?)

[Cuban]

I have read a post on TV in the past about the tigers here as well as seen part of the National Geographic/Discovery channel programme on the same. I have some free time in a few weeks and wanted to travel to a different part of the country, this would appear to be an interesting place to visit. Any thoughts or comments about this Wat? ...or other suggestions would be welcomed.

Tiger Wat FAQ

Must remember not to ask for a rug at the gift shop.

[rgs2001uk]

cuban

make sure you have your own transport, this wat is out in the sticks and a bit difficult to reach.

cost to enter is 300 baht, make sure you are not wearing a bright coloured shirt, red orange etc, or you will not be allowed in, there is a sign written in english stating what colours are not allowed,you will have to buy a new one, cost 300 baht for t shirt or 500 baht for polo shirt, if you are wearing the wrong colour.

it was more like an open farm, with plenty of other animals wandering around.

i think they have about 12 tigers the monks bring out, about 12:30 in the afternoon, before taking them for a 2 or 3 minute walk to what resembles a quarry, there then follows the usual photo opportunity, take your own camera, the monks will then photograph you beside the tigers for free, make a donation on the way out.

last time i was there a couple of the tigers were riled up, and had to be taken to the back of the quarry, kept out of harms way.

well worth combining a visit to the wat with a visit to the bridge over the river kwai, war cemetry etc in the morning, after lunch head to the wat, after finishing at the wat, head for one of the waterfalls in the area.

a good day out from bkk, as all the above can be done in a day, well worth it, something different, although the wat is gearing up for tourists to help provide funds for this very worthwhile project.

[Cuban]

Thank you - useful feedback, particulaly about clothes, I drive anyway so I just need to mark my maps to suit and see what else is in the area.

Any hotel thoughts, a friend mentioned his GF's research finding this hotel. Although I prefer my home comforts to these huts, we stayed in a similar place in Pai at Christmas.

[Galong]

I have read a post on TV in the past about the tigers here as well as seen part of the National Geographic/Discovery channel programme on the same. I have some free time in a few weeks and wanted to travel to a different part of the country, this would appear to be an interesting place to visit. Any thoughts or comments about this Wat? ...or other suggestions would be welcomed.

Must remember not to ask for a rug at the gift shop.

This is a major money-making scheme by the monks and they are making a killing thanks to TV shows not doing enough research before promoting such a place. Who has verified that the tigers were brought in to be protected? Are we supposed to believe everything a monk says just because he's a monk? This is a business plain and simple.

Yes, the tiger are drugged. They are WILD animals and just because the monks 'brought' them up doesn't mean that they now fully accept being forced to sit with countless tourists and get their photos taken. If they are not drugged, it is simply a matter of time before someone gets an arm ripped off. If they are drugged, then the monks are lying and therefore they're probably lying about other aspects of their little zoo.

Sigfreid and Roy hand-reared their tiger... remember what happened then? Type in "tiger attacks" in Google and see what you get. Go to the Thorntree Forum and search "Tiger temple" and you'll get plenty of accurate, unbiased information. Here is one thread

And here is another

[rgs2001uk]

cuban

sorry cant help with hotels.

live in bkk, so this was a day out.

[Galong]

Sorry, I see that those two links don't work. Cut and paste http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagep...amp;iCountryId=

[Austhaied]

This is from your link.. Galong

I think youve got to look at the bigger picture here. These monks didnt all sit down together and say 'hey guys Ive got a great idea how to make some cash, lets go get us some tigers and charge people to come look at them!'

These tigers were brought to the monks by villagers who had no other way to care for them. The monks took them on as well as many other animals and now have to feed and care for them.

This is not a western country with tonnes of money to spend on fancy zoo's and enclosures for animals. The conservation issue has only just come to light in recent years so these monks are doing the best they can.

OP I was there a week ago and I am a huge animal liberation supporter. Although the enclosures/setup were no 'ideal' they were good considering what they have to work with. Did you not see the new enclosure design that they are trying to get happening? the new enclosure that only tourists money will pay for? Not everything is like it is back home different countries have different ways. There is nowhere left for these animals to live with poachers and deforestation so I say good on anybody who wants to help them out. The ideal is them living in their own jungle habitat but thats just not a reality anymore.

Oh and I think you misunderstood the whole photo thing. If you wanted a 'professional photo' done by them it cost you but you were not charged at all to use your own camera. I had about 10 great photos taken with my camera by the 'yellow people' and they said you could go around as many times as you want. I even went to buy a bottle of water and handed over a 100bht note only to have it handed back to me as the bottled water was free. Being touched by this I put the note in the donation box instead and was suprised to be offered one of the necklaces they were selling no charge for my donation.

I thought the tiger temple are doing wonders with what they have to work with. Perhaps next time you should check out the whole situation rather than just having a hissy fit and leaving.

MY 2 CENTS

I would have to say this is 100 % correct. I have been many a time and they are doing the best they can for many many animals. Is there any point to slagging off Thai monks ?? What are you doing to help a species survive or help this fragile planet out.. Yeah thought so..

Edited May 14, 2007 by Austhaied

[tw25rw]

I went there a year ago. Took a taxi from Sukhumwit for the day far 2,500 baht. It's about 3 hours away and you need to get there by about mid day. There is free food and water available.

It was fun to see the tigers close up, especially the cubs, but your contact with them is actually very short. You only get to touch the adults, and that's once they are secured and docile down in the quarry.

I have some good photos of me stroking the big adults (which are not nearly as cuddly as they look), as well as the playful cubs.

It's too far to go from BKK just for the tigers, so definitely combine with a stop in Kanchanburi itself.

Also, do print off the map in English and Thai.

Highlight of the trip.. my driver offering his hand to a cub and getting bitten... kept his fingers though.

I saw no evidence of them being drugged or mistreated or of any real commercial activity. In fact there was only about 20 visitors there, so they are not going to have much cash left after feeding the tigers and other animals.

[Nignoy]

I can recommend the tiger temple as a growing successful wildlife protection scheme, that is definitely financially helped by tourist contributions, the accessible mature tigers are well balanced mentally and not under any form of narcotic influence,the reason there is no access to the cubs ,is because of their boisterous nature and playful scratches infect easily,As a retired master zookeeper and zoo curator I worked with tigers quite a lot, and it was through my job that I first visited the abbot in the early 90,s ,I was impressed with his knowledge and the way he has trained the monks and staff over the years.2 Years ago on my last visit I took a group of Blind friends from UK to visit the Abbot and the tigers, they spent a glorious day which I am sure they will never forget. Nobody got attacked or eaten, In my personal experience the only people who get injured with any form owild animal in captivity, are keepers being careless , visitors showing off ,not paying attention to their children, I lost 2 very good zookeeper colleagues through tiger attack and elephant attack in UK and Germany. The facility is definitely worth a visit there are also Plenty of easily accessible hotels and resorts within 30 minutes drive. Nignoy

[Kan Win]

Any hotel thoughts, a friend mentioned his GF's research finding this hotel. Although I prefer my home comforts to these huts, we stayed in a similar place in Pai at Christmas.

A couple of links for you, places to stay in Kan

Places to stay in Kan 1

Places to stay in Kan 2 (Thai with some English)

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[tw25rw]

This is my first attempt at posting photos, so here goes..

Note the muscles on the cub in the tree!

[frenchfarangjomtien]

Hello,

Any hotel near the tiger temple at Kanchanaburi ? (by near I mean at walking distance)

Or what is the closest to the temple ?

Thanks.

[malamala]

Galong - your reference to Roy and Siegfried is not exactly a right example.

an excerpt from wikipedia:

Montecore had been trained by Horn since he was a cub; he had performed with the act for six years. Fischbacher, appearing on the Larry King interview program, said Horn fell during the act and Montecore was attempting to drag him to safety, as a mother tigress would pull one of her cubs by the neck. Fischbacher said Montecore had no way of knowing that Horn, unlike a tiger cub, did not have fur and thick skin covering his neck and that his neck was vulnerable to injury. Fischbacher said if Montecore had wanted to injure Horn, the tiger would have snapped his neck and shaken him back and forth.

[tw25rw]

Hello,

Any hotel near the tiger temple at Kanchanaburi ? (by near I mean at walking distance)

Or what is the closest to the temple ?

Thanks.

The temple is out in the country. When I went there was nothing much around there, but that was 5 years ago before it got really popular.