Tiger Park & Restaurant

[davidgtr]

Wow, here was a new one for me: The Mae Rim Tiger Park & Restaurant.

In Thai, but click on the Tiger Kingdom link for photos.

I couldn't believe it until Id seen it with my own eyes & it's for real.

Excellent food & service, & worth checking out with the kids.

Anyone else been out there?

Sorry no photos, because I didn't have my camera as I'd just ducked out for a beer & bike test ride. You know how it goes.

[Jefferson]

Is it officially open yet? Any idea how much they charge? (Adult, kids.. same price for foreigners I assume) ?

Looks awesome.. I do hope they drug the tigers like they do at the Kanchanaburi tiger temple so you can have your picture taken with them.

[sylviex]

Could someone who reads Thai give us some more info ?

Is it genuinely tiger friendly ?

How do we "adopt" (I assume it means something like "sponsor")?

[davidgtr]

I just went & had a couple beers in the restaurant at dusk.

To be honest it didn't look the place where you get in with the tigers, unless you had a few too many beers & then you'd end up with one hel_l of a hangover.

There was no entry fee to go & have some food 'n drink.

[CLASBYCLAN]

Wow, here was a new one for me: The Mae Rim Tiger Park & Restaurant.

In Thai, but click on the Tiger Kingdom link for photos.

I couldn't believe it until Id seen it with my own eyes & it's for real.

Excellent food & service, & worth checking out with the kids.

Anyone else been out there?

Sorry no photos, because I didn't have my camera as I'd just ducked out for a beer & bike test ride. You know how it goes.

Can you tell me how to get there please? My son loves tigers and I love beer!

[davidgtr]

Wow, here was a new one for me: The Mae Rim Tiger Park & Restaurant.

In Thai, but click on the Tiger Kingdom link for photos.

I couldn't believe it until Id seen it with my own eyes & it's for real.

Excellent food & service, & worth checking out with the kids.

Anyone else been out there?

Sorry no photos, because I didn't have my camera as I'd just ducked out for a beer & bike test ride. You know how it goes.

Can you tell me how to get there please? My son loves tigers and I love beer!

It's on the Mae Taeng - Hang Dong irrigation canal out at Mae Rim.

To get there from Chiang Mai, take R107 North to Mae Rim

Go past Mae Rim & turn left onto R1096 the "Mae Sa Valley road."

Go down R1096 267 metres to the irrigation canal.

At the irrigation canal, turn right & head "north."

Go 700 metres along the irrigation canal & turn left, go 100 metres & you're there.

Note with the irrigation canal, there are roads either side of it. The road on the east (Mae Rim side) is better than the one on the west (Mae Sa side.)

Go at dusk when it's cooling off & the cold beer tastes best.

[sylviex]

(Please don't drink and drive .)

Thanks, davidgtr. Look forward to further reports.

[Austhaied]

Is it officially open yet? Any idea how much they charge? (Adult, kids.. same price for foreigners I assume) ?

Looks awesome.. I do hope they drug the tigers like they do at the Kanchanaburi tiger temple so you can have your picture taken with them.

A close friend of mine works at The Tiger Temple in Kan, and i can assure you they are not drugged. Where did you get this slanderous info from?

[Johpa]

It's on the Mae Taeng - Hang Dong irrigation canal out at Mae Rim.

Crikey! I do hope they have secure cages I mean it is one thing for the other animals in the Mae Rim menagerie of tourist attractions to escape, but tigers raise an entire new element of concern. It would be just a short tiger walk up to the Prem School for a nice IB flavored morsel of hominid meat.

[Tywais]

Is it officially open yet?

The page shows 24th of March as the Grand Opening.

[Goshawk]

oh deer.. the last thing CM needs is this. Just another guy with a few captive tigers probably kept in crap conditions, looking for the tourist pound/dollar/yen etc.. etc..

its a wannabe zoo folks.. avoid it !

seek the true wild tigers of Thailand if thats your desire, they do exist but not in Chiangmai..!!

[Jefferson]

A close friend of mine works at The Tiger Temple in Kan, and i can assure you they are not drugged. Where did you get this slanderous info from?

It's only slanderous if it's false. I thought it's pretty well known that it's a bad place / tourist trap? Some googling yields plenty reports, like:

We visited the Tiger Temple at Kanchanaburi and the experience was pretty heartbreaking. The Tigers are drugged out of their minds and put on show in an old quarry pit that is 45 deg C plus.

I took photos of one of the keepers (monks) drugging them.

They really play up the "experience" by telling you not to wear bright colours etc as this makes the tigers dangerous. These tigers could barely open their eyes, let alone their mouths.

This place is exploitation at its best. The conditions are horrendous for all the animals here. At 300 baht per head entrance fee where is all the money going? It used to be 20 Baht. The locals I spoke to don't like what is going on. Thats why it's not included in many of the tour packages.

Avoid this place at all costs.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g2979...nchanaburi.html

[Jefferson]

David, this is the find of the century.. I'm there right now, great food, free wifi, aircon restaurant.. Even without the tigers it'd be a find, and watching the tigers including young ones is FREE! There's a buffet (200 baht) or a menu with very reasonable prices. Most dishes 80 baht, fried or steamed whole fish 150, one plate stuff 60

More later.

[Jefferson]

Some pictures. It's really nice, they have some young tigers (couple months) as well as around 1 year, which are a lot bigger. They alternate letting the younger and older ones out in the play area or otherwise the younger ones could get hurt. Then the restaurant is basically around this area, with a nice cool aircon area as well, which is really welcome this season.

They also have 5 year old tigers which are HUGE. These had baby tigers that are still too young to show, but they have a camera + TV set up so you can view them. In a couple months time it will be possible to bottle-feed the baby tigers.. BTW, these tigers were really really active.. They really appear 'on the hunt', pounce on anything including each other, play tug-of-war with a branch and really do seem to enjoy being around and in the water. (If they're drugged then it's with ya-E! No way could you get in with them for taking pictures, they seem very eager to jump on anything.

A special mention goes out to the staff.. Both the hyper polite restaurant staff as well as the girls who take you around the grounds and explain things in good English. They're cute too.

This is a stellar place, a real asset to tourism in that area.

Edited April 19, 2008 by Jefferson

[tigerbeer]

thanks for the pictures Jefferson. have to make a trip out there one of these days! maybe tomorrow actually.

i particularly enjoyed the last picture of a cute staff.

[Jefferson]

Crikey! I do hope they have secure cages I mean it is one thing for the other animals in the Mae Rim menagerie of tourist attractions to escape, but tigers raise an entire new element of concern. It would be just a short tiger walk up to the Prem School for a nice IB flavored morsel of hominid meat.

Well, they have electric fencing. "What could possibly go wrong?"

And indeed the tigers display a special fondness towards children.. There was a small kid there and the 1 year olds got real excited, rattled the cage a bit and so on.. "They just love children" said the guide chick......... Couldn't help but interpret this slightly different from when such a phrase is said about a golden retriever puppy.

[BlackArtemis]

I just got back from a visit to the Mae Sai Elephant camp since a friend came to visit and I remembered reading this thread. WOW! I have nothing but good to say about this place, the food was good, the staff was amazing and it was great to watch some tiger cubs play in the water. They have 2 adults, 2 1 year olds, 4 5 months, and 4 infants who will make their appearances in 2 weeks. They also caught a Leopard in the wild around the place. They said they hope to have a much larger enclosement and resort up and running by December. They stem off of www.ubonzoo.com

[lightstar]

Thanks for the photos of those cuuuute tigers!!! And for directions from davidgtr.

Out of curiosity, how long should the drive take to get there on a motorbike?

[Ajarn]

Thanks for the photos of those cuuuute tigers!!! And for directions from davidgtr.

Out of curiosity, how long should the drive take to get there on a motorbike?

From where??

[Austhaied]

A close friend of mine works at The Tiger Temple in Kan, and i can assure you they are not drugged. Where did you get this slanderous info from?

It's only slanderous if it's false. I thought it's pretty well known that it's a bad place / tourist trap? Some googling yields plenty reports, like:

We visited the Tiger Temple at Kanchanaburi and the experience was pretty heartbreaking. The Tigers are drugged out of their minds and put on show in an old quarry pit that is 45 deg C plus.

I took photos of one of the keepers (monks) drugging them.

They really play up the "experience" by telling you not to wear bright colours etc as this makes the tigers dangerous. These tigers could barely open their eyes, let alone their mouths.

This place is exploitation at its best. The conditions are horrendous for all the animals here. At 300 baht per head entrance fee where is all the money going? It used to be 20 Baht. The locals I spoke to don't like what is going on. Thats why it's not included in many of the tour packages.

Avoid this place at all costs.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g2979...nchanaburi.html

If some bohemian farangs said it, it must be true.. The fact you found it on "google" also must make it absolute.

Would you like your half full glass topped up kind sir ?

[Jefferson]

Out of curiosity, how long should the drive take to get there on a motorbike?

About 20 minutes: Google maps link

[highlander76]

Is it officially open yet? Any idea how much they charge? (Adult, kids.. same price for foreigners I assume) ?

Looks awesome.. I do hope they drug the tigers like they do at the Kanchanaburi tiger temple so you can have your picture taken with them.

What sh$t you talk mate the tigers at Kanchanaburi tiger temple are not drugged was there two years ago when one of younger tigers charged at us when waiting to take photos the speed it move at was unreal what you have to remember is the tigers have been cared for since they were cubs and during the day tigers are very lazy

[Johpa]

They also caught a Leopard in the wild around the place.

Wow, having lived off and on in the "wilds" around that place for decades, the last time I remember anyone stumbling upon a wild cat was around 1987, more of a bobcat, not a leopard. Although my father-in-law has a "trophy" picture of himself with a larger cat draped over his shoulders that was taken sometime in the 1970s.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Is it officially open yet? Any idea how much they charge? (Adult, kids.. same price for foreigners I assume) ?

Looks awesome.. I do hope they drug the tigers like they do at the Kanchanaburi tiger temple so you can have your picture taken with them.

What sh$t you talk mate the tigers at Kanchanaburi tiger temple are not drugged was there two years ago when one of younger tigers charged at us when waiting to take photos the speed it move at was unreal what you have to remember is the tigers have been cared for since they were cubs and during the day tigers are very lazy

What are you some sort of big cat Veterinary expert? How the heck could you say definitively? The only way is to drug test them. Lets face it petting large tigers by the public is an unusual attraction in this world. Why is it unusual? because they are very dangerous predators who have been known to hunt humans in places like India. Ever hear about Siegfried and Roy? That guy practically was tiger's father and it still tried to kill him.

Its not illogical to suspect they are drugged because we haven't read any stories of tigers killing visitors in Thailand.

This is analogous to saying "Lance Armstrong" or whoever does not dope because I have a friend who knows Lance. You have to be kidding right?

[Austhaied]

Is it officially open yet? Any idea how much they charge? (Adult, kids.. same price for foreigners I assume) ?

Looks awesome.. I do hope they drug the tigers like they do at the Kanchanaburi tiger temple so you can have your picture taken with them.

What sh$t you talk mate the tigers at Kanchanaburi tiger temple are not drugged was there two years ago when one of younger tigers charged at us when waiting to take photos the speed it move at was unreal what you have to remember is the tigers have been cared for since they were cubs and during the day tigers are very lazy

What are you some sort of big cat Veterinary expert? How the heck could you say definitively? The only way is to drug test them. Lets face it petting large tigers by the public is an unusual attraction in this world. Why is it unusual? because they are very dangerous predators who have been known to hunt humans in places like India. Ever hear about Siegfried and Roy? That guy practically was tiger's father and it still tried to kill him.

Its not illogical to suspect they are drugged because we haven't read any stories of tigers killing visitors in Thailand.

This is analogous to saying "Lance Armstrong" or whoever does not dope because I have a friend who knows Lance. You have to be kidding right?

The tigers in Kanchanaburi are exersized then well fed before the tourists arrive. Their trainer who happens to be the abbot of the temple has raised most of them from cubs and reads their behaviour very well. He knows when to tell people to back off and wont let certain types of people anywhere near them.

The tigers probably pick up on your "state of mind" so i wouldnt recommend going there with an attitude, so to speak.

That would leave out most of the Tvisa members.

[Gonzo the Face]

Is it officially open yet? Any idea how much they charge? (Adult, kids.. same price for foreigners I assume) ?

Looks awesome.. I do hope they drug the tigers like they do at the Kanchanaburi tiger temple so you can have your picture taken with them.

What sh$t you talk mate the tigers at Kanchanaburi tiger temple are not drugged was there two years ago when one of younger tigers charged at us when waiting to take photos the speed it move at was unreal what you have to remember is the tigers have been cared for since they were cubs and during the day tigers are very lazy

What are you some sort of big cat Veterinary expert? How the heck could you say definitively? The only way is to drug test them. Lets face it petting large tigers by the public is an unusual attraction in this world. Why is it unusual? because they are very dangerous predators who have been known to hunt humans in places like India. Ever hear about Siegfried and Roy? That guy practically was tiger's father and it still tried to kill him.

Its not illogical to suspect they are drugged because we haven't read any stories of tigers killing visitors in Thailand.

This is analogous to saying "Lance Armstrong" or whoever does not dope because I have a friend who knows Lance. You have to be kidding right?

The tigers in Kanchanaburi are exersized then well fed before the tourists arrive. Their trainer who happens to be the abbot of the temple has raised most of them from cubs and reads their behaviour very well. He knows when to tell people to back off and wont let certain types of people anywhere near them.

The tigers probably pick up on your "state of mind" so i wouldnt recommend going there with an attitude, so to speak.

That would leave out most of the Tvisa members.

..... and they have their own 'MODS MENU". The tigers say that they are tough but chewy, like jerky.

[Sojourner]

Went with the family last Sunday and enjoyed it very much. All the animals were out and about and very frisky. They did keep the young ones caged up while the adults were out and then reversed that when the cubs had their turn.

I understand they are open until 10 PM. Has anyone been there after dark? Are the cats out and is there enough artifical light to see them prowl?

[Galong]

With the extreme amount of cruelty to animals in Thailand I can't believe that any intelligent person would even CONSIDER visiting a place that has captive endangered animals like tigers. There is a ton of information about how tigers are treated in the Kanchanaburi temple/zoo. This is a massive money-making scam and the monks are in it for the huge amount of money they pull in from unsuspecting tourists.

Of course the tigers are drugged there too. If they weren't it would just be a matter of time before someone got an arm ripped off... or worse. To think that the monks are experts on tiger behavior is simply silly (to be polite). Volunteers have seen the tigers given drugs. There's a lot of evidence online. Do some research for Christ's sake. You're thinking about supporting animal cruelty!

Austhaied, you're living in a fantasy world if you don't think the tigers in the temple are drugged. What's worse, slander or cruelty to an endangered animal?

[Gonzo the Face]

With the extreme amount of cruelty to animals in Thailand I can't believe that any intelligent person would even CONSIDER visiting a place that has captive endangered animals like tigers. There is a ton of information about how tigers are treated in the Kanchanaburi temple/zoo. This is a massive money-making scam and the monks are in it for the huge amount of money they pull in from unsuspecting tourists.

Of course the tigers are drugged there too. If they weren't it would just be a matter of time before someone got an arm ripped off... or worse. To think that the monks are experts on tiger behavior is simply silly (to be polite). Volunteers have seen the tigers given drugs. There's a lot of evidence online. Do some research for Christ's sake. You're thinking about supporting animal cruelty!

Austhaied, you're living in a fantasy world if you don't think the tigers in the temple are drugged. What's worse, slander or cruelty to an endangered animal?

We, each of us, has our own opinion, and I believe rightly entitled to our opinions. But where I have a problem is when a poster makes statements including words such as "scam", "drugged", impuning the integerty of monks in general, without offering any proof stronger than " of course" . The posters opinion would be better served if they expanded on the "of course" with some type of proof or documentation, other than letting us hear their gut feeling.

If you have proof, post it. Let each of us decide for ourself, based on your proof, if not don't slander based on which way the wind blows your skirt. Actually this could go for many posts on this forum. If its your opinion, say its your opinion and be on. If not too many others will embelish on your opinion and make it their fact to prove whatever

JMHO

[Ulysses G.]

With the extreme amount of cruelty to animals in Thailand I can't believe that any intelligent person would even CONSIDER visiting a place that has captive endangered animals like tigers. There is a ton of information about how tigers are treated in the Kanchanaburi temple/zoo. This is a massive money-making scam and the monks are in it for the huge amount of money they pull in from unsuspecting tourists.

Of course the tigers are drugged there too. If they weren't it would just be a matter of time before someone got an arm ripped off... or worse. To think that the monks are experts on tiger behavior is simply silly (to be polite). Volunteers have seen the tigers given drugs. There's a lot of evidence online. Do some research for Christ's sake. You're thinking about supporting animal cruelty!

Austhaied, you're living in a fantasy world if you don't think the tigers in the temple are drugged. What's worse, slander or cruelty to an endangered animal?

We, each of us, has our own opinion, and I believe rightly entitled to our opinions. But where I have a problem is when a poster makes statements including words such as "scam", "drugged", impuning the integerty of monks in general, without offering any proof stronger than " of course" . The posters opinion would be better served if they expanded on the "of course" with some type of proof or documentation, other than letting us hear their gut feeling.

Galong probably thinks that it is just common sense that the Tigers must be drugged.

All I can say is that there are some really stupid people out there if they are not.