First of all, there was a miscommunication between Tuk and me. I thought we were going to a coconut farm this weekend. Nope, we went to a CROCODILE farm – big difference. The crocodile farm is a famous tourist spot in Bangkok and bills itself as the largest in the world. Based on the large number of crocs I saw I can’t argue with the claim. However, in addition to the crocs they have elephants, tigers, and chimpanzees as well.
I went to the farm with Tuk and Ohm from the office and almost as soon as we got there I saw a tiger lying on the ground underneath a thatched roof gazebo – it was not in a cage. I believe he had a chain on him and he was next to his handler, snoozing in the open air. I soon realized he was available for picture taking (for only 100 baht). I got in line for my picture with the tiger.
The handler woke the tiger up and made him sit up for our photo-op. He also allowed me to put my hand on the tigers head but did not want me to pet it – I’m not sure why. Both Tuk and Ohm watched nervously while I knelt behind the tiger and let the staff take pictures. Tuk also took pictures and I have posted them with this blog.
I went to the farm with Tuk and Ohm from the office and almost as soon as we got there I saw a tiger lying on the ground underneath a thatched roof gazebo – it was not in a cage. I believe he had a chain on him and he was next to his handler, snoozing in the open air. I soon realized he was available for picture taking (for only 100 baht). I got in line for my picture with the tiger.
The handler woke the tiger up and made him sit up for our photo-op. He also allowed me to put my hand on the tigers head but did not want me to pet it – I’m not sure why. Both Tuk and Ohm watched nervously while I knelt behind the tiger and let the staff take pictures. Tuk also took pictures and I have posted them with this blog.
Next, we walked by a series of enclosures that had some of the ugliest crocs I have ever seen. At first, I thought they were rare species. But, after reading signs like “Saddle Back Crocodile”, “Eyeless Crocodile”, “Tailess Crocodile”, and “Crocodile with Hooked Tail” I came to the conclusion I was in the freak show part of the zoo and these were simply deformed crocs.
After the crocodile horror show we moved on to the elephant entertainment. We went to an outdoor theatre and saw a twenty minute show of elephants dancing, standing on their heads, riding a large tricycle, doing a low wire act (the elephant needed two metal cables but it was still impressive), and climbing on top of big tables set up for the show. At the end the elephants actually came up into the lower portions of the stands and requested money from the audience. I gave one elephant a 20 baht note which he took and then politely gave to his mahout. Yes, Tuk took a picture of me giving an elephant money, see for yourself.
After the crocodile horror show we moved on to the elephant entertainment. We went to an outdoor theatre and saw a twenty minute show of elephants dancing, standing on their heads, riding a large tricycle, doing a low wire act (the elephant needed two metal cables but it was still impressive), and climbing on top of big tables set up for the show. At the end the elephants actually came up into the lower portions of the stands and requested money from the audience. I gave one elephant a 20 baht note which he took and then politely gave to his mahout. Yes, Tuk took a picture of me giving an elephant money, see for yourself.
The highlight of the show was yet to come! We moved on to the crocodile wrestling show and it was quite entertaining. The theater for the show has a pit with water surrounding a small island. There were about ten to fifteen crocs in the water and two croc wrestlers standing on the island. They would go get a crocodile grab him by the tail and haul him up on the island. The two guys were good, they knew when the croc would snap its jaws shut and when it wouldn’t. The sound of those jaws snapping shut sounded like a door slamming shut – very impressive.
After the crocodile show the staff allowed audience members who wanted to come down into the pit and get their picture taken with the croc. Of course, I couldn't resist and got in line for my picture with the crocodile. As before, Tuk and Ohm watched nervously while taking pictures of me kneeling behind the crocodile.
After the crocodile show the staff allowed audience members who wanted to come down into the pit and get their picture taken with the croc. Of course, I couldn't resist and got in line for my picture with the crocodile. As before, Tuk and Ohm watched nervously while taking pictures of me kneeling behind the crocodile.
The last part of our adventure was more sedate and refined. We went to “Old Siam” which is a site featuring a lot of reproductions of Thai architecture, villages, temples, etc. It was kind of a Thai version of Colonial Williamsburg. I have a lot of pictures of it and have posted them.
On a final note I would like to thank Tuk for her generosity in taking me out for the day and showing me a very interesting part of Thailand. It was fun and most appreciated.
On a final note I would like to thank Tuk for her generosity in taking me out for the day and showing me a very interesting part of Thailand. It was fun and most appreciated.
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