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On the 29/10/11 we jumped on a tuk-tuk and went to visit tiger kingdom and mae sa waterfalls, the tuk-tuk guy waited for us at both places and brought us back, The round trip taking approx 4 hours and only costing us 350baht (approx £7), not bad for a private taxi all afternoon!! The waterfalls weren't what we were expecting unfortunately due to the heavy rainfall last month which made the water very dirty, so we couldnt really go swimming in it.
At tiger kingdom we had the choice of what size cat to sit with, small, medium or large.. we opted for the large cats. Costing approx around £8 each. We got 15 minutes to spend with three different tigers, the only problem was that it was a very hot day and all they wanted to do was lie in the shade. You get a guide with you to show you how to approach, touch and lie with the tigers and of course to help if anything went wrong. We took lots of photos for you to see.
Later that night we arrived back at the hostel at 4.45pm, Lucy was approached by one of the girls staying at the same hostel asking what our plans were for the night. We had orignally thought of going to the Yee Peng (lantern festival) but weren't sure exactly where it was taking place and how much it would cost us to get there. The girl had orangised a bus for a few people to all go together leaving at 5.00pm, was a bit short notice but we quickly got changed and joined them. The trip took aprrox 1hr due to busy traffic. As we headed towards the gates there were lots of stalls selling food and lanterns, we decided to buy a lantern each in preparation for letting them off in the festival grounds. As we got to the gates we were denied entry with our lanterns as you had to buy them in there, so we found some space and set our own lanterns off b efore entering the festival, making a wish as we released them into the night sky. We then all headed back towards the entry gates but due to strict buddhist religion everyone had to have their shoulders and upper legs covered up... Unfortunately we didn't know this before we set off, so a couple of the girls had to buy clothing from some stalls to gain access, Lucy bought a cardy and pulled her shorts down a little to reach her knees. Once finally in, we walked towards the festival where it was really busy, and the monks were worshiping the buddha and marching round with candles. We got a bit of space near the back and watched the worshiping carry on. There were lots of people sat on the floor with their lanterns ready. The worshiping lasted approx another 30mins, then they lit all the candle sticks which were in the ground for everyone to use to light their lanterns. Everyone then started lighting their lanterns but were told not to release them until the special guest had released his first. Once he released his, hundreds of lanterns were let go into the night sky. Hundreds of people videoing and taking pictures of a wonderful sight. Lanterns carryed on getting released into the night sky for a long time, with fireworks also going off. Thousands of lanterns filled the sky drifting away. Amazing to watch.
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Maureen Spencer Great blog- amazing pictures ;0). I'm hooked already...really envy you being able to touch those Tigers . What an adventure! Looking forward to following you xx