Day 2: Tiger Time

To be totally honest, I thought the White Temple looked nice only from afar. Up close, in the the throng of noisy tourists and cameras, it was almost impossible to appreciate the architecture. Later, I learnt that the White Temple was built as an art exhibit. It made me reflect on how far the Chiang Mai government has gone to use the country’s religious and cultural heritage to expand the tourism industry. Sacrificing a sacred grounds of worship to the grubby soles of tourists just didn’t feel right to me.

However, upon further reflection, I realised that the people in Chiang Mai did know the limits of how far they would allow their temples to be marred by nosy (and noisy!) tourists. There were signs that warned tourists from touching certain objects and encouraged them to avoid blocking the way. Guards were posted in strategic places around the temple’s grounds as well. So although the government was almost exploiting Chiang Mai’s religious grounds to attract more tourists, it seemed like they knew how to do it in moderation.

We visited the Tiger Kingdom next. At first, I was slightly nervous about being in the company of ginormous cats capable of scratching my brains out. However, I thought back to my pre-trip projection, in which I started with a quote by Jack Canfield: “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” I decided I could not let the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be pals with tigers pass me by.

Although I enjoyed petting the tigers, I was vexed that the tigers were sleepy and unresponsive. Their trainer told me it was their afternoon nap time, which I believed. He also told me that they only allowed tourists to play with tigers beneath the age of one, as tigers in their youth were less predisposed to aggressive and territorial behaviour.

Upon later discussion with my friend, who told me the tigers had probably been drugged, I came to the realization that it was probably true. I recalled watching the caretakers give each tiger stalks of sugarcane to eat. Could it be that the sugarcanes had been spiked? After all, it was only after eating the sugarcane that the tigers started to display symptoms of grogginess.

I was horrified, to say the least. To have helped the industry make profit out of animal abuse disgusted me. Although I cannot know for sure that the tigers had been drugged or ill-treated, I still feel a slight injustice for these big cats. Drugged or not, they had been dragged out of the wilderness in their infancy without given any say. While this might be safer for the people in Chiang Mai, this could be yet again another situation where humans prioritise their own preferences over Mother Nature.