I am so excited to write about the time I had at the Tiger Temple. Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, is a Buddhist temple 3 hours away from Bangkok. It was founded in 1993 as a forest temple and sanctuary for wild animals, including, of course, tigers.

The bus ride was long, but the tigers were awesome. I didn’t make any friends on this trip, so I only have two photos of myself with tigers, but the experience was indescribable. Tigers are such majestic animals, and these were very happy tigers.

I was able to pet them as much as I wanted. I even crouched down low and put my arms around one. A monk had one tiger place his paws on my lap so I could experience the extreme weight of one of these creatures. Another tiger playfully sniffed around my knees so I could feel his wet nose. Obviously (I guess), they smell and act a lot like very big cats.

At one point, we (the humans) all got in a cage, as we watched all the tigers run and play freely around us. Their joy often made me laugh to myself and obviously left a smile on my face that lasted all day.

I really enjoyed this experience. I liked walking around the compound watching the other animals as well. I hope if you visit Bangkok, you will find time to check out the tigers too.