The Tiger Temple

I am sure if I died today, I would die happy.  How often do you get a chance - REALLY - to "fulfill a lifelong dream"?  Well, I got it today.  We heard about the Buddhist monks that have a tiger retreat before we left and we determined we HAD to go.  So, with reservations made, Jom and Eye (our LDS taxi drivers) picked us up at our hotel this morning at 8am.  It was about a 3 hour or so drive - 4 if you count the stop for lunch.  We arrived at the Tiger Temple right around noon and walked up to a place where we were immediately able to see tigers.  There were several right in front of us ready to have their pictures taken.  So we were able to get a few right away

After that, we lined up single file to follow a huge 11/2 year old male tiger with several handlers down to the Tiger Canyon (where several well-fed tigers were already working on naps after their breakfast of cooked chicken and cat and dog food).  On the walk down, each visitor is able to walk beside the tiger, put your hand on his back and hold onto the leash.

Once everyone was down in Tiger Canyon, they started taking pictures again.  However, we had an appointment with some babies!  More on that later...