Road to Chiangmai...

As we headed off to Chiangmai for the final leg of the tour, we made a couple stops along the way, the first of which was the White Temple. The temple was built by a local artist in the village and was the most spectacular, ornate wat (temple) that we have seen yet... Every inch of the place was white and had some intricate detailing throughout. 

the toilets...

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but what decorated the walls inside was amazing. They were covered in hand painted murals of the history of the temple and the Buddhist images, as well as the artist's depiction of good and evil. After spending some time walking throughout the grounds, we got to visit his exhibit onsite and pick up some artwork. Also amazing onsite was the building housing the restrooms that was covered entirely in gold (just paint though).

Next on the road to Chiangmai included a second round with some native animals except the friendly elephants were now replaced with tigers!

The tigers were housed at the Tiger Kingdom in Chiangmai that had been developed to help protect and preserve the species. As part of the fundraising efforts, visitors are given the opportunity to sit with, lay on, pet and take photos with all the animals onsite. While they wouldn't tell me the last time that a tiger attacked anyone... all of the animals had been born at the sanctuary and had been raised at the hand of the trainers so they were 'safe.'

While we chose to get pictures with all four sizes (smallest, small, medium and big cat) the experience was pretty amazing and not as terrifying as you would initially expect...