Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TIGER SANCTUARY OR TOURIST TRAP?
Perhaps the most controversial tourist attraction in Thailand, the Tiger Temple continues to divide opinion. True,
it's one of the few places in the world where you can get so close to these magnificent creatures. On the other
hand, numerous allegations about animal welfare continue to dog the temple. In return for the 600B entrance fee
(it's the same for adults and children), visitors get to walk the big cats to a canyon, where tourists are then briskly
herded around a group of chained-up tigers to have their photos taken. A morning program of events costs a hefty
5000B.
This former sanctuary for abandoned cubs denies allegations that the tigers are ill-treated, drugged or traded
and has been planning major developments for years, but progress seems slow. Some tour operators now decline
to take visitors to the Tiger Temple, and Lonely Planet no longer recommends visiting.
Reports emerged in August 2013 of a UK student being badly mauled at the Tiger Temple;
www.careforthewild.org
has a detailed report about alleged abuses.
Prasat Meuang Singh Historical Park
The
Prasat Meuang Singh Historical Park
(admission 100B; 8.30am-5pm)
preserves the remains of a
13th-century Khmer outpost that may have been a relay point for trade along Mae Nam
Khwae Noi. The restored ruins show a Bayon style of architecture and cover 73.6 hec-
tares.
All the park's shrines are constructed of laterite bricks and are situated in a huge grassy
compound surrounded by layers of laterite ramparts and city walls. Sections of the ram-
parts show seven additional layers of earthen walls, suggesting cosmological symbolism.
Meuang Singh, or City of the Lion, has two main monuments and two ruins where little
more than the bases remain. The principal shrine
Prasat Meuang Singh
is in the centre and
faces east (the cardinal direction of most Angkor temples). Walls surrounding the shrine
have gates in each of the cardinal directions; the ponds and ditches around it represent the
continents and oceans.
Also within the grounds is a
burial site
, excavated in 1986, that shows skeletons and pot-
tery thought to date back 2000 years.
Prasat Meuang Singh is 40km west of Kanchanaburi and is best reached by private
transport. Trains heading from Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok stop nearby at Tha Kilen station
(100B). From here it is a 1km walk to the entrance, but it's best having some form of
transport as the grounds are large.
