Tiger Temple

Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, is a Theravada Buddhist temple in western Thailand that was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for wild animals, among them several tigers, mostly Indo-chinese Tigers .

In 1999, the temple received the first tiger cub, one that had been found by villagers; it died soon after. Later, several tiger cubs were given to the temple, typically when the mothers had been killed by poachers, people whose "pet" tigers were getting too big, or those who had to when the laws about the keeping protected species became more strict.^[1] As of 2007, over 21 cubs had been born at the temple, and the total number of tigers was about 12 adult tigers and 4 cubs. As of late March 2011, the total number of tigers living at the temple has risen to almost 90^.

The Tiger Temple practices a different conservation philosophy than in the west. As a forest monastery, no alcohol is allowed on site. Appropriate clothing must be worn by women, covering their shoulders and knees so as not to offend the celibate monks. No bright coloured [red] clothing, no sleeveless or strapless tops or shorts/mini skirts are allowed either. No shawls or sarongs for the upper or lower body should be worn.

The temple charges a 600 Baht admission fee (March 2011 about US$19) to raise funds to care for the animals. Day trips also available from Bangkok and the journey takes about 2.5 hours. The temple sees between 300 and 600 visitors each day. There are donation boxes around the temple for those who wish to help support the sanctuary. For a fee, visitors may join in the tigers' morning or evening exercise programme. No more than 20 visitors may do this at a time. The temple staff says it costs US$100 per tiger each day for the their feeding and care. Western staff sell the additional services, although the handlers usually are local Thai women.

Guests can engage in other activities with the tigers. These include bottle feeding tiger cubs, exercising adolescent tigers, bathing tigers, hand-feeding tigers and posing with sleeping adult tigers.

The tigers are washed and handled by Thai monks, international volunteers and the local Thai staff. Once a day, they are walked on leashes to a nearby quarry. Originally they would roam around freely, but with the increase in visitors and the number of tigers, they are chained for safety. The staff closely guide visitors as they greet, sit with, and pet the cats. The staff keep the tigers under control and the abbot will intervene if a tiger becomes agitated. The entry fee goes to feeding the animals, and also to fund building a larger tiger sanctuary which will allow the animals to live in an almost natural environment. Portions of the new sanctuary are already open and inhabited with tigers, but other parts are in construction as they need the right fencing around the moat to keep the tigers from leaving the sanctuary. The temple is reforesting a large amount of land nearby ('Buddhist Park') to possibly release the tigers into the wild in the future.

The temple is located in the Saiyok district of Thailand's Kanchanaburi province, not far from the border with Myanmar, some 38 km (24 mi) north-west of Kanchanaburi along the 323 highway.

The tigers:

Monk walking tiger on a leash



Monk and tigers during walk in the quarry



Tourists observing the tigers



Visitors can take a photo with a grown tiger or a small cub



Huge tiger structure at Tiger Temple entrance

10 Coolest Flooring Designs Published on 1/4/2012 under Cool Home Design - by Gracie Murano

 Optical Illusion Floor

This optical illusion carpet, spotted in a Paris video game store, provides an illusion of a vortex floor. (Link)

 Leather Belt Floor

(Belt) strapped for cash? Forget 'affordable' for a minute and just imagine the curious combination of feeling aged leather beneath your feet, and the look of vintage belts lining the floors of your home. Leather flooring is fairly unusual, but these upcycled belt designs are unique – each one hand-crafted and with individually-selected old belts.

OK, but the price? Over 600 dollars for the round mat shown above from BranchHome and over 70 dollars per square foot for the floor tiles from Ting. (Link | Via)

 Penny Floor

A floor literally tiled with thousands of copper pennies… it's pretty surprising to look down and see them when you walk into The Standard Grill in The Standard Hotel, New York. The design was selected by the restaurant's designers, Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of New York design firm - Roman and Williams. (Link)

 Radiant Heat Floor

Take off your shoes and feel the warmth coming up through that radiant heat flooring. It's not only one of the coolest ways to get warm (no pun intended), but it's also really energy efficient because, unlike traditional heating systems, you don't lose the heat. With traditional baseboard heating or forced hot air heating, a lot of the energy you use to heat your home is wasted because much of the heat produced is immediately lost. But with radiant floors, that warmth is transferred directly to you as you come in contact with the floor. And it takes advantage of something we all know - hot air rises - so when the heat is generated underneath the floor, it does what it's supposed to, which is go directly up. Aside from the fact that it keeps your indoor temperature up, and your heating bills down, it's just plain fantastic.(Link)

 Aerial Photo Floor

Check out the Flying Carpet next time you're in Sacramento. Created by California-based artist Seyed Alavi, the carpet is an aerial view of the Sacramento River as it flows for 50 miles, between the California towns of Colusa and Chico. The 18-foot-wide, 150-foot-long image is woven and dyed into the carpet covering a walkway that connects the main parking lot andTerminal A. Alavi won a competition of more than 100 artists that submitted proposals for upgrading the walkway. (Link)

 Salt Floor

Every once in a while, though, we run across someone who has taken the industry to a whole new level. Japanese Artist Motoi Yamamoto has found his medium in grains of salt - billions and billions of them. Yamamoto adheres plain table salt to floor surfaces, creating extremely intricate patterns & landscapes. The result is pretty amazing and can be a dizzying optical illusion if you stare too long. To prep, the artist draws the most complex mazes and labyrinths imaginable, plotting out his design.

His creations are for exhibition only and aren't meant for permanent floor design, which is fortunate, because it'd take just one mildly rude friend to undo hours upon hours of work. (Link)

 Puzzle Floor

This floor is something that stands out from the crowd. The new Puzzle Floor elicits expressions of surprise and amazement. A perfect solution for children's bedrooms, but not only. Available in 13 colors, the tiles can be mixed for unique, personalized installations. (Link)

 Human Traffic Floor

Alistair Bramley's Dimension laminate flooring is a futuristic take on laminate floor design. The patterns are created using the natural movement of people within a set environment. Obstacles such as furniture are incorporated into the floor design. Video footage of how people used the room space was captured, processed and then printed onto the floor. This takes bespoke flooring to the next level. (Link)

 Etched Floor

Some prefer the raw texture of hand-scraped hardwood floors, while others want the modern look (and low costs) of laminate wood flooring. These patterned wooden planks provide artistic relief somewhere in between – an honest contemporary take on classic material and installation approaches.

This decorative flooring series from Mafi provides a fresh outlook on manufactured floors, etching designs that range from abstract floral patterns to playfully embossed stick figures. The pre-engraved slats are shallow enough not to collect dirt and dust (at least in theory), but deep enough to be felt underfoot by bare feet or with socks – each features a darker ‘burned' look or a consistent surface treatment where variation is seen only by reflection, light and shadow. (Link)

 Interactive Floor

Billed as the world's first truly "sustainable dance club", Club Watt is based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and aims to use 50 per cent less waste and 30 per cent less energy than a typical club. To achieve its goals, it's working to the green guidelines of a non-profit organization known as the SustainableDance Club.

As well as generating energy, the dance floor has an interactive element. As you dance, its appearance changes through the LED lighting embedded in the panels, which are made from recycled materials. (Link)

The unseen photo album...the Young AUNG SAN SUU KYI

Today the Burmese go to the poll for the first time in their life.  It's timely to share with you some rare photos of the icon of democracy in Myanmar.....

These photographs are priceless!   New Year’s Day, 1972, Chelsea registry office in London.   Aung San Suu Kyi and Michael Aris marry, aged 26 and 25 respectively     Aung San Suu Kyi at her wedding reception, following a Buddhist blessing At a family friend's London home       Aung San Suu Kyi on the snowy slopes of a mountain in Bhutan in 1971.  Further up the hill, at Taktsang temple, Michael had proposed to her   The future Nobel laureate riding a mule up a mountain in Bhutan, 1971   Her husband-to-be, Michael Aris, riding a yak in Bhutan, Where he was a tutor to the royal family, 1971   Aung San Suu Kyi’s mother, Daw Khin Kyi, meets her grandson, Alexander,  For the first time on a family visit to Rangoon. Michael Aris stands at the back. 1974     A family picnic in Grantown-on-Spey. Aung San Suu Kyi with her husband (with the beard)and two sons Alexander and Kim. The woman in the back Wearing the headscarf is Mathané Fend, a famous pre-war singer Who was Aung San Suu Kyi's most trusted friend and confidante, Her 'emergency aunt'   1970/1980 on the lawn of her father-in-law’s house in Grantown-on-Spey, Scotland, Aung San Suu Kyi’s husband, Michael Aris, an academic and specialist  In Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, in his study at St John's College, Oxford   From 1973 to 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi devoted her time And energy to motherhood in Oxford  Where her husband was an academic

Preventing and Fixing Bad Breath (Halitosis)

Many people have bad breath without even realizing it. This can cripple your likelihood of enjoying a healthy social life, finding a significant other, and even advancement in your career. Halitosis or bad breath is mostly a result of poor hygiene and is completely treatable. It is quite easy to prevent and fix bad breath with the following guidelines.

• Brush your teeth and scrape your tongue first thing every morning, and also after each time you take a nap. Foul-smelling bacteria have had a chance to take over your mouth while you slept, and are most likely causing yucky "morning breath." Tongue scrapers can be found in most health food stores, and also in drug stores and convenience stores as they become more popular.


• After you brush your teeth and scrape your tongue, rinse your mouth thoroughly and gargle with fresh, cool water. This is a very important step, one that many people overlook. Nobody likes to smell your breath when it's laden with dirty, used toothpaste scum.


• Drink plenty of water - Insuring that you drink plenty of water throughout the day can help to control bad breath (halitosis). This can be an especially important consideration for those people who suffer from xerostomia (chronically dry mouths).
  
  If you allow yourself to become dehydrated your body will try to conserve moisture by reducing its production of saliva. Saliva has a cleansing and diluting effect on the bacteria and bacterial waste products that cause bad breath. A reduction in the amount of saliva in your mouth can make it harder for you to control odors associated with your breath.


• Rinse your mouth with water often - Rinsing with water can mitigate bad breath problems for brief periods of time. Rinsing will both dilute and partially remove the bacterial waste products that are the cause of breath odors.

• Stimulate your mouth's flow of saliva - You can help to minimize bad breath odors by stimulating your body's flow of saliva. This is because saliva has a cleansing and diluting effect on the bacteria and bacterial waste products that cause bad breath.
  
  One way to stimulate salivary flow is to chew on something. Doing so will trick your body in to thinking that it is getting a meal. And in preparation for digesting this meal your body will increase its production of saliva.
  
  Chewing gum, cloves, breath mints, or lozenges can also be used to stimulate salivary flow. If you elect to use one of these products make sure it is sugar-free since sweets will promote the growth of bacteria that cause tooth decay.


• After you eat or drink anything (besides water), thoroughly rinse your mouth and gargle with water. Use this practice without fail, day and night, and you will keep abreast of nasty bacteria buildup in your mouth, which cause bad breath. Run your tongue along the surfaces of your teeth throughout the day, and if you ever notice any plaque buildup, brush your teeth again and rinse thoroughly with water, making sure that you feel your teeth, not plaque buildup, which is a contributing factor in bad breath.

          Fixing Bad Breath on the Spot -

• Drink water and ask for lemon to be included. Surreptitiously squeeze as much of the lemon into the water as possible, as it will help cover up the odor.


• Chew a piece of gum or eat some mint candy.


• Gargle with salt to neutralise some of the odour.


• Sneak a spoon into the bathroom. Check to make sure you're alone. Look into the mirror, stick out your tongue and check for a pasty white goo on it. Turn the spoon upside down and use it to scrape your tongue, using a back to front motion. If you can't manage to sneak off with a spoon, head to the restroom, wash your hands, use your fingernails to scrape your tongue.

BUILDING BIRDS WONDERFUL ENGINEERING