Are you visiting Bangkok at the moment? No? Well, you will be planning a trip soon after reading this!
If you're a dog lover then you're in luck. True Love Café in Bangkok, a wonderful place where you can get a taste of Thai cuisine, or enjoy some refreshments, while in the company of dozens of adorable huskies!! That's right, this café is the first and only of it's kind because it's a husky café!
The True Love Café opened in 2013, when Chotiros Ratanabirabongse, Paw for short, a long-time husky breeder, decided to convert his farm into a place where people could interact and learn more about this wonderful canine breed. The place instantly became a hit with tourists, and today it is one of Bangkok's most popular attractions! (Obviously we can see why.)
There are 25 huskies of True Love Café, and for patrons to meet and play with them, they must pay a fee of 350 baht ($10) per hour, which also includes a free cake and drink! (Not a bad deal!) Now, we know that as much as dogs love the attention and love from well, anyone, they do need to rest sometimes!
The doggies get 5 different play times every day, 3 of which (12:30pm, 3:30pm and 6:30pm) are open to human visitors. But before you get to enter their caged areas to play with them and pet them, there's a strict protocol that you have to follow. To ensure that the dogs are safe from harm way visitors must wash and disinfect their hands, put on plastic foot coverings and watch an etiquette video explaining various rules that need to be followed when interacting with the dogs.
Café owner Paw says "that although huskies are very intelligent creatures, they are also very tough to train. They love to play and receive affection, but also to chase and grab anything that runs, which is why visitors are advised not to run in their enclosure." So it is very important that visitors follow the safety regulations.
True Love Café although home to 25 gorgeous huskies, also houses 2 Australian Shepherds, 1 Japanese Akita and 1 little Shih Tzu. The huskies are split into three "enemy" groups, each with their own enclosure, because they will fight if put together. However, they are all very friendly with humans, and love nothing more than posing for selfies and being petted!
If you've heard anything about Thailand it's probably about it's hot climate. And you're right, it is not exactly ideal for a Siberian dog breed. Luckily, Paw tries to make them as comfortable as possible. The dogs are regularly fed large bowls of ice to cool down, and their pens are kept at a constant 23 degrees Celsius, with the help of 24-hour air-conditioning.
Already bought your plane ticket to Thailand? Well, before you decide to just show up, due to its growing popularity it would probably be best to call for a reservation, rather than showing up unannounced. The place is packed every single day and Paw asks visitors to wait outside, to avoid overcrowding. (We can't agrue with that logic)
True Love Cafe is the world's first and only husky cafe, but certainly not the only animal cafe. We've covered many cafes taking up the cat, kitten, reptile and puppy trends. And here's hoping they never stop!
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