Buddhist Temple, Kuraburi - July 15-16

I am really late with this post, but my time was up and I had to travel and meet Dave. Then we have been nonstop ever since. But... backtracking a bit... Thursday and Friday were spent at the Buddhist temple.

I have had such good fortune in my experiences. The temple only hosts students for a three-day camp where the high schoolers receive formal Buddhism training and I was there to see it! Not much work today; I had some more roof tiles in the morning, but then just sat in on the teachings the rest of the day. It was so interesting. The monks teach the kids how to sit and stand (different for boys and girls), say thank you, greet monks properly in passing, pray properly, and lots more. They teach serious stuff using humor and do really well at keeping the students’ attention engaged. This monk and the abbot are very charismatic and very good public speakers. I could tell by the student's and Tui's reactions. I was enthralled and I couldn’t even understand the language. However, there was a lot of demonstrating, so I could grasp the meaning through context. I also had Tui with me to translate when I wasn’t wandering and taking photos.

I am so pleased with this trip. What a great learning opportunity it has been. I have done and seen so many things in four quick weeks. I have seen more of the Thai culture than most would in a year! I have been invited back by so many of the villagers. It is truly heart-warming. Every time I walk down the street in Kuraburi now, there is at least one person who greets me (usually more, though). Even our landlady who never spoke to any of us in the beginning greets me every day now with a smile and “Sa wat dee ka.” I still have not learned much Thai, but I am trying to learn some important basics. It will help Dave and I out a lot during our trip, especially how to order food.

I think I have taken around 3,000 photos! How can I possibly pick out only 30 or so to put in a photo album on FB? I think I can pick a few favorites to print in a large format to decorate our walls. I want the best quality and most dramatic for those.

Thursday and Friday were spent at the temple. The kids were learning how to be good people, how to change for the better, how to attract the right kind of person, and how to make good decisions. They learned that parents have three levels of sadness: one to never be able to have kids, two to lose a child, and three to have a bad child that chooses the wrong path in life. The latter, the kids were told, causes parents to be sad for their entire life. How to attract the right kind of person requires you to take a look at yourself. A jealous shrew is not attractive. Change the flaws in your personality and be concerned with your hygiene and presentation. Then when you do attract the person you want, you may find that they were not the right person if you had to change for them. Who liked you before you changed? Such teachings were done with movies and cartoons that were entertaining and made light of the situations. Since I couldn’t understand and Tui could only translate so much, I am sure I missed a lot. This picture is how to properly 'wai' a monk when you pass one.

On Friday Andrew and I had to speak in front of the school group. The monks asked us questions and some really put us on the spot – like what Andrew thought of Thai women and what I thought of Thai men. One flamboyant boy asked what Americans thought of transvestites or lady boys. So I told about whole communities of gay people in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans… Andrew was asked if he had a girlfriend. All the girls giggled every time he spoke. He is only two years older than some of the kids.

Friday night, we had a going away dinner for Andrew, Alison, and I. Friday was Alison’s last day, too. She volunteered at the Thai primary school in Kuraburi. I barely saw he before her two weeks were already up. The dinner was a potluck at Bodhi’s house and I think it went really well. Afterwards we went to the bar and had a few more beers and Bodhi and Lucy (volunteer at the Burmese Learning Center from UK) got up and sang and played for us. It was a lot of fun and a nice send off.

Ban Soi and Buddhist Temple - July 13-14

Ban Soi - July 13

Today we did more planting along the riverbanks, but this time we also brought some young plants from the nursery. This time I feel like I put in my fair share. I dug and planted until I blistered and peeled skin off. It’s nothing major but my right hand is a little tender now.

I was able to see what exactly we are working against. After the dredging project, the water changed direction and the force of the water was more focused. Instead of using the entire flood plain, they dug the river deeper and channeled the water. This brilliant idea only caused more problems than the flooding did. Now the steeper banks are eroding away and bringing down trees. The old bridge to Kuraburi was washed out as well.

Our guide here (I wish I could remember his name) is my hero. He works with the community, the youth, the IUCN and is very conservation minded. He knows all about the plants of the land and much of its fauna as well. If her wants to eat something, he grows or raises it. He has a vegetable garden, 66 mangosteen trees (the oldest one about 30 years old), rambutan trees, herbs, a catfish farm, another edible fish (didn’t catch the name) nursery, chickens, and I don’t know what all. This is him “carrying” the reeds we cut downstream. He made cutting the reeds look easy, but I tried it and it took a bit of hand strength. I started to get the hang of it, though, even with my womanly handicap.

Yesterday they were not even half way in building the new bridge, but today we were able to drive across it and take a shorter route back. As it turns out, this was hugely to my benefit, though it was not planned that way. We drove past a tree that had three hornbills sitting in it: a large male, his mate and their offspring. Amazing! Wonderful! I was so hoping to catch a decent sighting of these fabulous birds. I was smiling hugely, stupidly for hours afterward.

Who is going to rescue all the little critters that get trapped inside the apartment building when I am gone? The geckos find their way in and out on their own, but the insects aren’t so wily. Tonight I helped a huge green grasshopper out. First I was taking pictures of it, this one was just before it jumped on me and startled me. Then I had it crawl onto my washbowl and carried it outside and put it on a plant. Another successful rescue! Mostly I have rescued butterflies. Andrew helped a big frog find its way out of the bathroom in Ban Talae Nok.

Buddhist Temple – July 14 16:00

Today we went to a Buddhist temple in the jungle. A monk who had walked all the way here in Southern Thailand from Central Thailand started it. When he arrived at this area, the people were feuding. None of the people were deed holders and were fighting over land use. We would call them squatters. The monk saw this and decided he needed to stay to settle the disputes and bring peace to the area. He did just that. He also got everyone to live in harmony in a community that now centers around the temple.

There are now six monks here and they bring in students to learn under the head monk, the abbot. The villagers all get together now to help build the temple and outer buildings for community/ temple use. That is what was going on today. They were building on to a meeting room-type thing, so that all of the extra stuff in the middle of it could be stored there and protected from the rain, while opening up the floor for use tomorrow to teach the students. Andrew worked his ass off today! He pitched right in and worked really well with the villagers. I started out helping moving the roof tile, but I simply do not have the strength for that kind of thing. I have got to give him credit. That had to be hard in this heat! After the roof was in place, Tui and I pitched in moving the stuff to the storage area and cleaning the main floor for tomorrow.

One hundred students are coming and we get to sit in on their teachings tomorrow. This should be really interesting. I really hope to hear them in prayer, because I heard a recording of the monks in prayer and it sounded really intriguing. I have no idea what to expect, but I did learn some things from Tui today. There is a string tied around the Buddha’s wrist and then around the building. This is done to protect the building from evil spirits or demons. The abbot looked at me, but I felt none of the other monks did. I asked if it was my imagination or if the monks were avoiding making eye contact with me. Tui explained that just as I cannot touch them or them me, they cannot look at me or think about me. Being a woman here definitely gives me a different experience than Andrew has. When it came time to sweep. I waited until the head monk put the broom down on the floor and then I could pick it up to use it.

The abbot has an easy smile and a friendly way about him, even with monkeys. There is a wild monkey, a rare langur species, that comes around the temple. He feeds it, talks to it, pets it, and hugs it. I was amazed at how tame the langur was. I took advantage of having it nearby to take photos. I guess I took advantage for too long. The langur decided it didn’t like me after a while and tried to tell me. Stupid me, I thought it was asking for food from me. It kept coming closer and closer and then started grabbing at me. It was time to walk away. Then the head monk explained that sticking out its tongue repeatedly means that it is not appreciating your company. Back off. Haha! So I did. Poor Tui, I think I gave her a heart attack for staying too close. I am not used to animals not liking me, so I was rather surprised. I think I made too much eye contact and then also kept my camera going at it. I would get tired of that too. Anyway, I got some freaking awesome photos! I have had some very good luck with rare species sightings.

I am looking forward to tomorrow! I hope Andrew feels alright tomorrow after working so hard today. I don’t think tomorrow will be so hard, but I will better prepare for it just in case.

20:00

Well, I got my assignment turned in, but I didn’t have time to get my blog posted. I tried to get to the office earlier but it was raining too hard and I didn’t want to risk getting my computer wet, especially after yesterday’s computer episode. I only have two more volunteer days left and they are both at the temple. It is pouring again, so I am glad I didn’t risk going to the internet café.

Ban Soi - July 12 18:00

Today and tomorrow we are working on helping to keep a river from eroding its banks. There was a dredging project by the government there last year and it adversely affected the flow of the river, completely changing it by 45 degrees in some places. There is a very rare species of water lily that is protected in this area, but the dredging has caused problems from heavy water and sediment flow. Because the flower is so rare, there is also a problem with poaching or theft. I don't know what to call it when it is applied to a plant rather than an animal.

Some bamboo-like plants we already gathered for us to plant today, but first we got to tour the community garden and nursery. There is an abundance of plants that are seedlings that the villagers can come and take and replant. Almost everything in our guide's yard was edible. The water lily isn't but it has its own inherent value. This is what it looks like in the nursery before it is replanted in the river. In the river the leaves grow to 3 meters in length and look like they choke the river.

I tried mangosteen for the first time and it was wonderfully sweet and juicy. Now there are three fruits I want Dave to try, but one I have not found since I arrived in Bangkok and had it in a prepared fruit bowl. Our guide had mangosteen growing in his yard! Here is what the fruit looks like. It is sectioned and white inside. Actually, wikipedia has a good picture of it. They use a long wooden pole with a type of basket on the end of it to pick the fruit off the tree. Of course, it is another one of those things that they make look so easy, but when you try it yourself it doesn't quite work right. As, again, Andrew got to find out. It is good to always have a camera in my hand as I get to take pictures of Andrew trying everything. This is becoming a very picture intense blog, so I will just post that one on FB after I get home.

Part of his yard was also devoted to a rubber tree plantation and I got my first up close and personal experience with it. I have been seeing them from afar. It is very different to be right in it. The first thing I noticed was the smell. It is kind of sour and stinky. They slice of just a thin strip and let the tree bleed its white latex into a cup that catches it. As it is left in the cup, it hardens - if you can call it hard. It is actually squishy and kind of gelatinous feeling when it is dry. This rubber is sold and made into things like flip flops. Did I talk about the rubber trees earlier in my trip? Well, they have to mature for seven years before they can start tapping it. Then they can tap into it for 35 years, because the bark that they cut off gradually grows back. They likened it to our skin and how it replenishes its layers.

In some of the rubber tree plantations they are starting to plant other crops between the rows. I visited one of these plantations where they were growing mushrooms. They use the palm waste and keep it wet and covered with black plastic until it starts to mold. They put down compost in rows and top it with the moldy palm and then cover it again. Mushrooms grow in the dark, so they keep it covered until they harvest them. This pictures shows them growing on the palm.

Ok, so back to the actual project. We were supplied with the plants today. They just cut pieces off and then they sprout roots or already have sone growing out of where the sections meet. We walked along the river bank and dug holes in higher areas and covered it with the sand and some rocks to try to give it support unil the rooting takes hold. Late year's plantings mostly were washed away by the rushing water. Hopefully, the ones we are planting will stay put. The river is beautiful and clear. The water is cool and refreshing, coming from the mountains. This river provides the drinking water for Kuraburi. They capture it at a dam further upstream from where we were and store it in a reservoir and pipe it into the town. This is why the water here is safe. It is fresh water collected before it travels through the plantation areas, where chemicals are drained into the water off the rubber tree and palm oil plantations from the fertilizers and pesticides. Tomorrow we will be cutting the plant, taking it to the river and planting it again. I was eaten alive by mosquitos today, so I need to do something different tomorrow!

Ban Lion, Koh Prathong - July 6-9

July 6 21:00

I am now on the island Koh Prathong, staying in the village Ban Lion. I am not sure the original name of the village, as it was renamed in honor of the Lion’s Club who donated the aid to rebuild after the tsunami. The entire original village was wiped out and 33 lives were lost. The children here can tell chilling stories of horrors no child should ever experience. All of the houses are rebuilt further inland in a modern style rather like detached townhouses with the sleeping rooms upstairs. There is nothing left where the old village was except bare ground and dead trees, although regrowth has started, mainly through a replanting program in the community. There are rows and rows of empty houses. Immediately following the rebuild, they were all occupied. Now they are all registered to owners but they stand empty or are holiday homes. There is a nice school built in the middle of the village, but it also remains empty. There are currently only three children going to school sand they go with the local teacher to another village’s school. There are more children than this, but they do not go to school. There is a windmill that a visiting professor installed that can power the whole village, but it is not working and only the professor knows how to fix it. So there it stands, useless until the professor returns, if ever. Sounding a bit like a ghost town? There is life, but the community is very small.

This island has no electricity. A few houses have solar panels to supply energy during the day, but this is not many at all and there is no storage. There are two generators in the village that run on gasoline and are expensive to operate. Therefore, they are only run four hours a night, between 6:00 and 10:00 pm. The villagers can opt into this resource at a cost of 400 TB a month. This is quite expensive for them and many households do not bother with electricity at all. Fortunately, my homestay hosts opt in and I can charge my camera and laptop batteries. Generators are less regular in the flow of electricity, so I need to use my converter and therefore can only charge one thing at a time. Forget about internet, I will be lucky to keep my computer going.

Today was an easy day, which started with a ride across a calm ocean in a long tail boat. The ribbons on the front are tied on each year for protection. It was wonderful and I could have done that all day! But, alas, we arrived to the flattest island I have ever seen. All around it are hilly islands, but this one is perfectly flat. On the way I saw commercial fishing boats, personal boats, jellyfish (huge ones), fish, seaweed, mangroves, lone houses on their own islands, tsunami damage, and regrowth. Our driver saw a dugong and I got all excited at the prospect of actually getting to see one of these rare creatures, but I never did see it. Speaking of the mangrove and regrowth… the people of the island never realized how important the mangrove is. However, when the wave came the mangrove took a good part of it, acting like a barrier. The wave also destroyed much of the mangrove, so the community has an organized mangrove restoration group. I could see the evidence of their efforts because the boundaries of the mangrove along the ocean have younger and smaller trees as shown here.

We were given lunch by our host and it included a wonderful green curry. I can’t remember what else; I was just totally taken with the curry. Then we met with the local guide, who was also our driver. He is a very interesting man, named Noon, that is by birth half Chinese and half Moken Sea Gypsy. He shared information about the island, village, sea turtle and mangrove programs, and the homestay program. He also shared interesting cultural stories that someone should really write down. Most sea gypsies are made to feel inferior and fall low in the social hierarchy in Thailand. Therefore he felt ashamed of his heritage and asked if we felt differently about him knowing he is Moken. I said no, that such prejudices are within the Thai culture, not ours. That foreigners coming here would see him as the same as Burmese, Thai, Chinese… all the same. I also said what his heritage meant to me was that it made him more intriguing and that I would love to hear more of his stories. Unfortunately, due to prejudices, I think that the Moken heritage will eventually be lost. Already, the language is being forgotten as the people refuse to speak it in order to assimilate into the Thai culture in order to avoid ridicule and discrimination. On a brighter note, isn’t the sunset sky fantastic?

After this wonderful talk, a group of four villagers joined us at Por, our translator’s, house for an English lesson. After introductions that made them talk about themselves in English, Andrew and I had arranged a scavenger hunt for them. We gave them a list of items using their English names and asked them to find them. They did quite well, but didn’t catch mobile phone due to my Western accent and didn’t know plate. Missing two out of seventeen items is not bad. The local guys started a futbol game while we were finishing up the English lesson and Andrew was invited to join them when we finished.

Tonight we had a dinner that included sautéed squid and, yes, I did try it. It didn’t have much flavor, actually, and wasn’t as chewy as calamari can be at times. I did not eat a tentacle, though. I just couldn’t do it. I mostly ate a spicy chicken and green bean dish and a glass noodle and egg tofu dish. I never heard of egg tofu before. Anyway, Andrew is watching his new favorite show, The Killers, with the family. Yes, it is in Thai and he can’t understand a word, but he gets the gust of it. And I am going to bed now because I am getting up at 5:00 am to go bird watching! Yes! I so want to see the hornbills.

Ban Lion, Koh Prathong – July 7 20:00

Happy birthday, Francie. Sorry I am late with my birthday wishes, but internet is just not an option.

I started the day at 5:00 am to go our bird watching. Holy smokes was today humid! By 7:00 am I was already dripping. I got to explore the island a bit and see some remote areas, but I didn’t really have very good bird viewing. The light seemed to be all wrong and all the birds looked black or kind of silhouetted. I didn’t really get any good pictures. I think to get good bird pictures you have to pick a likely spot for activity and remain in a stealthy surveillance mode. We were crunching our way through the grasses and trees. I scared one off because I was so danged noisy trying to get through. We heard a lot of birds and saw a lot fly away. It didn’t help that the village dogs decided to accompany us! The picture of this kite (bird of prey) was taken on July 9.

After bird watching we all went to work on tie-dye. They use all natural materials, like the soap group of Ban Talae Nok. They are newer at it, though, and only started within the year. One of our jobs is to help them get organized and more professional. We are going to help set up a tie-dye museum in the community center building. We used turmeric for the yellow, almond leaves for the green, and mangrove tree bark for brown. They showed us some patterns and I showed them a couple. It was a nice exchange. I did the spiral technique and the crunching up into a ball. They liked the spiral, but I am not so sure about the crunching. I liked their rope tie pattern and daisy pattern.

So the steps for tie-dye their way (skip paragraph if not interested) as I can best remember it are: put water on to boil and cut up the bark and leaves and grind the turmeric root. When the water is boiling, add one plan to each pot. While the color boils out of the plants, rinse the starch out of the fabric and squeeze out the water. Pick your pattern and manipulate the fabric, then bind it with rubber bands and sticks, if necessary. After the color is ready, drop in the fabric and boil it for at least two hours. When the color looks good, remove the fabric and then rinse it in a solution with salt (to preserve color) and alkaline to darken or potassium calcitrate (?) to brighten. Give one finally rinse with fresh water and then squeeze out the water and hang to dry for at least half an hour, depending on the color. You can then remove the rubber bands, see your results and leave it hanging to dry. The color looks different once it is totally dry.

The people here are so very nice. I really like the people in the tie-dye group and think I would fit in if I could speak their language. The guys in the village kind of adopted Andrew and keep asking him to watch the world cup, but it is on at 1:30 am for us here. Ouch! So far Andrew has preferred to sleep.

There is one shop in the village (pictured here from later). Basically one person goes to the mainland and buys a bunch of groceries and supplies and resells them out of the bottom part of his house. I was hoping to go there and get a cold something, anything, today, but it was closed to make a run to the mainland for more inventory. Bummer, more warm water for me today and I am drinking tons of it. You have to here or you will dehydrate in no time. Andrew experienced that today when he helped to get the bark for the dye. Exertion + heat = feeling weird. I had that same problem last week when we were gardening. I gave him a package of Sharkies electrolytes and told him to drink water with it. He was then able to eat and started to feel better, but it left him feeling fatigued the rest of the day.

We helped with another English lesson this afternoon, concentrating on shapes, colors, and numbers. Once they seemed to get the words, we played telephone to make them use them verbally. They tried to over think it at first, but they got the hang of it by the end. We let them do some Thai phrases on us so that they could see how it works, that it doesn’t matter what you hear you just repeat it. We actually got some of the words right; score one for Andrew and I.

Tonight I helped make one of the dishes for dinner. It was a stir-fry noodle, shrimp, fish cake, kale, and soy sauce mix that was quite tasty. I get to sleep in tomorrow. We don’t meet until 9:30. I am sure I will still wake up by 7:00 at the latest, but at least I can be lazy.

Ban Lion - July 8 7:00

What a rough night, so many noises: talking, music, dogs barking… Then an early morning of noise. I don’t know what all the excitement is, maybe the world cup? But yesterday morning was not so noisy. It is a fishing village, so life starts early and 6:00 is sleeping in. Oh, yesterday I was up early and gone bird watching, so maybe it was just as noisy. The houses are all open and close together, so this is a part of life here – not much privacy.

22:00

What a day! I loved today! It has been rather oppressively hot and humid the whole time we’ve been here and today was no exception. It did try to rain a little bit, but the island does not get the rain that the Phang Nga province gets. Weather aside, it was an eventful day and I feel we may actually accomplish something here. First, we started the day going to the house that was donated to the village for a museum. The house right next to it is already a museum for the sea turtle and mangrove projects, Naucrates. This museum will be dedicated to the tie-dye group and our job was to decorate it, set it up. After a bit of communication confusion, we got a plan laid out and got it set up in at least a temporary layout until they got more pieces done. The part we did is actually the museum store, where they will sell their completed pieces.

In the middle of setting up the store, a call came in about a deer that was attacked by dogs. The people here are very sensitive to the local wildlife, so a rescue mission was quickly organized and we were able to take part. It was an incredible experience. We hurried through the mangrove and came out into the ocean where the village guide came and picked us up. We learned that the deer was attacked in the water and chased out to sea. The worry was that the deer would drown if it tired out too much. When we came in the boat we tried to steer it toward the shore. It took a little while but we finally got it to go on land. It was a female deer about 2 years old, by the locals’ estimates. It had sustained some injuries from the dogs, but they felt that none of them were too severe. Therefore, they did not chase down the deer to try to treat the wounds. Evidently, deer that have been injured will eat herbs and things that have a medicinal effect and help them heal. If it had been a young one, it might not have made it, but they felt confident this older one had a good chance. The people in this village are very proud of their deer and feel very protective over them. These are conservation-minded people that I can relate to in their outlook on nature. The last picture is the rescue crew, Noon is behind me driving the boat.

We finished the tie-dye museum store after the rescue. We are working on helping the tie-dye group get organized in the running of their business and I feel I have a lot I could contribute, but I probably need a minimum of a month here to accomplish anything substantial. I have expressed an interest in helping the group after I return home and Por, our translator, felt that could be possible with today’s technological advantages. She does not live on the island full-time and will keep in touch with me. We also wrote out the steps to making the tie-dye and started on creating a poster to display them but it did not get finished. Hopefully tomorrow we can finish up that and I also wrote out a product/price list for them for custom orders that I hope to get typed up tomorrow. We have a lot to do and leave tomorrow at 3:00 pm, so I don’t know if we will get everything done. By the way, the middle yellow one is the spiral design I showed them.

Around sunset this evening, we took the guide’s long tail boat out to where the old village used to be before the tsunami. Oh... My… Goodness… what a beautiful spot! The sunset was fantastic, the fine white sand was so soft, the water was comfortable, the view was beautiful, and there was not a person around but us. It was so calm, peaceful, and beautiful. If I lived here I would take a picnic meal or BBQ on the beach every night to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, my camera did not even come close to capturing the beauty of the moment. I loved it!!! I wish we had done that every evening. I told them that a sunset picnic on that beach is something that visitors would pay for. Make it a tour for the homestay guests! There were at least three different crab species all over the beach. Hornbills, kites, and other birds flew overhead. Basically, I was in heaven!

We came back to an awesome dinner and great conversation with Por. We talked about customs in Thailand. She shared experiences working as a translator, facilitator, and sometimes mediator. We swapped business ideas for the tie-dye group. I don’t know what all. After a couple beers and a few hours, we realized it was getting pretty late and parted ways.

There are some rough things about coming here: the mosquitoes are worse here than the other places we have been, there is practically no electricity, there is not the convenient running water in sinks nor a western toilet, it is hot, the humidity is the worst we have experienced, there has not been any of the cooling rainfall, and cold drinks are a rarity. However, I think this has been my favorite part so far. I seem to relate to the people more. I like the quiet remote village life. I like being on an island and using boats to get around – the boat ride over to Koh Prathong was like a tour I would gladly pay for. I like the tie-dye activity and the assistance we have offered, including the English lessons. I love the beach, the sunsets, the soft sand, and the ocean. And most of all, I like the villagers’ attitudes towards nature, conservation, and animal rights/protection. I would love to come back to work on the sea turtle project. I meant to ask about that, but we never got there in our conversation. The picture is noon with a mangrove seed.

I don’t know exactly, just the feel, the pace and the attitude of the place really appeal to me. I don’t think Andrew is as impressed as I am. We are having very different experiences ding exactly the same things. It is quite interesting, actually. I think he did better last week and I had a harder time. This week I did better and he had a harder time. I wish Dave and I could come back here and do a homestay, but I am not sure how he feels about the primitiveness of living here. I am really sad that we are leaving tomorrow.

Ban Lion, Kuraburi – July 9 22:00

This morning I woke up a little depressed as I realized we had to pack up to leave today. They had an easy morning planned for us and I was looking forward to it, but even an easy day feels like hard work in the scorching sun. Noon picked us up around 9:15 in a tractor that was pulling a metal and wood trailer. There was one bench seat put on the trailer for Andrew and I to share and I felt like royalty because everyone else sat on the metal bars. The tractor ride was fun in the morning when the sun was not so high. They asked if either of us wanted to try driving it and Andrew really wanted to so I told him to go for it (I have driven different types of heavy equipment in Alaska, so I figured it would be more of a novelty for him). After a quick lesson, Andrew was off and running. It was funny and he did pretty well. I was only worried once, okay twice – once he came really close to a tree and the other time he was close to a drop off. We toured the savanna, which is unique for Thailand to have a grassland area. This is why Koh Prathong has a deer population. We learned about the paper bark trees that they use to make roofs and for kindling. We also learned about the island’s mineral and tin mining history and so much more. Then we headed to the beach.

The beaches on the island are fabulous. The sand is so soft, the water is so comfortable in temperature (though it is not clear during the rainy season), and the scenery is breathtaking. We learned what the mini temples are that we have been seeing all around Thailand. These are spirit houses. A family may put one out after they lose an important member for their spirit to reside in and protect their household. Koh Prathong has a red spirit house for the guardian of the island. We heard how the rescue teams were amazed when they came to the island and saw that the tsunami had wiped out and leveled everything in its path, except the guardian’s spirit house that still remained standing in place. This spirit house (the one partially obscured by the new growth tree) is located right on the beach and this humungous destructive wave went right over it and destroyed everything else for a long ways inland. Amazing! Chilling! The wave has left permanent changes in the island’s landscape. Many of the trees that only grew along the coast now grow inland after the wave carried and deposited the seeds there and where the trees met the ocean is cleared sand or morning glories growing over the sand now. Anyway, Andrew and I went swimming in the ocean and it felt so wonderful that I might have stayed in for hours. However, I saw something through the sand laden water but wasn’t sure what it was. I thought at first maybe it was a rock, but I didn’t want to take any chances after we saw all the huge jellyfish in the ocean on the way to the island. Andrew asked what I was seeing and I said I wasn’t sure and wasn’t brave enough to try and find out. He wanted to see so he came over, but couldn’t find it. I went back and looked and found it again and pointed it out. It definitely wasn’t stationary and was moving in the water. This time I could see it was fairly big, rather triangular in shape, whitish in color, and had a tail. When Andrew saw it, he freaked out and yelled, “Whoa! What the hell is that?” Then he took off running towards the shore. I started to walk back, keeping an eye on it, and the only thing I could think of like that is a skate or a stingray. I asked our guide what it could be and he said it could possibly be either one. I think, then, that it was a stingray, because all the skates I’ve seen are darker in color and most haven’t been that big. If the water had been clear, I am sure I could have identified it for certain.

After that bit of excitement, they were opening coconuts they found under the palms. I am not a fan of fresh coconut meat or milk, so I passed but Andrew tried it. He said he liked it but that it did not have the flavor of the processed coconut at home. The tractor ride going back to the village was not quite as fun as going out, because the sun was high and super hot. I put on some 100 spf sun block and still burned within half an hour. It would have been ok if I had worn my goofy gardening hat and had something to throw over my legs.

Back in the village Andrew and I finished up our projects for the tie-dye group (an org chart with photos, a custom price chart, and a poster with the steps of the tie-dye process written in English) just in time before we had to catch the boat back to Kuraburi. We saw plenty of jellyfish again but no dugong. The ride back was about an hour and way too short. Again I felt I could do that all day!

Back in Kuraburi, I showered and put on clean clothes and went out with Judith to the street market for dinner. We met up with Andrew and all the other Andaman Discoveries crew at the Internet Café. I had a soda and a little beer and my stomach rebelled, so I went to my room instead of going out to the bar. At least it let me finish writing about my week. I really enjoyed this week and I think the deer rescue was the best time I have had so far. I love love loved it!!!

Ban Talae Nok, Khao Sok, Kuraburi - July 2 - 4

Ban Talae Nok – July 2

Our last day in the village began with breakfast, which I skipped so that I could eat lunch and then it was back to the mangrove nursery to get some seedlings of another species that we are planting on the beach today. I can’t remember what they are called, but they grow an edible fruit and the leaves look rather umbrella like. I gingerly walked through the muddy area and collected the ones I could fairly easily get to. Judith, just like yesterday, just dug right in without concern for getting dirty. I was more careful because I wanted to take pictures today and brought my camera.

We collected maybe twenty or so and brought them to the beach. This is a much nicer area to work in, because it is so much cooler – as I mentioned before. However, we were warned about the sand flies that bite. I did great all week at not getting bit, but I was not so lucky today. They left me with a stinging going away gift. I also got sand stuck in my sandals that I could not get out and it rubbed a couple spot raw on my foot. I should have gone barefoot, lesson learned. The planting was quick and easy, since the sand was easy to dig in – unlike the root filled mangrove that gave us a lot of trouble. We had some free time to play at the beach, but we still had one last task before heading back to Kuraburi. I have pictures from Tui now of me in the canal/mangrove. In this one I was stuck in the mud as we came out of the mangrove and I was afraid of losing my shoe. Everyone just stood and laughed and took pictures. I say phooey to all of them. Haha!

Back at the Youth Center a huge slab of wood had been hauled in to dry a day or two ago. Now we were supposed to paint a sign in English for the soap-making group. They already have one in Thai, but this village is trying to encourage ecotourism in their area. Right now it is one of the least touristy areas I’ve seen, but that is one of the things I really liked about it. However, it is also the hottest area I’ve been in Thailand and if I were to live here, I would have to live on the beach – tsunami or no tsunami, sand flies or no sand flies. I painted the words Soap and Nok on the sign, Judith wrote all the letters in pencil for us to follow and painted the word Women’s. Andrew painted Group and Talae and even Tui painted a word, Ban. We only had one paint brush, so we had to do it one at a time. Another group effort completed and it was time to say goodbye to our host family.

The village was about 45 minutes away from Kuraburi by hired car and the first thing I did at the apartment was jump under the shower and let the cold water run over me for a minute. This seemed a heavenly luxury! What a different life the villagers lead from us in the US. Out of the shower I began to unpack and repack to go to Khao Sok for the weekend. After some bus confusion, Karen rented a truck and her boyfriend, Phet, drove us. It was about an hour or so away. We checked in, had dinner and a couple beers and just called it a night.

Khao Sok National Park – July 3 14:00

I have a bungalow to myself and it is really nice, not as small as it looks in the photo. It is open to any insect or small critter that decides to pay me a visit, but I am given a mosquito net around my bed, so I am not worried. Although, with this kind of set up, you never know who might pay you a visit during the night. This morning I woke up with a couple of moths doing the wild thing and they are still there and still attached. Guys, you should have been moths! I spent the morning working on getting my blog posted for last week and went to the dining area for breakfast. I had a crepe filed with tropical fruits and a banana shake. Yummy! I have spent the whole morning on the computer posting and figuring out what is due for my class, but now we are going to go tubing down the river.

Khao Sok – July 3 17:00

Tubing here is different from Costa Rica. They did not tie us all together, so we were more responsible for keeping ourselves from injury. The river was wonderfully cool and felt great! The scenery was absolutely spectacular with alternating jungle and tall karsts with sheer rock sides. One of these karsts was naturally carved out with a platform and a cave-like side with interesting formations. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera, since it is not waterproof. I am glad I didn’t because even though the rapids were not rough, we did get plenty wet. Andrew ended up losing his camera. Our guide went back with a mask to dive for it, but it is raining too hard. He said he will try again tomorrow, but who knows where the current will carry it. I don’t think Andrew was uploading his pictures anywhere either. We saw a boa hanging on a branch over the water. There were huge bunches of bamboo growing out in a spray of greenery. Just beautiful.

20:30

I had my own private guide taking care of me. We had two guides for a group of eight people, so seven people shared one. He took a fancy to me, which at first was kind of cute, but he told me he wanted to be my Thai boyfriend and offered to come visit me at my bungalow tonight. No matter how many times I told him I was not interested in a Thai boyfriend and that I was married, he continued to insist. It made me a bit nervous really and I told Andrew and Judith to stay close. He even came to the resort and gave six of us (including three Texans staying at the resort that went tubing too) a ride into town to get dinner. Then he showed up again as we finished dinner (and took this picture for us) to go with us to get drinks and watch fútbol.

When Andrew, Judith and I were ready to leave, he went home to take the motor scooter back he was on and then was going to come back to walk with us. I told him no, go home, but I know he was coming. However, we accidentally walked the wrong way in the absolute darkness here. We only had Judith’s cell phone flashlight to guide us. And I think this allowed us to give him the slip. It is 10:30 pm as I write this and I am still afraid he is going to show up at my bungalow. I locked it up and have my cell phone if I need to call Judith and Andrew. Ok, kinda creepy.

I tried to go on the internet earlier this afternoon, but the electricity was out in the entire area. The lady running the resort said it should be back in an hour, but it didn’t come back on until we were ordering dinner in town. I am still a little weirded out, but this is the first issue I have run into traveling as a lone woman in Thailand. This does tell me I want to group activities, though.

Khao Sok, July 4

Happy Independence Day America! I decided to do nothing today. After packing up, I spent the entire morning and early afternoon in the dining area on the Internet and working on loading my pictures from my camera. Andrew and Judith came out around noon and the guide from yesterday showed up... again. He asked how long we were staying and we told him we were going to leave after lunch. He said he would go look for the camera again. Miracle of all miracles, he actually found and retrieved it from about 10 meters downstream where it had lodged on a large boulder. Also, I did not have any midnight visitors at my bungalow. He turned out to be a really good guy after all. He sure made Andrew's day! So I will post the picture with him, even though it is a horrible one of me. Then he gave us a ride to the bus depot, but I arranged that through the resort, so we paid him for that.

Navigating the bus system is interesting and a bit challenging, but worthwhile. As a comparison, it cost us 1700 TB to hire the truck, driver and gas to get there. It cost us 510 to get home paying for the lift to the depot, the bus to Takua Pa, and the bus to Kuraburi. Back in Kuraburi, I chugged down two Pepsi Colas and then went to my apartment to listen to music all night and just veg out. I planned on reading for the class assignment, but it was a holiday for us Americans and I didn't feel like it.