Trip Report, Part 31: The Report Concluded (Finally)

Carved detail at the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya

When I realize how drawn out this trip report has been I almost feel an apology is due. Part 1 appeared back on May 7th of last year (Bangkok Bound), and finally ends today, just a bit shy of nine months since that first installment.

As mentioned back then I tend to glean something out of most other's trip reports, so hopefully mine will serve a purpose and you'll find some helpful tips/ideas/suggestions that you can refer to, too, even if not all of it applies to you, your travel plans or your own tastes.

The trip report covered my Thailand trip nearly a year ago, and we'd just gotten through a weekend trip into new territory for me, but I figure I'm going to call it there. I'm not entirely done with things from that trip, but the series has gone on long enough, it's getting dark and the floodlights annoy the neighbors so I'm calling it with this wrap-up; a summary, if you will.

The last portions had to do with a long weekend away I'd taken under the wing of an always gracious Thai friend who delights in sharing the "off the beaten path" places with me, and for that I'm always grateful. He has another junket planned for me for my next trip there this year, and I've given up on trying to guess where we'll go and what we'll see.  Since this is Thailand it's comforting to know that the unexpected can - and often does - pop up along the way and sometimes he's surprised, too.

Along the way in the series we covered a lot of ground, figuratively and literally. To save anyone scrolling back that far I hope you'll allow me to refer to some points along the way. The stories you'll reach by many of the links below often contain updates or further information, as well. You are, of course, free to click on the "Trip Reports" link in the right hand column and just plow through them, although since I was still in the kingdom another couple of weeks there may be other posts with that label after today. You've been warned.

Here are some of the things we covered during the 30+ part report:

• An updated installment on Duty free shopping at Taoyuan International Airport
• Transferring in Taipei and using airline lounges
• Arrivals in Bangkok, Immigration and ground transportation
• A visit to emergency at Bangkok Nursing Hospital
• Photos and a report about dinner at Sugar Hut Restaurant & Resort, Pattaya
• An accommodation report about Sunshine Vista Serviced Apartments, Pattaya
• Dinner at Sea Zone on Walking Street in Pattaya
• The tourist spot Million Years Stone Park in Pattaya
• Being a gracious guest and being fair to Thai friends
• A four part bit about the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya here, here, here and here
• A massage boy's story
• An updated reminder on staying healthy in hotels
• Mingling with the Pathumthani prison chain gang guys in Bangkok
• Another accommodation report about the Seashell Village Resort in Chanthaburi
• A grass-weaving area where some of your souvenirs may have originated
• Two posts about a night festival, raising funds for a new wat (here and here)
• My visit with a former bar boy at his "retirement home"
• Two posts about the large hillside temple Wat Khao Sukim (here and here)
• One post about pushing your comfort zones while traveling
• An observation about being a boorish tourist that I'm told one boor took offense to
• A short piece about Kuk Khi Kai, aka the "bird shit" prison in Chataburi
• Shrimp farming in Chantaburi
• Oyster farming in Chantaburi
• Visiting and walking along Laem Sing Beach
• Walking through Kung Krabaen Bay Nature Preserve and mangrove forest
• Two posts about the Lady Bars on Walking Street (here and here)
• ... and a look at the Tamnanpar Forest Restaurant and Resort on our way back to Bangkok after the long weekend away.

A friend said one time noted how I seem to return home more tired out than when I left on vacation, and they might be right.  This next time I'm hoping for more "down" time: more reading, more naps, more time in the shade beneath an umbrella.  We shall see.

Trip Report, Part 29: Oyster Farming In Chantaburi

A panoramic shot of a grouping of fishing homes near the waters of the Gulf of Thailand, taken from a bridge 

Raise your hand if you remember the last installment of my trip report about my visit to Thailand.  Hmmm... I didn't think so. The last installment was at the end of October last year, so it's been a couple of months.  I'd feel guilty about that but I did mention it may or may not ever find a proper conclusion, and it's a collection of stories and observations so it's not as if it's going to spoil, I suppose. Nevertheless, here's part 29 - the oyster farmers of the Chantaburi area.

The oysters grow mainly on the poles standing out of the water, but they're not fussy...

The Chantaburi area is home to nearly 1,000 oyster breeding farms; about half the number of the largest area, in Chonburi. Those figures are old, so those figures are undoubtedly larger now. There are over 6,000 in Thailand, mainly on the gulf areas, but also on the Andaman Sea side.

More detail of the growing area

You'll see groupings of them growing on square cement posts in more professional farms, but you'll also see many areas with them growing on bamboo posts (or anything else that stays still enough) where the river waters intermingle with that in the gulf of Thailand. They can produce around a ton per rai (.4 of an acre) per year, if it's done right; the average farm in this area being about 2 rai - just over 3/4 of an acre.

The oysters you're likely to see there are of the crassostrea (true oyster) genus, a part of the rhizophorae family, if I've been advised correctly. These are "eating" oysters, and not "pearl" oysters. The two most abundant types grown here are the crassostrea belcherie and the crassostrea commercialis.

Other nets rest above the farming areas

While I'd seen them growing naturally in areas of the slightly brackish waters of mangrove groupings they're abundantly harvested by fishing families in the open waters near Chantaburi. Any time you're heading over a bridge or happen to be near any water flowing to the gulf you'll see boat tie-ups and/or shacks and homes where the poles and nets are set into the bottom and the shellfish grow.

My guess is it's not easy work - not much of the fishing industry is - but it's honest work, and that's what counts, I suppose.  These pictures were taken in a couple of different spots as we rode around one afternoon.

Trip Report, Part 28: Student Blockade At Kung Krabaen

Uh-oh...The car was off in the distance, past this school group.

When we'd arrived at Kung Krabaen Nature Center the parking lots were nearly empty; it was only mid-morning, and we'd only seen a single group of school kids within the park itself as we took our time walking through it - as one should, I'd say. Figuring we'd exit from where we'd entered the park we'd parked in a small lot near the main entrance, pleasantly surprised at our good fortune to find such a convenient spot.

It wasn't quite as lucky as we'd thought.

The walkway where we came out of the park ended up being a short ways from the car, and the narrow bridge leading to the car was blocked by a student group seated on the ground, listening to one of their instructors giving them an introductory talk about the place.  When the group of folks in the top image passed by, the instructor stopped to wait for them as they walked in front of her. She stood, microphone in hand, and waited for them to go by, and then began speaking again.

"So, what do we do?" I asked my friend. "Let's wait and see if they get up and move," my friend replied "unless you want to interrupt them again."  Swell.  Had I understood a word she was saying it may well have been interesting, but I didn't.

We stood there for about 10 minutes as the students listened, took notes and occasionally glanced over at us. Finally my friend said "I guess we just do like that last group did."  I know enough people in the teaching profession that I felt sort of strange doing so, but we began to walk through the blockade, trying to be inconspicuous as we went between the students and their teacher.

I figured, though, as long as we were going to interrupt them anyway, why not have some fun with it, so I put my hand up to my mouth and began to "talk" silently as we walked along, facing the kids who were now watching us more intently than they were their teacher.  They erupted with giggles and laughter as they saw me mimicking the woman, and that earned me a look from her we in the West might call "shooting daggers".  

The talk went on after we passed, and we stood at the car and again waited, our path to drive out still filled with blue shirts.  At that point there was nothing else to do but wait, and wait we did, some in the group still glancing over at us and smiling at my prank. 

Almost 15 minutes later they got up and began filing past the entry sign, returning my waves and laughing among themselves about the farang who'd interrupted the lecture.

I motioned for some of them near the end of the parade to stop for a picture, and they (naturally) grouped together and posed. It probably belongs in one of the "Smiles" posts, but it fits with today's follow-up post, so here it is.

Trip Report, Part 27: Kung Krabaen Bay Nature Center

Mangrove trees (Sonneratia alba) from the walkway of Kung Krabaen forest

Along the Gulf of Thailand in Chanthaburi, Kung Krabaen Bay - also known as "Stingray Bay" to the locals because of its shape - is home to a huge area of mangrove forest: the Kung Krabaen Mangrove Forest and Nature Center.

A wooden bridge spans one of the open areas in the forest

While there are many many other mangrove swamp areas around the gulf, this park is, I'm told, about the largest and more visitor- and education-friendly of them all.  At a little over 500 acres (1,300 rai) it's difficult to get a big picture of it because it's so dense you can't see the forest for, well, for the trees.  Literally, in this case.

Over a mile of raised wooden walkways wind through the forest

It's like stepping back into prehistoric times when you enter the forest, if you you can forgive a little over a mile of raised wooden walkways that meander through the place. The open waterway in the lead photo today is one of a precious few I saw as I made my way through beneath the dense canopy of mangrove branches and leaves.

For height reference, here are
people climbing up to an
observation tower, above
the tree tops

The mangrove trees that dominate the area are classified as Sonneratia alba (of the family Sonneratiaceae). Their extensive root systems, both above and below ground, filter salt from the water, making the brackish mix of salt water from the gulf and fresh water from the rivers usable where it couldn't sustain many other varieties of plant life.

There was very little air movement in the forest, even though you could see movement in the tree tops high overhead, and I was lucky it wasn't a hot day; the humidity in the area might have been overwhelming otherwise.

Birds sang out with a variety of calls around me, and every so often you could catch a glimpse of wildlife - if you were taking your time and being observant.  Butterflies were visible near the edges of the forest, but I saw very few beneath the canopy itself.

What you could see were several varieties of small crabs, skittering over and around the tree roots. Most were in the three inch wide category; blues, greens and reds being their predominant colors.  The light under the trees was low enough that I got quite a few blurry pictures, but not many worth sharing here.  Here's one:

Another unexpected creature were the freshwater rays that rested on the surface of the mud in some of the shallow areas.  These two were either snuggling or mating; perhaps both.

The park is open from early morning to dusk most every day, and because of the educational value of the place it's a regular stop for school outings. It's not far from the area I stayed in the Laem Sing area for my long weekend holiday. On the map below the park is on the bay with the purple dot, and Laem Sing is indicated with a green one.

Image from Google Maps

Even if you don't make the five hour drive from Bangkok to visit here, try looking up other similar areas and check them out. I've seen photos posted by a friend of another park like this near Hua Hin. It's worth the effort.

A common tiger butterfly near the edge of the mangrove forest

Trip Report, Part 26: Walking Laem Sing Beach

A young man jumps for joy (or his wife, anyway) as his picture is taken along Laem Sing Beach

It was after lunch and our stop at Bud's Ice Cream that we finally got out onto Laem Sing Beach itself to walk along the surf line, people watch and just meander along for a couple of hours or so. Although it was a warm afternoon the sun wasn't too harsh, and the locals were out to enjoy the day, too.

The Thai being modest overall (and not being tan fanatics many are in other parts of the world) most were wearing shirts in addition to their swimming suits or shorts, as you can see in the picture of people in the water below.

These eight people (one was underwater) were enjoying the mild afternoon temperature

Sea shells of all kinds were
the only "litter" on this beach.
What a nice change!

The beach itself was cleaner than you'd normally see in Pattaya or Jomtien, and it was nice not to have to be quite as careful about stepping on glass, metal shards and other trash. A cut on the bottom of your foot can be more than an inconvenience when you're on holiday, as can the infection that can come soon after; sewage treatment in the Land of Smiles can be nothing more than releasing it into the sea a little too close to shore for my liking. Here there were precious few hotels, so that possibility was far slimmer than other more concentrated tourist areas.

The locals also appeared to be more conscious about keeping "their" beach clean, and I was pleased that there wasn't the usual assortment of wrappers, plastic bags, bottles, cans and other assorted litter floating up onto the beach at the water's edge. Another plus in my book.

The walk brought back memories from my youth of walking along a beach and seeing sea shells all along the way; small treasures when we're children, and still a pleasant sight when they're sprinkled along as far as the eye can see.

A Mother watched as her three young kids played in the small, gentle waves that lapped along the shore of the sandy beach; the little ones edging their way closer and closer to the water and shrieking with happy surprise as it washed over their tiny toes, sending them running back towards Mom before they'd again creep nearer.  Two of the boys repeatedly picked up stones and shells and hurled them with great zeal as far as they could out into the surf.

A message in the sand, left by a local

I got a laugh out of the message above, left in the sand by a local. Unless you've never been to Thailand you've heard someone - at one point or another - defer a choice to you by saying "Up to you!".  Here the tables had been turned, and as you can see above the message was "up to me... becoose up to me"!  Both the sentiment and their spelling of "because" were amusing, I thought.

It's a phrase heard so often along Soi Twilight and Soi Cowboy from club workers trying to encourage an off with a customer, and thinking it might have been left by one of them away for a holiday themselves I went over after I'd taken the picture and added "you go, girl" below the original message, figuring it'd apply to workers of either variety.

Dried and freshly barbecued squid at a cart on the sand

The shells crunching beneath my sandals (worn without socks, if there are any from the Fashion Police reading this) I was lost in thought and didn't notice my friend stopping as the breeze changed direction. He'd caught the smell of BBQ drifting towards us, and exclaimed "squid!". He made a turn and headed back up across the dry sand to a cart selling dried and BBQ squid. I was still full from lunch and our ice cream stop, but had a sample of the piece he bought to snack on as we went back down to walk along the waterline.

The sun was beginning to set as we reached the farthest end of the beach, and we turned to head back to where we'd left the car. In Hawaii (and other tropical tourist areas) you're likely to see tee shirts emblazoned with the phrase "Just another shitty day in paradise", and that thought came to me as we made our way slowly back along the sand. 

Goose barnacles growing on a piece of wooden handle that had washed up onto the shore

It had indeed been a fine afternoon, and one of the nicer walks of my trip.

Same Same, But Different! Pt. 12: Bud's Ice Cream

An open air Bud's Ice Cream shop on Laem Sing Beach, Chantaburi Province

OK, it's nostalgia time for those of you in the USA of a certain age, and I know there are some readers who will remember this. For the rest of you it's just a little background information about a product you're still likely to run into in the US - and Asia, strangely enough.

From the A.F.C. site

Bud Scheideman opened the first Bud's Ice Cream in San Francisco back in the 1960s. Then it was a small production facility and retail shop at 24th and Castro, and people soon learned that it was about the best ice cream around.

While Baskin-Robbins had opened in Southern California in the mid-1940s, this was before the days when Haagen-Daz and Ben and Jerry's were everyday staples of chain supermarket freezer cases. Several local dairies made their own house brands, of course, but the the brands we're talking about today have a higher butterfat content, and the "mouth feel" is noticeable.

Candied coconut, banana and sweet potato of some form were the base for my sundae. Syrups aren't often added as a topping.

Local treats in the freezer case

As a side note, Baskin-Robbins also branched out into the international market (including Asia) and they claim they also sell in Thailand, but I've yet to notice them there. I might have seen them and just don't remember it, but that's unlikely; when I travel I usually notice reminders of home.

I can see malls at home, so I don't usually spend a lot of time in them while overseas. Nothing against those who do, but I don't fly that far to see Swarovski crystal, regardless of the possible savings.

Standards aren't strictly enforced, as you might imagine, but it was still Bud's

My friend's sundae, although I've forgotten what was below the ice cream.

Alvin Edlin bought the Bud's operation from Scheideman - his cousin - in 1952. He upgraded the business and ran it until he sold it to a group of guys in 1982, who then sold it to Berkeley Farms in 1992. They were the ones who licensed it to American Foods Corporation, and that's when it truly went international, beginning in Singapore, Malaysia and, of course, all over Thailand.

"Base" options for your sundae

I have to admit - it was hot that noontime and it was a pleasant surprise to see the familiar logo sign sticking out over the walkway along Laem Sing beach on my long weekend in Chantaburi, and I told my friend we needed to stop in there after lunch. It was a happy break and a delicious - if different - treat.

Wall poster advertising ice cream cakes

Thai Smiles, Part 52: Kids In Chantaburi

Radio controlled cars at the Wat fundraiser I attended

Friday... finally.

It's been a long week for me, and I'm looking forward to doing a lot of nothing for the next couple of days.

I'd briefly considered attending the Castro crafts fair in San Francisco, but it's a long drive, and I'd heard from a friend of a particularly unpleasant troll seen lurking in their booth there last year, so I scratched that one off the list. Besides, it's Fleet Week, the city will be packed with sports fans, folks at other street festivals and the Blue Angels will be zooming overhead - which always draws a crowd - so it's best to just steer clear of the whole mess. When the laundry's finished and something is lined up for dinner plans this evening I'm done.

More or less.

Here today is an assortment of kids in the Chantaburi area, in keeping with the trip report about my long weekend near Laem Sing Beach. That poor thread has been dragged from Hell to breakfast already, so there's probably no damaging it further by derailing it another day!

Here's wishing you a weekend with nothing too pressing to do, too. See you on Monday.

This boy was all too pleased to be interrupted while studying one afternoon

Popcorn (sealed from the humidity to keep it crisp) was the item this boy had for sale at the wat fundraising festival

From their nervous surprised looks and giggles these two boys fooling around on the internet may have been looking at things better left until they were a little older.

Shrimp Farming In Chantaburi (Trip Report, Part 26)

Water is aerated in a small shrimp / prawn farm in Chantaburi

There are roads through the coastal areas of Chantaburi lined with large ponds that look a little like rice paddies, but there isn't any rice sticking up from the water. Instead, they're filled with shrimp - more black tiger prawns than other varieties. The water is aerated by axles extending out into the water, turning paddle wheels that agitate the water, sending a spray up into the air.

Detail of one of the aerating paddles

Shrimp farming is a big money maker for Thai farmers in the coastal areas of both the Gulf of Thailand and the lands bordering the Andaman sea.  We drove by hundreds of these shrimp or prawn farms in the Chantaburi area, and stopped to walk in and look at a few of them.

In the areas along the Andaman sea there are almost too many farms like these; large portions of mangrove groves have been demolished to make room for them, where crab, jellyfish and small fish previously thrived in the same brackish water now used for farming the shrimp and prawns.

Lines form a netting above many of the ponds that helps keep birds from diving in for an easy snack

In the 1980s Thai harvest nearly 90% of the shrimp directly from natural sources, such as the Guld of Thailand. Now some estimates say as much as half of the mangrove swamp areas along the Eastern and Southern coasts have been destroyed to create farms for them, due mainly to a rise in demand for the tasty crustaceans that exploded in the 1990s spurred by government subsidies, a demand from Japan and other countries and the rising prices that came along with it.

In an attempt to save some areas, notably near Trat, the government again subsidized the planting of sago and nipa palms, which would have normally thrived in the mangrove areas. Nipa leaves can also be a cash crop; easily woven into baskets and other items, and sago meal is a traditional part of the local's diet. Both allow the natural mangrove swamps to remain where nature intended them to be.

Some locals realized that by destroying the mangrove areas - and dumping pollutants from the ponds back out into the bay or ocean was causing an imbalance that effected them directly: less fish and crab for them to harvest for their own regular consumption.  

With luck, sense will win out over greed and the Thai will reach some happy compromise, allowing at least a partial restoration of the balance.

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Off Hiway 3 in Chantaburi: lush foliage hums with insects, joined by the rustling of leaves in the warm afternoon wind

I've usually enjoyed what Robert Frost would have called "the road less traveled", and sometimes that does, indeed, make all the difference.  You can go from point A to point B in many areas of Thailand via reasonably modern highways, but you can also miss a lot by doing so.

A young man sails along the road on his motocy in Chantaburi

My frequent Thai traveling companion knows how I enjoy being in the thick of things, and he goes out of his way time and again to take the smaller country roads; mainly to entertain me, but because he, too, enjoys the surprises you find along the way. Thank goodness, because otherwise I'd feel bad about the number of times I say "Wait... can you stop and go back for a minute?"

Sure, we get lost every so often - and the Thai aren't all that much more accurate with directions for a fellow countryman than they are for we foreigners - but it's an important part of the journey, I think.

Thorny, multi-colored Euphorbia Milii Splendens (Crown of Thorns) seems to be guarding the laundry that's hung out to dry

For me, it's more interesting to see beyond the polished surface of any country I visit; to be out in the countryside among the locals is to be happier than a hog rolling in the shaded mud on a hot country afternoon.

While his wife and two children waited at the edge of the reservoir, a man gathers lotus buds to have with their dinner.

You don't see a string of 7-Elevens, and you can go entire days without being assaulted by a Starbucks, McDonalds or some other such retail atrocity (a treat unto itself, if you ask me).

What you do see are small stalls, mobile businesses on carts, lots of bicycles and motocy, and houses - both firmly on the ground and standing up on stilts, accessorized with livestock and folks resting beneath them on low platforms.  It's a window into a world we as visitors rarely have an opportunity to view.

This family of shrimp farmers in Chantaburi were amused by our stopping just to say hello. Fortunately, my friend could translate for me.

Rounding a corner, beneath the lush foliage of trees reaching out in an effort to touch each other above your head you're likely to see folks sometimes as surprised to see you as you are to see them.  Invariably they'll smile and wave back if you make the minor effort to acknowledge their existence and show a little appreciation for the beautiful area they call home.

Granted, it's not meaningful interaction, I suppose - but it feels good to be "a part of" on the most minor of levels, and far too many people miss it.

Shave Ice, Revisited

In the original August 15th post about shaved ice (what most of us in the West would call a variation of the snow cone) in Old Chantaburi Town I'd intended on including a video clip of the young man preparing my cool treat, but I'd misplaced the file. Another attack of disorganization and forgetfulness, I suppose. You can read more about the snack in that post, too, if you wish.

I'd recorded it while he was putting my add-ons into the bowl and shaving the ice but since I couldn't readily find it I just used the stills I'd taken while he was putting my friend's together before mine.  I'm correcting that today.

The Hawaiian version mentioned in that other post is more firmly packed down, so there's actually more ice involved, but this portion was plenty. The little girl having a bowl of it nearby me sure wolfed hers down, and I enjoyed every last bit of mine, too.

The guy preparing them seemed a little amused that I was photographing the process of assembling them, and you can see his "ting tong farang" smile near the end of the clip, but I didn't mind... what  was a simple thing to him remains a nice example of everyday life to me, and I'm glad I found it to share with you.

We're having hot weather through the inland portions of California now, and I may just have to try to find such a cold snack today myself!

Thai Smiles, Part 51: Chantaburi Weekend Smiles

Father and daughter in Old
Chantaburi Town

I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was a little overbooked, but some things (like the memorial service and gathering for a family friend) aren't possible to put onto the back burner in lieu of others.

That said, I had quite a few friends and family staying here in town for the past few days, and that's put me a long ways behind schedule for my usual rounds.  While I was hoping to get a post up about another part of the Chantaburi weekend getaway, that's not going to happen.

Instead, here are a few shots I took while away for that weekend, adding another installment to the Thai Smiles series.

Hey... at least they're my photos. All too often trolls with blogs troll the internet for images they alter slightly and claim to be theirs (part of the reason for the watermark on mine, although I've still found a few on other sites with the watermark cropped out - HA!)  Anyway, I'll take another stab at a post tomorrow.

The first three of these were taken on the long Chantaburi weekend, and the last is a leftover from Friday's post about killing time at work.

Couple on a cycle in Old Chantaburi Town

Proprietor of one of two small stores in Laem Singh

Guys on Soi Twilight, filling a slow time