Home Again, Home Again - Jiggety Jog

Ahh... if only this was all the laundry I had waiting for me to wash...

Those of you who travel can probably relate to this. You spend weeks or months daydreaming about going somewhere, maybe returning to some place you've become quite fond of, and as the date of your departure grows closer you become somewhat obsessed with the trip.

I don't just mean the wistful checking of air fares, hotel possibilities and web sites where with very little effort you can find enough things to do to fill your allotted days three times over; that's a given, right?  No, I mean that uncontrollable wandering of thoughts most of us find ourselves wound up in, in anticipation of the visits with friends, the familiar haunts for people watching, the  leisurely meals on balmy evenings and the ever-present potential for the new sights, sounds, tastes and experiences.  

If I sit quietly in my garden here at home in the morning I can close my eyes and easily imagine I can hear the treetops in Lumphini Park being gently tousled by the morning breeze and see a worker spraying a wide fan of water across the lush, green lawn near the lakeside, sending a disgruntled monitor lizard slithering off into the water; the last flip of its tail making a circular splash that spreads on the surface after it's gone below. Naturally, it's long past dark in the park itself, but thank goodness there's enough grey matter left between my ears that the memory still remains.

A small monitor lizard one morning in Lumphini Park

The booking, packing, traipsing through several airports - and the queues that are always a part of them - aren't nearly as much fun (and far less fun on the trip back to what passes for normalcy on the return trip), but I happily face them for what they really are: minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of things when making a journey to Thailand. 

Some years see me make this journey a few times, some years less. Who knows what Life will allow this year, but I have just been graced with another extended stay in the Land of Smiles, and that's enough for today. 

I'm still floating on the pink cloud of contentment as I again face the heap of soiled clothing, the fat envelope of receipts and notes and the inevitable stack of mail that waits for me after a month overseas. Truth be known, some of what I'm calling giddiness may be nothing more than my later-middle-aged body and brain adjusting yet again to a day/night shift of time zones, but let's stick with the cloud idea, shall we?

Some of you reading this will say "hey! I didn't hear from you... you were here and didn't even call me?"  Yup.  Guilty as charged.  I had time with four dear longer-term Thai friends and a like number of farang friends there, and while I'm not happy with (nor proud of) that, this was more of a break for me... albeit a long break. 

Temple detail: always something new to see

I did a lot of moving around, stayed in some new places, attended some new events and, as usual, took a lot of pictures.  About 4,500 this time, which is a little more than I normally do. My true friends who know me will understand, and the others will, I hope, forgive me.

Anyway, I'm around. As I posted some time back (and most of you caught) I don't plan to be doing this five days a week for a while, but I still have over  decade of stories and a fat folder of new things to share about, so check in when you can. 

As the late Herb Caen - a columnist and writer I long admired - once wrote in a letter to me "Thanks for reading my stuff. It's a compliment I never take for granted," and I agree... it's the sharing and the kind feedback that make it all worthwhile.

And now, if you'll excuse me... I have some daydreaming to do about the next trip while I wrestle with this damned laundry.

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 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 11: The Million Year Stone Park

One small portion of the Million Year Stone Park gardens show in this panorama shot

[This is part 11 of a series that may or may not ever find its way to a proper conclusion. It has to do with my latest trip to Thailand, and the people, places and things I encountered along the way. You can find the rest of the series by clicking here on Trip Reports.]

The park mascot. Tourist
photo opportunity?  You bet!

One of the main reasons I've returned to Thailand time and again are the students I've been fortunate to be able to help build a better future through the Pattaya Street Kids Support Project. The reasons behind that have already been covered here and here, but the most rewarding part for me is having the opportunity to actually see the kids and take them along for a day otherwise out of their financial reach; a reward for working hard at school, so to speak.

Most of the time I'm at a complete loss as to what someone that much younger than myself would find entertaining on an outing like that, but naturally the kids themselves aren't. They've heard of places from schoolmates, friends and television and often have an idea of what they'd like to do on "their" day, although sometimes they're self-conscious about asking for what to them is a large extravagance.

Camels, zebras, giant catfish and peacocks are just a few of the hundreds of  creatures to see around the park

The boys all loved feeding
the crocodiles from above

This trip three of the kids asked if they could go to the Million Year Stone Park and Crocodile Farm, and one wanted to see the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum in the Royal Plaza Garden Mall.

I confess that seeing the Ripley complex (it dominates a huge portion of the top floor) once was OK, five years ago, but it's not anywhere on my list today. Nevertheless, it wasn't my day, so I put on on a smile and went along, enjoying seeing others enjoying it - so it was still one of those "win-win" situations.  I'll address Ripley's another time soon.  You've been warned.

The Million Year Stone Park is a fairly short ride from Pattaya - maybe 20 minutes or so - and covers a lot of ground: 70 acres, according to their web site.  It's a mix of gardens, zoo, showplaces, rock formations and it can be brutally hot in the mid-day sun.  There are places to eat and plenty of places for souvenirs. Admission ran me about $30 for three Thai and one Big Pink Guy.

While busloads of tourists are undoubtedly the bread and butter of the place, it's also a spot for the Thai; much like a theme park would be here in the USA.  I'd say the day I was there the mix was 75% Thai and 25% foreigners.

Yes, there are hundreds of these there. Nothing like at the Samut Prakan farm near Bangkok, but still plenty

The kids have all grown older over the years, naturally, and now - mid-teens - the boys were much more interested in feeding raw chicken to the crocodiles below them with a string on a pole or sit within easy mauling distance of a tiger to have their picture taken than they were some years back.  What is it about our teenage years that gives us that unreasonable feeling of invincibility, anyway?

Whether the tiger's been slightly sedated or not, it doesn't seem like a good idea to sit there like this kid did.

While they'd have covered their eyes in the past, this time the guys leaned forward with smiles on their faces when the crocodile handler did what are supposed to be the riskier moves. Vicarious thrills, I suppose.  I watched, too.

Looking for his keys, maybe...

The park just passed its 20th anniversary, having opened in February of 1992. Touristy? Absolutely - but what's wrong with that?  Ask a Thai friend along with you. If they haven't been there themselves already I'll wager they'd have fun.

The Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm

Keeping Bangkok's Lumphini Park Green

It takes a lot of water (and labor) to keep Lumphini Park the lush, green expanse it's been for so many years, but what a worthwhile use of time and effort it is; a joy for both residents and visitors alike.

Much of the water is pumped from the lake in the park itself, but evaporation must play a part in the overall consumption of water for over 140 acres (57.6-hectare or 360 Thai rai). I couldn't find figures or estimates on how much water is used to keep the place up annually, sorry to say.  I know what my own water bills run to keep ponds maintained and yard(s) watered, so I'm guessing it's a huge quantity.

Catching a nap by the lake in Lumphini Park

The history and details of this magnificent park are available in the post "Lumphini Park: Bangkok's Emerald Oasis" from May of last year, so there's no need to go through that again - but a couple of months ago I took a couple of walks and covered most of the mile and a half (2.5Km) of paved walkways. It was still relatively cool at 09:00, and the sprinklers and hand-watering were going on in earnest.

A bit of the extensive sprinkler system in action

Although it was an informal count I saw somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 people working on the grounds one morning walk, most all of them watering before the temperature rose by early afternoon.

Another portion of the sprinkler system at work

If the overhead electrical and phone wiring visible throughout the city is any indication, the sprinkler system must be a massive ball of snakes. Over the years the additions, replacements and re-workings have undoubtedly become a mess.  Here in the USA I'd tend to call that "the curse of the lowest bidder," but there it probably had more to do with - oh, let's just say favoritism, to avoid any unsavory allegations.

Landscaper for hire: have hose, will water

Although I know it's not likely it seemed as though there was a foot of heavy-gauged commercial grade hose for every foot of pathway; all being dragged along by someone invariably protected from the sun by a long-sleeved work uniform and broad-brimmed hat.

The areas that had less delicate plant specimens and were closer to the paved walkways were taken care of by water trucks. Moving slowly along, they'd pause as a worker would open the valve, sending a wide, vertical fan of water spraying out from one side of the vehicle or the other.

Although they were looking to see if there were pedestrians where they intended to douse an area they do miss, sometimes. At one point, as the spray blasted from the truck into a line of hedges I heard a surprised shout from the hidden side. A young man came running into view, his clothes now soaked and clinging to him.

Luckily he was wearing a tee shirt and running shorts. After a brief but seemingly civil exchange between the driver and the young man the guy shook himself rather like a dog would do after a bath and they laughed.

That same morning I thought I was going to see another person get soaked, but this one would have to have been something more than accidental.  You remember the man sleeping in the photo earlier in the post today?  This is what was happening nearby:

He didn't move at all as the gardener splashed around him, so either he was really a sound sleeper or a very trusting soul.

It's forecast to be near 90F/32C where I am today, so I suppose I ought to go check the smaller container plants and make sure there's no watering I need to do myself this morning.

Given the choice, I'd rather be snoozing on that lake bank in Lumphini Park, but so it goes.

Oh, And By The Way... A Few More

A boy with a pet Sugar Glider sat on the rocks near the falls. Note the info and link in the comments below.

The afternoon I invested in the area around the waterfall at Nam Tok Phliu National Park afforded me quite a variety of photo opportunities, and while some were easy to group together (i.e. the smile pictures) some didn't look as though they were going to fit comfortably in any folder.

Since yesterday's post seemed to already be long enough I left some of the prepared images out of the mix, but I'd like to share a few more of them with you today.  I'll come back to them again some time in the future.

The lower part of the falls drop into the largest swimming pond

A couple of visiting monks watch the fish watching for food

I saw several of these lizards during my afternoon in the park

My friend said the squirrel guy from up top was ready to leave, but his friends were still playing with the fish. He was tired of waiting.

Nam Tok Phliu National Park: Getting There, Etc.

Far from "full" this is how the falls looked on the day of my visit in March 2012/2555

My few hours hiking in and out of the falls area of Nam Tok Phliu National Park was one of the more enjoyable afternoons of my last trip.  It was another of those farang-free times where I was able to mingle with Thai who weren't hustling about, trying to sell me something or otherwise working - they were merely there to relax and enjoy the same spot I was there to enjoy.

During the visit my friend and I made we only saw a small part of what was available there, so I'd urge you do to some further research on it if you plan to go yourself, and I'd also suggest you plan a full day of activity there.

A woman sits at one of many "viewing" spots to watch the fish

There are plenty of places to sit and have lunch and do some trinket shopping, too. If you're  one of those who likes to picnic you can buy a packaged meal to sit beneath the trees and eat.  You return the plates and things to the vendor afterwards.

NO food, other than the long beans for the fish, is allowed past a certain point, and there's someone there to remind you if you try - up to and including the rubber bands that often bundle the beans when you buy them. The rest of the way (that I saw, anyway) was completely litter-free.

There are some raised bridges, but a lot of the walk to the falls is stairways and inclined pathways

The hike up the hill from the parking areas to the falls would be plenty for some of you, but there's plenty of room to hike around for the more adventurous folks who are in better shape and enjoy such things.

The park's entrance - the ticket booth is to the left of the sign

Most of the sites sharing information about the park itself seem to have borrowed liberally from each other, but if you do some deeper searches you can find detailed information, albeit it in Thai. There wasn't a brochure in English that I could find there, so I've also borrowed the area figures below.

The basics are these: the park in its entirety covers a little over 134 square kilometers / 51 square miles, it's open seven days a week (barring the odd holiday quirk) and admission is two-tiered, meaning Thai pay 40 baht to enter and farang pay 200 baht. Some people balk at that, but frankly I think it's perfectly logical - even though my friend makes substantially more in a year as a surgeon than I do in my profession.  After all, it's their national park.

200 baht for foreigners; still half the price of a park in the USA

We were there on a weekday and there was still parallel parking available within 100 meters of the park ticket booth and entrance, but when it's busy you'd be in the actual parking lots, and those are further down the hill.

I stayed near the red dot  - about 45 minutes from the park

Google maps report it's 200Km/125Miles from the downtown Pattaya to Phliu, and it's not a freeway so you're looking at about four hours each way; more with the logical stop to rest or have a snack along the way. I'd strongly suggest making the time for an overnight stop at a beach-side place in the area. I stayed there for four days, so it was just a 45 minute drive through some lovely countryside to the park.

Savoury soup and a bottle of water - my travel day lunch

It's more or less a straight shot most of the way down Highway 3, or Sukhumvit Road (yes, that Sukhumvit - the same one that runs all the way up through Bangkok) through beautiful countryside of farmland and orchards of mangosteen, rambutan, jackfruit, sawa, durian and other tree fruit. During April and May the fruit is ripening and ready for harvest and my friend was sorry we weren't coming through there then, when the fruit makes the whole area quite colorful.

More water was actually coming down the right side (barely visible here) but I didn't clamber up for a better view, sorry to say.

The falls themselves were less than they are during the rainy season, as you'd expect. The day I was there I was told they are a mere fraction of what they can be, but during those periods it's far less safe to be clambering around what I'm told are more what you could call raging rapids down along the paths, few of which have hand rails or other protection, and they were somewhat slippery the day I was there, so be advised even during calmer times - unless you don't bruise easily!

There are at least eight to ten different spots to stop and feed the schools of fish on your way up to the waterfall I visited, so if you don't feel up to the entire hike you won't miss out on trying your beans - I mean hand - at this.  Again, be advised that wet rocks can be slippery.  The water isn't cold, but warm water can also do a number on your cell phone, wallet and other things.

All in all I'd have to say it's a place worth visiting when you're in the area.  If you, like I, are of the belief that there's much more to Thailand than shopping malls and nightlife I can attest to there being more to see and do in the area. We'll cover more of it soon.

A large carved wooden tor soro carp on the path to the falls

Thai Smiles, Part 45: Having Fun At Nam Tok Phlio

A couple of guys feeding long beans to the fish at the falls

Posing for his girlfriend

Yesterday you saw a couple of photos of monks having fun feeding the Tor Soro long beans at Nam Tok Phlio National Park. I'll get back to the park itself early next week, but while I was prepping photos for those posts I found more than enough for another Thai Smiles installment.

Since you haven't been assaulted with one of those since January 26th I figured you were about due for one.

My friend told me the popularity of the park had grown for two reasons: one is to feed the fish and play in the water, and the other is that the water is believed to be pure, having just appeared from the ground not far from the top of the falls where there are no "known" contaminants to foul it.

Under her mother's watchful eye this little girl was beside herself with the giggles as the fish swam around and tickled her

Call me old fashioned (I've been called far worse) but somehow it doesn't seem quite as pristine when you've seen 75 men, women and children frolicking around in it, but it is moving water, so I suppose if you're talking about drinking the water coming down the falls it may well be pretty pure; animals and birds above notwithstanding, of course.

The guy waving wanted me to come over and climb the rocks with them.  It didn't happen.

PHOTO OP!  Smile!

As I was told, the idea is it's far cleaner water than any of the beaches in, say, Pattaya or other built up tourist areas where the currents carry what's dumped into the ocean.  You know - industries, hotels, homes, etc. Use your imagination, but not if you're eating or heading off to the beach for a swim.

Here the folks enjoy wading in among the thousands of fish, feeding them the long beans, and - naturally - being tourists themselves.  This is a Photo Opportunity Supreme for the locals, and it was nice to see the relaxed atmosphere there.

Maybe the lack of farang helped, I don't know - I didn't see more than a couple other than myself the entire afternoon - but it was nice to feel "a part of," if you know what I mean; people smiled, waved, shared their long beans with me while feeding the fish, that sort of thing.

These three were having a blast catching fish in their T-shirts.

My friend had gone off on his own (he gets bored with me taking photos, I get tired of waiting for him to finish doing the same) so it was just me, and it was really, really nice.

This group had climbed up toward the top of the falls, and were soaked

As you might expect there were school groups visiting the park, too. I wish there were more opportunities for students here in the USA to go on field trips like we did when I was in elementary school - before everyone started suing everyone else and you needed a ten-page release of liability signed by a parent or guardian before anyone could board the bus.

These kids splashed around and got soaked. They ran themselves ragged, but a few of the braver ones still wanted to stop and practice their English on me.

Neither of us being in very good shape we both left the park tired after that much clambering around, but it was a fine afternoon.

I ran into the fish feeders from the top photo again on our way out of the park