Labels: Christmas, Thailand

In the last couple of weeks, the Thai holiday calendar provided a Tuesday off and a 3-day weekend, allowing me to get out of Hat Yai and into the great outdoors. I've also been getting a steady stream of Christmas packages from home (thank you!) and pigging out on Christmas cookies and jerky.

The King's birthday (also Thai Father's Day) fell on a Tuesday this year, and unfortunately my school didn't take the Monday off as well (darnit). Fortunately, Pitt's family was heading out to a waterfall an hour outside the city, and I got the invite to go with (pictures). Eight adults and seven kids (everyone but me wearing their yellow king shirts) piled into P Noot's truck for the drive out into the country. Waterfalls are really popular domestic tourism spots here, and this one was beautiful but heavily impacted by all the visitors. The kids had a great time splashing around in the water hole created by a dam just downstream, and the rest of us enjoyed a nice picnic in the jungle.

Thai Constitution Day fell on a Sunday, but luckily was observed Monday, resulting in a three-day weekend so I could go see Trevor! Some of the NATR crew had put together a boat-ride out to the Surin Islands (more on the park here, our pictures here, and a map here), and Trevor and I managed to hop aboard. The islands are a little over an hour away via speedboad.... or 5-6 hours via longtail boat. The price differential is proportional to the time, but we happily opted for the more expensive zippy boat. Mu Ko Surin National Park is considerably better preserved than other islands in the park system (like Koh Samet and other developed "Park" areas). There is only camping, and they are well-organized for tent and bedding rentals, as well as having a reasonably priced cafeteria. Trevor had borrowed a tent, so we pitched that right away upon arrival, and then headed for the kayak rentals.

We had a hot tip on a small "nearby" island with great snorkeling, which Bodhi and Paul paddled out to and thoroughly enjoyed. After noting it wasn't quite near enough to suit my overnight-bus-weary self, Trevor and I opted for a closer option in a lovely secluded beach. With only one other couple sharing our find, we got way more solitude than we'd anticipated. After fighting the surf a bit to get out, the snorkeling from the beach proved absolutely amazing, and we both concluded it was the most fantastic coral we'd ever seen. When they toss out the term "coral garden", it's tough to imagine what they mean until you see it - gorgeous, varied coral formations with an equally varied assortement of fish flitting around them like butterflies. A large school of parrotfish made its way over the coral, descending here and there in unison to scrape away on the algae and polyps, making an audible crunching sound and sending grains of chewed coral drifting toward bottom. Cleaner wrasses tended to the bigger fish, and buttefly fish added bright bits of color darting amongst the coral.

After a nap on the beach to dry off, we went to haul our kayak back in the water only to find that the tide had gone out much further than we had any reason to expect, and that lovely reef was now hemming us in. With some fancy footwork, we managed to get back out without causing any damage (we really really hope). The situation back at home-beach was even worse, but luckily (for us getting back in before dark without feeling horrible, anyway) the reef approaching that beach is almost totally dead. Mostly it was just really mortifying for us to break a cardinal reef-etiquette rule by tromping on coral, even if it was dead, in front of people, even if all the Thai tourists could know or care less. The Thai Park system's ideas of preservation haven't extended as far as educating people about reef health, even as far as having employees warn kayak-renters about the tides.

The next morning Trevor, Paul, and I hopped on one of the park's organized snorkeling tours. We were taken to two different sites - along with a long-tail full of Thai tourists wearing long-sleeve t-shirts and life jackets. We didn't really know what to expect, as an entire fleet of boats was all departing at the same time, heading for the same sites. Pulling up to the first site, the "tour guide" conducted a 5-minute orientation speach (in Thai), complete with much gesturing toward the shore and some rock formations, then concluded by smiling sheepishly at us. Ok.... we opted to just hop in and hope for the best. The water was amazingly perfectly clear, and we didn't realize until Trevor tried to dive down for a closer look at something that the water was actually about 30-40 ft. deep. That something was a cuttlefish (!) and a very good omen for the rest of the morning. We noticed that the current there was briskly pulling us away from the boat (quickly enough that we probably couldn't make it back) and had a moment of worry until we saw all those life-vested Thais bobbing just as quickly away and decided there was no way they could swim against the current, so the driver must be planning to intercept us (who needed that orientation, anyway?). We were blown away by the sheer variety of fish we saw at the two sites, and the driver had to track us down and scoop us out of the water both places. At the second site we saw a black and white striped sea snake (or eel - there's one that copies the snake) and lots of clown fish. The clown fish were really fun to watch - burrowing around amongst the anemonies, just like Nemo!

On Sunday we went back to the mainland for Eric's going away party. After collecting fried rice, fried chicken, some beer, and some badminton rackets, we headed to the beach for some sunset recreation and a campfire. I doled out some of my carefully hoarded Christmas cookies from home, and making some long-term American volunteers really happy. Eric came through with a very impressive fire, carefully tending it to ensure optimum burning efficiancy (at great personal risk) and we all had a very nice visit under some incredible stars. Orion peeked up above the horizon, and I thought it was funny that seeing that winter constellation will always instantly make me think of snow crunching underfoot, even when I'm on a beach in tropical Thailand. On the other horizon, the squid and fish boats several miles out (Bau thought they were as much as 7 miles off shore) put off enough light to create an odd glow over the water.

Back in Hat Yai, the packages continue to come at a steady rate, and none of them have been marked "do not open until..." (there might have been something perishable in there, couldn't take a chance by waiting). Yummy treats from home like Christmas cookies, jerky, cornflake wreaths, Nibs, and Dakota Kid sunflower nuts have been satisfying my food cravings. And my students have been enjoying all of the new stickers, stampers, and markers. Hearing about all the Christmas plans and festivities at home makes me feel very, very far away. Happily, Trevor got a week off for Christmas, and will be heading this way next weekend! I'm going to ask my school if he can come to class on Monday, and he can help celebrate Christmas with the kids. This week I'm starting them on Christmas songs and vocabulary, so that should be fun.

My Thai lessons are still going well. I have the 44 consonants mostly down, and am working on the vowels. They say there are only 12 vowels, but there are really 24+. Where English has a short i / long i, etc., Thai has different ways of writing the short and long versions, which they count as one vowel. Then there are a few extras. Vowels are placed before, after, under and over consonants, and can be really tricky to sort out quickly. I have been able to sound out a few simple words, though! I'm just starting to look at the handful of tone markers, and they add an extra level of confusion. Trevor continues to gain more and more functional/conversational Thai, and sometimes I wonder if I'm wasting my time with the reading end of things, but I'm hoping it will pay off in the long run. And I do enjoy it. It's like a puzzle - a really complicated cryptogram, maybe - and I'm enjoying the challenge of untangling it, even if I do get frustrated.

The November monsoons may have shown up over a month late, but they're making up for it now - it's been pouring all weekend. Our Christmas here might not be a white one, but it will probably be wet. Wherever you are and whatever the weather, have a Very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Labels: Mu Koh Surin, snorkeling, Thailand

Yes I know I've been working on marketing and with that comes crazy buzz words like "untouched" or "real," but I feel very fortunate to be on the North Andaman coast right now. The place is truly not (and hopefully won't become) disturbed and almost every day I seem to be experiencing some new jaw dropping location or activity.

Today was no different as I helped take a film crew (iHot TV out of Bangkok) into Tung Nung Dam. Real tough work as every time I visit a village I feel it's more a privilege than a work task. Today no different and again the film crew was impressed with the experience...traditional coastal living is not just foreign to the typical westerner but also to the Thai urban go-getter. Today was a better experience for me as some of the local villagers I'm starting to see often are warming up to me and saying that even though there is a language barrier it is no barrier to the fun they have when hosting foreigners. The day concluded with a full-moon longtail boat ride back to the pier...quite serene.

So, the last week or so...swimming under waterfalls, finding great mountain biking terrain, more sunset swims in the Andaman, a day in Ban Talae Nok helping host a sports day, a day in Tung Nung Dam gathering research on a local hike, a BBQ/bungalow warming party at a fellow volunteer's, and last night we supported the only other NGO in town (Swiss Development Corporation) at their closing party. The entertainment was quite slow as it was traditional Thai fun...karaoke without any spunk. It is very common here (and most of Asia) to sing karaoke even though you have a horrible voice and are just standing on stage with your hands in your pocket. Even some regional political leaders attending sang in this same banal fashion. Sure enough, NATR was called upon to sing a song. Even though the average Thai singer is bad, I am far worse, so don't worry, I stayed seated. But Erik and Bret got up and put together a gut-wrenching with laughter, and possibly a reputation-damaging performance to Michael Jackson's "Beat it." Hilarious and very frightening for Bodhi (our Director). While it was definitely extremely entertaining, they also seemed to be praised from most all the crowd, including the high-ranked politicians, but you never know if they are just saving face and looking for ways to deport us and our program soon. According to our good friends at SDC, it was all good.

On top of this, a bunch of us went out and spent last weekend on our own island at Ao Koh Kwai. Yes, you can still get your own tropical island in Thailand! Jo's boyfriend Bau is a local fisherman and was our transportation and food gatherer for the weekend. While he struck out on Friday, he delivered on Saturday with some stingray and baracuda. The stingray was a little chewy while the baracuda had tasty tender meat. For appetizers we often ate oysters and snails found in our bay. The snorkeling was very decent albeit one intense zone of sea lice. These things have been in most of the waters I've swam in around southern Thailand but usually just a short single-pointed sting. There was one section off our island exerting much more force with hundreds of concurrent stingings that felt like you were getting electrocuted. This rightfully aborted our group of three grown men's attempt to swim around the island.

The untouched Thailand bias was strongly enforced during this trip as I constantly looked at the mainland's coastline and saw nothing but beach and forest. Oh wait, there was one siting of a white building but otherwards...nature.

Work is great...starting to feel like I'm adding value both in terms of marketing progress and overall teamwork. We had a beyond belief November with 22 guests going through Andaman Discoveries, and more rewarding, the fact that four of them told us they had life-changing experiences in the villages!

While it all seems peachy, community-based tourism is no simple task, and our most attractive feature is also our largest obstacle. Their happy-in-the-moment attitude does simplify their existence and is apparent to guests visiting their lifestyles. But meanwhile, we are trying to teach them ways to preserve this attitude through long term thinking, vision, and planning. This is tricky and needs to be done carefully. To help them maintain their livelihoods forever (something they truly want...unless maybe someday huge amounts of money persuades them otherwise similar to traditional tourism development where the locals are "bought out") we feel tourism in their communities needs to provide supplementary income only and never detract from their traditional sources of sustenance. This means the number of tourists must remain limited. So what am I doing in marketing, well, we are not at capacity yet. Marketing is a main facet of this program I doubt the villages themselves will ever truly understand or be able to conduct. This is OK as long as they understand the significance of marketing and that there is a cost for this need.

They are getting pretty good at delivering the product, but continuously take for granted the efforts we put into bringing them business, organizing tours, and being Uncle NATR with deep pockets. Due to the large amounts of tsunami relief money that fled into Thailand, some of the local people assume that westerners will just keep on giving. Then there is the normal corruption factor where we are learning there is a strong likelihood that one village's leaders are pocketing most of the "community fund" money. The community fund (20% of all revenue) is intended to benefit the entire community through needed projects. It could be worse, we could have local mafia all over us (and they are starting to pay close attention) as we become successful in bringing in tourism money. The only reason mafia are not involved in our business already is because we created a new market...when it comes to the bigger, already developed businesses such as scuba diving around the Similan Islands, oh yes, they are in control. I do not totally understand the extent of "mafia"...it doesn't seem to be anything dangerous and does seem to be prevalent in all facets of business. One reporter estimated that over 60-70% of all business in Thailand is mafia related or corrupt. My best guest is if the mafia is involved it basically means there is a large sum of money laundering going to certain people.

So, yes, I do ask myself at times what are us idealistic white folks trying to do here. But the answer is simple, you gotta believe. As far as tourism goes, I am a huge believer that we have two key attractions: nature and culture. Now we must work on ways to continue to have these.

Labels: Kuraburi, sustainable tourism, Thailand