Me with the flash silver bike

This is Omnoi's favorite bike for obvious reasons!

The race for the King's birthday

One of the biggest events in Phu Khieo is the race for the King’s birthday in December. For the rangers, this serves as a physical examination, and to “pass” they must run the 10 kilometer race in under an hour. For rangers under 25 years old, this time is cut to half! The men’s race starts from the monument to four fallen rangers who were killed by poachers in the 1970’s, and finishes in Tung Ka Mang. For the women, there is a ~5K race which starts at one of the bridges between the monument and Tung Ka Mang. If the time limit and tropical weather were not big enough challenges, you also have to consider that Tung Ka Mang is on a plateau, so the race is also uphill! Between 200 and 300 people will gather in Tung Ka Mang, and as it is the social event of the year, there is a big party that evening and everyone has the next day off work. Seeing as it is probably one of the biggest cultural events in the area, I have started training for the women’s race (yes, you did read that right, I have started to train for a footrace). Carola will run, as will Ba Thong (our cook), in addition to other women from Tung Ka Mang. Right now I can’t go very fast or very far but I’ll keep you updated with my progress- by the time Carola comes back we will have the boys drive us out to the starting line and will run home!

Questions from Gram

As you may or may not know, my grandma in Cleveland is following my blog. She has no desire to email but she did see my request for questions from blog readers so here are the questions and my replies!

Q. How many live where you do and who are they?

A. I think Tung Ka Mang is one of the largest outposts in PKWS, and I also think I was told around 100 Thais live here (though more rangers live all over the sanctuary at other outposts). Most of the Thais that live here are male rangers. Since PKWS is a wildlife sanctuary, it is important to protect the plants and animals in the area. Rangers patrol to look for evidence of poaching and to apprehend poachers when they are found, and go out in groups for about a week at the time (living in the forest and patrolling). Khun Kitti recently showed us the new hammocks that the rangers will use for sleeping when they are on patrol- they come with a built-in mosquito net! Some of the rangers have their families here, but many do not because it is a privilege for rangers who have worked here the longest. Some Thais here do research on local wildlife like hog deer, or are research assistants for Team Macaque. Khun Kitti is one of six assistants to the chief, but I am not sure if the other assistants live in Tung Ka Mang or not.

Q. You spoke of Richard in Bangkok. Is he in your group?

A. Yes. I am one of three field assistants for Team Langur; the other two are Richard (from England; picture of us in the longtail boat) and Zach (from the US; picture of us with umbrellas). The Thai rangers on our team are Omnoi and Chet, and the project is run by Carola and Andreas, the two professors from SUNY Stonybrook in the States.

Q. Are there bugs all the time or can you use your hammock? Does repellant work- some better than others?

A. There are bugs all of the time but I still do use my hammock- it is not enough deterrent not to! In the field we use a 20% DEET spray called Sketolene which works, but not for the 7 hours it promises. The flying/biting insects have been pretty bad lately because of all the rain. The insects at Baan Ling aren’t too bad most days, though there are large bees that are attracted to our food and a peculiar-looking flying insect that bites. Leeches are more of an issue- we kill all that we find at Baan Ling but they still breed out by the generator and the firepit where we burn our toilet paper. So far I have just always put on leech socks when I head out that way, though I am the only one who does this. Once the dry season comes the leeches will be less bad but the ticks will be back in full force. We also have ant and termite problems around Baan Ling, though in many instances (i.e. if they are not in the rooms, kitchen, office, or lab) we can let them go on their way without spraying for them.

Shoutout to Superbio Spring ’08

Last spring I had the pleasure of taking Behavioral and Physiological Ecology, a.k.a. “Superbio” at Colby. One of our lecture topics was climate change and its effects on behavior and physiology, and it came out that under some climate change scenarios, feral Burmese pythons could extend their range from the Southeast (they are illegally “released” into the Florida Everglades when they get to be to big as pets) up the coast to New England. And all of us thought of how crazy this would be, and then I realized they are called “Burmese” pythons because they are native to Burma . . . and Thailand. And then we all thought it would be really funny for me to see one in the wild. Tick that one off the list- this 2 meter python was spotted between Baan Ling and Baan Sip (House #10, where the farangs of Team Macaque live) last night! Just another good reason to carry a flashlight at night . . .

The second Bangkok adventure

We all took four days off to take Carola to Bangkok for her flight home and for a little R&R for ourselves. The drive down was an adventure in itself- it is monsoon season and the heavy rains can cause flooding on the roads. Luckily our Toyota Hilux has great 4WD and made it though multiple feet of standing water without protest. It’s about 8 or 9 hours from PKWS to Bangkok, and the rain didn’t help our situation but we all made it ok eventually. After dropping Carola and the truck off at her hotel we headed across town for some budget accommodation in the backpacker’s area.
Khao San Road is the center of the backpacker’s district in BKK. There are tons of hostels, used book stores, clothing stores, street food, travel agents, bars, nightlife, etc. that cater to backpacker’s needs. We were looking specifically for a cheap place to sleep and some help planning a day trip, but we were also pleased for the opportunity to eat Western food! Khao San Road does not paint an accurate picture of Thailand, but it is worth a visit, especially if you have been in the forest for some time. We really liked the area where we stayed and will return there in a few months when we go back to Bangkok to renew our visas.
The first night we headed to the Indian quarter on a recommendation for a great restaurant. The Royal India turned out to be one of the best places I have eaten in Thailand and definitely the best Indian food I have ever had. Any of you who are planning on visiting me can look forward to going there! It doesn’t look like much from the outside (the directions were literally “turn down the side street so narrow you couldn’t get a car down there”) but the inside and food make up for it. It has won a bunch of awards and they make their own confectionary on site. Mmmm.
The next morning we got up early for a day trip to Ayutthaya (Aye-you-tee-ya), the “mueng gao” (old city). Ayutthaya once was the capital of Thailand, but it was sacked by the Burmese 400-500 years ago, at which time Bangkok became the capital. We hopped on a local bus but then hired a woman with a longboat to give us a tour. Most of the wats (temples) are on an island, and there are few bridges across to the one’s that aren’t, so a boat is a good means of transportation. There had been a lot of flooding in Ayutthaya too so we couldn’t see all of the places we wanted to but it was great to be on the river taking everything in.
Wat Phra Si Sanipet was probably my favorite. It reminded me of walking through Roman ruins when we were on tour with Chorale in Italy, except there were all sorts of crumbling Buddha images and chedis. Ayutthaya is still a working city, so these ruins are dotted through commercial areas. Wat Phra Ram was also really pretty- it looks over a lake filled with lotus plants and the green grass makes a nice contrast with the red brick ruins. Even though it rained a bunch we made the most of our day and returned to Bangkok to bum around on Khao San Road.
The boys slept in the next day but I got up early and headed over to the National Museum. Tours are given in multiple foreign languages on a regular basis, and it was a great opportunity for me to learn more about Thai culture from an English-speaking guide. The National Museum contains treasures from Thailand but also the rest of Asia as well, and is the largest museum in Southeast Asia and the second-largest museum in Asia. Photos weren’t permitted but I’ll try to describe one of my favorite artifacts.
When Buddha was alive, he requested that his followers not make images of him in order to remember his teaching. Granted, this request has not been followed judging by the prevalence and prominence of Buddha images in Thailand, but other images have been used to represent Buddha as well. My favorite piece at the National Museum is one of these images- a wheel of law/knowledge. This stone wheel in particular is about 1 m in diameter and has been weathered more in some places than others and thus is an abstract black and white design from a distance. How it was found is an interesting story.
A member of the royalty or another powerful person (I can’t remember which) once was in a market where a man was selling a crouching deer statue. This type of deer statue always accompanies a wheel of law, reminding worshippers that on the first day that Buddha gave a sermon, even the deer stopped to listen. Seeing this large deer statue, the royal asked where the wheel was, but the seller had no idea and said there was no wheel but that he had found the deer on his farm. The royal offered to buy the man’s farm on the spot, provided that the man show where he had found the deer. Sure enough, a few feet underground was this large, detailed, and beautiful wheel of law.
In the afternoon I met back up with Zach and Rich at Wat Pho for Thai massages. Wat Pho is the site of the reclining Buddha, but also the place where Thai massage was founded and continues to be taught today. Unlike Swedish/oil massage, Thai massage is performed with the clothes on and in a public area. The masseurs use their entire body to bend and press yours in a way that both stretches and relaxes your muscles. We all agreed it was a great way to spend the afternoon!
The next morning we headed across town to pick up the truck and drive back to Tung Ka Mang. Navigating Bangkok in the morning wasn’t too bad and after 9 hours in the car, a stop for groceries and some last Western food (yep, they have KFC and DQ here) we were driving back into the sanctuary and mentally preparing to run the project on our own until Carola returns in November.

Pics from Carabao

Rich took these the night we went to see Carabao. One is Zach with two Thais making the Carabao sign, the other is all of us at the table (left to right: Miranda, Me, Zach, Rich, Sebastian).

Khun Kitti’s rice field

Khun Kitti now has a rice paddy near Khon San, about an hour outside of Tung Ka Mang. Some of Team Macaque and Team Langur took an adventure there last week. It is more than a little off the beaten track and it put the four wheel drive vehicles to the test (See the picture of Rich and the macaque mobile- too bad it had just been washed!). Khun Kitti, Sebastian and I opted for bare feet for our tour but Carola and Rich had a great time in their wellington boots. Khun Kitti has built a small, open-air pavilion where we sat and enjoyed the sunset despite the rain. He has also dug two swimming holes and has other plans for the site. We’ve made plans to go back for the rice harvest in a few months so I’ll post more pictures then!

The lake by the generator house

This is one of the prettiest places I have found in TKM so far, and it looked especially nice just after the rain stopped. We went bird watching there yesterday and while there weren't too many to be seen the view was still great!

Carabao!

We all had the 8th off and what a day it was. First on our agenda was to head to Khon Kaen, the nearest “city” to the sanctuary. It is about a 2.5 hour drive but we were severely delayed by a trip to the post office in Chum Phae. Apparently long lines at the post office occur outside of the States, too! Since PKWS is on the plateau of a large hill, going to down means a drop in elevation and a substantial increase in temperature. Also, Khon Kaen and Chum Phae especially tend not to have much greenery so it gets even hotter because of all of the concrete and tin roofs. It was Richard’s 24th birthday so we celebrated by going to the really nice bakery in the lobby of the Sofitel Hotel for lunch. All of the breads and cake were delicious and the hotel is gorgeous and delightfully cold from the A/C.
Our major goal when we visit Chum Phae and Khon Kaen tends to be food shopping. We ended up in a huge grocery store called the “Big C” that featured such luxury items as a produce section and bakery (neither of which are in the “2000” store in Chum Phae). However, the language barrier makes grocery shopping quite the adventure and it takes a long time to find everything on your list! After a little tour of what Khon Kaen had to offer it was back to Chum Phae to meet some of Team Macaque and Khun* Kitti. We went out for a great dinner by the lake in Chum Phae and then it was off to the “red club” for the rest of the evening. Khun Kitti had gotten us tickets to see Carabao, a really famous Thai rock group. 1400 Bhat got us a table for four and a bottle of whiskey, which ended up being a pretty sweet deal. There were several opening bands playing all sorts of music. One group even covered “Imagine” in English! One of the highlights of the evening was getting one band to sing Rich “Happy Birthday” and then all of the staff came out with a sign and gave a traditional Thai birthday blessing for good health, long life, etc. This made the night more amusing because any Thai who could wish Rich “happy birthday” in English did, and made us stick out as farang (foreigners) even more than we had before.
The night wore on and Carabao had yet to appear, but around 11:30 pm they finally came on and played until 2 am! (at which point we had a 1.5 hour drive back to PKWS . . .) We couldn’t understand any of the Thai and it was a little confusing who Carabao actually was (they are brothers, Lek and Ed), but we had a great time making Thai “friends” on the dance floor. Carabao’s logo is a longhorn steer skull, so as long as you make this sign with your hand, i.e. pinkie and thumb extended, it is considered dancing. I ended up getting a sweet sticker for my bike helmet too and the night proved very memorable.


*”khun” is Thai for Mr./Ms./Mrs. and Thais tend to refer to you and each other as “khun” + first name

Outside TKM

This is what it looks like at the entrance to the sanctuary. I took this photo the day that we drove in after it had just rained a little.

It’s time for some reader participation!

I know you all are reading because you love me so dearly : ), so if you could help me out with any of the following that would be great . . . remember that you can comment on each of my posts (just follow the directions from the links).

1. Stickers. I have a nice motorbike helmet that needs some decorating. Anything that highlights your part of the world would be great- something from your state, place of work, etc, would be great!
2. Recipes. We have a lot of rice here, so a rice pudding recipe would be great. Also, while there is no oven we do have this cool bundt cake pan-thing that allows us to “bake” on the stovetop. So really, anything you can make in a bundt pan. Just post them here and I will let you know how the cooking goes.
3. Questions. What do you want to know about my Thailand adventures? Culture? Food? People? The langurs? Let me know and I will do my best to answer! The internet isn’t 100% or fast all of the time but I will try to update the blog every week or two.

Me in the forest

Yeah for bamboo! Also, note leech socks- they are my new favorite thing. No foot leeches = happy Jenn.

My room

It is very comfortable and is much bigger than it looks . . .

My hammock

It really is a fabulous place- I tend to write most of my letters from here!

Ling yuu ti nai? (Where are the monkeys?)

The first step to following Phayre’s langurs is finding them. This can be relatively easy or relatively difficult based on a variety of factors. For example, we know the “home range” of our groups of langurs, but that area can be rather large. We start by walking trails in that group’s “home range,” and most of our attention is in the canopy. Most likely, we hear the monkeys before we see them. These monkeys travel through the canopy and rarely come to ground level, so we hear crashes in branches as the monkeys move from tree to tree. When we can match this sound with movement in the canopy, we head in that direction and try to positively identify our langurs. There are other species of primates in the forest, including Assamese macaques (the study species of Team Macaque) and white-handed gibbons (which “sing” in the early morning) so we are not guaranteed to find “our” monkeys. There are also “Giant Squirrels”- which is the common name, not just a classifier for their size (though they are huge), but they tend to make less noise as they move from tree to tree.
Besides other mammals, there are other confounding factors to following these monkeys. Some groups are better habituated than others, i.e. they are more used to people. These groups don’t care too much when we are around and will even come to the ground to eat bamboo/drink water/eat soil when we are in the area. This is really exciting for us new field assistants, who have scores of monkeys to learn by sight based on some distinguishing characteristics that are easier to see when the monkeys are closer and less skittish. For the shier groups though, the monkeys are more liable to lose us in the forest by moving more quietly, higher in the canopy, or not moving at all for some time (though all the monkeys nap at certain times of the day). It is especially difficult if not impossible to follow a single monkey, as we have learned in the last week. They move into the canopy to eat or sunbathe and then they are just gone . . .
Rain is another big issue. We were pretty lucky the first week we were in the forest and it only rained lightly for a few minutes, but August/September is the second peak of the monsoon season and we have been reminded of that in the past few days. In the rain, everything turns the same gray as the monkey’s fur, and you have to search for them based on shape- hoping that what you are seeing is a tail not a hanging vine, or a body not a termite mound (which apparently grow on trees in Thailand). Sometimes the monkeys still move in the rain, and sometimes they sit still.
But when we do find them, and follow them, it really can be great. One day last week the group came down from the canopy and was on all sides of me- infants, juveniles, adults- all munching down on bamboo like ice cream cones. The young ones play in the afternoon while the adults sleep- infants pulling each other’s tails and generally rough housing, hopping from branch to branch.

The morning commute

If you think you have a nice drive to work, you’ve got nothing on mine. Instead of road rage from other drivers, I have to worry about a host of non-human hazards- sunning monitor lizards, herds of wild pigs, elephants, guars (rhymes with “shower;” a type of hoofed animal the size of a bison), porcupines . . . So far I have encountered pigs and porcupine, though neither time was I driving. There are also smaller objects to avoid whilst driving. When ele are in the area, they drag bamboo across the road and their poop is so large it is quite a speed bump for the motorbikes! (To combat this, whenever we are out with the truck we make a point of flattening the ele poop. This also allows us to keep track of new poop and therefore more ele in the area.)
One of the biggest challenges of driving for me is not driving stick shift, driving a bike in general, the hills, the curves, the bumpy bridges . . . nope. It’s the butterflies. But they’re so pretty, you say. I would not disagree- I see more amazing butterflies on a daily basis than any other insect/animal (though the stick insects around Baan Ling are pretty sweet). They come in all sizes and colors- from fingernail-sized brown ones to larger iridescent ones that catch the sunlight quite nicely. There are flocks of medium-sized white ones that fly down the roads. The issue is this: a bike moves a whole lot faster than the PKWS butterflies. They also congregate around the ele poop on the road. Which means you drive right into them. And as soft and cuddly as they look in pictures and real life, a butterfly to the eye at 50 km/hr is not a happy situation. After learning this first-hand while riding passenger, I decided I would always drive with my helmet visor down . . . but then I got a big one between my visor and my face that needed to flop for several seconds before finding its way out.
On a working day a shift is either 5am-12pm or 12pm-7pm, so at some point you bike in the dark. This introduces bats as a non-human hazard. While bats hunt with echolocation and therefore don’t need our headlights to “see” their prey, moths are attracted to headlights, so bats often fly directly ahead of us. Which means you can get a bat to the face (or the handlebars, as was the case with Omnoi and me last week). Another good reason to keep your visor down.