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Phang Nga Province Hiking
Exploratory
For my whole life
I’ve wanted to do something that would make the bond between
Man and Nature more intimate. The ultimate would be if that something
was an ‘everyone wins’ situation. I include Nature in
this scenario. If whatever we do at PaddleAsia isn’t sustainable,
then we won’t do it. This would be a fine dream for anyone
who wholeheartedly cherished Nature. This dream has become a reality.
Imagine
a chunk of peaceful jungle in Southern Thailand
that hosts haughty cascading waterfalls in a setting of old-growth
tropical forest. With the aid of my favorite hiking/climbing guide,
Aew, this is exactly what we found.
Aew grew up in a
small back-road village in Phang Nga Province. His
house is simple, yet holds its own charm. To the south of this village
lies Phang Nga Bay, a world-renown tourist destination and a place
that generates a lot of income for a lot of Thais. Phuket and Krabi
feed the hordes of tourists everything they need and a lot they
don’t. Thailand has a problem: mass tourism is killing both
the culture and the environment. The magic is dying. It’s
not the fault of anyone in particular. It’s a blend that accommodates
the mindset of a large number of tourists. It’s simply a case
of supply and demand. Many tourists want nothing more than a somewhat
clean beach, lots of alcohol, and for a large number of them, lots
of beautiful women. The locals, seeing a way to sustain their family’s
livelihood, have housed them in hotels, bungalows and bars. Many
tours suit this classic tourist way of thinking. It’s all
about numbers. The more tourists they take on their tours, the more
money they make. There is another side of Thailand that invites
anyone who wants a real experience in both the best that Thai culture
has to offer as well as the best that Thai Nature has to offer.
Recently, Aew has
been chatting with me about some mountains close
to his home. The subject first came up when we were atop of Will
Hill in Khao Sok National Park back in January of 2004. From our
lofty perch, we could see a mountain in the distance. Aew said,
“My dad took me up that hill when I was young.” I saw
a sparkle in his eyes as he said it. Since then, Aew and I have
been climbing hill on every opportunity we have had.
Aew has a refreshing
wholesomeness that makes every inch that we climb,
even more gratifying. Aew represents authentic Thailand culture.
He’s a very polite and a kind young man. As a child I loved
the mountains. I always wanted to live in the mountains, but I’ve
always lived by the seas. I’ve got both now and Aew is my
guide to this special spot that only he and his fellow villagers
know.
So Aew and I had
been talking. He said we should go chat with his
brother as his brother and one other guy knew a lot about a mountain
range. This is their hunting territory. He said that we’d
be able to find a relatively easy way to the top of a mountain where
we would be able to see Phang
Nga Bay if we looked south and Khao
Sok National Park if we looked north. And,
he added, there is a lovely creek with three stunning waterfalls
on the first section of trails. Well, this I had to see. It sounded
too good to be true. We met Aew’s brother Lek, and set it
up.
Aew’s
brother, Lek (which means small in Thai), is a very
likeable guy. I got good vibes from him this first meeting. That
meeting took place at a job where Lek was painting a temple. He’s
one year older than Aew, but Aew did something that Lek didn’t
do—he left home.
Aew became a kayaking
guide for one of Thailand’s pioneering
paddling company called SeaCanoe. Aew learned how to speak English
and he worked his butt off to support himself and his son. Aew joined
PaddleAsia last year and he’s been the hardest working guide
I’ve ever seen. He goes well beyond the call of duty.
So let me break it
down to you…
We’re set to
go up a mountain in Aew’s home village with
his brother. This is just our first look as we plan on visiting
much more often if I liked what I saw. I had no doubts that I’d
like it. Little did I know what we in store.
We woke to a beautiful
morning in what’s supposed to be the wettest
month of the year. Departing Phuket, we headed out of “tourist
central” in search of the real thing. We stopped at a restaurant
at a gas station that we eat at quite often. The variety of food
is outstanding and authentic… no touristy food here.
We
arrived at Aew’s parent’s house and
grabbed Lek. Next, we headed to the other guide’s house. He
was known to be a skillful hunter in the area where we’re
going. I was soon to find out what a hunter’s knowledge can
also be used for. We arrived at Yan’s humble home and as it
often typical in Thai society, he had a buddy, named Oh, with him.
I didn’t know that there would be three guides for little
old me. Aew has certainly told his brother that PaddleAsia was a
place that wasn’t afraid to pay a decent wage for a decent
day’s work. All three freelance laborers jumped at the opportunity
to work with me.
Our first task out
of my truck was to cross a fairly big creek. My
local guides virtually ran across it. Now I consider myself to be
pretty fit and to have good balance. But, I needed a stick. Aew
got the message and found a long piece of bamboo for me. I could
have done it without the stick of course, but I had my mobile phone
in my pack. Er… uh, yep, that’s the reason why I didn’t
brave the crossing without a crutch.
Once on the other
side, our first steps were nearly straight up. I
queried Aew about it. He passed the message on. The message back
was that it would only be like this for a bit. We struggled on.
The trail tapered off within a few minutes and we started hearing
the heavy sound of falling water. The reverberations grew as we
hiked on. My heart started racing for a new, though very familiar,
natural cause. This was what I was dreaming about.
We
came upon a waterfall that rivals any I’ve
seen in Southern Thailand and I’ve been around. I’ve
seen dozens upon dozens of nice waterfalls and a few outstanding
ones. This fell into the last category. From a lofty height, water
plummeted towards us. We had arrived at the first waterfall. Before
we reached the bottom lower level of the falls, we down-climbed
a switch-back trail. This made the steep gradient an easy chore.
Lek took to the water and obviously felt the magic of the moment.
His lean body bent forward to splash water on his face. He threw
his head back. He was as in the moment as I was. I could feel it.
Lek, though a hunter at times, truly loves being in the jungle.
I took pictures, but no picture, even the moving types, can do true
justice to the moment.
On
our way back up, Yan spotted a snake in a small
tree. I couldn’t find it at first as it was well camouflaged
against its wooden abode. It was a bright green Bamboo
Pit-viper! It was a big one. He was a healthy male,
identified easily by his dark brown tail. What a specimen. I marveled
as I crept forward with my camera. “How close should I get?”
And, “From an environmentally-conscious, how close should
I get?” I took a deep breath and hit the zoom button. I ain’t
no Steve Erwin! J
We continued up the
trail. We came to an unusual trough. I listened
as Lek pointed out to Aew that this was an irrigation ditch for
a tin mine down in the valley. Aew already knew this, but Lek told
him again anyway in case he had forgotten his roots.
During
this hike, I was wearing my Vasque hiking boots.
Yon was in 50¢ flip flops. I lost my footing from time to time.
Yon was usually the guy who helped me back up. I craved my running
shoes. That’s what I usually wear when hiking, climbing or
running in the mountains. They have more give, allowing more contact
with the ground. The idea of ‘edging’ with a hard sole
soon impressed me as a foolish wish. I should have stuck with what
worked. Luckily at the ripe young age of 38 (soon to be 39 on Oct
17th of next month), I’m able to bounce back from little falls.
I do admit that I used to bounce higher though.
The second waterfall
was not quite as impressive and not easy to access.
We marveled at it from a point higher up the canyon that the creek
formed. We walked on.
The
third waterfall was the most impressive. It cascaded
down the crooked rock trough. The gray limestone was marbled with
strips of white limestone. The sparklingly clear cool water snaked
it way to the precipice. We broke out lunch. The guides brought
out some sour orange fish curry and some pickled fish that Yon made.
I loved the pickled fish. In the nearly twelve years that I’d
lived in Thailand, this was the first time I’d had the particular
dish. Impromptu plates were made from big leaves. We all sat in
one of the most lovely restaurants that Thailand has to offer…
total bliss was ours to inhale freely.
The climb down was
easy. Upon reaching the bottom, we headed for a
little makeshift Buddhist shrine. The shrine was on a rock outcropping.
The creek flowed past on both sides. We jumped into to chilly water.
It was very refreshing. Suddenly, the sky became black. A few big
raindrops fell, then the bottom of the clouds unleashed their liquid
bounty. It didn’t let up for about an hour. It cleared and
the sun shone down on the misty tropical forest. Fresh post-rain
air filled our lungs.
You have the unique
opportunity to take part in a form of tourism that
isn’t available to just any traveler. You need to be a bit
fit and you have to be the type of person who respects other cultures.
This is a very intimate tour.
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