Activities in February

Trang province offers a lot for a paddler. Roy had been there a couple times. I had been to one area. I was looking forward to this trip.

We spotted some otters in a mangrove channel during our first afternoon paddle. Mangrove forests are an essential element in the food-chain of the ocean. Many marine species depend heavily upon the mangrove. The prawn farm industry is the biggest enemy of the mangroves. Thailand lost half of all the remaining mangroves to the prawn farmers. Most countries have banned prawn farming, but Thailand is still promoting it. It is an environmental disaster. It is unnatural for prawn to be in such concentrations. Viruses and algae are often the result. Plus, the acidity of the water is extremely high due to the unnatural amounts of feces. After just a few years, the soil is extremely toxic. Nothing will grow in the highly contaminated soil. In most cases, the farmers simply move on to the next forest. Environmentally responsible shoppers should avoid buying farm-grown prawn. Tiger Prawn are the most common species grown in farms.

These otter would most likely be shot if the prawn farmer sees them. Otters can quickly decimate a prawn pond. Luckily for the otters, it was just us paddlers this time.

We went to another mangrove area that features a couple of caves that lead to an inner island lagoon. It's nice to be able to go into the lagoon by one cave and out of the cave by the other cave. Roy and I figured out guests would like crawling on their bellies to check out another smaller lagoon. We were right. They loved it!

There are several islands off the mainland with stunning beaches, nice bungalows, and at least one pleasant surprise. Ko Mook has a cave that leads to a hidden lagoon. Even though this is probably Trang's biggest tourist attraction, the lagoon is still completely litter-free. For us, paddling to a 'touristy' spot is out of the norm. However, Roy assured me that it would be worth the effort. Man, he was right! Timing was everything. We waited until late afternoon before departing from our bungalow. We arrived right as the last tour boat was departing.

We swam in first as this is the most common way tourists see this lagoon. It was very cool. Then, for photo opts, we paddled back into it. It was just as thrilling.

Our guests had not paddled at night before. Roy and I have a lot of experience with night paddling. It's a great way to beat the heat, plus paddling at night is just groovy. We all enjoyed every minute of it.

Birds seen on this trip:

Ruddy Kingfisher

Crested Serpent Eagle

Hoopoe

• Ruddy Kingfisher (This was my second sighting. I saw one a few years ago in a mangrove forest in Tarutao. The colors are stunning.)

• Collared kingfisher

• Hoopoe

• A white Pacific Reef Egret (These birds are dimorphic. They are normally a bluish-gray. Occasionally one is born pure white. They are uncommon of course.)

• Grey-rumped Treeswifts

• Edible-nest Swifts

• Black-nest Swifts

• Brahminy Kites

• White-bellied Sea Eagles

• Green-billed Malkoha

• Pied Fantails

Birder's Corner - 'Getting Light for Flight'

Bird bones are not like ours. They are hollow with reinforced braces laced into the hollows for strength. In fact, their bones are very strong due to the triangulation of the braces.

Certain organs that are paired in other animals are reduced to a single organ in birds. Birds, for example, have only one kidney.

The Students Meet The Jungle

We took thirteen high school students and two teachers from an international school to Khao Sok National Park in February. Most of the students described themselves as city people since they live in Bangkok. In the quiet and isolation of the bungalows at the end of the reservoir, they became absorbed in the abundant jungle life around them. One student returned to school to establish a school kayak club. Two boys stated with certainty one morning they were going to learn the Eskimo roll that day. And they did. After the trip, the email responses from the students were very special.

A main feature of the Khao Sok trip is wildlife viewing. To prepare for this, we went through the basics of paddling the boats. We included wet re-entry so the students would understand that capsizing wasn't the end of the world. Indeed, the assisted re-entry and the cowboy scramble became popular moves to practice. We had racing games. Some of the students excelled in brisk forward strokes, others found rear stroke racing to be more exciting and unpredictable. Everyone liked racing.

Once we were confident the students had basic boating skills, we divided into smaller groups and moved to different coves. Some students saw Long-tail macaques. Hornbill sightings, including the Great hornbill, were common. Dusky langurs, oddly enough, seemed to have moved deeper into the jungle. However, we did see a coal-black Banded langur. Several students saw a White-handed gibbon high in a tree, but it quickly moved away.

The last evening of our stay, we paddled to a large cove some distance from the bungalows. After the sun had dropped behind the hill, two students heard wild pigs thrashing around the vegetation near the shore. One girl was just waiting for her friends when she noticed a pig moving from the water into the jungle. In the dusk, as we were paddling back toward the bungalows, we heard the rhythmic breaking of bamboo as an elephant walked near us but out of sight. My flashlight could not penetrate far enough to get a look.

Another highlight of this trip was a trip through the cave. There are many caves in the area, but this one is ideal for most people. It is like a demonstration project to understand the diversity of life within a limestone cave. Bat droppings are food to crickets and spiders. Fish approach us as we cross the stream that flows through the cave. We are well past rainy season so the water level is low. The cave narrows further in and we descend between two rock walls into the deeper water for a little swim. The students were in great spirits as we emerged from the darkness into the warmth of the jungle.

The group was booked on a morning flight out of Phuket, so the last day we had to get an early start. The previous night Dave and I tied the kayaks in two lines, bow to stern. Then in the morning we loaded the two longtail boats, tied a line of 'yaks to the back of each, and left the bungalows well before sunrise. The group easily made their flight; good planning pays off. We look forward to taking another group of students for a kayaking trip next year.

Get ready for Laos

We plan to go to Laos and Cambodia in mid June. We will also be in Laos from mid September through mid October.

One of our good friends recently returned from an exploratory trip to southern Laos and Cambodia. He operates the tourism websites for both governments. In talking to the tourism officials in both countries he found that they plan on opening a new border crossing near the falls of the Mekong river. This will be a one-time 'grand opening' type event. We are going to be a part of it. The plan is to have a select group of tourist paddle across the border and another group mountain bike across. It will be fun and educational.

Drop us an email if you are interested in participating.

We hope to paddle with you soon!

All the best,
Dave