November 2002 83rd Issue

Adventure Racing Marathon Challenge

On the 5th of October, 2002 Mr Peter Bond brought his "Adventure Racing (Thailand)" group to the beach resorts of Dolphin Bay and Phu Noi bungalows for a marathon challenge.
The strenuous race included 48km of cycling through Sam Roy Yoi National Park and 6km of kayaking. A total of 110 athletes participated and a winning time of 4 hours 54 minutes was posted by team members Banluesak Duangden and Choochart Tayasuth. A large Bar-B-Q party followed and awards prestented by Ayuthya Klaysing Sam Roi Yod District. A great time was had by all!

Over the coming months we will bring you extracts from travellers journals in several parts, this month continues with 'A month in Malaysia'

Back where I feel most at home - on another tropical paradise island. Pulau Pangkor is a popular resort close to the mainland, but despite this popularity most of the island remains undeveloped. The beach here is stunning and the ocean a clear emerald green colour due to the presence of limestone. It is very laid back here, nothing happens fast. A breathtaking sunset flourishes itself this evening, the ocean is on fire as the fat red sun drops low leaving the clouds ablaze with colour. Hitch a lift into town on the back of a bike, surrounded by 15 other bikes (it seems that this is the only form of entertainment here) and find an open air Chinese Opera. Watch the show for a bit then sample some of the local food, providing amusement for the locals. Hitch back and end up being taken into a disco in the middle of nowhere by the Malaysian answer to Hells Angels.
The sun is painfully hot today so seek out some shelter under a palm tree. A troop of monkeys make busy on the dustbins threatening anyone who dares to intervene, I get shrieked at for attempting to get a photo. At low tide a sandbar emerges making it possible to walk across to a small offshore island, the place is true picture paradise. The religion however is beginning to interfere with my eating habits as food vendors are seldom open for more than a couple of hours per day.

All transfers go smoothly and by mid morning I am speeding past rubber plantations on Malaysia’s main highway towards the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. At first glimpse the city looks like something out of a Star Trek movie with weird and wonderful buildings piercing the sky, defying the laws of gravity. The city is modern and fast moving with the familiar buzz of a hundred mopeds, but without the hectic nightmare proportions of Bangkok. Head straight for Chinatown where cheap hotels are plentiful. The market here is impressive, lit up by row upon row of red lanterns, there is all manner of clothing, music, electrical items and food stuffs available. Night falls and with it the rain, turning the streets into running torrents. I sit it out with a Tiger Beer on a street side table watching life go by.
Walk over to the commercial district where there are department stores as big as towns, get lost in the maze of designer shops and stalls. The undercover Central Market provides art, crafts and some dazzling tropical fish for sale. The business district or ‘Golden Triangle’ as its known locally is home to the tallest building in the world - the Petronas Twin Towers. Public access is forbidden so I have to be content with straining my neck for the external view. They are very big on skyscrapers here, it is how I imagine a city in the future to be, but then after all we are less than a year away from the next century. The city has some impressive parklands to the west and they are today’s destination.

A huge bird park houses some pre-historic looking toucans, hornbills, and some graceful flamingos, the butterfly park is equally as impressive with some species bigger than the human hand. Walk to Merdeka Square back in the city where there are fine old colonial buildings, mosques, fountains and even a cricket field. This area draws a lot of Japanese tourists and I sit back taking in the atmosphere of the place watching the crowds come and go.

Our Chinese hotel always feels welcoming at the end of a long day, with the friendly proprietors, loud intelligible TV and burning incense.
The 100km south to Melaka takes three hours as the drive detours to every little village on the way. Melaka is the historical city of Malaysia, the complete series of European incursions into Malaysia - Portuguese, Dutch and English - occurred here. The river running through town is spanned by narrow footbridges and Chinese lanterns, again for some reason or other everything is closed. Have a jam session with the guitars in the hotel, the owner thinks a rock band has moved in! St Paul’s hill is the main historical site with St Paul’s Church, Stadthuys - the massive red Dutch town hall, and the Christ Church in the Town Square behind.

Another area to the south has a ‘karaoke street’ full of massive neon karaoke bars, the Asians are very big on their karaoke. A Portuguese settlement 3km out of town consists of a small square and has nothing of any real interest, perhaps its livelier after dark or at the weekend. Melaka is different here, it is quite unlike any other town, but then no two places I have seen have been the same. Get an early night and reflect on what I've seen in Malaysia, tomorrow its on the road again, another country another adventure awaits...bring on Singapore.

Article and photography by Martin Young, continued next month.

Loy Krathong

On the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month (this year 19th November), when the tide in the rivers is highest and the moon at its brightest, creating a romantic setting ideal for lovers. The Thai people choose this day to hold the 'Loy Kratong' festival, or the 'festival of light.' Loy Kratong is the most beautiful festival of the year.
'Loy' literally means 'to float,' while 'kratong' refers to the lotus-shaped receptacle which can float on the water. Originally, the kratong was made of banana leaves or the layers of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant. A kratong contains food, betel nuts, flowers, joss sticks, candle and coins. The making of a kratong is much more creative these days as many more materials are available.
The Loy Kratong ritual is a simple one. One needs only to light the candles and the joss sticks, make one's wishes and let it float away with the current of a river, canal or as here on the sea.
On that day, thousands of people will gather at the waters edge. With kratong in hands, they light the candle, put some coins in the kratong and silently make a wish, and carefully place their kratongs in the water and release them to the current.
They watch intently hoping their flame stays alight as it is said to signify longevity, fulfillment of wishes and release from sins. Altogether it is considered a romantic night for couples who make a wish together on Loy Kratong are thought to stay together in the future.
Different legends surround the origins of Loy Kratong. The most popular version is it was an expression of gratitude to the goddess of water 'Phra Mae Kongka' for having extensively used, and sometimes polluted, the water from the rivers and canals. It is also in part a thanksgiving for her bounty in providing water for the livelihood of the people.
Some believe the festival originates from Buddhism. They say the offering of flowers, candles and joss-sticks is a tribute of respect to the footprint of the Lord Buddha on the sandy beach of the Narmaha River in India, as well as to the great Serpent and dwellers of the underwater world, after the Lord Buddha's visit to their watery realm. It is possible that this is derived from a Hindu festival that pays tribute to the god Vishnu, who meditates at the center of the ocean.

Concern about Hua Hin beach conditions grows

The Royal Thai Navy deserves thanks for assisting municipal workers in cleaning up the beaches here in Hua Hin (Bangkok Post, 13 Oct. p. 4 “Navy clears beach of rotting seaweed”). The “seaweed” problem also got a mention on the local TV news. Both reports failed to mention the tons of man-made waste and raw sewage that is deposited on the beach daily.
Recent floods and high tides contributed greatly to the current heavier than “normal” deposits. The runoff flowing into the Gulf from the North carries with it all sorts of debris including tons of man-made litter and sewage. This, combined with locally-generated waste created appalling conditions. The “1,000 tons of rotting seaweed” noted in the Bangkok Post article, actually included many tons of plastic, paper, glass and other non-degradable waste. And the “foul odor” was a result, at least in part, of raw sewage that routinely runs onto the beach and into the sea.

The sad thing is that the extreme problem we experienced last week and less severe but nevertheless nasty conditions witnessed everyday, will continue. Every day in Hua Hin, rubbish is indiscriminately dumped, litter is carelessly dropped onto the beach and into the sea, and contaminated runoff defiles what would otherwise be a very attractive beach.
As witnessed in many other countries, effective anti-litter laws combined with education and awareness programs change attitudes and behavior that minimize this problem. We need to make people aware of the negative impacts of a dirty environment. Obviously natural fauna and flora are affected but so are peoples’ livelihoods, especially in a country like Thailand and a town like Hua Hin that gains considerable income from tourism. If I had been a tourist who arrived in town in time for the ”seaweed” festival, I would not come back and would advise others not to visit here.
What’s needed is a coordinated effort combining local and national government agencies, schools, and businesses working together to develop and implement long-term programs that foster care for the local environment.
A. Cooper
A concerned Hua Hin resident

Wildlife Update

THE WILDLIFE FRIENDS OF THAILAND.
The Wildlife Friends of Thailand (WFT) is an NGO established in May 2001by Thai and foreign nationals in Petchaburi. The major aims of the organization are:
· To rescue captive wild animals and rehabilitate them as far as is feasible, allowing them to spend the rest of their lives in a safe environment as close to nature as possible, providing them with the best possible care.
· To campaign against all forms of animal abuse in Thailand and worldwide.
· To work towards ending the illegal pet trade, and to discourage people keeping all wild animals as pets.
· To educate the local community, especially children, about the need for wildlife conservation.
· To provide veterinary assistance to any sick or injured animal, wild or domestic.
THE WILDLIFE RESCUE CENTER.
The wildlife rescue center in Kao Look Chang, Petchaburi takes in those wild animals that have been domesticated, usually those that have been kept as pets or exploited in the tourist industry (e.g. photo animals).
Often the animals taken in are those that no one else is prepared to care for, for instance those that are ill, disabled or have severe behavioural problems. Most of the animals have suffered considerably at the hands of humans, whether from direct physical abuse or more commonly from malnutrition, neglect and improper care.
To date, the rescue center has provided safe refuge, temporary and permanent, to over 100 animals in need over the last 18 months since its foundation. In addition, the Wildlife Friends have also provided medical care to dozens of wild animals that have subsequently returned to their natural habitats.

ANIMALS AT THE CENTER.
The rescue center currently houses several wild animal species, mainly primates (monkeys and gibbons) but also including civets, a leopard cat and a Bengal tiger. We provide a safe sanctuary for 20 gibbons (2 species), 19 macaques (4 species), a dusky langur (leaf monkey) and 2 species of loris.
The majority of gibbons in our care live “semi-wild” on islands where they can live high in the trees and forage for fruit and leaves as they would in the wild. On our “big island”, the biggest natural gibbon enclosure in south-east Asia, adult gibbons live an almost completely wild existence is a large area of natural forest with very little human interference. We recently celebrated the arrival of Eve, the first baby gibbon to be born on the big island.
REHABILITATION OF WILD ANIMALS.
A large proportion of the animals rescued have been captive for all or most of their lives and can therefore never return to the wild or live without human assistance. The goal is to give these animals the best quality of life as is possible in captivity.
However, the ultimate aim is to one day be able to release those animals that qualify for reintroduction back into protected forested areas where they have become rare or extinct.
HOW YOU CAN HELP.
As a non-profit organization, WFT relies solely on donations from visitors, international volunteers who stay and help at the sanctuary and occasional corporate sponsorships. The center is in constant need of financial support to keep running, to build additional animal enclosures and islands and improve the medical facilities they can offer, thereby enabling them to help more animals in need.
Whilst we must stress that the center is not in any way a zoo or animal collection, they do welcome visitors who want to go and learn more about the work done and see the animals in their care.
If you would like to find out more about their work, please go and visit and take a guided tour around the project. Watch the gibbons living on their islands, learn all about the rescued animals and take a look around the new educational center.
If you are interested in seeing animals in the wild, jungle tours in conjunction with a local tour operator can be arranged.

HOW TO FIND US.
The rescue center is located in Kao Look Chang, approximately 36kms from Hua-Hin and 24kms from Cha-am.
Address:
Wildlife Friends of Thailand Rescue Center,
Kao Look Chang, Moo 6, Tambon Thamairuak,
Amphoe Thayang, 76130 Petchaburi.
You can contact the center by phone: 032- 458135, or by email: info@wfthai.org.
If you would like to find out more about the work of WFT please visit the website: www.wfthai.org.

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