Country Roads, Take me home

The time has almost come for us to leave Sakaerat for good, and I am still having a hard time coming to grips with that reality. I really don’t want to leave, but of course more adventures lie ahead in other places, and so I must continue to explore. I am excited to head off and travel around Southeast Asia for a while, but I am also quite bummed to be saying goodbye to this precious corner of the world and the people here. This place has been not only a marvelous home, but also a source of constant adventure and wonderful times. You never know what you might find while exploring these lush forests. Just peeking into the vaults of their expansive wealth of biodiversity has been richly rewarding. So many times when I've least expected it I have chanced upon something I couldn't of even imagined, such as watching a bat get stuck in a spider web (and then escaping) or a Slow Loris staring at me eye-to-eye. I can only dream about what else I might have discovered if we had a bit more time here.

Whatchu lookin at?

In the spirit of unexpected adventures and saying goodbye, I thought I’d tell a story of a day back in September which involved a series of unforeseen events and a fantastic farewell party. The day before, Taksin had invited us to lunch, mentioning something about a retirement party for one of the workers. None of us thought too much of it, after all we have been invited up to the station for meals many times before. Usually there is a healthy buffet of many different Thai foods, which we will happily devour and then head on our way. This time was different though. It was the first time we were invited up for lunch, instead of dinner. When the time came for us to go, Sheila and the girls weren’t feeling up to it. Sheila decided to keep sleeping, and Sara and Tesco had both just woken up… so they weren’t in the mood for lunch food yet. So Mike and I headed up to the station alone. As we approached the dining hall, I saw a large elaborate stage set up outside. That was the first clue that this was going to be a special event. 

All the Jungle's a stage...

We walked into the main cafeteria to see quaint round tables covered with elegant white table cloths. At each table there was a fancy spread of many different dishes, each prepared with an exquisite attention to detail. I was very impressed, and quite surprised. This was much more extravagant than I had expected. Mike and I sat down with the other members of the snake team and we began to dine like royalty. 

A feast from the east

Not only was there plenty of delicious food, but the beer was free-flowing and ubiquitous. Every time we turned around, an employee would deliver us a few more bottles to the table, despite the fact that we already had quite a few open bottles. At one point I believe we must have had 8 or 9 beer bottles on the table at once. Luckily Mary-Ruth and Chia-Yi joined us not soon after the meal began, so there were plenty of people there to help diminish the seemingly never-ending supply. 

By 1:30 pm or so, most of us were done eating… but the party wasn’t over yet. Beer continued to be delivered while high officials from the Thailand Ministry of Science and Technology (the Thai equivalent of our NSF) stood up to give speeches about how great Sakaerat was for Thailand. They are absolutely right about that, Sakaerat is definitely something that Thailand should be proud of. Every year this place is responsible for teaching thousands of Thai children the importance of nature, a lesson that loses some of its effect when taught in a polluted city such as Bangkok. And then of course there’s the huge amount of scientific research that is carried out here every year by scientists from all over the world. This place is definitely a diamond in the rough. A lot of this success is thanks to the leadership of Taksin and his tireless drive to keep this place up to par with international expectations. In the short time that we have been here, he has instituted many changes in order to improve the quality of life for us and others at the station. A few examples include having an entirely new bathroom built as an addition to our house, replacing old drinking water jugs with actual plumbing and metal water fountains, and installing extremely high speed internet which has made skyping home so much easier. Taksin is an amazing man, and it’s easy to see that he truly loves his job. In fact, he once turned down a promotion to one of the higher positions in the government so that he could continue to remain at Sakaerat instead of having to work a desk job. My kinda guy!

Before and Bath-ter

Anyhow, back to the party. By about 2 pm the formal speeches were winding down, but these guys had another trick up their sleeve… Karaoke! A giant projector screen that was being used earlier to showcase photos of Sakaerat had been transformed into a gigantic Karaoke machine, and the head honcho of the Thai Ministry of Science was leading the charge into la-la land. Everyone loved this spectacle, especially our table… since we had no idea this was coming. A few Thai songs were sung which most people in the audience seemed to recognize and enjoy, and a few more beers were consumed by our table. Around this time Sara showed up, wondering what the heck was taking us so long to eat lunch. Like a rowdy bunch of pirates we all cheered and shoved a mug of beer towards her while insisting that she join in the celebration. She didn't require much convincing, and soon she was clapping along blindly to the music with the rest of us. 

Sala joins the party

Then it suddenly became obvious why they had been giving us so much beer. One of the employees waltzed over to our table with the Karaoke microphone and insisted that we sing a song! I didn't see this coming at all, but turns out they actually had a few songs in English… so we could at least make complete fools of ourselves in our own language. They put on “Country Roads” by John Denver, and handed the microphone to Nico, one of the Field Technicians on the snake team. Nico is from France, and he knew that I was from Virginia. So he cleverly used that tid-bit of knowledge to pawn the pressure on to me, saying “Look, it says Virginia… you do it!” Granted, it’s actually West Virginia… but I figured I was stuck so I figured what the heck. Thanks to the constant supply of beer I didn't need too much convincing to look like a total buffoon. After a couple verses I was really getting into it and all of the Thai folks seemed to love it. One guy even joined in with me! It was a blast, and I’m glad I did it. Sara actually managed to capture some of it on video, and since I am many miles away from most of you… I don’t mind embarrassing myself by sharing this beauty with y’all.

For some unknown reason that song seems to be an international sensation. I have friends in Poland that love it, and one of my friends in Ghana recently posted on her blog that she heard a guy playing it in the street one day. Who would have thought that people all across the world are excited by the idea of heading home to the Shenandoah Valley? It is pretty cool to have your local region so widely recognized though. After all it is a pretty special place, and I hafta admit I definitely miss home. I am looking forward to returning in a month… but until then I am doing my best to make the most every moment over here.

...To the place, I belong (Photo taken at Shenandoah River State Park)

In that spirit, I was doing my darndest to enjoy this party to the fullest. Singing Karaoke in front of the station was really just the beginning. After a while of singing indoors, someone made the move towards relocating everyone outside so the celebration could continue in the sunlight. At this point everyone had pretty much given up any hopes of being productive that afternoon, and we were all carrying on and having a great time. This was a much needed, unexpected break from the rigors of data-entry and field work… and it was quite well received. Even Tesco and Sheila eventually came up to the station and joined in on the fun and general shenanigans.

Moving the party outdoors

The kitchen staff brought out hot, freshly-roasted cashews for us to munch on while we continued to drink and goof off while singing and watching others sing. Now that we had extra space for activities, dancing was added into the mix and we joined in a circle with some of the girl counselors while trying to learn some new moves. They put some chairs in the middle, but we never quite figured out what they were for. At first I thought we might be playing musical chairs, but no one ever sat down. The whole thing was a hoot, and even though we looked completely ridiculous… nobody seemed to care. It was an awesome way to break the language barrier and actually hang out with these people that we see every day but don’t normally have time to interact with except in passing.

Musical chairs, anyone? 

Since Sala and Tesco didn't get the chance to take part in any Karaoke while the party was still inside since they were a tad late, they requested a few songs while we were outside. When their time came, they hopped up and began belting out “Build Me Up, Buttercup” as if it was the reason they were born. This was hilarious to watch, and after a little bit one of the male administrative workers decided he wanted in on the action. So he grabbed a microphone and next thing you know he was front and center, singing along to a song he probably didn't even understand. I managed to snag this photo of the performance, which pretty much sums up the moment perfectly.

"I need YOUUUU!"

Good times! The party continued well into the afternoon, with some of the more levelheaded workers heading back to their tasks, while others continued to fool around and enjoy this break from responsibility. At one point all of the young girl counselors and one of the Japanese researchers got on stage and put on a synchronized dance show for those who were still in the audience. It was quite well done, and I was impressed with the Japanese dude’s ability to keep up.

And the dance goes on...

The Karaoke microphone was never turned off, as many of the employees waited patiently to have their moment in the spotlight. Even the hardworking kitchen ladies took a break from their duties to sing a song or two.

Everybody got their time to shine

Ask the daylight began to fade, the party continued on… with music in full-swing and beer glasses constantly being refilled. No one expected a simple lunch to turn into an all day fiesta, but no one was complaining. We were constantly laughing and taking silly photos as the day slowly passed us by. What a fantastic way to spend an afternoon!

Look at these Looney, err,... lovely ladies

As dusk approached, a few of our team left to attend to checking on the frogs in the shed… one of our daily tasks. Afterwards they returned to the station, where the kitchen staff had prepared a delicious soup for everyone who was still hanging around. So we ate a light dinner, and then returned to the party for awhile until eventually it was time for us to start getting ready for work. Since I was on dawn shift I had some time to sleep before I had to wake up and head into the pond. Before we dispersed, a few of us climbed the kitchen tower to stargaze for a bit… since this evening was particularly clear. This was a fantastic ending to a wonderful day, and I went to bed that night very happy. I don’t think we will have quite the same farewell party when we leave in a couple days, but I am sure that we’ll have lots of fun. Either way, I know all of us will look back on this day in September with fond memories. The next time you hear from me, I’ll be a travelin’ man! Until then, Peace Out!

Such an awesome day, I might Phimai self

Way back in the beginning of September, we took a field trip to the small town of Phimai to see one of the finest surviving Angkor temple complexes in all of Thailand. This turned out to be an amazing trip; I think I can comfortably say it was the best field trip we have taken all season. Of course it’s been busy here, and without a doubt I have been procrastinating like crazy, but finally I am ready to tell the story. It was Sunday, Sept. 1 and we had almost no frogs at the time. I think we may have had 1 pair in the shed - that was it. The Upper Dam Pond was dry, and we had pretty much all day to do whatever we pleased. That seems like ages ago now that the UDP is overflowing with water and we have housed over 150 clutches in the shed since then. Oh how the times have changed. Anyhow, we started the day around 10 am or so, and we headed to Korat first to grab some lunch. We decided to stop at a nice little café called Café 16, which advertised some of their menu items in English. Boy am I glad we did!

Inside Cafe 16

It was a quaint little place that was fashionably decorated with empty glass bottles and other things you wouldn't let a toddler touch. They had comfortable chairs with fluffy pillows, and the menu was in English and Thai, which is always nice. It gets better. I opened the menu and on the first page I saw what I had been craving for many weeks… Pizza! Needless to say I had no trouble making up my mind. We got some drinks, and then relaxed and perused the guidebook to see what we had in store for us that afternoon. I have become a huge believer in green tea since I've been here, and I've even learned how to order it in Thai! Here they make it very green, and usually with lots of milk… I think it’s delicious. J

Green is good!

While we were waiting, I read up a bit on Phimai and its history, so I will share a bit of that with you now. All of this comes from my Lonely Planet guidebook; I would be so lost without it. 

Phimai was once located on an ancient Khmer trade route, and it linked Angkor Wat with some of the more northern reaches of the territory. Building started in the late 10th century by Khmer King Jayavarman V and was finished by his successor King Suriyavarman (could you imagine his mom yelling that out when she’s angry?) in the 11th century. It’s a Hindu-Mahayana Buddhist temple, so they’ve covered their religious bases. Around this time period, the pizza arrived.

That was a very historical event. Try starving yourself of pizza, and cheese in general for a couple months (sorry lactose-intolerant friends) to get an idea of how I felt. A goldfish will look like a gourmet dish. Anyhow, the pizza was fantastic… and I’m not just saying that because I was cheese-deprived, it was actually really good. They even had pineapple on top, a hidden surprise! I wolfed the whole thing down in no time, but I decided to snap a quick photo to document the occasion first.

Yum-O!

After we were all finished and extremely satisfied with our meal, we piled back into the car to continue on our journey. Just the pizza alone would have been enough to make this day wonderful, but it only got better. We arrived at the ruins a little after noon, and it was pretty hot outside. So we decided to kill some time and educate ourselves while enjoying free air conditioning in the visitor center.

Yayy knowledge!

Inside there were actually a number of nice displays informing you about the park’s history. Most of the exhibits had English transcriptions as well as Thai, although some of the translations may have needed an edit or two. At one point they used the word defecate instead of decapitate, oops. We learned a bit more than the guidebook told us though, such as the fact that Phimai was Thailand’s biggest Mahayana Buddhist temple, and that Angkor Wat was actually modeled after it. That last part might be wishful thinking, but who knows. They had a bunch of ancient artifacts on display as well, which was neat.

Prehistoric tools at the visitor center

After a while of meandering around the halls of the visitor center, we ventured back outside to explore the ruins. Just like we saw at Phanom Rung, one of the first features of the temple was a naga bridge that led to the entrance of the temple. As we crossed over this symbolic passage between heaven and earth, we entered the temple on the south side of the complex. This is unusual, since most Khmer temples face east.

Temple worker sweeping the naga bridge

Once inside, we discovered lots of ancient window frames (that’s the best way I can describe them) that were perfect for photo shoots. There were also long hallways with empty door frames, offering lots of cool opportunities for artistic pictures. Unfortunately I don’t have a very good eye for things like that, but I imagine the people who are in charge of taking senior portraits would have a field day at this place.

Fit to be framed!

Once inside the temple, we took even more pictures (of course) and goofed off quite a bit. It was nice to have ample time to explore. Since the temple is located within the Nakhon Ratchisma (Korat) province, it was only a little over an hour’s drive from Sakaerat… so we were in no rush.

Entering the temple...

There were many similarities between this sanctuary and the one at Phanom Rung, which isn't surprising considering they were both constructed in somewhat similar time periods by the same society. Detailed art adorned the rafters above our heads as we entered the center of the temple complex, where a tall monument stood solemnly. Pigeons flitted about, attempting to squeeze in a nest here or there in the various nooks and crannies, despite the wire mesh designed to deter them.

Wai, Hello there!

As we approached, we passed through a grassy courtyard that featured a series of large ancient stone pits that were presumably once the location of lovely lotus pools, similar to the ones we saw at Prasat Muang Tam.

The center shrine, constructed of white sandstone and standing approximately 28 meters tall… stood out quite clearly above the rest of the temple. Even though we were there on a Sunday, there weren’t too many people there. Most of the people that were there were Thai, since this place isn’t exactly on the well-worn tourist track. That made the experience even better!

Throughout the temple, we saw workers raking leaves or sweeping the walkways. Some guys were even up on a ladder near the main tower, fixing some bricks. It’s no wonder this place is renowned as one of the best-maintained Khmer ruins in Thailand. Clearly these people took pride in it, as they should. According to my guidebook, the place was originally restored by the Fine Arts Department… pretty nifty.

As we approached the inner courtyard, we passed through an arched gateway that was part of a rectangular gallery surrounding the center of the temple. There were various placards throughout the temple explaining the significance of the different forms of architecture. Most of them seemed to say a lot, without really saying anything at all. I think something must have been lost in the translation. 

Approaching the center...

Once inside, we thoroughly explored the various structures inside the center courtyard surrounding the main tower. Within one of the many prangs, there was an armless statue sitting cross-legged and leaning forward slightly, looking quite pensive. According to my guidebook, this was not actually a meditating Buddha as I first thought, but a stone replica of the Angkor King Jayavarman VII.

A somber silhouette

Inside the main tower, there were other statues and one of my favorite features… more ornate lintels that told stories of ancient Hindu and Buddhist deities. Playing Pictionary with these guys would be intense!

An ancient battle immortalized

The outside of the temple was no less ornate, with many of the outer walls being exquisitely carved. They were so detailed and striking, that I think they were probably replicas of the original carvings. Still, they were quite captivating and very attractive… especially to Sara.

Hmmm... how did they do it?!

In the spirit of being super tourist-y, we took some group photos to document our time together on this marvelous day. Some were sillier than others…

Are we having fun yet? 

We wandered around the grassy courtyard area surrounding the main temple for quite a while, each of us attempting to take the perfect shot. I made many attempts, even going so far as to lay down on the grass to get a different angle, but most of them ended up looking the same. Still, my motto is always to take more pictures rather than less… since you can always delete them later (which I never do) but you can never go back and take more.

The primary prang, the main monument, the center shrine... this is it!

I fooled around with my panoramic setting for a bit, to try to capture the total size of the courtyard. The outer wall apparently stretches 565 m x 1030 m, so there was quite a sizable amount of room to goof around in within the walls. This place would be an epic setting for some lawn games. I wonder if they ever hosted any ancient family reunions here. You never know! 

Lawn darts, anyone? 

After a while of relaxing in the grass and taking lots of pictures, we exited out of the north entrance of the temple to investigate a small building just outside the walls. I believe it was just a fancy backdoor, minus the door. I bet all the people who didn’t want to buy tickets to the temple would sneak in here.

Backdoor to the temple

Looking back towards the temple from this angle provided some pretty awesome views of the area though, and it’s easy to see from here why Phimai is featured on so many postcards. Some of you may have even gotten a postcard from me with this view (or one very similar) on it!

Old-timey setting is appropriate for an ancient place

We took a couple more group shots from this angle, thanks again to the self-timer setting on the camera and a few precariously placed rocks. This one is my favorite.

What a lovely bunch!

After a while, we left the temple and headed to a nearby café to grab some refreshing drinks and relax in the air-conditioning while there. Of course we were cracking jokes and fooling around like we always are, which led Rooney to make the fantastic one-liner that I have used in the title of this blog. She deserves full credit for such a fantastic pun. This is the face of a super-genius. 

"That's so funny, it almost made me Phimai pants!"

Hahaha what a great one. Anyhow, I’ll get on with the story. We left the café and decided to go try to find a place that was listed in the guidebook called Sai Ngam. Lonely Planet described it as Thailand’s largest and oldest banyan tree… so I bugged the others to take a detour so that we could go see it. We had a bit of trouble finding it though, and ended up going in circles for a while. We explored a few back roads, and found these dudes out for their afternoon stroll.

Why did the cows cross the road? ... To get to the MOOOOvies!

Eventually we found the turn that we had managed to pass by at least twice, and we pulled into the parking lot quite relieved. According to the guidebook, this tree… which is really was more like a bunch of trees intertwined, is over 350-years old. I was amazed. It was really hard to capture the magnitude and greatness of this place on camera, but I tried. The whole place was more like a forest than one tree.

Within the "Beautiful Banyon"

The whole network of tree trunks and branches was located on an island within a small reservoir. There were flags, shrines, cobbled walkways and even some cement picnic tables spread throughout this tree town. It was absolutely amazing to behold.

Wood ya look at that!

But to truly appreciate this breath-taking tree, I couldn’t just stay on the ground. I had to climb it!! So I scampered up into the trees faster than Sheila could say “Squirrel!” I was in heaven. I love climbing trees, but this was something else. It was like an entire playground up in the sky.

It doesn't get better than this!

I wanted to sneak up on the others since they had gotten further ahead of Sheila and I, but the network was so huge that I had to get down and walk… they were far away and unfortunately I can’t scamper through trees faster than I can walk. So I dropped back down, careful to avoid being seen by some of the nearby Thai worshipers in case they found my behaviors offensive. We strolled through the shaded pathway until I spotted the other three by the edge of the reservoir.

A walk in the woods

I clambered back up into the trees to try to surprise them, but Sara spotted me. So then I switched tactics to trying to get everyone to climb the trees with me, instead of just calling me crazy from down below. Eventually I was successful!

Sara and Sheila, sittin' in a tree...

I was bounding about the trees like a monkey who has just escaped from the zoo. I had plenty of hoots and hollers to match. The only thing slowing me down was the need to pay attention to the trails of large fearsome red ants marching throughout the branches, but I was so happy I hardly paid them any mind. A few bites here and there weren't going to ruin this magical place.

Just hanging out!

I was having so much fun, I hardly noticed that I was working up quite a sweat. I’m gonna go out on a limb here (did you really think I wasn't gonna use that one?) and say that this was the best part of the day, by far.

This is the real jungle gym

Some parts of the tree actually extended out over the water, so of course I had to go and scope it out.

I could live up here

Alas, eventually it was time for us to leave… so I slipped down from the branches and said goodbye to this magical forest. I felt like a little kid or a dog, very happy and worn out from playing at his favorite park all day.

"May the Forest be with you!"

Speaking of dogs, this little guy greeted us as we exited. He looked like he could use a friend. 

"I like you. You like me? You are my friend?"

But alas, there’s a strict no-pet policy at Sakaerat, so we couldn't take him with us… even though I was very tempted. On the way home I relaxed and thought about how lucky I am to be here, in such a beautiful place with such great people. I've grown used to driving on the left side of the road and seeing buffalo in the fields as we drive by. I’m not looking forward to having to say goodbye to it all so soon. 

Buffalo grazing in the countryside

On the way home, we stopped for dinner in Korat… and while we were trying to find one of the places listed in the guidebook, we ended up stumbling upon a restaurant named “Hansa” which we all thought was an awesome coincidence, given that the species of frog we’re stuying is named hansanae. So of course we ate there, and it was actually quite nice. Good food, excellent service, and a tropical atmosphere.

Happy Froggers

After dinner, Sheila treated us to dessert (she is too kind) and then when returned to Sakaerat to resume our froggy duties. This was definitely a day to remember. Until next time, Peace out!