Winter Smiles (part 2: Sangkhlaburi and points south)

Sam Roi Yod Beach, Prachuap Khiri Khan province

Here's some more friendly encounters in Thailand from this winter to add to my series of Thai smiles. After spending a little time in Sangkhlaburi with my students (I volunteer teach English) in beautiful Kanchanaburi province, I headed south of Bangkok to Prachuap Khiri Khan, another of my favorite provinces, where I spent a few amazingly relaxed days at Blue Beach Resort on the outskirts of Khao Sam Roi Yod National Park.

Hanging on the school bus

 

Students preparing dinner

Bus ride to school

 

Scooter gang

At my favorite coffee stand in Bangkok

Market outside the park

More coffee at the market

Sam Roi Yod Beach

Beachside entrepreneur 

Winter Smiles (part I: Sangkhlaburi)

Starting the day with a smile at Mo Chit bus terminal (Bangkok)

As a visitor, I have found people in Thailand incredibly welcoming, kind, and ready with a smile regardless of whether I was holding a camera at the time. Here's the latest entrants in my Land of 1000 Smiles series (more posts in the series here) from an all too short New Year's trip. These were all taken in Sangkhlaburi, a small town set on a beautiful reservoir near the Myanmar border in Kanchanaburi Province. The Mon Bridge, the longest wooden bridge in Thailand, connects the town to a sizable ethnic Mon community. It's a great place to watch the sunrise or just observe the flow of daily life as townspeople use the bridge (and boats) to go to work/school, and to socialize with friends and family.

Making new friends on the 7-hour bus ride

On the Mon Bridge

Staying warm on a 75 degree evening

 

Postcard vendors on the Mon Bridge

Going for a walk on the Mon Bridge

Peekaboo!

Selling offerings for monks on the Mon side of the bridge

I Saw It On The L: The Challenge

I don't have to roam far from home to witness the beautiful, the bizarre, or the just plain entertaining. Traveling around New York City on a regular basis provides me with ample exposure to all three, sometimes simultaneously. Occasionally, even the familiar takes an unexpected turn...

As I approached the L Train the other day, I saw some kids doing acrobatic routines in one of the cars. I got on the car behind theirs, hoping they would head that way. Sometimes I resent performers forcing themselves on captive audiences, but I was in the mood for some entertainment.

Sure enough, the troupe entered my car and launched into its routine. The kids quickly won over the riders with their moves and high spirits. It was fun, but nothing I hadn't seen before until a female passenger good-naturedly challenged one of them to do a handstand against the pole. He readily complied, but she claimed she could do better. When the kid and his buddy strongly expressed their doubt,  she confidently proclaimed, "Of course I can, I'm a stripper!"

The boys gaped bug-eyed as she got out of her seat and skillfully backed up her boast, capping off the unbilled cameo with a nice version of the worm. She smilingly tipped the kids as she left the train, though it wouldn't surprise me if they appreciated the encounter more than the money.

Happy New Year!

Phu Noi beach (Thailand) at sunrise

Wishing everybody a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2013 full of interesting journeys!

Photos to Help Storm Relief

This tree loomed over a local road for at least a week.

Finally, a real excuse for not updating the blog in a while - Superstorm Sandy took out my electricity for the better part of two weeks. Conditions weren't really bad for me - it was easy to get food and gasoline and I had plenty of friends who offered safe places to stay - but there are still tens of thousands suffering in the New York metropolitan area even though power has largely been restored.

I've made some of my photos available for download with *all* proceeds going to nonprofits helping with storm-relief efforts. (I sent out the first donation from downloads to Food Bank for New York City today.) You can see the available photos here. There's a few animal shots - wolves, polar bears, and a langur - and a nice Costa Rican beach sunset. If you are interested in a download of another photo you see on the site, feel free to contact me about making it available for a charitable contribution. And of course you can always ignore the photos and just contribute to the nonprofit organization of your choice!

There are a lot of people in need out there. I never thought I'd see Doctors Without Borders setting up a clinic in New York City; turns out it's the first time the organization has done so within the United States. (See a Reuters article about it here.)

Monkeyshines in Kuala Lumpur

Hanging out with Nora in Kuala Lumpur

Having recently written a somewhat cautionary post about venturing near monkeys, I figured I'd share some of the benefits of walking, armed only with a camera, among our hirsute cousins.

Nora shows the way

My favorite monkey encounter occurred in Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, a small rainforest park in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. Located only 2 blocks from a Starbucks, the park is a refreshing taste of green shrouded wilderness in the middle of a bustling city. On my first visit, I stopped by the welcome center to get information. The ranger asked if I had seen the monkey outside. "Monkey, what monkey?" "Nora. She's spends a lot of time near the center." I walked out back toward the trails and sure enough there was a young monkey. She nimbly jumped into the arms of one of the staff, who promptly handed Nora to me. I was a little taken aback, but hey, when someone hands you a monkey, you take the monkey. It's the only polite thing to do.

Nora swung from my hand for a bit, then hopped over to a tree. Later she surprised me by diving right onto my shoulder before balancing on the back of my outstretched hand for a spell. I was thrilled; just remembering the experience makes me break out in a smile. I almost extended my stay in Kuala Lumpur just to have more opportunities to interact with her. I have no idea if Nora is still around now, a couple of years later, or if perhaps she began spending time with the other monkeys that live in that small park.

Mother and child roam the forest.

For more photos of Kuala Lumpur's forest and other sights, please click here.

Superpod!

A few years back I went on a dolphin-watching expedition in Costa Rica. We eventually found ourselves in the midst of a pod of maybe 20-30 spinner dolphins. There was no land to be seen anywhere; it was just us, the group of acrobatic dolphins, and a vast expanse of beautiful blue sea stretching out to a paler blue horizon. It was a truly exhilarating experience.

So I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be in the midst of thousands of dolphins like a film crew in South Africa recently was. Luckily the fortunate few shot photos and video before sitting back and just enjoying the once in a lifetime show. Photographer Chase Jarvis described the experience in his blog and included information on how to help protect dolphins and their habitat.