(Continuation of previous post)
------------------------------------------------------------
LAO HEN LOMA! (We saw dolphins!)
The next day, I finally got to go on the water to see the ‘waddies, as the EMCR folks were doing a quick photo-ID survey. And it was my best experience with this species! It’s really a shame that my Canon ran out of battery, and that I’d thought it was a good idea to leave the charger in my stored bag in Bangkok. (It’s also a shame that my point-and-shoot is out of battery, and the battery charger is nowhere to be found. I thought I’d brought it with me…perhaps it’s in charger heaven, along with the smartphone charger that I lost in the Mabul Island fire and and MP3 charger that I lost…somewhere?).
 |
| Hauling the net |
We boarded a medium-sized fishing boat that EMCR hires from a local boat owner for these surveys, painted bold blue with garlands of flowers looped over the bow. Chugged out of the river port and out to the sea, bordered by lines of white sand underneath delicate, feathery dark-green trees. After cruising around for a while, with no dolphins to be found, the boat captain decided to set the boat’s seine net, saying that dolphins often are attracted to boats that are fishing. The crew of four fishers got to work, throwing the large net off the boat as the captain drove in a large circle. Then the captain drove into the middle of the circle, and we were off! Driving in a series of figure 8s and loops, the boat tilting with each curve, round and round to scare the fish into the nets. It’s a good thing I wasn’t feeling seasick.
 |
| Delicious fresh fishes |
The crew hauled the net, and a couple of dolphins showed up. But they proved skittish, and we decided to move on. After more hours of searching (during which the captain said the dolphins are never this elusive, and I started to wonder if I was a harbinger of bad dolphin-watching fortune), the captain and crew set the net again. At this point, I was tired and my mind felt a little numb, which tends to happen after unsuccessfully searching for dolphins for extended periods of time.
But this time, the dolphins were more friendly. As the net was being pulled up, glistening fish trapped in the mesh, two large, gray, muscular backs, alert and graceful, cut through the blue water. And my fatigue instantly vanished.
Our vantage point from the roof of the boat, plus the fact that the water here is less turbid than at my other sites, allowed me to see the dolphins frolicking underwater. Amazing. I’ve never seen that with Irrawaddy dolphins before. Ekh nicely let me use one of the team’s 3 Nikon cameras so I could get some shooting in, which was fun. The crew was throwing fish to the dolphins (apparently this is something that fishers here often do), and the dolphins were cavorting around after the shiny morsels, spinning, swooping, gliding gracefully through the translucent water. Two dolphins became four, and four became seven (including a calf!), rolling around us, surfacing to show dorsal fins with a variety of scars and cuts, occasionally raising their unbelievably adorable faces out of the water – chubby little faces with earnest eyes and peaceful ‘smiles’. I’d never realized how agile these guys really were.  |
| Right before my camera died...but had some awesome pics on the Nikon! |
As the dolphins’ interest in the boat faded, we headed back to land.
CHILLIN’ BY THE RIVER IN RAYONG
After some more fishing village visits in Trat, along with a quick visit to the Department of Aquaculture center, we came to Rayong. A small, sleepy town on the river and along the seaside. The EMRC folks brought me to a homestay along the river – a couple of large, solid houses with airy, clean rooms and shiny wooden floors and cavernous interiors, with a serene terrace built on stilts over the river. The people here are warm and kind, and though they don’t speak English, they’re eager to communicate (with the aid of vigorous gestures and my limited Thai) anything that might make my stay more comfortable.
I walked along the narrow road leading to the homestay in the early evening yesterday, past dispersed food stalls, small stores, and homes, catching glimpses of the nearby river between buildings. Someone drove past me on a motorbike and abruptly stopped – it was Khun Nut. “Kun bai tii nai ka? Bai tii ‘market’?” (Where are you going? Going to the market?) she asked. I hadn’t planned on it, but I figured why not. I hopped on the back of the bike, and we rode along the shadowy street, over a bridge, past a temple, and to the small outdoor market set up on a gravelly field. Walked around looking at the food on offer while she bought food for her family’s dinner, including four ears of salted boiled corn. She asked the vendor to split the corn in half, and handed two of the ears to me. So nice!
After Nut brought me back to the homestay, I wandered to the terrace with my corn. The friendly people who run the homestay ushered me to a table and presented me with a feast of fried tofu, rice, sweet-chile-and-peanut sauce, and stir-fried sweet squash. I relaxed, watching the day fade away over the river while the homestay folks enthusiastically played something similar to Blackjack behind me. Tonight, once again, the people here hovered over me as I enjoyed the dinner and dessert they gave me, making sure that I had enough food, plenty of water, and an obscene amount of mango sticky rice. Basically, I was force-fed one of my favorite desserts.
 |
| Managed 1 more photo on the dead battery...homestay terrace |
I wish I had a multitude of lifetimes. I’d use at least a couple of years of one to settle down in a community like this, get a little motorbike and explore the coastline, get a small boat to cruise out to the nearby islands, play cards with these friendly folks, and cook meals with ingredients from the market in a cozy riverside home.
No comments:
Post a Comment