Ants Attack my Laptop

November 2011 and I found myself walking across the widest part of Thailand.  For about half the walk my Thai friend, Onanong accompanied me.  While it is not too unusual to see a backpacker in Thailand, it is unusual to see them actually walking with a goal other than to drag their packs from one guesthouse to another as they move down the road a hundred yards from one guesthouse to another. 

It is even more unusual to see Thai people walking any lengthy distance.  On this stretch of highway Onanong was walking along with me.  She is a tiny woman, standing 150 cm (4’-11” ) and weighing just 42 kilos ( 92 pound).  Her backpack perched high on her back seems larger than her when she walks in front of me. 

We were walking from the city of Phitsanilok toward Sukhothai the ancient capital city of the Kingdom of Siam.  Part of the road wound perilously through the mountains, a narrow, winding thread of concrete that at some places had no shoulder so we were forced to walk on the roadway or on a steep and slippery dropoff. 

This stretch of road was really dangerous.  I had visions of a car or bus careening around a corned and just knocking me and Onanong off the edge of the cliff like roadside.  We couldn’t walk on the opposite side of the road, because the road was blasted and carved into the rock mountainside.  We could not risk being caught between the sheer vertical rock face and some careless driver. 

To add to our visibility I took a broken branch and used the sturdy stick like a flagpole to tie a bright blue shirt onto the end of it.  I carried this makeshift flag so that it stuck up higher than my pack, fluttering in the breeze.

“Keith, what is that for?” Onanong asked as I cobbled together this makeshift warning device.  I explained it was so drivers might see us better.  Then in characteristic Thai fashion she didn’t say much more about my warning flag.  However as we started walking again, I noticed Onanong was lagging behind me a bit.  The gap of 10 yards made it seem as if she wasn’t really with me.

Later that day Onanong confessed I embarrassed her carrying the flag.  The entire idea of walking and sleeping in strange people’s yard was quite embarrassing to Onanong.  So much so, that when she walked with me, we generally found some National Park campground or a guesthouse or lodge to room at overnight.  Only when I was walking alone did I sleep in yards, schoolyards and on some temple grounds.

For me this adventure was a challenge of the physical kind.  Walking 5 to 15 miles, day after day, carrying a backpack when the temperature was pushing 100 degrees in the shade was tough for me.  Getting up in the morning, eating a banana and then waiting while the Ibuprofen eased the pains in my body enough that I could get up and carry the pack again was challenging for me.

The mental difficulties that Onanong faced as a devout Thai woman trying to throw off the cultural shackles of 2000 years of history, to do something beyond the comprehension of the average Thai was far more difficult a challenge to overcome.  Whenever a friendly driver would stop and offer us a ride, Onanong was forced to face the same barrage of questions each time.  “Pi, you need a ride?  Are you walking because you cannot afford to buy a ticket on the bus?  Are you okay?  Is this farang (foreigner) forcing you to walk so he can save money on bus fare?  You want to go to Myanmar, why don’t you ride?”

Onanong’s challenge was of the mind, something far more difficult to overcome than the few aches and pains I suffered with during our walk.  She could not swallow 2 Ibupropen then wait 15 minutes for the embarrassment to go away.  It dogged her every footstep.

Onanong wants to say a few words about this walk.  Here is what she has to say.

Haji Ajmal Shamali, The Loudspeaker and Me

My friend and Afghanistan Presidential candidate Haji Ajmal Shamali is a quietly devout man.  While living in quarters provided by Ajmal in Kabul in 2009, I came to Ajmal as a person who walks quietly, but carries a deep and profound love for his religion and for his country within him.

At the time I lived in a room on the second floor of a house that is situated next to his business office compound.  Next to the office compound is a mosque.  As with all mosques this one has a speaker mounted on a tall steel pole.  The mullah’s prayers are broadcast on the speakers.

The first of five daily prayers take place one hour before sunrise.  The mullah announces his call to prayer loudly via the loudspeaker.  The first night I slept in that room I was awakened at around 5:00 a.m. by what sounded to me like a man standing in my bedroom and shouting at me.

I leapt from my sleeping pallet wondering if I was being attacked.  My first thought was that armalan, my night time bodyguard must have fallen asleep or been knocked out.  Spinning around in the dark room in a ridiculous parody of some Kung fu fighter, I found  nobody there.

Then I realized the sound was outside my bedroom window.  Gazing out I saw a big rusty speaker mounted on a pole at the elevation of my window and seemingly aimed directly into my window.  For the next month, I woke every morning at the same time to the mullah’s call to morning prayer coming to me in a loud thin sound that vibrated as if the loudspeaker were about to come apart.

Then one morning there was no prayer call.  I slept until awoken by daylight, around 6:00 a.m.  The speaker had come apart and was no longer functioning.  When I went down to the office I mentioned to Ajmal that I had slept in because there was no morning prayer over the loudspeaker.  He shrugged and said thank you.  I wondered why he would say thank you, but then I sat at my desk and began my work day, thinking no more about the loudspeaker.

The next few mornings were – for me anyway – blissfully quiet.  I can honestly say I did not miss the loud 5:00 a.m. wake up call. 

Then on a cool morning, with the sky still black and sprinkled by thousands of tiny stars, the call to morning prayer once again blasted into my bedroom.  I again leaped from the floor, but this time I knew I was not being attacked.  On this morning the sound was much louder than before.  The thin tinny quality was gone and I could actually understand what was being said over the speaker.

When Ajmal arrived at the office later, I mentioned to him that the loudspeaker was back to working again.  I told him it sounded louder and much clearer.  My good friend smiled and then told me that Yes he had gone immediately to he mosque and made arrangements for a new and better speaker to be installed.

I smiled and went back to my desk where i buried my mind in the work on the computer screen.  But later that night, as I lay in bed reviewing the day’s activities I smiled once more as I compared Haji Ajmal Shamali’s response to the broken loudspeaker to what my response had been.

Working closely with this man day after day without him ever preaching to me one time, has made me more introspective about my own religious beliefs.

Whale sharks move away from Donsol

I first visited Donsol in 2005, to snorkel with whale sharks there.  The locals call these sharks butanding.  On the first day, I was surprised as the 6 swimmers in my boat ended the day having snorkeled with 4 or 5 different butanding.  We disagreed about one whale shark, whether it was the same as the first one we had been in the water with.

My second day on the water was a repeat performance, with many whale sharks being seen and 3 or 4 that we swam with during our 3 hour boat trip.  We passed other butanding who were either going away from us or who were already “taken” by another boat.

Last year I heard some rumors that the whale sharks had not returned as usual.  But this was something nobody wanted to talk much about.  I took no groups there either of the last two years so I did not really have first hand knowledge.

In the Philippine newspaper, the Inquirer, an article just a few days ago finally confirmed those rumors.

As I write this it is July 26 and the whale shark (butanding) tourist season in the Philippines has mostly come to an end.  Tourist income is reported by the Philippine Inquirer to be down by 50% from around 4 million pesos two years ago to only 2 million so far this year. 

Donsol is a small town of 47,000 located in a distant and relatively undeveloped region.  The community is surely feeling the pain of losing half their income.

There were only two butanding spotted during a substantial part of this snorkeling season and last year was similar. The drop in whale sharks to swim with obviously led to the drop in tourists coming to Donsol to snorkel alongside whale sharks.

Why are most of the whale sharks gone?  The number one most likely cause is pollution diminishing the available plankton supply near to shore, forcing the butanding to feed further offshore.  Everywhere I travel in the Philippines, I see housing built out over rivers, no provisions for sewage.  The rivers are all polluted here without exception, some to the stage of being nothing more than black, oily, trash clogged breeding grounds for mosquitoes and disease.

Malapascua Island where I live in a simple bamboo hut or bahay kubo as it is called here, has no rivers.  This small island of about 6 square miles has only 3,000 inhabitants.  There are no rivers, so sewage and most trash disposed of in a sanitary way.  The ocean is water is clean and still provides a great place to dive.

If Donsol wants its tourist industry to recover, the local government needs to act immediately to clean up the rivers that flow into the ocean in the area the butanding normally congregate to feed.  When the sharks do return, the tourism officials then need to more closely regulate the snorkeling encounters.  It is not the tourists’ actions that may place stress on the whale sharks, but the unrestrained large flow of boats and swimmers.

There is speculation in the Inquirer news article that the 40 permitted boats carrying up to 6 passengers each that ply the shore near Donsol could be responsible by causing stress upon the feeding animals.  Swimming tourists and poorly captained boats frequently cross too close in front of feeding whale sharks, causing them to turn or change direction and disrupting their normally calm feeding methods.

In an effort to satisfy all comers, the number of boats that go out from the Donsol boat office is limited primarily by the number of tourists who arrive wanting to go out on the boats.  A more orderly and restrictive schedule needs to be developed.  A schedule plan that places less pressure on the animals.  Perhaps limiting the number of boats allowed out with snorkelers to 6 or 8 boats at any time would help reduce the interference and stress upon the feeding butanding.

This might mean that some tourists who arrive without reservations would be forced to wait an extra day.  Or they might only get to go out in the afternoon, missing the best morning snorkel time.  This seems like a small price to pay compared to chasing the animals away from their normal feeding area and thus out of reach of the boats.

I suspect the economic pressures upon the local government will divert attention away from these two stressors – pollution and stress from too many boats.  Rather I imagine all entities involved will erroneously jump on the Global Warming bandwagon.  The Inquirer article has paved the way.  It will be easy and politically correct right now to blame all the ills of the environment upon Global Warming.  But it is not an accurate assessment of what is really happening at this moment.

The Inquirer listed warming water due to Global Warming as the most likely cause of the whale sharks changing their long held feeding grounds. But the water temps at 28 to 29 degrees Celsius (about 84 Fahrenheit) are nearly perfect for whale sharks.  

It has been my experience with whale sharks at various locations around the world over the last 10 years that when the water temperature drops below 80 degrees F. the whale sharks become difficult to find.  When I do find them in cooler water they are swimming faster and frequently deeper, making it almost impossible to have an excellent snorkeling encounter with one of them.

I think global warming is being blamed for too many bad environmental events that are not caused by this phenomenon.  This current situation in Donsol is a prime example of the Global Warming alarm misdirecting attention from more immediate and very real concerns.

Whale Watching 1

http://www.bajajonesadventures.com 562) 889-4016 Whale watching around the world and in Baja california. Baja Jones is the only sponsor of this, the world's largest gray whale information website. Join Keith (Baja) Jones on a whale watching trip. Rub noses with a friendly whale!

Keith (Baja) Jones is an avid writer about Baja travel and about gray whales. Every winter you will find him in Baja, somewhere near the Gray Whales. As the founder of Baja Jones Adventurers, Jones Adventures, Tigress Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands, he has led thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world.


Since 1992 Baja Jones has logged over 3000 hours observing the whales of Baja, while sitting in pangas, on the various lagoons and ocean waters of Baja California, Mexico. Keith has also logged more than 100,000 miles driving the Baja Highway #1 and the many side roads along the way. We believe our leader is the most knowledgeable person currently working as a gray whale watching guide in Mexico.

His writing and photos have been published in a dozen countries and scores of magazines, newspapers and websites. He corresponds with hundreds of writers, environmental activists, biologists, researchers, scientists, students and other whale enthusiasts each year. Each issue of our newsletter is read by several thousand people. Keith recently wrote the Gray whale section for the "Lonely Planets Guide to Cabo and Baja" and the Baja Desert section for The Sanford Travel Guide

Africa Safari 1

http://www.bajajonesadventures.com (562) 889-4016 Planning an African safari? Let us help you. At Baja Travel, we strive to make your African Safari the experience of a lifetime.

Keith (Baja) Jones is an avid writer about Baja travel and about gray whales. Every winter you will find him in Baja, somewhere near the Gray Whales. As the founder of Baja Jones Adventurers, Jones Adventures, Tigress Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands, he has led thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world.

Since 1992 Baja Jones has logged over 3000 hours observing the whales of Baja, while sitting in pangas, on the various lagoons and ocean waters of Baja California, Mexico. Keith has also logged more than 100,000 miles driving the Baja Highway #1 and the many side roads along the way. We believe our leader is the most knowledgeable person currently working as a gray whale watching guide in Mexico.

His writing and photos have been published in a dozen countries and scores of magazines, newspapers and websites. He corresponds with hundreds of writers, environmental activists, biologists, researchers, scientists, students and other whale enthusiasts each year. Each issue of our newsletter is read by several thousand people. Keith recently wrote the Gray whale section for the "Lonely Planets Guide to Cabo and Baja" and the Baja Desert section for The Sanford Travel Guide.

African Gorilla Trek

http://www.bajajonesadventures.com (562) 889-4016 For an unforgettable, life-changing experience, try gorilla trekking. This is a unique adventure in the heart of Africa's most spectacular rainforests. No matter how short or long the trek, spending time in the company of a gorilla family guarantees that the journey will be extraordinary.

Keith (Baja) Jones is an avid writer about Baja travel and about gray whales. Every winter you will find him in Baja, somewhere near the Gray Whales. As the founder of Baja Jones Adventurers, Jones Adventures, Tigress Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands, he has led thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world. Now those adventures continue in Africa.

Since 1992 Baja Jones has logged over 3000 hours observing the whales of Baja, while sitting in pangas, on the various lagoons and ocean waters of Baja California, Mexico. Keith has also logged more than 100,000 miles driving the Baja Highway #1 and the many side roads along the way. We believe our leader is the most knowledgeable person currently working as a gray whale watching guide in Mexico.

His writing and photos have been published in a dozen countries and scores of magazines, newspapers and websites. He corresponds with hundreds of writers, environmental activists, biologists, researchers, scientists, students and other whale enthusiasts each year. Each issue of our newsletter is read by several thousand people. Keith recently wrote the Gray whale section for the "Lonely Planets Guide to Cabo and Baja" and the Baja Desert section for The Sanford Travel Guide.

Whale Watching Trip With Baja Jones Adventures

This is a trip description written by a happy Baja Jones Adventures whale watcher. President's Day Weekend Whale watching trip with Baja Jones Adventures.

We had to be awake and at the van at 4:30 am to leave from San Diego for our whale watching tour to Baja, Mexico. The driver said we leave this early to avoid the traffic in

San Diego and Ensenada as we drive south. The drive was long, but interesting. Our lunch stop included an interesting cave painting site located high on the side of a

mountain.

Our first full day in Mexico began with breakfast at a small local café called Puerto Viejo (The old Port). Our group of 8 met for breakfast at 7:00 AM. Everyone was excited. I was bubbling with energy as we enjoyed Spanish omelets, tortillas and hot cakes.

I left the restaurant and walked to the van that would carry us to the Bay. I noticed heavy fog surrounding the town. I wondered if we could whale watch with fog like that. Maybe I said something out loud, because Baja Jones (Keith to all of us) spoke up and said that fog is a good thing. He explained that fog meant there would be no wind. The fog would be gone by the time we loaded into the boats and because there would be no wind, it would be warm and a very nice day. This forecast proved to be quite accurate. We arrived at the boat embarkation point, a place called Punta Mariscal, at around 8:30 AM. There we received life jackets and clambered onboard the waiting fiberglass launch. Once everyone was seated the boat driver quickly backed away from the dock

and headed slowly from shore.

Even before arriving at the Area #3 whale watching zone we could see dozens of whale spouts from inside the van. Once we stopped and were all outside the van we could even see some whales who raised up out of the water in an act called spy hopping.

Loading into the boats is an interesting experience here. There is no dock. Only a shallow sloping muddy seashore. We loaded into the back of an old blue pickup truck and then the driver drove out into the water where the boat captain was standing in knee deep water, holding the boat steady.

We stepped from the tailgate of the pickup truck onto a seat in the boat. As soon as all of us were onboard, the captain pushed the bow toward the whales, and climbed into

the boat himself.

Then we slowly motored away from shore, as our boat driver carefully found a channel through the mudflats. Within 5 minutes we were in deeper water and surrounded by

blowing whales.

At first we shouted and pointed at every whale spout. But soon we stopped because there were so many it quickly became “normal” to see a whale swim up from below and blow a spray of water 10 or 20 meters from our craft.

The day progressed with continued whale spouts and an occasional jumping whale. We enjoyed this experience for about 45 minutes. Somebody later said they thought themorning started slowly. They thought maybe the entire trip would be just like that.

But this all changed in just moments, when a huge gray whale slowly moved toward our boat. Keith saw the whale coming to our right side and said that this whale was going to come closer. It continued to approach, then sank beneath the water and swam under our boat. The whale was longer than our boat by almost twice. She was also wider than our boat and we could look over the left or the right side and see her floating directly below us. Her back never touched the boat, but it was almost frightening to me.

I think Keith grew excited by this because suddenly he leaned way over the side and plunged his arm down into the water. His arm and his blue jacket sleeve disappeared beneath the water, almost to his armpit. After a moment he threw his arm up and as water poured from his jacket he shouted something. Telling us all that he had touched the whale underwater. This started a rush, as all 8 of us pushed to the one side of the boat. The boat tipped up on it's side as if it would roll over. Keith moved to the opposite side and told us it was okay to try and pet that whale.

For another hour, that seemed like only 5 minutes we took turns touching, rubbing and even kissing this wonderful animal. After an experience like that how could we possible do better? Keith insisted we should think about this as a great individual experience. He said we should not try to compare it to tomorrow because we could have a different, but equally as great experience tomorrow.

I'm going to bed now. It's 9:00 pm. The sun and water tired me out. I'll surely dream of some jumping whales tonight.

Laura Soleil

Writing from Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's Lagoon)

Baja California Sur, Mexico

February 12, 2010