Green getaways in the city

While the streets of Bangkok were being planned for the continuation of the anti-government protests this week, I sought refuge among the city's green lungs. But more on that later. A short detour to the protests that had gathered quite a momentum by the time of writing at 5.30pm. There's a lot being analyses, discussed and criticized elsewhere, so won't get into that now. I just wanted to note how thousands of quite politically aware people in Thailand are willing to give up civil liberties and their rights to electoral democracy to what is essentially a fascist government. With the monarchy having greater role. Bizarre to say the least. But such kinds of movements are the hallmarks of feudal societies that have yet shed their rules of game, and have allowed patriarchal and paternal politics to remain strong while fronting democratic practices. More in another post.

So, back to my escapade this weekend. On Saturday, I ventured to Prapadaeng, a kind of a peninsula on Chao Phraya from the other side of the river. Or accessible by boat from Klong Toey. The place is popular for a number of attractions including the floating market, temples etc. but none of that for me, I don't fancy those stops. No, mine is aimed for the parks and the birds. So the destination on this peninsula was the Sri Nakhorn Khuan Khan park, about 10 minutes walk from the pier if coming by boat from Klong Toey. By taxi, the fare is about 200baht and it's a left turn on Suksawat Road, following the directions. Oh, the boat from Wat Klong Toey Nok is 7baht. But getting would still require the taxi/MRT combo, coming up to more or less the same price.

Anyway, I was a bit late starting the morning in the park, so I may missed some morning highlights. The park is not that wide so a few hours would be more than enough. During this dry season, it's very easy to walk on the trails just off the road.    

I wasn't aiming for great sightings because the place is busier during the passing migration in April. But any chance to work the binos is always welcome. I was glad to spot the black-naped monarch, now familiar with its calls. And seeing the black-capped kingfisher for the first time! Also new on the list is the white-breasted waterhen and pink-necked green pigeons. The rest were usual suspects: Asian Koel, drongos, common tailorbird, Green-billed Malkoha, Chinese Pond Heron, Asian Brown Flycatcher.

On Sunday I went to Suan Rot Foi, which is officially my favorite place in Bangkok :-) I'm always encouraged to see the people using the park facilities to the max and really like how well it's kept. Anyway, it's been a good place to get to know the usual suspects better :-) but this time, I was happy with three new sightings! I wonder if any one of them may have come from the chatujak market where people are know to sell birds caught in the forests. Anyway, the three are Orange-headed Thrush (zoothera citrina); the white-rumped shama (C.malabaricus); and the grey-headed canary flycatcher (culicicapa ceylonensis) - the last suspected from the market but then there were easily 5-6 of them (consistent with behavior). I was not expecting the thrush but it was too obvious to be missed - I regret not having my camera! But while focusing on the thrush, I spotted the shama in the background. Both were present long enough, if only I remembered to pack in the camera :-(

Anyway, the rest of the sightings at Suan Rot Fai:

1. White breasted waterhen
2. Asian brown flycatcher
3. Chinese pond heron
4. Little egret
5. Cattle egret 
6. Coppersmith barbets
7. Streak-eared bulbuls 
8. Common ioras
9. Small minivets 
10. Black-capped kingfisher 
11. White-throated kingfisher 
12. Brown shrike 
13. Ashy drongo
14. Pied fantails
15. Little heron
16. Barn swallows 
17. Black-naped orioles
18. Yellow-browed warbler (guessing) 

** links to the pictures of the birds are to the Oriental Bird Images. I've tried to select the ones from Thailand just to be as close as possible :-)

Overnight trip to Bang Pra, Chonburi

The irregularity in updating the blog is nothing to be proud of. And the fact that often its birding reports that revive the vacuum of posts is another indicator - of what I'm not entirely sure. But that's another story.

So, birding it is, but of course.

This time from a weekend trip to Si Racha, or specifically Bang Pra, around the reservoir. I added another 12 new sightings on my list (haven't updated from the trip in Chiang Dao in August though, with a few more as well).

Got one of those vans down there for USD4 and then paid more for the local tuk tuk from Si Racha to Bang Pra. Was considering car rental but went for public transport instead - too lazy to drive.

There is nothing much in Bang Pra except the nature and the nearby tiger zoo. The latter, not my cup of tea. Its also not the typical stop because less than an hour away is Pattaya, where everybody goes. A place I avoid. Like a plague. Si Racha itself is not bad. It is close to the water and is the take off point for those going to Ko Chang, by ferry.

No, my interest was merely to get myself to Bang Pra from Si Racha, which is about 8km away, and hang out by the reservoir. I found a room at a golf resort that sat right at the reservoir for a reasonable price. (It also meant I really stood out as the odd one in the company of Japanese and Thai golfers, with my binos and camera). For future reference, the room is clean and nice, at a reasonable price. Food is very Japanese but nothing to complain about. My booking was via Agoda - was at the hotel at 11am and they let me check in.

As always my reference for birding is the thaibirding.com by Nick Upton, who has yet to respond to my emails, but no grudges held. His website is very informative and useful and has helped me prepare before any of my trips. It narrows the possibilities based on the spots, so I can "guess" what I'm seeing based on the typical sightings at each spot recorded in his guide. I don't always get it right and I have walked away from sites still unsure of what I've seen. But that's more of me needing practice! (Nick's website on this location is here).

The reservoir is also a new place in the sense that there are water and grassland birds. I've been seeking out mainly mountainous/evergreen forest birds. And this time, I have some shots of my own - though I definitely need to get a zoom lens! For great shots, as always, enjoy checking out http://orientalbirdimages.org/

12 new ones on my list, starting with the green bee eater (N/Merops orientalis) - of which there were many just down by the water across from the hotel. Ok so its not professional photography, so bear with me:-) The bird is in the middle of the frame towards the left in the grass.

Green bee eater

 The others around the area were:
-White-rumped munia (N) / Lonchura punctulata
-Paddyfield Pipit (N) / Anthus rufulus
-Prinia (still not sure which one) (N)
-Little Commorant (N) / Phalacrocorax niger
-Great Egret / Casmerodius albus
-Red-wattled Lapwig / Vanellus indicus
-White-throated Kingfisher
-Whiskered Tern (N) / Chlidonias hybridus
-Pond Heron / Ardeola bacchus
-Oriental Reed Warbler (N)/ Acrocephalus orientalis
-Common Tailorbird / Orthotomus sutorius


 (N) - new on my list

White-rumped Munia

Paddyfield Pipit

A pair of the Red Wattled Lapwig in flight

Since this was late afternoon, waited around for the sunset over the reservoir. Apparently the dam is a popular spot for joggers, walkers and cyclists - it was very busy, but that didn't seem to bother the birds. And yes, people fishing too - on boats and by the banks.

Late evening at the Bang Pra Dam

watching the sunset

 The next morning, I headed to the Bang Pra Non-Hunting Area (NHA), where there is also a waterbird breeding centre. All in all, a really nice environment. I started at the campsite/park office and it really amazes me how it usually doesn't take long from the start of a trail to spot something. My first was the lineated barbet (Megalaima lineata), and soon on the trail I come across the Ashy Minivets (N/Pericrocrotus divaricatus) and then a little oasis of bird heaven! Too many and too difficult to spot all of them. But the two main ones were the Laced Woodpecker (Picus vittatus) in action for a while and the Racket-tailed treepie (Crypsirina temia)! Both new on my list and definitely sight to behold:-)

Some other unidentified birds in the background - still have not been able to identify them. But a large community of drongos - Ashy Drongo, Racket-tailed Drongo, Bronze Drongo - all over the place and extremely noisy. But the star was the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)- also a first for me - and it flew around a while before being perched on a tree. While watching the Osprey, saw in the foreground a Yellow Bittern (N/ Ixobrychus sinensis)!

Sightings here included:
-Little Commorant
-Great Egret
-Asian Openbill  (Anastomus ascitans)
-Brown Shrike (N/ lanius cristatus)
-Streak-eared bulbul (Pycnonotus blandfordi)
-Yellow-vented bulbul (pycnonotus goiavier)
-RW Lapwig
-Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa daurica)
-Black naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis)

Also one unidentified bird - caught on camera but can't make it out.

Little Commorant and Egret

 As we were leaving the place, I noticed a sign board on the grounds for the White-crested Laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) and soon enough a party of 4-6 flew by.

Actually its possible to walk all the way from here to the next stop where the egret lake is but it was getting hot, so cheated and took the tuk tuk. 

Egret Lake

Part of the Egret Island

 The Egret Lake is an amazing spot - many people fishing and so its actually quiet:-) Definitely spotted the Green-billed Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus tristis) that I may have also seen earlier by the NHA. So, lots of egrets, herons, pond herons here. Even though they are quite big, sometimes its still difficult to tell the difference between some.

Those I've heard over the 2 days were the Asian Koel, Asian Barred Owlet (Glaucidium brodiei), Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) and the Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis). I can identify the Barn Swallow but not sure about the identity of other swallows/swiftlets.

Other usuals were the Oriental Magpie, Black-collared starling, peaceful doves, spotted doves,
Quite happy with the sightings, and am sure I will have to make one more trip this season and spend at least two days - this time with the water birds as I've actually missed out the ducks and sandpipers and bushlarks.

Now its back to Bangkok with the promise of a huge anti-government rally tomorrow! I have a lot of opinions about that, but politics is very uninspiring at the moment, here and also in Malaysia :( Though I should really write something about that.

Give up, let go

Give up and let go have been the mantra these days. Some days, the target is clear, the others, more of a concept. I am learning that giving up is not admitting defeat, so no ego bruised there. But I am soon getting tired of the let go phrase, like that makes everything ok. I hate you, phrase let go. Because I have had to do that all the time, all these years.

Hitting the books

Get on the couch, read!

After what seemed like an eternity, a drought, rather, I finally got back to reading. And in a week, finished three books. An upliftment, to say the least. What was I thinking, leaving the books aside for such a long time. Weeks, months? I'm not sure, its unacceptable, that's what it is.

The three are a mix of the known, the recommended and that which fell pleasantly on my lap. The known was Orhan Pamuk - Silent House. I love his style of writing and how the characters tell the story and weave the complex details seamlessly. Its his second book, written in 1983 but was apparently only recently translated. Its class struggle, its love, its wastefulness, ego, death, causes with no real meanings. Potent mix for conflicts. I must get his The Museum of Innocence next and actually go to the museum in Istanbul next.

The recommended title was really the one that got me high. If not for work, I would have been finished reading it in a day. The Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin It was gripping, vivid, and real. Its a coming of age story that introduces the conflict right at the start and then goes on an intense and suspenseful, yet innocent, journey. So well written, mesmerizing. My friend, Tazeen, who recommended the book, has reviewed it much better than I would - and I agree with all she says:-)

The unknown is a collection of Georgian short stories, titled Contemporary Georgian Fiction, by 19 writers in the post-independence era. The lengths vary, some more succint and powerful than others. Lots of pain, liberation, agony, disappointment, suicide and anger in the stories but gives an insight into places I have never looked before - geographically and metaphorically.

Lots of introspection especially with Tarttelin's Golden Boy, but also in the anthology.

"Mika thinks a person's life is but a slight ripple on the surface of existence. A few faint circles and then - gulp! - eternal invisibility...." (From Real Beings, by Teona Dolenjashvili)

I'm back on track. 

Chin Peng, the end of an era of insecurity for Malaysia

Yesterday I attended the wake for the late Chin Peng, one time secretary general of the defunct Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). He died earlier this week, at the age of 88. To me, his death represents the death of a part of Malaysian history, which never got a chance to be discussed and debated adequately.

 I felt it was my duty to attend not because I believe in the communist ideology, but because I believe the negative consequences of distorting and erasing history will be the weapon that kills us as a nation. Never having to face the fears openly will only come back to bite us. 

Some point to the fact that security forces and civilians were killed during the communist insurgency. Others hypothesise what the country could have become had the CPM come into power. On the latter, why bother? The what ifs and could haves are of no use when we can't face the reality.

The loss of lives was not exclusive during the colonial-led battle against the communists, in which an emergency period was declared between 1948 and 1960. Thousands were killed during the Japanese Occupation between 1942 and 1945. Dr. Kua Kia Soong touches on this in his commentary piece here and I won't get into detail. Court cases have been filed against the Japanese by families of those victimised during WWII. No one in the Malaysian political scene gives two hoots about that. And for years, diplomatic and business ties with Japan, and former colonial power, Britain - showing that we have the capacity to forgive, forget and move on.

So, what is this hang up with Chin Peng and the CPM? The Malay ministers and NGOs keep raising the issue of how the return of Chin Peng, and his ashes in his death, would stir the emotions and unhappiness of those who suffered in the hands of the communists. I would even argue that its the ruling government that is to blame for not allowing an honest open dialogue and reconciliation, and left the victims of all conflicts to nurse the wounds themselves. And this is because the politics of the country belongs to the elites, they do not care about the poor, many of whom gave their lives in the independence struggle.

I believe in the role played by the CPM against the Japanese, and they were prepared to be brought into the mainstream of politics during the struggle with the returning British colonialists. He and the CPM have a rightful place in the history books, written accurately of course. Whether or not he is a hero is besides the point. Well, the British Crown did recognise Chin Peng's role and awarded him an honour at the end of the second world war.

There is nothing else but political expediency by the UMNO-led politicians in continuing to demonise Chin Peng, even at his death. It is a reflection of how insecure they are, or have been, of their own role in nation building. Dr. Kua rightfully asks - who among the leaders of BN today stood the ground and for the colonialists? No one worthy of the title.

We should really let him rest in peace. But I am glad in a way that ghosts of the past are so successful in haunting UMNO and its followers. So, they will never get out of their shell, when everyone else is and has been, moving ahead.

-- ends----

Other reports on Chin Peng's death:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/chin-peng-contributed-to-merdeka-argues-dap-parliamentarian

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/09/22/Chin-Peng-Family-Denies-Malaysia-Day.aspx

The Malaysian 13th elections - aku menyampah!

The best thing about knowing more than one language is that you can choose from the different ones for selected expressions. I treasure the conversations I have with people from different language backgrounds - those who are on the same page with me about not preserving the purity of languages. Rojak is definitely the best!

I thought I would share some of my favourites over time - no rational choices or reasons why they are the best - its all in the way one says it, the non-verbal gestures, the tone etc.

For example, when you tell someone they've been taken advantage of, or that this characteristic of theirs is why they always get the shit end of the stick, the Tamil phrase is best: illichu vaai (not the best spelling, but it will do).
E.g:
"Vel Paari said Indians will vote the Barisan for sure, they are grateful to the MIC."
"He think we all illichu vaai-s is it? *%^$#@^"

Or Sei Lor in Cantonese = die lah, for almost any context when you're in trouble, hard pressed for time etc.
E.g:
"Eh, if Pakatan Rakyat win the elections, sure riot one.."
"Sei lor! better go stock rice fast fast!"

Or Cis! Bedebah! from Malay - which is basically SOB.
"Ibrahim Ali is standing for elections in Bukit Bintang."
"Cis bedebah! He dare one come to the Chinese area!"

Or maay pen rai in Thai - which means it doesn't matter.
E.g:
"YB, maaf tak sempat nak pergi kat Kuantan buang undi. Tapi seperti saya janji, dah pergi Pekan, Raub dan Temerloh. On the way, tayar pancit.
"Maay pen rai! Orang tua kamu dah pergi semua tempat dah. Nah, ambik RM150. Bagus!"

This is my intelligent and intellectual discourse when trying to make sense of the current political situation in Malaysia. I have given up conversations about when the elections are to be called or to understand any of the political decisions of the Barisan Nasional. It is great that my friends in the likes of Wong Chin Huat tirelessly try to educate and inform us of all that is necessary. Kee Thuan Chye today placed his bets on the dissolution on March 26. I'm not booking my flights yet though.

But I have only one word at this point. I draw inspiration from the Malay language.

Menyampah.

Fists clutched. Spit. The anger is unquell-able.  

It can be translated as hateful or disgusting. For the occasion, I'll say its a combination of the two.

"Aku menyampah lah kat Najib tu."
"Ish, aku menyampah si BN, pi mampus-lah."
"Dr. M ni mencarut-lah...menyampahnya!"
"Najib nak panggil Psy! Ae..lah...menyampah betul!"
"Menyampah-lah diorang tak nak announce election. Penakut!"

That's Malaysian politics for now. Its been reduced to waste. I menyampah that I feel so stupid because I can't really argue or explain what is happening. The BN and the Prime Minister think we are all illichu vaai-s, bedebah! I want us to rock the boat so much they will say Sei-lor. Chaos? Maay pen rai.... asalkan orang tak menyampah kita.

Itu sahajalah setakat ini. Sekian, terima kasih.

Too much freedom? Er, start thinking, can?

I have just been looking at some notes from a discussion on press freedom recently. A theme that has come up a few times in the recent months, particularly in relation to this topic is that the problem with the media and society (in some countries in Southeast Asia, for example) is that there is too much freedom.

Can you have have too much freedom? Hell, no! Its a false argument. I think this is the result of an aggregate of unthinking beings and unyielding hypocricy (I learnt how to say hypocricy in Thai - phuut yang, tham yang or khit yang, tham yang). If there was too much freedom, don't you think we'll be better at defending minority rights, providing protection to those who need, and have safe drinkable water and breathable air? Access to homes, education, employment, thoughts, and opinions. Waving the Universal Declaration of Human Rights here! - No, there's never too much freedom.

What we have in excess is this: a society unable to criticise itself; where selective prosecution and application of freedoms dictate; elites own the meaning of rights and freedoms; and just unthinking, destructive individuals roaming the streets.

They hide behind the walls of cultural relativism and post-colonial insecurity to decide what is the norm. None that makes rational sense, to me. "Its not our culture to criticise the elders" or "our society is unique because we have a tradition of this and that" - but will you also claim responsibility that your unique culture is also violent and inhumane because of the murders and brutality that take place, either by individuals or organised groups? I am well aware my argument is a fallacy, but one cannot pick and chose arbitrarily when culture is a determining factor. To hold back freedoms because of cultural values, is, in my not so humble opinion, the greatest disasters of our time. Add religion to it, and the result is far worse. The argument is that its not the religion per se because religion teaches compassion and good values, its the people who spoil the religion. Well, to me, religion is nothing without the people, and the two are actually one. And this one is a major threat to fundamental freedoms, including the right to have a belief of your choice. As an atheist, I'm more secure than a believer of something in some countries.

I digress.  

And as much as we try to make ourselves, our communities, unique, I think no one is unique. We are far more alike than we are different, but we invest so much time in picking out and parading the differences, which we then use to justify denial of others' freedoms and rights. I don't mean to say that because we are not unique, we don't have rights. On the contrary, we do. But that's because we are above the narrow unique distinctions. There is far greater purpose in serving humanity as a whole. 

Back to my starting point.

I am looking forward to a time when we can be honest and call a spade a spade and accept that the failings of the media, for example, is because the people in it choose to be so and they have given up their rights to freedom and in respecting the freedoms of others. The cultural values have protected the elites and the powerful and their band of media. Understanding the media situation in this region is less complicated that what many of us make it out to be. Its base is simple: power, power, power. Except that the ones feeding into that machine of power, i.e the journalists, are, undoubtedly the ones with zero power. Their poor state is a result of their unthinking, yet willing give away of power. They do things to give the impression that they have lots of freedom and rights. Yet, they are only a pawn in the big scheme of things.

Ranting.

I have to analyse media freedom in the region. I do not appreciate cultural relativism. I want people to widen their horizons and see poverty, abuses, control, violations on the one hand, and joy, delight and happiness on the other, stretched beyond their own borders. It is not a problem of too much freedom anywhere. It is a problem of narrow vision.

Project to "finish being born"

"The child, unnoticed, had already put out tendrils and sent down roots, and there had been time for that fragile-seed to place his tiny, unsteady feet on the muddy ground and to receive from it the indelible mark of the earth, that shifting backdrop to the vast ocean of air, of that clay, now dry, now wet, composed of vegetable and animal remains, of detritus left behind by everything and everyone, crushed and pulverised rocks, multiple, kaleidoscopic substances that passed through life and to life returned, just like the suns and the moons, times of flood and drought, cold weather and hot, wind and no wind, sorrows and joys, the living and the not. Only I knew, without knowing I did, that on the illegible pages of destiny and in the blind meanderings of chance it had been written that I would one day return to Azinhaga to finish being born." (Saramago, J, Small Memories)

I stopped in my tracks with the last line... return to finish being born. I think, maybe all of us never really finish that process. We get uprooted, we leave to a new place, we imagine the things that were around us, the landscape that was, the memories of the place, the house, the people. Sometimes, its an unfinished business. And Saramago says that of himself: the landscape is not his as he didn't grown up there. You are thrown into situations and the new place forces you to grow up and when you return to the place, its something else.

I want to go back and finish being born. Or maybe I don't. Do I have a choice? I now think that as we get older we reflect back on those now borrowed landscapes and think, there was a time I was being born and it was interrupted. But to what ends will this project achieve?

Maybe its in one of the poems Saramago has written that he refers to in this trip to finishing being born.

....
I wait motionless for the whole river to be bathed in blue and for the birds on the branches to explain to me why the poplars are so tall and their leaves so full of murmurings
Then, with the body of the boat and the river safely back in the human dimension, I continue on toward the golden pool surrounded by the raised sword of the bullrushes
There I will bury my pole two feet down in the living rocks
A great primordial silence will fall when hands join with hands
And then I will know everything.

(Protopoem)

Thanks translated Saramago, for how you enthrall with your words.

Widening circles and two people

At first a day is a torture, then the months pass. And here I am, three years on. In our short relationship, this is a long time.

I miss so many things, but maybe the most at this moment is the smile and the hearty laugh. Like in this photo from December 2008, just a few weeks before the news of the cancer came. I think it captures his excitement, sense of curiosity, and zest for life - and definitely a much more cheerful morning person compared to me! It was taken at our friends' place in Copenhagen. Soeren is having tea, except that he's having it in the cereal bowl instead of the cup:) - definitely a photo op! 

Anyway, as I write this, I keep thinking I should write more to keep the flame alive for Claudia, who died tragically just a week ago. But its difficult to avoid the white rabbit down the hole of memories and experiences together. I tried to capture what I felt and remember about Claudia in the NTV7* interview, and only hope that I've done justice to her.   

In 2006, I took Soeren for the screening of the Freedom Film Fest, his first, during which Claudia's documentary Twelve 11 (on the Highland Towers) featured. It was at the Taylor's College in Subang, and he walked away impressed with the doco and the FFF.

Forgive me Claudia for I shall not be there to say farewell to you. I'll know that I'm not there, but I know you are here with us, in memory and in spirit. 

I dedicate this excellent poem in memory of Claudia and Soeren - the falcons, the storm, and the great songs. Farewell you wonderful people whose circles reached out across the world!

"I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.

I circle around the sacred, around the primordial tower.
I've been circling for thousands of years
and I still don't know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
~ Ranier Maria Rilke ~ "

*P.S the login details to view the episode are: U/n SusanTV77 p/word: ntv72013, at 14:50

Adding to the list

Yes, its another post on birds, but of course:)

Weekends of inertia, despite the lovely weather, finally came to an end. Got up earlier than usual and headed to the Rot Fai part near Chatujak to try my binos again. Have not been doing serious birdwatching, apart from the free shows in the court yard.

Anyway, progress for today: I know the Indian roller call, and managed to ID the small ones (which was my challenge in the beginning) with a bit more ease - the Asian Brown Flycatcher and the Arctic Warbler. The usuals today, but since its been such long time, I was still happy with the practice.

My new entry is the Plaintive Cuckoo - female. I have never seen a Cuckoo at any of my watches, was told we were hearing them in one of my trips in KL. And for a name that we use so often - cuckoo - sighting is not so common:)

Courtesy of the OBC and Malaysia's great birder Amar Singh HSS, this is what I think I saw today:

Back to enjoying the nice Sunday!