By the time some of you are reading this, we would most likely be S.O.A.R (Some Where On A River) on the Mae Ping River in Chiangmai, Northern Thailand ...




We had been fretting over this trip the past month – it was a toss-up between the Calamian Islands in the Philippines. After a frantic exchange of emails between Huey in Spore and me here and phone calls with Miriam; we settled on Chiangmai. We would be flying up from Kuching to JB and would meet up with Huey and JunPing at Spore’s Changi Airport where we will all be flying via Tiger Airways direct to Chiangmai.
Here's hoping for daily beautiful weather and blue skies like this on our Chiangmai Expedition! And I hope that my just-healed backache don't play up!

Date: 28^th October to 4^th November 2005

Put in / Take Out: Mae Ping River

For Aerial Photo of River Route see http://www.kayakasia.org/namping/namping.html

Distance: Approximately 238 kms.

Kayakers:

• Huey (Expedition Leader) on red Feathercraft Java (unless he decides to change to his KLight at the last minute)
• Francis on yellow Folbot Cooper
• Miriam on red Folbot Kodiak
• JunPing on teal Nautiraid Raid

Watch out for my posting(s) after the Trip!

Meanwhile keep us in your Thoughts and Wish Us Well! Thank You!

Stumble It!

No durians without Sonneratia?
The fragrant, night-blooming Sonneratia flowers are pollinated mainly by the Dawn Bat (Eonycteris spelaea), the Common Long-tailed Bat (Macroglossus minimus), and the Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis). These bats feed on nectar and pollen of flowers and rely mainly on Sonneratia for sustenance. The Dawn Bat in particular, prefers Sonneratia. They are the same bats that pollinate commercially important crops such as durians, bananas and papayas. Thus, without the Sonneratia, there would be less of these favourite fruits!

The fruits are large (4 cm) green, leathery berries with a star-shaped base. They contain 100-150 tiny seeds that are white, flattened and buoyant. I take them for granted as I see and pluck them sometimes from the trees every time I go kayaking on Sg Stutong. They give off an “assam” like fragrance when ripe that I like. They may be eaten and are said to taste like cheese! I’ll post some pictures and let you know how they taste like (if I am game enough to try!) next time.

Stumble It!

“Errr, sorry but our street has no name”.

“What! No name??” That’s right. Some of the other residents have moved in since the beginning of the year and it’s October now… The street has no name and until lately no telephone line (but still no broad-band internet connection) as well. My kids want to move back to the old house ... (streamyx availability and also 7-11 across the road lah!)

Welcome to, ahem, (the 'sometimes feels-like-its-the-third-world') Kuching - the Capital of Sarawak!

P.S Hopefully our street would not be known as "Termite Street" or "Jalan Termite" in the future due to the callous act of this one inconsiderate person.

Peeking at our street with no name, bathed in the beautiful morning light, from my carporch.

Stumble It!

This morning as I sat down at the patio to read the morning papers some purplish colour caught the corner of my eye. I was delighted to discover that overnight the some large (2-3 inches) flowers had blossomed from the water hyacinth. The flowers are blue-purple colored with a yellow spot. This is the second time that it had bloomed. Remembering from the last time that the flowers would only last the day before it withered and died; I took a few snaps of the lovely delicate flowers. The colour actually "fades from a deep to lighter shade. Now I understand why water hyacinth has been widely distributed because of the beauty of its large, purple to violet flowers. But I am mindful that the water hyacinth is the worst water weed in the world and it shall remain in the confines of the flower bowl.

Note: UGLY MENACE
BTW, we had encountered another "menace" on the street where we lived. An unneighbourly act of dumping of wastes construction materials as fill materials would create a future haven for termites and other environmental hazards as the wastes decayed over time contaminating the ground water and affecting the delicate eco-system of Sungai Stutong. Existing trees and vegetations are dug up. I fear the worst for the lovely existing grove of mangrove trees. Damage has been done and the devastation continues as this person is oblivious to our concerns and protests over his actions. Obviously there is no respect shown to the concerns and rights of the other neighbours living on the same street. Disrespect and disregard to other fellow beings and nature. When man does not respect nature - they disrespect God. One man's greed and selfnishness had led to this folly. This is a very sad thing to have happened. We can only hope and pray that it does not get worst and that good sense will prevail.

Labels: About Life

Stumble It!

Anthony used to live behind where the old Capitol Cinema was (now Tun Jugah). It is now roughly where Holiday Inn is. It was a wooden house right next to the Sarawak River. When Edward and I visited him (on our bicycles) one of the favourite activities we looked forward to was to paddle in a leaky dug-out sampan tied up just outside his house. Both of us did not know how to swim then but that never deterred us! Neither do we know what a PFD was then either and I don’t think we cared then!

Now some 34 years later, the 3 of us are paddling together again – this time on modern roto-molded polyethylene Perception Kayaks made in New Zealand. Edward who now lives in Singapore is on holidays with his family here joining Anthony who is now a boarding school principal in Bau. We launched our kayaks at 6.30am but not before Edward has given us each an “anti-mosquito patch” to stick on – a recent Singaporean kiasu dengue-phobia induced behaviour!

Anthony was making hoots of delight as he paddles off, reveling in the freedom of the smooth, silent sensation of moving under one’s propulsion that you can only experience on a kayak. Edward was sitting with me on a tandem taking the bow position; tentatively dipping his paddles into the water. He soon relaxes and was soon paddling like “a pro” as he puts it! Meanwhile Anthony was paddling like he has done it his entire life. For the three of us – it was yesterday once more. It was hard to believe that three decades had slipped by as we felt like kids while we re-kindled our old friendship on the waters. In a way we are forever young.

We paddled and we chatted about old times - savoring these precious carefree moments; forgetting the roles and responsibilities we now have now as adults and fathers.
How we wish this moment could last. But time and tide slips by and all too soon we had to head back to the jetty and to our lives where love ones, deadlines and responsibilities awaits.

It was a short hour and a half long paddle, but a time all three of us would remember forever, long after we have forgotten all the other many stuffs of life. We got out of the waters feeling grateful, nostalgic and lifted.

Stumble It!

The title of both an equally somber movie as well a book came to mind as I was paddling in the quiet waters of the surreal fading light when I got home last night succumbing to the temptation for a quck paddle on the ebbing King Tide.

• Movie: Kiefer Sutherland, star of TV's '24', directs and stars in this low-key prison 1993 movie about a killer who is waiting on death row, and finds an unlikely friend in a prison guard.
• Book: Last Light
  Staying True Through the Darkness of Alzheimer's
  by Harold Burchett
  The heartrending and heartwarming story of how a husband's love perseveres through his wife's decline.

Stumble It!

Arriving half an hour late, Mike and his two friends, Guan and Law who had just bought a tandem Sevylor Inflatable Kayak at a sale while on holidays in the US, were eager to get their green ‘rubber ducky’ onto the waters for their maiden paddle. Both were grinning from mouth to ear with excitement and anticipation; this is going to be their first kayaking experience. That brought back memories of my first time on the waters. After giving them some basic instructions on kayaking and safety – wearing their pfd, how to hold the paddle, staying low while getting in, etc – they were eager to get going; but not before easing themselves … Guess the excitement was too much for this pair of overly excited kids with their new toy! With the tide coming in, Mike stepped into my double kayak and we kayak off from the jetty of my house.

Chattering excitedly, it was obvious that Guan and Law were having a great time. Clashing of their paddles and crashing into the mangrove trees were taken in good humor and fun. I swear that I heard no swear words. We paddled slightly ahead of them, looking back occasionally to see if they were alright. They seemed alright so we decided to kayak all the way down Sg Stutong to Sg Kuap where we would then turn back as it would take us another 45minutes to paddle back. We would be also be paddling against the outgoing tide on the way back. But I needn’t worry as they both did fine. They were already excitedly discussing plans to kayak to Bako National Park! I hate to spoil the party and had to gently remind them that the placid waters of Sg Stutong is for recreational kayaking while venturing out to Bako would be sea kayaking – which is another kettle of fish altogether; that would be more demanding of stamina, judgments and skills. Plus the light inflatable would be tossed about and may even be swept out to sea by the strong currents and wind. On the way back we were easily overtaken by an old man in a leaky old sampan paddling casually with his single wooden canoe paddle and leaving us behind in his wake! I picked up pace in order to take a few snaps of him.

Soon we docked and my neighbour’s kid, Zei Wei (who brought along some steaming home-made ‘bak-chang’), was excitedly waiting for us at the jetty. “Hey uncle, you’ve got another new boat?” Nope! I am crazy about kayaks but not that crazy lah! As the kid and I struggled to pull the 35kg Minnow II up to the timber deck and just when we could do with a bit of helping hand with the cleaning up and stuff; Mikey was nowhere to be seen.

While we were washing down the kayaks, this all-grinning duo sprang another surprise on me – Lo had bought not one but two inflatable kayaks! They would like to try out the other kayak, a Stearns, the next weekend. We had a great time and I think I may have just found another pair of “kayaking-kaki” in Guan and Law!

Stumble It!

It was a fine Saturday afternoon with a glorious sunshine. Had been raining in the afternoons the past week, so this was a pleasant change. It had been a fine sunny day since morning. I glanced at the clock, it was nearly 2 p.m. (King Tide is 1441hrs), and the sky and I couldn’t resist it anymore. I started to assemble the Cooper in the air-conditioned comfort of living room (it was hot outside – but when you want to kayak; it doesn’t really matters!), to the curious amusement of my daughter Kim watching me for the first time. “It’s cool, daddy!” Must be; as it’s hard to take her attention away from MTV. The fascination of assembling a folding kayak always amaze onlookers – be they strangers or otherwise.

I gingerly lowered the Cooper onto the waters from my house jetty, took a few snapshots of it and lowered myself into the seat. I had slipped into another world …

On this my third time, the Cooper's primary stability still feels tender but I soon relaxed in the warmth of the afternoon with the glare of the flickering sunlight off the shimmering water the frown mask the delight i feel inside as the sleek Cooper gently slice through the water barely breaking its surface. I marvel at the ingenuity of the design of folding kayak and how close and connected one feels with the boat and water. You don't get into a folding kayak - you wear one.

Unlike me an afternoon on the waters is a livelihood for the fishermen living on the banks of Sg Stutong. As I paddled nearer to have a closer look at a yellow sampan I had spotted; the fisherman proudly held up his catch of crabs for me to have a look and photograph. But for the two shy little girls floating on a plank of wood, blessed with the innocence of childhood and the simplicity of kampong life, the river is their playground.

As I was heading towards the bridge spanning Sg Kuap, sky turned dark in the distance and I decided to turn back as I did not have my spray skirt on. As the dark clouds loomed closer the wind also picked up – but I was on protected waters and close to shores; so I was not worried. I took the time to take photos of the dark but beautiful clouds. It’s fascinating how nature can in a short order render the bright colours into a surreal monochromatic gray. Threatening and yet beautiful at the same time.

I quickened my strokes and soon my jetty was in sight nestled amongst the mangrove trees. Reluctantly I got off the water.

Stumble It!

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting."
"If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being"
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others."
-- Jonathan Swift (Irish Author and Satirist of prose, 1667-1745)

“Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought."
-- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (Hungarian Biochemist, 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1893-1986)

"You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle."
-- Paulo Coelho (Mystical author, one of Brazil's most successful novelist)

"You must understand that seeing is believing, but also know that believing is seeing."
-- Denis Waitley (American motivational Speaker and Author of self-help books. b.1933)

"Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything."
-- Charles Kuralt (American radio and television Correspondent and Journalist, 1934-1997)

"Think photographs should be provocative and not tell you what you already know. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce somebody's face in a photograph. The magic is in seeing people in new ways."
-- Duane Michals

Stumble It!

I left the office early yesterday in anticipation of a short paddle; planning to take advantage of the 5.6 m King Tide at 1807 hrs for an easy launch off my jetty (I am still nursing a bad back). Yesterday was also the 1^st day of Ramadan (Muslim fasting month). As I got into my car, the sky turned dark and it started to pour, literally bucketfuls. Some of the roads were partly flooded. When I reached home, the thunderclouds and flashes of lightning in the sky put to rest any plans for a paddle! So I shifted my thoughts to a long postponed dinner plans with two old classmates of mine from St Thomas’s days.

So this morning I decided to get up early for a quick paddle before I go to the office. As I was putting my paddle into the water strokes after strokes and watching the water dripping off it, it dwelled on me that I have Sg. Stutong all to myself and I felt privileged for this and the solitude and the tranquility in the chilly morning air. Just then, the early morning sun was about to break through the heavy clouds cover and I reached for my camera to capture the moment. It was a short paddle but I felt refreshed, blessed and peaceful. “All I need is the air that I breathe and to love you …”

Stumble It!

"I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness."

Abraham Maslow
1908-1970, Psychologist

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."

Charles Kingsley
1819-1875, Author and Clergyman

Stumble It!