I found this map of Koh Chang and found it to be amusing. The "Turn Left" side (right side in this picture, left coming from the Ferry Pier) is basically unmapped, while the "Turn Right" side is full of attractions. Little do most people know, the "Turn Left" side is abundant with beauty. Let's keep it that way for a while.
Seafood anyone? Straight from the Gulf!
The view from our back porch all week
(Not my photo, but this is exactly what they looked like). Here are the deathly sea urchins that were inches below my tensed up body.
One of our amazing guides, a member of the Conservation Group; serving up freshly caught shellfish.
I had a great time, Koh Chang! Until next time!
This week, our topic of study was Tourism. After our Unit to Chiang Mai, this was particularly relevant, as each of us has been reflecting on many questions about how to conscientiously travel to new places; how to remain culturally sensitive across language barriers and monetary gaps. How to find a balance of it all.
And so we headed South, to the beautiful island of Koh Chang (Elephant Island, named for it's shape, not because it has elephants). 10 years ago, Koh Chang was nearly untouched by tourism, but in recent years the island has begun to develop. This pattern is common with the beautiful islands of Thailand; the famous Phuket was rapidly transformed into a tourist hotspot, and is now completely taken over. However, Koh Chang needn't be the next Phuket. The local communities are highly concerned with slowing down development and easing into change, while preserving the environment and educating visitors to the island.
Koh Chang is particularly interesting because the island itself is split into "Left" and "Right" areas. When you get off the ferry, you can choose to go left or right. The Right side of the island has whitesand beaches, resorts, shops, hotels, spas, etc. It is accessible, fun, and expensive. The Left side is mostly local culture, untouched by most development. The forest and corals are mostly preserved and local culture remains. The Left side contains the fishing villages and mangrove preservation. The slogan "Koh Chang: Turn Left" has emerged from the local Conservation group (who we got to spend our week with, learning about their education and preservation strategies, and their thoughts on tourism and development). This group believes that change is inevitable, and they are not resistant to tourism. They simply want to slow it down and preserve a balance between making money and environment/culture. Their philosophy is that this balance will actually benefit villagers. Conservation need not be a sacrifice. Instead, it allows for sustainable business. For example, I am writing a short article on their Crab Preservation Project. When fisherman catch crabs, the Conservation Group takes some of the crabs to reproduce first, then returns the crabs back to the villagers who caught them. This way, the villagers can benefit even further because they are not depleting the crab population. A similar process happens with tree planting and coral preservation!
We stayed with Thai families on the Left side of the island. My Meh was pleased with my Thai abilities, which certainly made me feel like my efforts have been worthwhile. My language is still incredibly limited, and I am unable to express deeper thoughts and grand ideas. But I am finally able to express simpler, conversational items. Before, I could express what I wanted to eat, or what I needed, or what I was doing. Now, I can express ideas about the environment and trash and foreigners and some possible problems of the situation. I really hope to continue studying so that I might be able to form deeper relationships.
Our first day in Koh Chang, we got to swim in the Gulf of Thailand. I amazed myself by jumping off of a 2 story fishing boat (I never have the guts to jump off anything!) and we swam in the ocean for a while, surrounded by gorgeous mountains and bright blue water. The next day, we embarked on a little hike. Our original hike was actually cancelled because apparently it was too difficult, though I would have enjoyed it immensely! Maybe next time :) So instead, we hiked (still a good hike), bags of rice and vegetables and water bottles in hand, to one of the last untouched beaches on Koh Chang. It was silent, with no buildings or people. And it was breathtaking. I also discovered that just the other day there had been an ultra marathon in Koh Chang! 100 kilometers (60 miles) through the mountains and beaches! I recently finished the book Born to Run, about ultra marathon running. I am continuously inspired to up my mileage. I am only up to 9 miles at this point, but I will continue climbing. Who knows, perhaps I will find myself back at Koh Chang for the race!
The next day we set off for a snorkeling adventure. For comparative purposes, we were going to examine a less visited snorkeling site, then make our way to a populated attraction area. So we got on our big boat with the Conservation Group, and got dropped off in the ocean among the corals with our snorkels. I have to admit... Snorkeling has never been my thing. I went once as a kid and was so afraid of the fish and rocks that it may have turned me off forever. I had a decent time, though. The fish were really beautiful (when they stayed away from me) and I even saw a type of fish that reminded me of the children's book The Rainbow Fish, which my grandma used to read to me. The hardest part about snorkeling was the sea urchins. They are big black spiky creatures just WAITING to slice you open. If you step on one, the spike needs to be hammered IN to your foot because the hospital is too far away. That fact certainly deterred me from the experience. However, I had a good time swimming in the ocean and seeing something I may never get a chance to see again! We got back on the boat and enjoyed an amazing lunch of freshly caught squid that was caramelized in sugar, scallops and shrimps, and of course, som tom! Not to mention fresh picked pineapples galore!
All of a sudden, our program director announced that the military had contacted us, and we had been reported by a passerby boat for illegal fishing, and we needed to stay put because they were coming to inspect. We were each going to be fined 200 baht. One of the Conservation Group members (an ex-hunter turned hiking guide, with a machete and much gusto) suggested we make a run for it. And we fired up the boat and got moving; the only English heard was "Bye Bye police!!!" and then we lifted anchor. All of us were extremely confused. It was then announced that if we were caught after running for it, that we would be fined 10 times the amount (2000 baht = 60 dollars). All of us panicked and asked why we ran in the first place if that was the case???!! April Fools.
Our Ajaans pulled an April Fools joke on us. It was actually one of the best experiences I've had so far :) Playful attitudes are highly refreshing to me.
We snorkeled again in the afternoon, then boated back to our Thai families. I took a delightful nap on the deck of the boat, burning myself silly. In fact, every one of us had some trouble with the Thai sun this week. Note to self: Lesson learned.
The next day we continued our research through interviews with the Conservation Group. We will be producing a small guidebook for "Koh Chang: Turn Left", that describes how to be a conscientious tourist if you do end up on the left side of the island. We are very excited to be collaborating with this group. However, our academic attitudes were a bit intense for our awesome guides. They had to stop us halfway through the exchange to remind us that this guidebook needn't be so academic... It can be "sabai sabai" which basically means "comfortable, chill, no worries, go with the flow, etc". We all cracked smiles and relaxed. I'm sure the guidebook will be just grand.
We had an incredible week in Koh Chang, and I am really grateful for the experience. I continue to feel solitary and self-reflective amidst all this stimulation. But I am looking forward to the roller coaster ride ahead of me (the wrap up of the semester has pretty much arrived!). I will be reflecting on questions like "Have I accomplished what I've wanted to accomplish?" And "how have I grown, what have I learned?" And of course, "how can I apply this experience to my field of computational neuroscience? How can I bring something new and interesting to the table? What do I have to offer that is innovative and interesting? How can we all grow from what I know now?" And even more important, "How can I take what I have gained to contribute to the lives of others? Both to those I love and those I work with?"
If you are interested, I can certainly share my answers to these questions in a separate blog post.