Wandering Foward

Rock formations are what Pa Hin Ngam are known for, and what the name actually means. While I definitely enjoyed the Siam tulip fields a lot more, these rock formations are really cool and interesting. Erosion has worn the rocks down into different and interesting shapes. A small path winds through the field of rocks so you can see each one. There are some quite stunning views. I did manage to get a little turned around even though you can see the exit, the path is not always easy to find. That made it a little more interesting. =)

Sadly, many of the rock formations are being damaged from people climbing on and around them. They are not just getting worn smooth, they are getting chipped away. The rock is fragile, which is why it has been able to erode away into these formations in the first place. The area around the rocks is also covered in garbage which seriously detracts from the appeal.

Few foreigners visit Pa Hin Ngam National Park. It is mostly just Thai people. The park is not that difficult to get to from Bangkok, though it does take some time. Minibuses do run to the park and there are small hotels around it. There is not much here except the park itself, and you can see the rock formations and the Siam tulips fields in one day easily, but if you have the time and want to make the effort I think it is worth it.

Perhaps one of my favorite places in Thailand, Pa Hin Ngam National Park in Chaiyaphum province is a truly wonderful place. The name mean Forest of Beautiful Stones. While there are really big and beautiful rock formations (an upcoming post), what I love about Pa Hin Ngam is the summer tulips, also known as the Siam tulip (the Thai call them dok kra jiao). These flowers are actually not tulips at all—they are related to ginger. In July, during the rainy season, the forest floor explodes with bright pink blooms.

The forest is actually quite high up in the hills, so it remains misty and cool throughout the year. I had hoped that the mist would burn off so I could get some photos without mist, but that did not happen. No problem, the mist was refreshing and definitely added to the atmosphere of forest. The park has a boardwalk so you can stroll through. You are supposed to stay on the path so the tulips are not damaged, but I saw several Thai people jumping over the little railings to walk on the rocks and to take photos in the flowers. *sigh* Of course, this does a lot of damage since the flowers are quite delicate.

This year there was not a lot of rain, so there were not as many tulips in bloom. According to the park staff, this has been the case for years. The weather has been shifting and so fewer and fewer tulips are blooming each year sadly. The park was not busy when I visited despite being the height of the tulip season. It is mostly visited by Thai and a few foreigners (I was the only foreigner there).

For most visitors, Thailand is about beaches, culture, and more beaches. What few realize is that the Kingdom has quite an abundance of natural beauty as well. The beaches are certainly nice and the culture is wonderful, but the nature is spectacular as well. Thailand has a lot of natural beauty that is worth seeing.

The difference is that most of these natural gems are not promoted to tourists. They remain largely hidden and out of reach to the average visitor. This is both good and bad. The good is that they are not overrun by the tourist hordes. There are no giant buses spewing diesel smoke, racing minivans loaded with tourists, or hordes of people filing the area. Mostly, it is just Thais and a few foreigners here and there.

The bad is that many of the Thai visitors have little respect for nature. Garbage is thrown all over, people stray from the paths, and there is a lot of damage done. Nor does Thailand spend much money in areas that are not heavily touristed, so many of these places are neglected or not as well cared for as they should be.

In general, the Thai do not have very much respect for nature. Many of the national parks I have visited are clearly on the decline. I find it really sad to visit a beautiful place and watch (mostly) Thai people walking where they should not, carving their names into rocks and trees, throwing garbage on the ground, and so on.

This lack of respect or concern extends to everyday life, so it is not a surprise to see Thai throwing their garbage on the ground at national parks, walking off the path onto critical habitat, or altering the landscape by moving rocks around or doing other things. After all, they have no problem with tossing trash out their car window or just dropping packaging on the ground as they walk by. They are not going to worry about it at a national park.

The subtext is that if more foreign tourists then these place would be more cared for than they are, and this is probably true. However, I firmly believe that Thailand, as in most cases, can tackle this problem on its own if it chose to. Certainly it could at the national park level for sure. There are park staff around and they should make a big deal out of someone tossing their trash on the ground or walking off the paths. They don’t.

Admittedly, Thailand has more to worry about than garbage and people stepping off the path at national parks. Though, if they do not take action they are going to find that the beaches are not so nice, the parks are not so nice, and they have poached the last of their wild elephants. There will not much left for tourists to come see. More importantly, Thailand is squandering its own natural heritage and that is a shame.

The photo above was a typical scene at Pa Hin Ngam National Park, where garbage littered the park. I was going to add photos of similar scenes from around Thailand to this post but it was too depressing to go through and put together those kinds of photos.

Officially known as Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon, Wat Nong Wang in Khon Kaen province is known by local Thais as “The Great Buddha’s Relics” or “The Nine Story Stupa Located in Wat Nong Waeng.” Wat Nong Wang was built to celebrate the king’s 50th anniversary of being crowned king of Thailand (known as a Golden Jubilee in monarchical speak) and to celebrate Khon Kaen’s 200th anniversary of being established as a province.

The wat (temple) has nine stories that you can climb up through to get a great view of the surrounding city. It is worth spending a little time on each floor to explore the relics, murals, carvings, and some of the collected items on display. Of course, there is a large Buddha statue and several smaller Buddhist statues on the main floor.

While the interior of Wat Nong Wang is spacious and beautiful, the exterior was the most interesting to me with its distinctive style. The main photo on this page was actually taken from the middle of road that enters the grounds of the wat. Perhaps not the smartest thing to do, especially considering how Thai people drive, but I think it was the best photo.

Last month I was headed to Laos to get a new visa. I decided to do that instead of crossing a land border since Thailand has been in a tizzy lately about foreign visitors. They have it in their heads that foreigners are destroying the nation and that we should all just go home. Never mind that they contribute significantly to the economy. If things in Thailand are not great, it MUST be foreigners who are at fault.

Thailand is mostly concerned with people working in the country when they should not be. That is completely fair and they should crack down on such offenders. This time around they also seem to be really upset about people “living” in the country on short term visas. This has me confused. If you follow the laws and are not doing anything wrong, this should not be an issue.

Alas, this is expected to remain a big issue for some time. In the past there have been similar rumblings, but this time it seems to have legs. The Thai military junta has been taking this seriously and has been turning people away who appear to be living in Thailand but claiming they are tourists. Thailand is expected to ratchet this up even more this month.

Since I do live in Thailand on a tourist visa, this is of concern to me. Of course, I believe I really am a tourist. I do not work in Thailand and I go around the country visiting a lot of places. I am constantly being a tourist here—usually visiting national parks or various sights regularly. Just a few days ago I paid 200 baht to visit the national park in Koh Samed. Last month I visited no fewer than three national parks and four cultural sights.

It is difficult to know what this will mean for me or people like me. I have already experienced one problem at the border with Burma. I did a quick visa run because I was going to overstay my visa by a few days and wanted to avoid that. The Thai border agent was worried about me doing a visa run until she realized that a visa run like that was unusual for me. She explained only four land border crossings were now allowed.

I have more than that already, but they are mixed in with regular visas waivers issued from flying into the country along with two-month visas that I go to Laos to get. The problem is that I have a lot of Thai visas filling up my passport. My visa stamp from New Zealand has seemed to be my saving grace lately (the Australian one is hidden among the others, but the New Zealand one is sitting by itself on a page they are currently using to stamp my passport). They linger on that before stamping me into the country.

What is clear is that Thailand is going to start making things a lot more difficult. I have the proper visas and follow all the laws, but they are still not going to be happy with people that are spending a lot of time in the kingdom. I fall into that category and have a passport full of Thai visas to prove it. Since I plan on going to South Korea in September, I guess I will find out what happens when I return. Maybe nothing since I will be coming back into Suvarnabhumi. I will just have to wait and see.

The Angkor Empire spread far and wide, including into Laos and Thailand. Thailand has tried very hard to claim a Cambodian temple that sits on the border. The claim is superfluous—Preah Vihear clearly belongs to Cambodia and the internal court at the Hague has ruled as much (twice). That does not stop Thailand. The issue has less to do with the temple and more to do with the temple’s location. It sits upon a promontory that provides an excellent view of the area. The Thai military wants control of that strategic location. The temple remains closed because of the continued fighting despite the international court’s ruling against Thailand, but there is another Khmer temple to visit in Thailand.

Phimai is a fantastic example of Khmer architecture and is built in the style of Angkor Wat and Bayon. Located in Korat, Phimai Historical Park looks almost like Angkor itself. If you have been to Angkor, you will immediately recognize the style. Phimai is much smaller than Angkor and takes only a short time to visit. Still, it is well cared for and the grounds are quite nice to stroll around. A small little museum near the entrance provides some good information and is worth spending five to ten minutes exploring, if only to ground yourself if what you will see.

I was really excited to be able to visit a friend in Tasmania. I hear so much about Tasmania that I just had to visit. While my visit to Sydney was unseasonably warm, things had cooled down by the time I arrived in Tasmania—and I lack warm enough clothing. That was the only negative part, though. Otherwise, I had a wonderful time visiting my friend, meeting a bunch of nice people, and seeing Mount Field National Park.

People in Tasmania (and around Australia in general) are super nice. My friend works in the arts and I had the chance to visit a gallery opening. I would have gone to some other exhibits, especially at MONA, but alas the bus system is the one thing I cannot recommend in Tasmania. I could never seems to catch a bus no matter how long I waited. I eventually gave up after this happened twice. And to be honest, it was simply too cold to keep standing outside for so long.

Nonetheless, I did get to go a birthday party, saw and heard a kookaburra laughing, almost hit a kangaroo on the drive to my friend’s house, and got the to visit Mt Field National Park. I feel that was pretty good. I only took photos of Mount Field which has some nice hiking around it.

Within moments of walking into the park, I saw this little guy. While he looks pretty evil in this photo, he was actually rather cute. Apparently they are nocturnal but this one was just hanging around—probably because visitors feed them. He wasn’t skittish at all and just stayed there even when I got close to photograph him.

The main attraction at Mount Field is the waterfall, which is actually a series of waterfalls. You can hike you way up to the top most waterfall, which I did. The trail along the way has plenty to see including mushrooms and beech trees. During the early winter, when I was visiting, the park has a thick mist that makes it seem rather surreal, especially with the tree ferns.

I really enjoyed my visit to Mount Field. I wish that it were not so cold when I was visiting because I definitely would have done more hiking. Alas, living for so long in Thailand has meant that I lack winter clothing. I was hoping to see a tasmanian devil, but they are not see very often anymore I am told. A disease has done some serious damage to the populations of devils on the island. I still had a great time and will definitely visit again (when it is warmer).