Snorkeling at Menjangan Island

I had seen smaller versions of these trashbars on the ferry to Koh Phan Nang in Thailand and had commented to my friends that it reminded me of the news story that had been circulating earlier about the island of trash that was out in the Pacific Ocean. I even remembered seeing the boat made out of trash at the 2011 Burning Man Festival that had sailed from Santa Monica, California to help bring awareness about it. Even after the news stories and art projects I still had doubts that the ocean was that bad.

We pulled up to the beach and our friendly Balinese guides laid out the plan for the day. We were going to be on the divers’ time table who were going to be doing three dives. The two Canadians, one Spaniard, and I donned our mask, snorkel, and fins and waded into the water.

It was disgusting.

Let’s imagine we’re going to make some sea soup. You start your soup with some water. For this example, you’re making it in a 5000 liter saltwater swimming pool. You add 5 liters of gasoline but it just sits on top of the water. Then you add a few dozen plastic shopping bags of assorted sizes: from big trash bags, to grocery store bags, to small jewelry bags. Let’s stir a little here to get things mixed up. A few of the bags settle to the bottom of the pool, a few float on top, and some just get a few meters under. That gas you added earlier has only broken up from one massive slick to several smaller slicks, coating the plastic bags and the sides of the pool. Now the sunlight glinting off of the pool makes iridescent rainbows everywhere you look. Now let’s pull out our trusty blender and take toothpaste tubes, plastic water bottles, glass bottles, straws, cardboard milk cartons, candy wrappers, cigarette butts and packaging, napkins, flip flops, aluminum cola cans and the plastic laminated cardboard cup in which you just had your two pump iced local soy latte with whipped cream. Don’t blend it into a purée, just mix it a few times to cut up some of the bigger pieces. Dump that into the pool and use the skimmer to spread out that layer very evenly across the surface of the water. The toothpaste tubes and the aluminum cans sink, but most of the plastic based items float. The smaller pieces that got cut up by the blender create a layer that is just enough to block a small percentage of the sunlight from getting through. Now it’s time to add some animals! Throw in a few parrot fish, lobster, minnows, tuna, crab, sunfish, and a few other varieties I don’t know the names of and dive in!

You don’t want to? Why not? This is the state of the ocean today and it’s not going to get better without your help.

Two weeks later I went to Gili Trawangan. This island is 20 minutes north of Lombok, and 80 minutes east of Bali. Looking around at the water and beaches, it seemed pretty clean. I did a 5 day freediving class with Freedive Gili which was wonderful! In the bathroom, I noticed signs posted by Gili Eco Trust stating 10 principles meant to protect the Gilis’ fragile environment. On the second day of class, a diaper floated nearby as we dove. I started to get worried. The beach seemed fine and I wasn’t seeing much in the water. Then I took a walk around the island. The north side beach was quite littered. So even an island that boasts an eco trust, an awareness campaign, and an environmental protection charge of $5 USD added to the diving fee still needs your help!

North Shore of Gili Trawangan

You can make a difference. Every person can.

MOOP da BEACH!

My challenge to you is to spend two hours out of your beach vacation picking up trash. It doesn’t matter which beach it is or even if there is a beach, maybe it’s a muddy lake shoreline. You don’t have to do two hours all at once. You could break it up into 20 minute segments after each outing to sunbathe. If you like to look for sea shells, maybe bring a trash bag and collect trash while you are looking.

I know that there are charities like Jack Johnson’s Ohana Foundation and that Surfrider Foundation organizes beach cleanups, which are each great in their own right. Everyone needs to contribute more than what is currently happening to “turn the tide” on trash in the ocean and beaches.

One of the things that is taught and expected of each person who attends Burning Man is to spend two hours at the end of the event de-mooping an area that they did not camp in. What did any of that mean? Let me explain. Burning Man is an art, music, fire, and participant driven festival that takes place at the end of every summer on a dry lake bed in the Northern Nevada area. One of the unavoidable aspects of the event is camping: there are no hotels or restaurants. Because the participants and organizers are ecologically conscience and the event is held on federal public land, the event is required to clean up after itself and restore the dry lake bed to it’s original condition: essentially to leave no trace that the event even happened. MOOP is an acroynm that has sprung from the event’s unique terminology. It stands for Matter Out Of Place. More info is available from the Burning Man website. It’s one of the core things that the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics teaches people how to deal with. It has been used to describe anything that is not tied down or attached to something that will leave after the event is over. The spoon that fell on the ground, the battery on the blinking light, the beans from the chili you didn’t finish, the plastic bag that blew out of your camper van. You get the idea. Many events, such as concerts, movies, and parades provide a cleaning service after the event. The beach does not provide a cleaning service. The beach is free, it has no organizers. You are your own beach event organizer. If you want it to be clean the next time you come, you need to pick up that candy wrapper that isn’t yours, get the straw that came with your slushee, and ask the person next to you to join in the challenge. The high tide is the ocean’s way of cleaning itself, we just need to help so that it doesn’t do all that work for nothing.

I’ll leave you with one more example. Take a look at the picture below. Isn’t it just the perfect picture of a beach?

Kedonganan Beach

I had lunch at Kedonganan Beach which is about a 5 minute drive south of the Denpesar Airport in Bali. I walked out past the table to see the beach. The last picture is what it looked like beyond the groomed and cleaned area directly in front of the restaurant.

Is this a beach you’d like to lay out on? How about throw a football or frisbee with your friends?

MOOP da BEACH!

It would be a nice start.

Kedonganan Beach Detail

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East Railay

But the truth is, you haven’t.  Railay (or Hat Rai Leh, as you might see it in Lonely Planet guides), is a picturesque spit of land near Krabi town and Ao Nang on the Andaman Sea.  If you’re so lucky as to score a ride on a long-tail boat from a driver who doesn’t try to rip you off, you’ll be able to enjoy the breathtaking scenery around you as you either motor into East Railay if you’re coming from Krabi, or the West Railay Beach if from Ao Nang.  No matter which side you find your skinny boat precariously approaching, you’ll be so distracted by the towering limestone karsts and funky green-covered islands you pass on the way (check out Chicken Island and it’s, ahem, rather provocative and unmissable protrusion that looks nothing like the neck of the island’s namesake) that you’ll forget the agreed-upon boat fare and just overpay the nice, smiley driver anyway.  But you won’t even care because you’ll be in some green and blue Neverland that you weren’t sure was actually real.

Long-tail boats waiting to take people out of Tonsai

West Railay is by far the most expensive side as it boasts the best beach and prime sunset-watching.  Families, honeymooners, and people with generally more money than I have, seem to prefer the west side’s pricey resorts with their exquisite views, glistening pools, hot-water showers, and over-priced Thai food.  The small Walking Street is lined with shops selling various beach sundries, as well as dive shops and climbing schools.  If you take a stroll down this street, be sure to buy a banana-chocolate rotee; you won’t regret it!

It's a hard life on Sunset Beach on west Railay.

Sunset Beach on the west side of Railay is aptly named.

A 5-minute walk on a paved, tree-covered path will take you from West Railay to East Railay where you can find equally posh resorts, but much cheaper and simpler digs as well.  I recommend Railay Cabana Bungalows, a cluster of very simple yet comfortable bungalows a pleasant 10-minute walk uphill from the East Railay shore.  The bungalows are fairly spartan: a double bed or two twin beds with a mosquito net, toilet, cold shower, and a lock on the door, but what you lack in amenities is more than made up for in pure environment and seclusion.  And Chalita, the sweet lady at the reception desk, will simply charm your socks off, if you were dumb enough to wear them in the first place.

The view from our bungalow at Railay Cabanas, where we stayed for 15 nights.

During low tide on East Railay, you have to walk to shore from the long-tail boat.

East Railay doesn’t have a beach to speak of – unless you call the near 100 meters of rocky sand that’s uncovered at low tide a beach – but of the two sides, East Railay is where the climbing is.  As a self-proclaimed “climber” who’s been sans rock or gym for the past 2 years, I eased my way back into my favorite pastime at One Two Three Wall and Diamond Cave Wall on East Railay, which is where most of the local climbing schools take beginners for half- and full-day classes.  After a few days of leading juggy 5’s and 6a’s, my arms were wrecked and I was thoroughly shamed as the worst biped to ever once consider herself a decent climber, but I spent countless hours nursing my shattered ego on gorgeous Pra-Nang beach, a small strip of blinding white sand surrounded by massive red cliffs a short walk west of One Two Three Wall.  Here you’ll find everyone from sun-worshippers in teeny-tiny bikinis, to sweaty grunting climbers, to small dark Thai women who will rub your knots and bunions for a small fee while you lie prone on your towel on the sand.  Life is hard here.

Pra-nang beach, by far the most gorgeous beach in the area.

A daring kid taking a leap of faith on Pra-nang Beach.

Ian leading a 7a at Pra-nang beach.

Climbing at Pra-nang Beach

Rush hour at One-Two-Three Wall on East Railay.

Eric looking intense on a crimpy 6b.

It was after running into the same five people three days in a row in Railay that I decided I needed a change of scene for a day.  Lovely though these once-strangers were, I was intent on making new friendships – especially with climbers who were better than me and could set routes that I would shamelessly top-rope – not foster relationships with people who would inevitably leave in three days time with sunburn and a promise to email me.  Two weeks and four different paths to Tonsai later, I’m convinced that the sheer number of ways to reach that climber-infested place is indicative of how badly people want to be there.  Whether by boat, steep jungle trek, perilous rock scramble, or sketchy wade at low tide, getting to this uber chilled out beach town is highly worth the trip. Here, you can chill out on the beach, prove your grit on the epic overhanging Tonsai Wall and Roof, test your limits on a deep-water soloing trip, or mellow out on Fire Wall’s beloved Groove Tube (6a).

The view of Tonsai bay from Fire Wall, the site of a groovy 6a called Groove Tube.

Deep water soloing!

At night, head over to Sunset Bar (where the bartender’s answer to everything is “Why not?”) for beer, slack lining, and fire dancing while you listen to more live renditions of Redemption Song, along with your other jam band favorites.  And if someone offers you some of that sweet herb you keep smelling, don’t panic – as there are no police on either Tonsai or Railay, no one’s trying to get you busted for a monetary reward.  Just relax, enjoy this dirt-bag haven, and embrace the broken record reggae for the entirety of your stay.  You can always leave tomorrow, or the next day, or the next…why not?

*Photography by Zachary Cole

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“Jackie, look outside the window.”

We were slowly making our way through several inches of standing water, remnants of the September floods that inundated Bangkok and its surrounding regions, killing nearly 400 people and affecting some 2 million. We couldn’t peel our eyes from the destruction and the evidence of the attempts to repair fractured lives; the half-buried houses with people’s belongings stacked on the roofs; people living on the pedestrian bridges hovering above what should have been the road; sand bags piled in store-fronts; the occasional yellow traffic line emerging from the murky water.

Belongings have been piled on top of the house for safe-keeping

Small boats seem to be the best mode of transportation in this area

We see signs for floating markets and laugh at the irony. Then we see shanty towns-cum-Atlantis next to towering office buildings with barely a water mark. As we sit in our comfortable, climate-controlled bus, we watch old men and whole families scooter by in plastic boots, just trying to arrive dry. I see a garden of animal shrubs for sale, woven from vines and trapped behind a sand-bag fence, waiting for Noah to guide them onto the ark.

It’s a sobering sight, and we’re humbled. We spent several days in Bangkok two weeks ago, and the only evidence we saw of the flooding was one tiny street in a market where we watched people wade through the water barefoot or in plastic boots. Then we moved on. After Bangkok, we headed to Chiang Mai, another city I heard had been flooded. But when we arrived, it was as if the flood had never happened. On that bus, I couldn’t help but think that the best thing a city has going for it is its tourism industry; it seems that if only those roads we were lumbering through supported tourist towns, the water would be gone and the establishments restored.

A market in central Bankgok

Sandbags protecting a university from the nearby river

“I feel like a disaster tourist,” Zach says, as he shoots photos of people trying to rebuild their homes or transport vegetables and children to dry land in boats. They look determined, muscles straining with each hammer blow or paddle, faces set to the future. I’m reminded of watching tourists snap my picture while doing disaster relief work in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and I’m grateful when we finally pass into the city. Out of sight, out of mind is so easy when you watch such disasters through a TV screen or on the right side of a bus window, and I’m disappointed with myself for tasting the joys of Thailand without doing my part to alleviate the suffering I’m witnessing with my own eyes. But today calls for Cambodia, so another bus driving through more water, until it’s out of sight again, but never out of mind.

*Photography by Zachary Cole

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Back at the hostel, we looked through the myriad of pamphlets and posters to find a trek. This was the defacto place to do a trek according to Lonely Planet. We found several that looked interesting, but the hostel people said we should do the one that they reccommended that was actually cheaper. Let’s do this!

It turned out to be a great decision. We started the day with a bus ride to a “butterfly farm”, which actually meant a 20 foot cube enclosure with plants and flowers for the 20 or so butterflies that lived there. That was a little underwhelming but the cool part was behind the butterfly enclosure: orchids! Rows and rows and rows of orchids. It turns out the butterfly farm actually grew orchids and raised butterflies to make broaches and other accessories. The light hitting the orchids was perfect.

We continued on and drove higher and higher into the hills outside of Chiang Mai. We passed elephants on the road carrying happy tourists. We followed a river up to into the hills and passed several more elephant tour companies. We soon stopped for our second activity: bamboo rafting.

We were joined on the trek by a German named Christian, a French couple, and two guys from Malaysia. The three girls I am traveling with and I were on one raft and the rest of our group got onto a separate raft. Two guides were on each raft which made for quite a group! One guide was standing in the front and one standing in the aft of the raft, each with a long bamboo pole to navigate with. The rafts were about 10-12 poles wide which made the raft just big enough for us to sit two by two on. Under the top level of bamboo poles were inner tubes and then below that was another layer of poles. If one person stood up on one side of the raft it felt like the whole thing would flip!

Since safety was of the utmost importance to the tour operators, none of us wore life jackets and I got to guide with a pole in the front for a while. The tour guide then proceeded to try and tickle me while I was posing for a picture. Yes, good antics are always an important part of safety on a vessel under way. Luckily the river was smooth and perfect so the treachery of the open seas was avoided.

Having completed a relaxing voyage, we returned to the van to head further into the mountains. We crested a pass and before us appeared a brown river which bisected a wonderfully saturated green valley. The big puffy cotton ball clouds rolled lazily over the pastures where elephants were. I wrongly assumed that the elephants were grazing in the field. As we got closer I could see that they were chained to their spot and had a mound of leaves that they were dining on. I started to feel uneasy about the elephants. I really wanted to have a great encounter and connect with these magnificent creatures. I had only seen them in zoos and at the circus until now. This was going to be great!

Nope. It’s not time for an elephant ride yet. Whitewater rafting was waiting for us as we pulled to a stop. Could it be that the rushing river below our put-in point was the same river we had just had a bamboo raft on? The sound of the river excited me. My last rafting trip was a good one north of Boise, Idaho more than 3 years before.

This time Christian and I manned the front of the inflatable raft as the three girls would be the core of our paddling strength. Our guide took up the position in the rear to steer. Our guide’s instructions were not barked or yelled at us, but rather a smooth coo. “O.K. Let’s gooooo. Paddle noooow.” We paddled and he positioned us for the first rapids.

Wet. Soaked. Screaming with joy. This is what it was like through every rapid. So the screaming might have been a little over dramatic, we didn’t hit anything more than a Class 2, but it felt right. Like riding a kiddie coaster when you’re too small for the big coasters, you just have to play up the drama for the sake of the others.

“O.K. Stop paddling. Sooooo Niiiiiice. Relaaaaaxing.” The cooing continued. By this time the girls were cracking up. The guide’s voice was so over-the-top sultry combined with some good natured ribbing of Amy’s reaction to me completely soaking her with a splash from my paddle. They giggled and laughed as Chris and I bore the brunt of every splash from the rapids. We finally coasted into our stop and pulled the rafts from the water and dried off. Our van was waiting for us and as we waited for the guides to grab a quick lunch we found a tiny kitten asleep on someone’s backpack.

We rode the van back up out of the valley and we finally had lunch overlooking the elephant that we would get a chance to ride next. We watched the elephant handler take an elephant into the river for a bath. That looked like so much fun for the elephant! The handler was fairly skilled at staying on the elephant’s back while the it submerged just enough to completely cover it’s back. One more of Jackie’s 3000 pad thai meals and we were ready to go. We walked across a footbridge that was straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.

As we waited for our elephant in a raised hut, we saw that one of the elephant’s had a baby with her. I pointed it out to the group who all responded “awwww” in unison. The others in the group got their elephants and started out. Jackie and I were assigned to the mother elephant and the baby followed. I had noticed when the handler had gotten the mother that both her and the baby were chained up. It pained me to know this was the way they were being treated.

We settled in on our elephant ride and soon came to a stand in the forest where they were selling bananas to the riders to feed the elephant. We didn’t want to buy any so Jessica and Amy shared their bunch. Our handler didn’t like that and wouldn’t let us feed the elephant! He banged on the elephant’s head with a bottle and turned her around. This was how he was leading the elephant. Even though the elephant had been on this route many times before and new it well, he continued to bang his bottle. This added greatly to our frustration. Adding to it was we could tell from our elephant’s body language and energy that she was mad she didn’t get any bananas. This must be how they get them to do the same thing over and over again.

As we ended the otherwise smooth and short ride, we noticed the bull elephant up on the hill. He was carefully watching as mother and baby were down below. Actually he had been watching the entire time. I had noticed him earlier but hadn’t put it together until we were spread out and I could tell exactly who he was looking at. Once we were stopped, I was able to get our mother elephant at least one of the bananas. Jackie had managed to give the baby elephant a banana as we were on our way back from the banana stand.

From the elephant ride we hiked for about 45 minutes up and across a hill to a waterfall. Papaya and banana trees were the foreground to the mountain views along the way. The waterfall was a refreshing end to the hike. We all played and enjoyed the pools and the falls while being surrounded by cats who just couldn’t wait to be petted when we got out.

I highly recommend going on one of the treks from the Little Bird Guesthouse in Chaing Mai. I just wish the elephants were treated better. Based on our experience with the elephants, we intend to find and do some volunteer work at an elephant sanctuary. If you know of one, please add a blink to the comments section!

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