Back to the Forest

Friday, December 19, 2008
Wow! Christmas is less than a week away and it doesn't really feel like it! We are back in the forest-it's been our first full week here in more than a month! We began by walking the transects. The forest feels so different. It is amazing how much it changed in 2 weeks! Some of the deciduous trees have really started to change color and lose their leaves. I sat at reception earlier in the week and watched a huge Bang Lang tree drop all of its yellow leaves. There has been very little rain. It sprinkled one night and rained pretty good another night, but for the most part the skies are clear, the air is cooler and drier. As we walk in the forest it everything around me feels different. The underbrush feels thinner, and although walking is noisy as we crunch on dried leaves, the forest itself is very still. The sad part is that with the changing seasons, the monkeys have moved into a new routine and we haven't seen them. It's funny, because we see them on the transect when we aren't looking for them, but when we are trying to watch them, they don't appear.

Last week FPD and police showed up at the park to conduct a raid. They left very early to go into a village, and returned with 10 macaques, bags full of snakes, turtles, opossums, and the remains of forest pigs-all these animals had been taken from the forest. I realize that I understand so little about how things work here. Things are rather complicated with illegal animal trade, the use of forest lands, and the need for people to do things in order to provide for their families. Tet, the lunar New Year celebration, is coming soon and situations tend to become even more complicated. I guess in the U.S. our equivalent would be Christmas or Thanksgiving, when the expectations are so high for families to provide food, presents, and the like. People in regular, middle-class families feel the crunch, but the families that really struggle are the ones that have a hard time making ends meet on a daily basis. It is a situation that has to be dealt with when people talk about conservation. I am beginning to think that conservation is a luxury. Our national parks were created because of their beauty. They are spaces that can be visited, but not used, unless it is to help control populations (like limited hunting for deer or elk). Here in Vietnam the need of local people to continue using the forest has to be balanced with conserving rare and/or endangered species. I am learning that the approach to education has to be different as well.

Right now, our days are spent going into the forest in the morning. Jonathan frequently does this on his own while I go for a run and get things started for us. We will spend the day doing work (email, reading articles, studying Vietnamese, figuring out how to find the monkeys!!) During that time we sit in our "office", aka the Bamboo Cantina. Our friend, Matt, is also here working with the bears and the 3 of us can frequently be seen sitting there working. A jack-fruit tree is right near the cafe, and the fruits have been growing for the last few months. They must be ripe now because the macaques that come by nearly every afternoon at about 3:30 have been tearing at the fruit- 2 have been eaten already! Following our "office work", we sometimes go back into the forest for the afternoon. The monkeys are traditionally most active in the mornings and the evenings (sunrise and sunset) so we try to see them then.

The photos are of the forest, the raid, the "office", and the jack-fruit. Oh, and one of us sending hugs to everyone!!

Angkor Wat Half Marathon

December 7, 2008
Today is the Angkor Wat half marathon. This is what we came to Cambodia for! We got up and traveled by tuk-tuk to the starting line, which is in the parking lot in front of Angkor Wat. We arrived a bit later than I had hoped, but we still got to see the sunrise behind the temples.

We first heard about this run during the Free the Bears Opening at Cat Tien. For the last four years Free the Bears has sponsored runners...who run in animal costumes! Jonathan's advisor, Bert, will be running the 10k with Jonathan. Bert's wife, Sherri, and I will run the 5k. She and I were running buddies last year, training to run a 5k in under 30 minutes. We were doing quite well at achieving this goal, until Sherri was diagnosed with Guillan-Barre Syndrome at the end of June. She spent more than a month in the hospital unable to move her arms and legs. The doctors are not sure how she got it-it could've been after she had been fighting a virus of some sort. The way I understand this syndrome is that your immune system gets confused and begins attacking your nervous system. This can be fatal if it is not caught and treated in time. Treatment can be tricky because everyone's body is different and the doctors have to find the right combination of medications to decrease pain and help to encourage the body to build myelin sheath in the nerves.

So, in July Sherri was in the hospital. She was determined to get better and worked very hard every day to improve. She had to re-train her body how to do everything! In August she began walking again. In October she began running again! I mentioned the run to her and she set it as a goal for herself. We both started running again with the intention of finishing the 5k.

Our run was good. We began the race strong and at a comfortable pace. We chatted and enjoyed the setting. We didn't stop to walk, although it was an option if we decided that we would need to in order to finish the run. We had set out to finish the race and I figured that our pace was slower than what I had been running, so we might finish in 32 or 33 minutes. As we came around the final turn into the chutes to the finish line I looked up and saw our time: 29:30. I couldn't believe it! We were running very comfortably- our first run together since the Earth Day 5k in April- and we were seconds away from not only finishing the run, but finishing it in under 30 minutes! In that instant we agreed to sprint and try for less than 30 minutes. We made it across the finish in 29:50! I was so excited! I felt strong and I was beside myself with glee. I was SO proud of Sherri! She is one of the strongest people I know. I admire her commitment and confidence.

After the race we walked back up the route to see Bert finish in 48 minutes. Jonathan came in a bit later. He, too, amazes me! He doesn't normally run, so, "off the couch" he got up and ran a 10k. At the last minute he chose to run the race in a gibbon costume! He came in to the finish line with a crowd of support as they cheered for the Monkey Man (NO! I'm a Gibbon!) Everyone wanted to take photos with him and try on the big gibbon head. He was cheerful and funny as people approached him for the next 2 hours! The rest of the crew for Free the Bears had run the 1/2 marathon and finished a couple of hours later. It was a great way to spend a morning-running for wildlife!

Angkor Wat

On Saturday, December 6th, J and I got to visit Angkor Wat, the ruins for which Cambodia is so famous. We spent the day wandering through some of the frequently visited temples. In the area there are several temples. The most famous one is Angkor Wat. My favorites were the one with all the faces, which is called Bayon. I also really liked the one that was left in its natural state, with collapsed roofs and thick tree-roots. Here are some photos. If you want to see more pictures, click on the link at the bottom of this page. It will take you to my Picassa photo album!

A trip to Cambodia

December 10, 2008
Last Thursday Jonathan and I got on a bus heading for Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The trip took about 7 hours and it was beautiful. The countryside is very flat- mostly rice paddies. I had a hard time trying to figure out if the land was supposed to be without trees or if extensive logging had taken place. I later found out that it was logging. It was interesting to see how the houses changed once we crossed the border into Cambodia. Most houses in Vietnam are low, long, and thin. In the countryside they are usually one story with a small front. In Cambodia most of the houses were on stilts. I am thinking that houses in Vietnam started out that way because most houses in the city use the ground floor for parking motor-bikes or for store-fronts if they are on the street. The place where people live seems to begin on the second floor.

Phnom Penh is beautiful! The architecture is amazing! It is a city so many of the buildings look like cement blocks, but many others are so ornate in their decor. We stayed with our friend, Pesei and had a great time meeting some of the Free the Bears crew, who were also going to Siem Reap to do the Angkor 1/2 marathon.

We took a tour bus up to Siem Reap on Friday. It was a double-decker bus, so from our seat we could see out over the countryside. After 6 hours of riding, we finally arrived at the bus station, where we took a tuk-tuk to our hotel. Tuk-tuks are motor-bikes with a covered cart attached to the back. It is a breezy, cool, dusty way to travel around. After getting situated at our hotel, we went on walk-about. People in Cambodia are so friendly! It was a pleasure wandering around. It was also a bit challenging emotionally. The places where tourists hang out is very polished and nice. The streets that cater to tourists are lined with fancy, almost elegant, restaurants with an abundance of food, drink, shopping, and money. Along the same streets, though, are the Khmer people, many of whom have very little in the way of clothing, food, and money. Some people have been the victims of landmines and are just trying to make a living any way they can. Many people speak English and it is very easy to have wonderful conversations with people. It was fun to chat with people, hear a new and different language, and NOT be able to read the signs, since the script of the Khmer language is similar to Thai- for my unfamiliar eyes it looks like a repetition of decorative squiggles.

We spent Saturday exploring the ruins of Angkor Wat. It was absolutely breath-taking! Each temple complex is unique in design and style. Two of my favorites were Bayon, with faces looking out in every direction, and Ta Phrom, which was left in the same state that it was found: caved in rooftops, trees growing up through the walls, and stacks of tumbled structures.

The run on Sunday was fantastic. Sherri and I did our first 5k since May, and had a great time! Jonathan and Bert did the 10k and both finished with great times. Jonathan decided to do the run dressed in a gibbon costume! Free the Bears has been organizing this for the past few years: some runners dress as a Sun Bear, an elephant, a tiger, or a gaur and run the whole race. The purpose is to raise money and awareness for conserving Cambodia's wildlife. J was a gibbon, and he was a hero!

After the run we returned to Phnom Penh, where we spent a day or so exploring the sights of the city. We sat on our hotel balcony and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the National Museum as the bats came out for their evening flight...so incredible!

Van Long Nature Preserve

November 29, 2008
This afternoon we visited a beautiful area called Van Long Nature Preserve. This area, and all around it, has several limestone mountains reminiscent of Ha Long Bay, except there is land all around the hills rather than ocean. The land surrounding the hills is mostly rice paddies and wetlands. On one of the larger karst hills within Van Long resides a rare species of primate, called the Delacour's Langur. These monkeys used to live within Cuc Phuong National Park and some of the surrounding areas, but now it is assumed that they only live on the hills within Van Long. They are one of 6 species of "Limestone Monkeys" in Vietnam, and one of the top five most critically endangered species of primates in the world. A colleague and friend of ours, Catherine, conducted her dissertation research here last year.

We arrived at Van Long on a series of mini-buses, unloaded, and headed to the water, where we boarded boats and were paddled out to the limestone. We searched for an hour for the monkeys on the limestone, but couldn't find them. They are really very beautiful, with mostly black bodies, except for their "white shorts". We enjoyed sitting on the peaceful water, staring at the mountain as the sun set over this beautiful land.

Cuc Phuong National Park

November 25, 2008
Jonathan and I spent 4 days in Cuc Phuong National Park attending a symposium on primate conservation. A bus picked us all up at the Opera House in Hanoi. After arriving, we got settled into our rooms, had a marvelous time meeting new people, catching up with old friends, and going for a walk. Following a delicious dinner, we moved over to a lovely campfire where some of the residents of the minority village nearby shared some of their songs, dances, and homemade wine. The weather in the park was much cooler than in Hanoi, chilly, in fact, so the best place to sit was right by the fire.

The following morning we were awakened by the singing of gibbons in the Endangered Primate Rescue Center. The song of the gibbons is one of my favorite songs in the whole world. Here in Vietnam, it is the ringer on my phone! At dawn, gibbons sing to one another. It is a male-female pair song that is incredible, and varies depending on the region where they are from. Some research is being done (and we got to hear about it from the researchers themselves at the symposium) to learn more about gibbon behaviour.

Each morning the gibbons would sing. If I didn't walk over to the EPRC to listen to them, then I would run by them or into the national park. Unfortunately, the national park no longer has much to offer in the way of wildlife. Here in Cat Tien, I can see animals every day. I didn't see any animals besides the ones that live in the primate rescue center or in the small carnivore rescue center where a binturong and civets now live following confiscation from illegal animal trade. This is a BIG problem in Southeast Asia. Many animals are trapped, taken from the forest, and sold. Some animals, like lorises, snakes, pengalin, and even monkeys are used in wines or traditional medicines. Others, like gibbons, macaques, and lorises are kept as pets. Sometimes animals like macaques are taken and sold for use in labs that do animal testing. Many animals are eaten as special delicacies. Part of the work being done here is in education: talking to people about how special many of these animals are and how they shouldn't be hunted. It is very complicated, especially when people are just trying to feed their families. If you are interested in learning more, here is a link to some photos from Newsweek.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/117742

Visiting the North: Hanoi

November 24, 2008
Jonathan and I just returned from a trip to Hanoi. A Primate Conservation Symposium was held in Cuc Phuong National Park. It was excellent to be in Hanoi! The weather was much cooler than the south. It felt so refreshing to be able to walk around town with my hair down and NOT sweating!

I love Hanoi and the Old Quarter. The streets are narrow and lined with tiny little shops. It is easy to wander the streets for hours...even days, and just get lost. Hanoi has many lakes. In the Old Quarter the main lake is called Hoan Kiem. In the middle is a lovely temple that you can visit, and a small pagoda that is on an island that can't be reached. In the mornings there are crowds of people doing their morning exercises: running, walking, dancing, practicing tai chi, or playing badmitton. Each morning we saw the same people doing the same activities. One of our favorites is a middle-aged man who runs sideways, does some bone-strengthening exercises, and then walks with his little dog. We began to recognize each other and say "Hi" as we passed one another. I am looking forward to returning in January to see if he will recognize me!

We met up with 2 of our friends and our teachers from our summer Vietnamese class. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone, and get laughed at for our "southern" accent! We also got to visit with our friends Ha, Hiep, and his wife Van. It is wonderful traveling to the north- so different from the south, so much slower.