Rasp, raw. Absolute flawless.

Tags

ADP, articles, BRATs workshop, Bukit Melawati, college, fishing village, fort, Kampung Kuantan Firefly Park, Kuala Selangor, life, nature parks, Pasir Penambang, R.AGE, Star 2, TNB, wild monkeys

Now listening ; Tumble Down – Marcus Foster

Hello readers. I know, I lack in updating this site of mine these days and I hereby apologize. I ran out of interesting topics to write about recently but I still constantly remind myself that I owe this blog a final post of my trip about Dubai. That, I suppose, will be up by the end of this month. Speaking of lack of material which is actually not quite the case, I have yet to tell you about my experience having joined BRATs in Kuala Selangor. I certainly will not depict in words but I plan on uploading a gallery of pictures taken during my field assignments so that is another one to look forward to.

I actually made up my mind to hit the ‘Add New post’ button simply because I had an announcement to make; that is I have finally signed up for college!  I’ve taken up the course that I vowed myself to “indulge” in and also since the beginning of time my focus was solely into none other than the American Degree Transfer Program (AUP). Yes, you can say that I live an American dream! For the first 8-10 weeks, I chose to do English Composition and Principles of Biology to earn a minimum of 6 credit hours (7 in my case).

I honestly cannot wait to start college. I hope I do not regret having said it when the journey officially begins come the 28th of May. I pledged that it is going to be a fresh start for me. I feel like I have been stagnant and passive throughout the last two years of high school and I certainly did not achieve anything remarkable. It is now time to shine again. Because I am talking about America, people. And that is a huge deal for me. For weeks I have been browsing and doing researches online and will still continue to do so from time to time. Hopefully, I can make it to the US Education Fair during the weekend just to gain further information.

Before I end this post, here are a few shots of the articles my group and others worked on during BRATs journalism workshop that earned a feature in the newspaper. I must say that the feeling of being on the papers for the first time was plain amazing and it was definitely a proud moment for each and every other BRAT besides myself.

That is my friend Sue Qing on the front cover.

Article on the life in Pasir Penamabang – a local Chinese fishing village in Kuala Selangor. The story centres around the younger generation leaving the village into the cities in search of a better future. My teammates interviewed the old folks and included quotes from them about their opinions. Group picture above, and you can spot me with my camera and backpack in the middle picture together with my group member Bernice interviewing two ladies peeling prawns to produce prawn crackers.

Article about an eye-opening visit to Kampung Kuantan Firefly Park. It centres around the conservation and preservation acts taken by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). It also describes about the boat ride along the Selangor River and the view of the glowing fireflies in the dark. Other points including the life cycles of the fireflies and their nature.

Article about a Nature Park in Kuala Selangor.

Article about the fort of Bukit Melawati and its still functioning lighthouse. Also the artifacts featured in the museum at the sight, cannons and wild monkeys that claim that area to be their home. Interesting insight of this Indian man who sells long beans to the visitors to be fed to the monkeys. He definitely has some fascinating stories to entertain you with and you can see how he formed such an intimate bond with these monkeys.

 Till then and that is all for today. Driving lesson early tomorrow morning so I should be tugged snugly in bed already. Goodnight!

One Amazing Creature (Part II)

Tags

Chiang Mai, Elephant Nature Park, elephants, memories, nature parks, photography, Thailand, travel

Looking for something different to do? Consider volunteering. Several animal shelters in Chiang Mai welcome help feeding and playing with abandoned pets. Elephant Nature Park – A conservation-based project north of the city with programs including some mahout training and bathing with the elephants is a must-see in your itinerary if you want to make sure you do not missed out a day’s fun!

Elephant Nature Park is the result of the inspiring vision of Sanduen ‘Lek’ Chailert to create a better world for Asian elephants. Lek is from a little known hill tribe group called the Khamu and has been fighting for the rights of the Asian elephants for decades. Lek has received several awards including ‘Hero of the Planet’ by Time Magazine in 2005 and the Earth Day Award in 2006. Her work has been featured on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, BBC and in print media throughout the world.

There are currently more than 30 rescued elephants living at Elephant Nature Park ranging from calves to grand old matriarchs over 80 years old. The elephants at the park are free to choose a family, form small herds and live amongst people who love and respect them. The uniqueness of this elephant camp amongst a myriad in Chiang Mai is that they are not expected to work or perform. Instead, they are able to wander the park, feeding at their leisure, bathing in the river and playing together in the mud pit. Each elephant has a distinct character, which becomes more evident as they come to regard the park as their home and leave heir past behind.

The park offers an exceptional Eco-tourism experience. Visitors have the opportunity to observe and interact with Asian elephants and learn about their way of life. Volunteers who stay at the park for a week or more work on projects that directly benefit the elephants including collecting and preparing food, cleaning shelters, digging mud pits and bathing the elephants. They also have the opportunity to walk alongside the elephants through the jungle to Elephant Haven and discover how elephants live and forage for food in the wild.

Elephant Nature Park educates both tourists and locals about the Asian elephant and the challenges faced by this endangered species. Each elephant at the park has a mahout/caretaker, who is responsible for the well being of their elephant. Lek and her mahouts are pioneering a more enlightened approach to teaching young elephants by using love and positive reinforcement instead of pain.

It was certainly an awe-inspiring day that we spent the the Elephant Nature Park. All the documentaries and time spent with the elephants was one that was enlightening and never to be forgotten. It is through this adventure and through this first encounter that I really learned about the elephants which I once thought were as normal as every other creature on this planet but ever since then I knew how wrong I was about it. So, I would definitely say it was an incredible, eye-opening experience in which I hope to spread to every one of you out there. Who knows, you might then develop a “thing” towards elephants just as much like I did through this.

Below are the photos taken and I have compiled them. Be sure to tell me what you think!

You can also refer to the first part of this post here about how I came about in sharing my experiences with elephants. And as usual, photos are also uploaded in my Flickr.

Elephant Nature Park – 209/2 Sridorn Chai Road, Chiang Mai 50, 100 Thailand.
Or you can make your booking at one of the town offices required – Charoen Prathet Soi 6, 053-272-855 / 053-818-744.

One Amazing Creature

Tags

Elephant Orphanage, elephants, inspiration, nature parks, photography, Sri Lanka, travel

Notice that I changed my WordPress header? Yep, and I love it so much. It was one of the pictures taken from our Sri Lanka trip in the month of August this year. The reason I decided to pick it as my header was because I watched a television program on the  Discovery HD channel called Green Paradise some time ago in beginning of this month. They broadcasted a few back-to-back episodes and one of them was filmed this place known as the Elephant Orphanage located in Pinnawala, some 80 kilometer Northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

I guess every elephant sanctuary  is different and unique in its way – be it in running or its management – but all stem from the same purpose that is to preserve and care for these emotional and sensitive elephants that should be greatly appreciated. Hence, to be there to witness first hand and understand the stories and life of these amazing elephants is one that was touching, saddening and inspiring all at the same time. I remembered very clearly and recalled to my visit to another renowned Elephant Nature Park at Chiang Mai, Thailand which is run on a bigger scale and was also once featured on Star Two’s writeup column. You really would not know what these innocent creatures have been through in their life in serving for mankind until you experience it and sign up for any voluntary work offered . So after visits to such places, it is no doubt that tourists like I now posses a “thing” towards these beautiful elephants.

As usual, you can always visit my Flickr page for an alternative of these photos.