2015 started very early as we headed off at 7am to the national park
to kayak up the river through the mangroves. Another superb day but
still quite windy. 1/2 hour later we clambered into the dinghy with the
2 kayaks being towed behind with Liam and Jo Jo. On entering the mouth
of the river Sarah spotted a monkey on the banks. We headed into one of
the smaller tribuatries looking for Monkeys and hornbills going as far
as we could before it got to shallow. The mangrove trees and their roots
were enormous, much larger than what we normally see in a mangrove
swamp. We took in turns to kayak around where it was beautifully still
and quiet. 2 hornbills flew overhead. Unfortunately time was limited as
the water levels started dropping quickly as the tide went out. The 4
kids had fun being dragged behind the dinghy on the way back soaking
each other but managing to stay on the canoes.
Back on
the sea gypsy our usual cooked breakfast awaited which was consumed
very quickly before Mandy and the Gardes headed off snorkelling whilst
the kelly boys and indigo went to the beach. Although reasonably rough
with the wind, the snorkelling was much improved with a couple of
caverns full of tropical fish. Visibility still a little limited, but we
were all heartened by the experience. The kids enjoyed digging holes
and sand castles on the beach before we headed off again towards a sea
gypsy village. We moored off the beach of the village where we could see
a hive of activity with the boats on the beach. A new jetty was also
being built. This is a big village with about 400 people and has both
the Mon ( sea gypsys) as well as the Mynamar fishing people living
there. The min go out for 2 or 3 days on their tiny boats fishing and
then come back to their main village to trade. The Myanmar fisherman
seem to go out overnight and come back during the day. The village due
to its size has both a school and Buddhist temple both of which we
visited. Another beautiful location but somewhat marred,probably only in
our eyes, by the rubbish strewn about and the many very sickly dogs.
The people however are friendly and the children in the school very
excited to see us providing us with a very positive interaction. They
particularly liked having their photos taken on the iPads and then being
able to see themselves. We provided them with pens and papers. The
teachers were in a meeting so we wandered around the school ourselves.
The village consisted of about 4 streets, with most of the houses on
stilts. There are 2 Chiefs one for the Myanmar people and one for the
sea gypsies. Both were away fishing. The sea gypsies have no passports
and go to other countries such as Thailand without. Their children
generally don't go to school but learn the art of fishing. They also
have no religion but worship spirits which are usually their ancestors.
They are darker in skin and lighter in hair than the Mynamar fisherman,
but more and more there is cohabitation between the 2 and inter
marriage.
We walked through the village to the other
end where the Buddhist temple was located, up on a hill looking across
the bay. The head monk was from the mainland. A crocodile resided
outside the temple in a concrete house, some of the fisherman had
captured it and decided it would be a good gift for the Buddhist monks!
Like the other villages, squid is hanging out to dry as well as puffer
fish sold to the Chinese. Women are playing cards and children are
running around. There is some sign of entrepreneurialism with a 3 storey
concrete building being made for shops and one mini art selling grapes!
A good eye opener for the kids though. Lots of huge shells including
cowrys strewing the beach shore. Back on board we headed out to sea
which was quite rough. We overnighted at Shark Island, and were a
little disappointed to see we would not be alone. A catamaran was
already moored and a dive boat also pulled in. Not to mention a large
flotilla of big fishing boats that ended up being about 10 in number.
During the night a supply boat of what looked like fuel, food and fresh
nets arrived to restock the boats. Despite the additional company it
was another idyllic location. The beach looked maintained which Jo Jo
later told us had been cleared for a Russian celebrity couple to get
married a couple of years back. It was quite a noisy night compared to
what we are used to.
No comments:
Post a Comment