June 20. We're off to Chanthaburi.
After a breakfast buffet at the hotel, we loaded up the van and headed to Chanthaburi. I mentioned in Part 3 how rubber trees started to dominate the landscape. Now more and more fruit trees stood out as well. Grove after grove of durian, mangosteen, longkong, rambutan, and mayong chid. I started seeing breadfruit more often as well. Rubber trees were still a large part of the landscape.
Turns out there is a very compelling reason for this. A few years back, the price of fruit had dropped so low, many farmers found it to be more economical to use their rambutan crop as compost.
It cost more to take the fruit to the market than they would have made selling it. Many farmers also cut down their fruit trees and planted rubber trees...something always in demand. I also noticed that there were many farmers who interplanted pineapple with their younger rubber trees. More bang for the buck.
Our first stop was to the gas/service station owned by the friends of the folks, the Ngarm Rabiebs. This was a really cool place. The waiting area for customers was under a latticed canopy with planked flooring, comfortable chairs, fans, and what looked to us like a huge coy pond. Everyone was gathered around the pond checking it out when my brother-in-law screamed out "There's an alligator in there!!". Well that certainly got our attention!
Our first stop was to the gas/service station owned by the friends of the folks, the Ngarm Rabiebs. This was a really cool place. The waiting area for customers was under a latticed canopy with planked flooring, comfortable chairs, fans, and what looked to us like a huge coy pond. Everyone was gathered around the pond checking it out when my brother-in-law screamed out "There's an alligator in there!!". Well that certainly got our attention!
Well, as you can see from the pics above, this was NOT a coy pond! There are lots of fish in there but there were two monsters, called Arapaima Gigas, from South America. These two were at least 6' long, damn near 2' wide at the middle, and weighed in between 300-400 pounds. And by-the-way...they do not have the shy disposition of coy fish. Oh no. These beasts eat meat and they cause a ruckus when they feed.
Believe it or not, when these fish were purchased, they were only about 2 inches. They will not eat any fish that was in this pond when they were introduced. Any new fish added now is a meal. There are smaller versions of this fish in there and they are aggressive as hell. So don't go dangling your hand over the water thinking you're going to tease them.
That's the Ngarm Rabiebs there in the middle. Such gracious hosts, loads of local and agricultural knowledge, and great entertainment for the folks. The weird one on the right? That's Bee's sister. She's being studied by animal behaviorists for abnormalities! LOL!
Believe it or not, when these fish were purchased, they were only about 2 inches. They will not eat any fish that was in this pond when they were introduced. Any new fish added now is a meal. There are smaller versions of this fish in there and they are aggressive as hell. So don't go dangling your hand over the water thinking you're going to tease them.
That's the Ngarm Rabiebs there in the middle. Such gracious hosts, loads of local and agricultural knowledge, and great entertainment for the folks. The weird one on the right? That's Bee's sister. She's being studied by animal behaviorists for abnormalities! LOL!
Let's see some sites!
Mrs Ngarm Rabieb had our driver take us to a very scenic view overlooking the ocean. It was pretty spectacular. There was a nice breeze blowing in from the ocean as well. Still hot though. No mere breeze is going to cool things down much here.
There was this rope looped all around the trees in this area. We at first thought that it might be some religious gesture but no. Nope. It's to keep assholes from carving their effing names and initials into the freaking trees!! Nobody gives a shit that Jack still loves Diane. Get over yourself and leave the damn trees alone. Maybe carve it into your own forehead instead?
As usual, it wasn't long until our group was hungry again. I swear, I can't see how I won't put on at least 10 pounds on this vacation! We stopped at a noodle place for lunch. The big bowl noodle place. I ordered what was thought to be pork. I guess it once was but it came out in the form of what I can only describe as a gelatin ball in broth. The broth and veggies were good. The pork? Not so much. Everybody else's dishes look fantastic.
Where's the big bowl? Here you go! The pic doesn't really do it justice. It was every bit twice the size of our bowls. Our driver ordered this. Yeah...it was cool that we invited him to nearly all of our meals.
Then came the fun part. We hit the spot in town that was a strip of nurseries. My objective was to find two more maprang trees to take home and to see if anyone knew of pulasan. So far we have struck out with everyone we've met. Oh yeah...also needed to find a nice long lap lae durian tree.
See the sign advertising the bright purple mango in the above pic? This is the new purple nam doc mai that is causing a buzz. No...did not buy one. We have plenty of mango trees already. I found a couple maprang and said we would come back for them because we've sniffed out a person who may know pulasan.
Two owners of the current shop have pointed down the street and we amble on down to her. And yes, she was very familiar with pulasan. Said she was able to taste some while in Indonesia. She brought back a bunch of seeds and got them growing. A neighbor of hers actually has a fruiting tree but we were not able to determine its origin. She hinted that it was the same fruit from Indonesia and said that the fruit were large and very sweet...about 7-8 per kilo. They have plans to graft up some seedlings and maybe do some airlayers soon. She gave us her card and said we should contact her next year to see where they are at with this venture. So at least we found someone who knew what the hell a pulasan was! Hasn't put any plants in the yard yet, but we're closer.
No one had a long lap lae durian trees so we headed off to another part of town that catered to the farmers. There were grafted durian trees everywhere! Large areas under screening were lined up on both sides of the street and further into the fields.
Two owners of the current shop have pointed down the street and we amble on down to her. And yes, she was very familiar with pulasan. Said she was able to taste some while in Indonesia. She brought back a bunch of seeds and got them growing. A neighbor of hers actually has a fruiting tree but we were not able to determine its origin. She hinted that it was the same fruit from Indonesia and said that the fruit were large and very sweet...about 7-8 per kilo. They have plans to graft up some seedlings and maybe do some airlayers soon. She gave us her card and said we should contact her next year to see where they are at with this venture. So at least we found someone who knew what the hell a pulasan was! Hasn't put any plants in the yard yet, but we're closer.
No one had a long lap lae durian trees so we headed off to another part of town that catered to the farmers. There were grafted durian trees everywhere! Large areas under screening were lined up on both sides of the street and further into the fields.
As you can see, every size was available and many varieties too. We found a long lap lae of decent size. Cost was $3! I know my buddy John from Florida is probably clutching his chest after reading this. The big trees in the background were probably not a hell of a lot more money. Was crazy.
We spoke with the owner of the nursery we purchased the tree from asking how they do their grafting. There are many ways of grafting durian and most have varied success rates. She said they take the end of a small branch...about the diameter of a phone cord. 1/8 of an inch maybe. They take one node each from this and graft onto a seedling that had germinated only a few days before. They carefully do a wedge graft and secure the graft first with a single coconut fiber tied around it. They then will seal it off with grafting tape. She said they have nearly 100% take.
We spoke with the owner of the nursery we purchased the tree from asking how they do their grafting. There are many ways of grafting durian and most have varied success rates. She said they take the end of a small branch...about the diameter of a phone cord. 1/8 of an inch maybe. They take one node each from this and graft onto a seedling that had germinated only a few days before. They carefully do a wedge graft and secure the graft first with a single coconut fiber tied around it. They then will seal it off with grafting tape. She said they have nearly 100% take.
To the farm
It's been a full day already and we have yet to see one of their farms. We had to take some gnarly roads that seemed to do nothing but head deeper into jungle. Rubber trees and fruit groves no matter where you looked. Truly a tropical fruit paradise.
The farm we were going to was one of two they have. This one was the smaller one of only around 20 acreas. They co-opt with nearby farmers. There is a large pond from which they all share expenses for pumping water to irrigate the farms.
The farm we were going to was one of two they have. This one was the smaller one of only around 20 acreas. They co-opt with nearby farmers. There is a large pond from which they all share expenses for pumping water to irrigate the farms.
Unfortunately, the main mafai crop had already been harvested. These last few hanging on never fully developed and had no real substance to them. It's a handsome tree and I'm sure it's a beautiful site with all of the bright yellow bunches of fruit hanging from most of the branches. But since I didn't get to taste a good one, any thoughts of obtaining a tree will have to wait. Oh well, there is lots of other stuff at hand.
Their primary crop was durian but they also had mangosteen, longkong, mayong chid, and mafai. We found a gan yao durian that had just fallen and we were going to open that baby up. It was very delicious but some found it to be just a little more ripe than they prefer. I can't recall whether the one below is the ganyao or the monthong we also cut open. The monthong was not quite as ripe but just as tasty.
And as you can see, there was plenty of mangosteen to sample. And they were delicious. Better than what we had from the market. We were told that the mangosteen with all red sepals will be the sweetest. A few members of the group confirmed this but I never got around to worrying about it. But next time you have a bunch, try it out.
The owner took us around showing us this and that. Once we got back, everyone relaxed and started gabbing. Me? Time to explore. So I set off back down the road and walked up a couple different access roads/driveways. Some of these owners kept their durian groves looking like public parks. Had to take an incredible effort to keep them in this fashion.
Mangosteen trees were hear and there throughout the grove. There were irrigation lines everywhere. The durian trees were very healthy looking. Not sure of the varieties.
See all the baskets of fruit? They filled several huge nylon bags full of mangosteen and longkong. The folks in the neighborhood were in for a surprise from mom and dad!
See all the baskets of fruit? They filled several huge nylon bags full of mangosteen and longkong. The folks in the neighborhood were in for a surprise from mom and dad!
Man...what a day! To say we were bushed would be understating things. Everyone was nodding off on the trip back to the Ngarm Rabiebs service station. I forgot to mention that I had brought them a madrono and achachairu plant as a thank you for their hospitality. They were quite eager to get them planted. We said our "thank yous" and "good-byes" only to find out that they were taking us to dinner later.
We had some issues on the way to our hotel. Bee's brother was having some intestinal issues that required a few stops. Hey! Someone other than me but having been there, done that, I felt for the guy. But we eventually made it to the hotel to off load our crap. The hotel's name was Kasemsarn. Was okay. The rooms must have been 150 degrees and guess what? The rooms were set up to where the electronics only work when the key chain was put in a holding slot...which includes the pitiful air conditioner. We weren't in the room long enough to even take the temp down a single degree since we were loading up once again to meet up at the restaurant. Take the key out, yep. Sure as hell everything shut off. Shit.
Dinner was at Chan O Cha. Remember that this town is a major fruit producer and distribution hub. So it wasn't surprising to walk in and see that the place had a little retail portion full of fruit products...mainly durian.
We had some issues on the way to our hotel. Bee's brother was having some intestinal issues that required a few stops. Hey! Someone other than me but having been there, done that, I felt for the guy. But we eventually made it to the hotel to off load our crap. The hotel's name was Kasemsarn. Was okay. The rooms must have been 150 degrees and guess what? The rooms were set up to where the electronics only work when the key chain was put in a holding slot...which includes the pitiful air conditioner. We weren't in the room long enough to even take the temp down a single degree since we were loading up once again to meet up at the restaurant. Take the key out, yep. Sure as hell everything shut off. Shit.
Dinner was at Chan O Cha. Remember that this town is a major fruit producer and distribution hub. So it wasn't surprising to walk in and see that the place had a little retail portion full of fruit products...mainly durian.
We can only guess the "cheese" is mangosteen boiled down creating a paste that is put between the wafers. Didn't buy it. I've had mangosteen candy and other products from processing mangosteen and they haven't been good. Everyone swore by the durian products though.
Again...dinner was not disappointing. And the food continued on emphasizing the province's staple product...durian. The dish below is a chicken curry with young, or raw, durian in place of potato. This was a new experience for me and I didn't know if I was ready for it. But I could have never left there not trying it. I did...and it was delicious. Who'd a thunk it?
This next dish is braised pork with garcinia cowa leaves for color and flavoring. It is a very distinct flavor and hard to describe. It is a sweet and savory dish. Hard to find fault with it.
This was a traditional Thai salad we call bok bok, which is normally made with shredded green papaya. In keeping with the theme, this dish again used raw, unripened durian instead of the papaya. And again...delicious.
Another fine, dining experience in the books. Everyone sat around chatting until the employees were chasing us out. A fine ending to a fine day. Time for bed at last.
But nooooooo. Not when the effing room is 150 degrees! It took a couple hours for it to cool down enough to where I felt comfortable getting into the shower. To me, there's nothing worse coming out of a shower crisp and clean only to sweat your ass in a room hot as an oven. But when I did get in there...damn it felt good!
But nooooooo. Not when the effing room is 150 degrees! It took a couple hours for it to cool down enough to where I felt comfortable getting into the shower. To me, there's nothing worse coming out of a shower crisp and clean only to sweat your ass in a room hot as an oven. But when I did get in there...damn it felt good!
June 21. Heading back to Bangkok.
We were up early as usual...but a wee bit later than the folks had wanted. They had wanted to get an early start and walk over to a local morning market for breakfast. Nothing looked good to me where they all decided to eat so I ambled off on my own taking in the hustle and bustle of the market. This market had the feeling of people here on business. Not people like me just looking around. Many areas was so busy I was afraid of getting run over by people, bikes, and/or vehicles.
It was interesting and US food inspectors would probably have heart attacks on the spot!
We eventually trekked back to the hotel and loaded up the van. On the road again! I guess I missed my opportunity for those last 2 maprangs. We were not close to that strip nor were we headed in that direction. Don't know why I kept fixating on these last two plants. Maybe to round out the bunch four and four? Four is better than two? I don't know. It did grate on me a little not picking the damn things up when I had them right in front of me. But looking back and all things considered...I'm glad I didn't get them.
Watching the landscape go by at a brisk clip, we all soon started nodding off. In between nods, I noticed there were lots of oyster and clam farms. Pretty cool. We passed quite a few. In fact, they never seemed to end. Before long, the van slowed and we were pulling in to a place for lunch. It was right on the bay where the farms were. Coincidence? And what's this? Surprise surprise! It's the Rabiebs once again! Yes...they wanted to make sure we experienced nearly everything the Chanthaburi and Rayong provinces had to offer and this was going to be fresh seafood straight from the bay. This restaurant was actually in Rayong. Guess we dosed off more than I thought.
Watching the landscape go by at a brisk clip, we all soon started nodding off. In between nods, I noticed there were lots of oyster and clam farms. Pretty cool. We passed quite a few. In fact, they never seemed to end. Before long, the van slowed and we were pulling in to a place for lunch. It was right on the bay where the farms were. Coincidence? And what's this? Surprise surprise! It's the Rabiebs once again! Yes...they wanted to make sure we experienced nearly everything the Chanthaburi and Rayong provinces had to offer and this was going to be fresh seafood straight from the bay. This restaurant was actually in Rayong. Guess we dosed off more than I thought.
Now I would not normally order stuff like this for a meal. I like seafood, but not the super fan. But this? And so fresh? Wow...it was really good.
Oysters. You piled everything right onto a spoon to get the most out of the experience. That's fried garlic on the right and pickled chilies in back. Can't recall the name of the greens but they gave it tart bite. Refreshing.
On the road...again. This time our "good-byes" to the Rabiebs were final. There would be no more hookups this trip. But we were not done yet. The folks' concept of taking a trip is to pack as much into each day as humanly possible. And it's always interesting and entertaining so there was no complaints.
This was Nam Tok Prew waterfall park. Markets at the bottom, site seeing at the top. We walked thru the markets for a bit up to the park entrance. We paid 10 baht for a golf cart ride to the top. Turned out to be about a 30 second ride!! We needed this at the start of the markets to take us here.
This place was pretty neat. Lots of historical shrines, pagodas, and such on the way to the falls. I'm not going to show them all here, but you can seem them on my galleries page. Seems as though only one pic was clear enough to be able to read the inscriptions. Most of them were in honor of lost members of the royal family of long ago.
This was Nam Tok Prew waterfall park. Markets at the bottom, site seeing at the top. We walked thru the markets for a bit up to the park entrance. We paid 10 baht for a golf cart ride to the top. Turned out to be about a 30 second ride!! We needed this at the start of the markets to take us here.
This place was pretty neat. Lots of historical shrines, pagodas, and such on the way to the falls. I'm not going to show them all here, but you can seem them on my galleries page. Seems as though only one pic was clear enough to be able to read the inscriptions. Most of them were in honor of lost members of the royal family of long ago.
What a crappy picture! But you get the idea of what we came there for. Unfortunately, we were not prepared for this. No one had swim suits or anything. It was terribly hot again and the water and falls sure looked inviting.
This place was nice and I can see where families would enjoy taking their kids to splash around and play. But since we were not playing or splashing, the excitement soon wore off and we were ready to head back down the hill. Did I mention that it was hot? But a nice, cold Coke helped me out quite a bit here soon!
Now...when you have a stomach like mine, seeing a sign like this is welcomed indeed!
Glad we stopped. Glad to be back in the air conditioned van too! We made one more stop on the way home. We hit this market so everyone could buy some snacks. Again, a lot of local fruit products and drinks. And the best find was the stalls out front had fresh puangmanee durian available. Mom bought two to bring home. Now...it was time to begin the serious driving. It was a couple more hours before we made it back. And yes, we stopped again for iced coffee and more snacking. But we eventually got home. I don't think anyone was up late at all.
And as I've said before, if you want to see the rest of the pics for this time frame, then please check out my galleries page, or click on the following: Thailand 2015 - Chanthaburi.
This wraps up part 4. Only one more to go. So don't quit now. Go check out the last blog in the series by clicking: part 5 that covers my last week in Thailand.
This wraps up part 4. Only one more to go. So don't quit now. Go check out the last blog in the series by clicking: part 5 that covers my last week in Thailand.
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