Day 324: Chumphon

Feb 21 - Do some writing this morning, and we take care of some chores around town. Arrange a tuk tuk to take us to Nong Yai Park, north of the city. This series of open areas, artificial lakes, islands, and a large canal were the product of an engineering project designed to take flooding pressure off areas closer to town. Storms in 1989 and 1997 convinced the government that something needed to be done for flood avoidance. At the entrance to the park, there is a large plaque discussing how the king (at the time, King Bhumibol Adulyadej) was so gracious in allotting money for the project, etc, etc. Unusual to see such respect for a leader, as though he were bestowing gifts upon the people rather than just doing his job to keep everyone safe.

See a bird we haven’t before, a racket-tailed drongo. Impossible to get a picture of.

One of the wooden bridges over the artificial lakes. They have built a lot of infrastructure here to make this a place for families to visit. We were there during the week, however, and it was almost empty.

There was a wildlife park of sorts, with many Rusa deer. They are native to SE Asia.

They had bananas for sale, to feed to the deer.

Back to Chumphon, where we deal with lunch and a few more errands.

I asked the hotel owner about where I could get my shoe repaired. In about a minute this woman showed up on a scooter and took my shoe off to fix it. It cost 140 Baht. I’ve been using this pair every day since the start of the trip 10 months ago.

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