CNXJan08 (II) - A Chilling Day

My feet were freezing by the dead of the night. I had to get up reluctantly, yet without a choice to grope in the dark for my woolen socks as my cold feet were preventing me from getting a good night's sleep! I even pulled on an extra layer of clothing to make sure I was snug, instead of trying to save my small stock of clothes over the next 10 days. Before long, I finally got a good, warm rest.

By 4am local time, the floorboards started creaking as one by one, we all woke up and took turns in the washroom. Susan even took a quick shower despite the ice cold water! Gosh, if I thought that at night it was cold, in the morning it was so much more chilling. I was rubbing my hands which were already bound in woolen gloves and my feet felt as if they no longer belonged to me. Walking on the floorboards was even like walking on ice!

On hour later, when I opened the front door, a cold blast greeted my already stiff face. As we were situated on a slope, the wind was mercilessly gushing down from the top of the road. We then quickly bundled into the vans as fast as our limbs and our heavy gear would permit us. Inside was a relief!

It took about 45 minutes to reach the summit of Doi Inthanon, our first stop of the day. The sun had not yet broken the night, so it was still pitch dark and being the summit, of course, you wouldn't expect the temperature at that time to be more than anything but 3 degrees. I simply refused to leave the cosy comfort of the van to step out into the darkness only to have the breeze mocking me! I'm much used to the humid atmosphere of home, so this dry icy air did not seem to agree with me at first.

After an hour and the prospect of catching the Rufous-throated Partridge, I shook myself and bade goodbye to the warm reverie. I stopped over at the visitors' centre to have a look around. Their exhibits are well done - providing much information from the climate to even astronomy.

Displays at the visitors' centre

When the sky turned a pale yellow, Susan ushered us to a spot behind the kitchen of the restaurant to lie in wait for the much-anticipated Partridges. The spot was a favourite for birds as the kitchen leftovers would be strewn there. You could see eggshells and rice grains especially at the water outlet where the dishes are washed. On her previous trip, they had been lucky as a pair of Partridges had been most obliging. However, it was not to be so this time. Some of us waited for hours but there was no show of the wanted bird.

Eagerly awaiting the 'show'

Instead, other feathered friends turned up for the pickings. They made good models for us and this reduced the initial blow of the no-show of the star attraction. A good start with our first dose of birds here!

Blue Whistling Thrush
A radiant sapphire

Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush
A cheerful flock of them scurried and scampered around, though their habit of nimbly keeping in the lower storey and playing hide-and-seek in the bushes proved to be a challenge to obtain a clear shot of them.

Being satisfied with the small bird wave, I then headed down to the Ang Ka trail, hoping to catch the endemic Green-tailed Sunbird.

The Ang Ka trail map with a brief description of it.
Note the elevation of this place. That certainly explains my climate shock earlier!

The beginning of the Ang Ka trail.

On entering the trail, I felt as if the landscape around me had been transformed, and that I had been transported to a different world. The trees were draped in moss which hung like tassels from their boughs; the hues were a mix of a deep rich emerald green with a hint of an olive tinge. It seemed so surreal as my words fail me. I just gawked in awe as my camera could not do justice to the colours that surrounded me. I kept taking in slow, deep breaths as if by doing so, I could 'absorb' the strange feelings of being there.

The boardwalk which runs a loop in the Ang Ka trail.
Tall, lanky trees stand gently along the sides of the path. I just could not take in enough of it as I had to leave too soon!

Interesting vegetation which caught my eye. These green-tentacled mosses carpeted the ground, forming what appeared to me to be a somewhat spongy, springy layer. They reminded me too much of beings from another world! Sometimes I would imagine them congregating together like nano particles to morph into a larger creature - like how a huge school of fish or a flock of birds somehow manage to coordinate their movements to resemble a single wave-like creature.

However fascinated I could be with the plants, they could not prevent me from diverting my eyes towards a flutter nearby. Right beside the boardwalk, a small party of Chestnut-tailed Minlas were actively hopping through the bushes. Then arrived a flock of Rufous-winged Fulvettas. These fulvettas were so brightly coloured compared to their other siblings - grey and ochre made up the most of their colours.

Orange-flanked Bush-Robin (female)
We were chasing this shy skulker along a certain stretch of the trail. It would show itself for about five minutes, after which it eludes us as quickly as it appears. We managed to catch it twice before it never came out again.

Gould's Sunbird (male)
The Green-tailed Sunbird failed to show up but at least I got a fair shot of this gem. In bright sunlight, you could see its flaming vermillion chest darting and zipping around.

By noon, the temperature underwent a complete turnaround. It was scorching! As I came out from the cool shady trail, I was nearly blinded by the glaring rays. After getting everyone together, we then headed for lunch at Mr Deang's place.

Mr Deang is the person every birdwatcher should pay a visit in Doi Inthanon. His place is the Inthanon Birds Centre - everything bird-oriented and themed.

Mr Deang's Inthanon Birds Centre - with a White-crowned Forktail as his mascot

You can get a simple meal of fried rice there while doing a spot of birding behind his restaurant. A group of British birders spotted a Scaly Thrush while having lunch there too!

Feeling happy to be basking in warmth again after a good meal. Put those jackets away!

Just look at the number of calling cards on Mr Deang's wall!

Even on the sign to the washrooms, you see some feathered friends

After our meal, we decided to have a go for the River Chat. Susan had planned to bring us to the waterfall where she had sighted it on her previous trip, but when she tried to convey the directions to our drivers, they ended up bringing us to another waterfall.

Oh well, it didn't matter. Just more sightseeing amidst birding, then.

Siribhume Waterfall

We did not trek in all the way to the waterfall but hung around the entrance. As it became apparent that there wasn't going to be a chance to see the River Chat here, we made do by keeping our eyes open for other birds.

Sure enough, I added two new species to my list - Japanese and Chestnut-flanked White-Eyes.

Enthusiastic birders trying to differentiate between the two species of White-Eyes, so as not to miss out!

Local tribal girls who, seeing we were obviously tourists, hung around trying to earn a penny (or 10 baht) or two by selling pretty bouquets.

There, we met the same group of British birders who were led by a Thai bird-guide, Mr Pinit (?). Susan took the opportunity to ask for directions to the waterfall she had in mind then. Soon, we were off on our quest for the River Chat again.

This time, we had to trek steeply downhill to the base of a waterfall. As I kept going further and further down, I was dreading the unavoidable journey uphill again! We passed through a farm and reached the top of the cascading falls. Seeing the water gushing over the edge gave me the shivers as I admittedly do have a certain fear of heights; not to mention that the path became really narrow and was running right beside the drop!

When I reached the bottom of the water curtain, the sight of the torrents made my heart skip a beat. Jason and I then teetered over the edge of a huge boulder below the falls to look for the River Chat as well as the Plumbeous Redstart. We didn't see either at first and decided to turn back.

It was at this moment that I had a very very close accident - could have been fatal, even. My shoes lost their grip and my right leg slipped over the side of the boulder and I was sliding sideways. I would have lost my balance if not for Jason who grabbed me from behind! As I reflect upon that harrowing experience, it was a 15-foot drop over the side. I could easily have broken my neck if I had been dashed upon the rocks below.

Serenity

Further down the river where the water was less savage, we spotted the male Plumbeous Redstart. The female, however, was nowhere in sight. Jason tried to creep closer to it to get a better shot but it was just too skittish.

In the distance where the river rounded a bend, a pair of Slaty-backed Forktails were frolicking, their black-and-white streamers gracefully floating behind them as they danced from boulder to boulder, never losing their footing on the slippery surfaces.

A high pitched whistle then attracted our attention to the bottom of the waterfall. A white cap was bobbing up and down, flicking its tail everytime it stopped - the River Chat! Many of us made a rush for this jewel, but it was out of my camera's range so I just settled down, gluing my eyes to my binoculars.

Uncle David in deep concentraion to shoot the River Chat

The dim lighting and the distance made it rather tricky to get a good picture but nonetheless, everyone still persevered, as you can see in this sequence here:

Jason and Alagan on the very boulder where I almost met my end. I didn't dare to ever stray there again!

Still don't think it's dangerous?
I warned you...

Take a look at the bigger picture!
Only here you don't really get an idea of the cascading falls.

'I'm coming to join you!' - Uncle Gilbert

Four daredevils - all for the sake of a bird!
What lengths photographers go to, to seek the perfect shot...

'Alright, alright, I've had enough. I'm leaving' - Uncle B
Note the sheer drop on the left!

The River Chat and the Plumbeous Redstart were not easy targets. As the sun sank lower behind the mountains, we decided to pack up and head back before nightfall. As I had expected, the trek uphill was an arduous task. I was ready for dinner anytime now!

Our meal was a lesser affair of eggs this time as Uncle David took the responsibility of ordering today. Thanks to his efforts, we even had fried fish, along with broccoli, snow peas and the usual omelette Tom Yam and fried eggs with tomatoes.

After a good bath, I snuggled into my sleeping bag, this time all prepared and bundled up comfortably so that I could sleep through the entire night without having to wake up freezing!