Poovarodommangojan17mcc: Dr. Sumitra Poovarodom (center), associate professor of soil science
at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, explains how Preecha Diyarom (left), owner of this mangosteen orchard near Chanthaburi, Thailand, relies on soil and leaf analysis to determine
the fertilizer and trace element requirements of his mangosteens. (McCandless)

Beachjan17kayser: Buddhist monks walk the beach near the hotel on the Gulf of Thailand. (Kayser)

Getting to the Beach
We all got a wake-up call at 6 in the morning, had breakfast and got ready to leave Khoti in Nakhon Ratchasima Province to go to Chantaburi Province. Chantaburi is known as the “land of fruits,” and is located in eastern Thailand.

Our buses passed beautiful scenic places along the highway, including rice paddy fields and many tropical forest hills. After a four-hour drive, we stopped to have lunch and visit the orchards of Mr. Preecha Dutarin and his brother, both of whom are in their 70’s. Despite their age, they are considered progressive mangosteen, durian and salak growers. During lunch, we get a chance to try a variety of fresh and freeze-dried fruit. We then split into three groups and toured the orchards. There was time for a short lecture by Dr. Sumitra Poovarodom, who has been working with these growers for 10 years. She introduced us to “the queen of fruits” (mangosteen) and “the king of fruits” (durian), and shared her experiences working with fruit growers in the area.

Around 5 p.m., we left the garden to check into the Chao Lao Tho Saeng Hotel, a local resort on the Gulf of Thailand. Some went to swim on the beach, others took a stroll and enjoyed the ocean breezes. A few of our Indian friends happily waded into the surf in their sarees. The whole group went to eat fabulous Thai seafood at a local restaurant.

While walking on the beach that evening, Elisha Blond got stung by some sea creature, probably a lone jellyfish. Thanks to our Thai friends, the problem was quickly solved by the application of a local herbal remedy (take local ivy leaves, crush in beer and whisky, then apply directly to the stung spot). It seemed to work.
Hong Bui, anthropology

Riding Between Stops
Our two buses ride smoothly from Khoti to Chantiburi, on roads that were originally built to move troops during the Vietnam War and that have been well-maintained ever since, contributing noticeably to the prosperity of Thailand’s rural economy. At one point, we are within 10 km of Cambodia. Dr. Pongthep tells us a tractor dealer friend of his regularly sold tractors to the Pol Pot regime, which needed them to move artillery through the mud during the rainy season.

You can tell we aren’t in India any more because all traffic moves faster, and trucks are able to pull trailers of gravel or agricultural commodities and retail goods in tandem. With a population of 65 million people compared to Indian’s 1.3 billion, the population density in Thailand is much less per square mile. There are many fewer people on the sides of the road.

Many people build their houses on stilts, with a garage or workspace underneath, to avoid flooding during the rainy season and keep the snakes and lizards on ground level. They build smaller spirit houses outside every dwelling and business place, where offerings of rice and tea are made to placate those spirits displaced by human endeavors. Ornate Buddhist temples are evident at fairly regular intervals. The air is clear, the elevation higher, and the bougainvillea blooming in a gay profusion of yellows, pinks, reds and purples. There are mountains in the distance, and the landscape is punctuated by sudden outcroppings of jagged rock that rise several hundred feet into the air.

On Bus #2, Ronnie Coffman is the tour guide. A better one could not be found in all of southeast Asia. His sonorous voice is easily heard in all corners of the bus, and between he and Dr. Pongthep, we learn many cultivation facts about rice, the pros and cons of flooding rice paddies, as well as the nutrient requirements of rice, cassava cultivation, the century-old practice and benefits of slash and burn agriculture, as well as a history of any cropping system we see. Learning as we go, we pass plantations of blue-green eucalyptus, teak, rice, cassava, wild and domestic banana, as well as orchards of durian, mangosteen and silva.

In the small villages, there are signs of a rural economy that is fairly prosperous, with all the infrastructure to support agriculture from tire shops, implement factories, hardware stores, lumber mills, and fertilizer and seed stores. In this tropical climate, businesses are open to the air for business and our stares. Dr. Coffman reminds us that the streets are broad enough to turn around a team of draft animals pulling a wagon without having to back up. Here, teams seem, in the main, to have been replaced by pick-up trucks and more than an occasional tractor.

Linda McCandless