Wildlife of Thailand

Check out the awesome website by L. Bruce Kekule, about the animals of Thailand.

http://brucekekule.com/camera_trapping/a-black-leopard-passes-my-camera-trap/

Gun Museum, Siem Reap, Cambodia

A while back I was bumming around Cambodia. Actually, I was employed to teaching English to the Fire and rescue crew at the Siem Reap international Airport. "SR" is a small town with not much to do except get drunk and take in some of the local historical museums etc.

One saturday, I hired a "tuktuk" to take me to the local Military museum where i was able to look at and actually handle some of the obsolete weapons from the ww2 era to the Vietnam conflict. It was interesting. As a military trained Armorer, I have an interest in fire arms especially the older weapons. At the museum, I was able to perform a function check on an old M16A1 rifle (see picture), I have no doubt that after a few replacement parts and a good cleaning this weapon could be made to fire. I wondered how this American issue weapon ended up in a Museum in Cambodia, Im sure it would be an interesting story. I have posted below a little information for you on this weapon and its current variants.

(From Wikipedia)

The M16 rifle, officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16, is a United States military adaptation of the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle. The original M16 was a select-fire, 5.56×45mm rifle with a 20-round magazine.
In 1964, the M16 entered American military service and the following year was deployed for jungle warfare operations during the Vietnam War. In 1969, the M16A1 replaced the M14 rifle to become the U.S. military's standard service rifle. The M16A1 improvements include a bolt-assist, chrome plated bore and a new 30-round magazine. In 1983, the USMC adopted the M16A2 rifle and the U.S. Army adopted it in 1986. The M16A2 fires the improved 5.56×45mm NATO (M855/SS109) cartridge and has a new adjustable rear sight, case deflector, heavy barrel, improved handguard, pistol grip and buttstock, as well as a semi-auto and three-round burst only fire selector. Adopted in 1998, the M16A4 is the fourth generation of the M16 series. It is equipped with a removable carrying handle and Picatinny rail for mounting optics and other ancillary devices.
The M16 has also been widely adopted by other militaries around the world. Total worldwide production of M16s has been approximately 8 million, making it the most-produced firearm of its 5.56 mm caliber. The U.S. Army has largely replaced the M16 in combat units with the shorter and lighter M4 carbine, and the U.S. Marine Corps approved a similar change in October 2015.

Nigerian Infantry and Special forces

A few years ago I have the pleasure of working in Darfur, Africa with the 2nd Nigerian Infantry battalion and a detachment of Nigerian Special forces. My team mates and me were tasked with training these soldiers in the maintenance and firing of the C6 7.62 machine gun and the Canadian version of the Browning 50 cal machine gun. It was good duty and I enjoyed working with these hard charging soldiers. I have attached a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Tomahawk

Mekong River - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I always enjoyed the Mekong river front in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I lived in that city for about 2 years and and my lady friend Vanessa and me would often go to the river to enjoy dinner at the "Titanic" restaurant, or take in a night time river cruise and a few drinks. It was a good time. I miss both Vanessa and the river. Perhaps Ill return to Cambodia soon and see them both.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong

Luang prabang Laos PDR

                                            Nam Kahn river  - Luang Prabang, Laos

This tune brings back both good and bad memories for me of Laos. I love that country and its friendly people, great food, History, and beautiful scenery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_r0EnscvII

Kopassus Commandos - Indonesia

Just remembering some training I performed for the Kopassus Commandos of Indonesia. Please feel free to check out the link below for more information on one of the most elite Commando units in SE Asia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopassus

Chas Cotter, American Safari guide in Kenya

About a million years ago when I was a kid, my summer time habit was to set up my pup tent in my moms back yard, and live out there for the entire summer. I would spend most of my time in the woods. At night I would stay up late reading books about great Adventurers by flashlight . I remember two men whom I admire for their exploits and courage, both men were always an inspiration to me over the years. Frederic Russell Burnham who was an Army scout during the Apache wars, then subsequently went to africa to be a scout for the British Army there. And, Charles Cottar, from Texas (I think), who was a Big Game hunting Guide in Kenya . I would have loved to have met both of these men. The Cottar family still runs a Safari business in kenya, you can find more info at the link I have provided below.

http://www.cottars.com/

I love this excerpt from the book"The heart of the hunter" by Edison Marshall

"Tha date appointed came at hand, and I stepped down from the railway carrage in Nairobi, the very first English capitol of Kenya. My first feeling was one of profound dismay. Coming to meet me was an old man with a feeble step. Yes, he was Charles Cotter. He had been down, he said, from a bout with blackwater fever complicated by a leopards getting on him, but he was alright now. How could this cripple lead me over the veld, through the grass, and amid the thorn, After big game?

Yet, I soon began to notice the old hunter's eyes as he spoke, and the light in them and the life and change, and they were not the eyes of a dotard. And there were other signs I could not yet isolate, and then a big plain sign, when he began to curse some hotel porters who had picked up my baggage without permission.
His voice had a ring to it. And a western accent still.

All the next day as we assembled our outfit for the trip, He walked and talked with increased vigor. Actually he was well short of sixty, but in town he had seemed much older, and only when he got shed of it did his years peel off, and these were beginning to give way to the mere prospect of return to the velt. This was his stamping ground. He had traded for it his old hunting grounds in Texas and Oklahoma, when these were far from tame, and he had lived by it, and fought it, and loved and hated it for more than twenty years. He was tall, and powerfully framed, and was once a pehnomenally powerful man. His hands were still wolf quick, when they had to be, as I noticed when he drove the lorry to pick up supplies. My recommendation to his was that I was an American, for he had never forgotten,never ignored, that he was one too. And this meant more to him than I could quite understand at first. It was the keynote of his being, an oblation and a great pride.

He had piercing eyes, narrow set, indescribably blue. Still, I did not know then that he was the heir of Jim Bridger and Kit Carson, the very last of that great breed of hunters developed in the American west. A true mountain man born after his proper time, and strangely walking the plains of Africa."


I also enjoy this  1st hand information about Chas Cottar  from ; "Safari guide"; excerpts from Dappled Sunlight, subtitled “Memoirs of a Safari Life” the Late Patricia Mary Cotter memoirs

He arrived in Kenya in 1910 for the first visit then came and went each year until he brought his whole family here in 1914, his wife Annette, and nine children –three boys and six girls : the eldest, a girl born in 1911 Charles registered a company to guide safari’s called Cotters Safari Service in 1919.

He had already had articles published in the “American Field” newspaper between 1914 and 1918 , and had been very involved with making movies of his adventures since his early safaris to Kenya.

These movies were shown in the states throw Chester Outing Films and there is a letter in the family achieves written in 1920 from Mr. Chester to Charles saying how sorry he was that Charles would not be able to send any more films for a while due to his illness….The illness which Mr. Chester refers to was always thought to be a stroke, but in fact Charles had not been feeling well for some times beforehand, and it was while he was guiding a safari that the paralysis began, so he rushed home to Nairobi and a couple of days later could not get out of bed.

Charles had been wounded by leopard twice before this illness

But Charles was not going to kept down by illness, so called his sons Bud and Mike to help him get up and get his legs working again. Today one of Charles grandson who is a doctor, David Stuart sees the symptoms of Lyme’s Disease which Charles could have contracted from a tick in Uganda.

His grandson Glen remembers as being a rather cranky person, but one can only think he must have been so frustrated with one blind eye, and a leg and arm which would not work properly, of course he was cranky! Charles had been wounded by leopard twice before this illness and another time the late 1920s a leopard attacked him and was shot off his back by {his son} Mike.

Tussle;

He also had a tussle with an Elephant but managed to wedge himself between two rocks so the elephant could not get at him…But Charles would not give into his handicaps ,and insisted on accompanying safaris and still taking movie pictures, which he continued to show in the states. He would carry his favorite Winchester rifle while taking movies presumably leaving it in the hands of an African assistant.

So it was that in September 1940s, he was with Bud at Migwarrur, in the Siana hills area of what is now known as the Maasai Mara, not far from Barkitabu, when they sported a rhino in the bush.

Bud was sent by Charles to scout for the rhino which they had briefly seen, and was behind other bush cover some distance away when the rhino charged out of the bush quite close to Charles, but he was not able to get the gun quickly enough, and as the shot went home the rhino gored his thigh and fell on him.

Bud heard the short and his father ‘s yell, so rushed to him finishing the rhino, and tried to make some shade from the hot sun, but Charles refused this, Saying he wanted to see the African sky. The main artery was severed and Charles died from loss of blood an hour later.

Personalities who have made history in promoting tourism in Kenya and in particular investing in tented camps and safari lodges in national parks and game reserves. Some investors have gone an extra mile to ensure that Kenya is one of the best tourist destinations in the world having been declared “the seven wonders of the world” due to its conservation and eco-system efforts in the Masai Mara. Charles Cottar has a safari camp in the Masai Mara which is luxurious named cottars 1920 camp among other personalities who owns tented camps and safari lodges all over East Africa national parks and game reserves.

Tomahawks favorite drink - Coffee

One day in Antigua Guatemala, I needed a bit of exercise so I headed toward the volcano/mountain in the distance and stumbled onto a coffee plantation. It was a pretty place and and very tranquil.

I sat on a cedar log and watched some horses grazing in what looked like a polo field for a while, after taking a few pics of the horses and the surrounding hills I dragged my ass over to take a look at the coffee plants. I had never seen the plant my favorite beverage comes from before. I was surprised at the shiny/waxy looking leaves and the size of the beans themselves.

After looking at the plants and beans for a while I walked over to the shop to see about buying some locally grown and processed coffee to take with me on the trail. I was hit with the greatest aroma of coffee that I have ever been witness to.  Inside the shop I was surprised to see many types of local coffee for sale, I mean you could get the stuff  green, whole bean or in grinds of different coarseness.

My favorite way to brew coffee is the Montana guides style. I have heard it called "Guides coffee" "Cowboy coffee", "Shepherds coffee" etc. but I call it Montana Guides Coffee because that is what it was called when I learned to make it at Montana guides school.

Take a couple good fists full of coffee, chuck it in to a pot of some type throw in a pinch of salt, bring it to a boil then take it off the flames. Give this brew a quick stir, pour in a little cold water to help settle the grounds. Then imbibe heavily this brew. Great stuff on a cold mountain or desert morning, hells bells, for that matter ,it's good stuff in a steamy South East Asian jungle. In fact, my buddy Jing in Cebu likes his with a splash of vinegar in it

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. Coffee beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees in over 70 countries, cultivated primarily in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. 'Green Unroasted' coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Coffee can have a stimulating effect on humans due to its caffeine content. It is one of the most-consumed beverages in the world.

Coffee has played a crucial role in many societies. The energizing effect of the coffee bean plant is thought to have been discovered in the northeast region of Ethiopia, and the cultivation of coffee first expanded in the Arab world. The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen in southern Arabia.From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas. In East Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its secular consumption, a ban in effect until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia.It was banned in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons, and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe.

Coffee berries, which contain the coffee seed, or "bean", are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown are the highly regarded Coffea arabica, and the 'robusta' form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the devastating coffee leaf rust. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways.

THAI STYLE JUNGLE KNIVES

 

 THAI STYLE JUNGLE KNIVES

Over the past few years in Thailand, and the Philippines I have been enjoying camping and foraging with my many friends. In fact Yesterday was spent fishing and foraging for snails and wild edibles in the woods. My friends know quite a bit about the local wild edibles so I tend to listen and learn from them.

In the evening, we cooked the fish ,snails and mushrooms that we had collected and feasted on those goodies ,along with the ever present sticky rice and Thai beer.

A few years ago,  One lady friend and me  headed to the small town of Laopaksai,Thailand. In that town, I met a local blacksmith, and tool maker named Saijung Kaipo. His forge was set up next to his house. I really liked his simple forge and the simplistic way his show was set up,such as the old tractor tire he uses for a water trough, primitive bellows etc. I noticed that Saijung Kaipo, uses a lot of scrap metal, leaf springs etc. for his knives and tools.

Saijung can make several different sizes and styles of knives but ,what I like the most are his hand forged Axe and Hatched heads. These heads remind me of some of the hand forged tomahawk heads I have seen in the USA.

These Knives and Axe/hatchet heads have a nice heft , some of the knives come with tubular handles and others with wood. One thing that I have noticed in Thailand (at least in this area) is that they don't seem to use a sheath for their jungle knives like you see in the Philippines or Malaysia. I have seen some knife sheaths here made from a heated and flattened piece of PVC pipe tho, pretty cool and efficient.

Over a period of a few months, I hung out with saijung, learning his style of knife making. He even showed me how to make an Axe head, it was a bit tough to do, but we managed to get it done using his simple tools. I have studied blacksmithing in Arizona, Minnesota, the Philippines and Now Thailand.

I like learning these skills from true experts in their fields, using simple techniques, tools and age old skills. It feels good to have this skill set in my bag of wilderness tricks.

See you on the trail!

Pickled Eggs

I love Amelia from the Nat geo show "Live free or die". I also love pickled eggs, 'specially made with beets. Add some Honey, vinegar(I use my home made kombucha vinegar), salt and beet chunks, chuck them in a jar and let them sit for a few days.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/live-free-or-die/videos/how-to-homestead-making-pickled-eggs/