I went motorbiking and hiking near the summit of Doi Suthep and Doi Pui on Sunday. I was all set to take some lovely photos of the mountain. Unfortunately I had failed to put the memory card back in my camera. How stupid is that. So many a potentially Pulitzer winning photo that could have been slipped forever from my grasp. I had better luck birding. I didn't see much near the summit, but on my way back down, at about the 1000 meter level I stopped to take a look around a small park/garden. I got really lucky and saw three types of birds I had never identified before, the Great Tit, the Golden Throated Barbet, and the Short-Billed Minivet. All in all a pretty exciting afternoon of birding.
Next week we have a week off of work. On Thursday three of my friends are planning to ride their bicycles to the top of Doi Inthanon. Doi Inthanon is the tallest mountain in Thailand at 2565 meters. They will be riding from about the base, at 350 meters. So over 40 kilometers or so they will rise over 2200 meters. Relatively few people have done this climb. They are not certain they will be able to do it, but they want to try. I am going along, although I won't be riding a bike. I will be on my motorbike. I will be carrying spare gear and will be providing backup in case anything goes wrong. I will also be taking advantage of the trip to bird on Doi Inthanon, which has many unique species, due to its height. Should be a good trip, at least for me. They are going to be exhausted, whether they reach the summit or not.
And, he blogs. Glad you got some birding in.
ReplyDelete(You asked a few months ago if I did any birding and I don't think I ever replied. I haven't specifically gone birding lately but there are so many here around all the time that I'm always looking.)
The trip with your friends does sound like fun. I truly hope you enjoy it and that it goes well for all of you.
When I toured the south island of New Zealand, I saw many many bicyclists in the Southern Alps. I would frequently come upon one or two, down in 21st gear, inching their way up a steep, tall mountain. I'd stop and ask them if they wanted to hang on and get pulled uphill awhile, but they never did. One of them in a hostel, a banker from Alberta, said he had biked over 5000 km, or over the distance coast to coast in Canada.
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