Bangkok and Back Again - An Environmental Perspective

Where better to celebrate Chinese New Year than in China! I had just such an opportunity recently and took full advantage of it in Hong Kong, Macau, and then on to the Thai capitol of Bangkok (see photos below). I arrived in Hong Kong on the first day of the new year of the goat (or ram or sheep, depending on your classification). The New Year holiday actually runs for a week to 10 days and most shops are closed at least for the beginning of it. Kind of a cross between our New Years eve and Fourth of July, Chinese festivities include feasts with the family and lots of fireworks (to be expected from the land that invented them). The fireworks display from our hotel overlooking Hong Kong harbor was spectacular and seemed to go on forever.  Gung Hei Fat Choy!

Much of the Hong Kong portion of the trip was taken up with traditional family get-togethers, which generally consisted of about 20 or so uncles, aunts, children, grandchildren (and their great grandfather) all crammed into a tiny apartment. A huge dinner was always served, with lots of talk and mah-jongg both preceding and following every meal. The brief environmental interlude in all of this activity was a short hike in the New Territories leading to a bluff overlooking the mainland China region of Guangdong Province. The haze on an otherwise clear day obscured the view but highlighted the air quality problems existing in much of China, largely from their dependence on coal as a primary energy source.

While there I took a day-trip by boat about 1-hour up the Chinese coast from Hong Kong to the island of Macau. Macau is a former Portuguese enclave that, like Hong Kong, was just recently returned to China. Only about 3% of the current population of Macau is Portuguese with the rest Chinese, although all the signs are required to be in both languages. Because of the Chinese New Year, it was common to hear firecrackers going off at the many Buddhist temples around the island.

In the photo above, the red layer under the tree and next to the temple door is the paper remnants of thousands of firecrackers set off by the many people coming to the temple to light incense. The noise from the fireworks was fairly constant and probably damaging to the hearing of the participants. The smoke and other explosive residues, not to mention the amazing amount of incense being burned in the temples, added to an already hazy air quality problem.

Next stop was Bangkok, the capitol of Thailand, and as can be seen in the photo below, an extremely large and busy city. With over 11 million people (New York City has less than 8 million), Bangkok is beset with the usual environmental and health problems that plague urban areas.

The Chao Phraya river runs through the center of the city, which covers an area of 216 square miles. Much of the city is modern (especially near the river), but it is impossible to miss one of the close to 500 temples (called wats) in the city (almost 30,000 temples exist in Thailand).  Here's part of the Grand Palace in downtown Bangkok.

And a close up.

Traffic is arguably worse than any city in the United States, with close to 3 million cars, trucks, buses, and motor-taxis all squeezing down the narrow streets and broad main avenues. As would be expected, the air quality in the city is terrible. Worse, leaded gasoline is still used, which has recently been linked to reduced IQ scores in local children. Ironically, more than 80 percent of all Thai University graduates live in Bangkok. To avoid the land traffic, there is a great deal of boat traffic. Barges regularly move up and down the river, and boat-taxis transport commuters, tourists, and dinner-goers from point to point with relative ease. However, most of the boats are diesel-powered and many have the engines mounted in the open on the back of the boat. This results in air, noise, and water pollution that taints the river. Add the insufficient water and sewage treatment and the river pollution rivals the land.

So what is the rest of Thailand like? As would be expected, much of the rest of the country is less populated and the typically urban air and water quality issues are less intense. But they still exist. The more rural areas may not have any water or sewage treatment at all. Indeed, many still rely heavily on oxen and other animals for their livelihood. The combined human and animal waste may be used on planted fields as fertilizer or simply dumped out of the way. In either case the runoff often ends up in the same waterways (commonly man-made canals) that are used for drinking water, bathing, and washing of clothes.

But there are relatively pristine areas as well. A 2 to 3-hour drive outside Bangkok near the Cambodian border is Khao Yai National Park. Khao Yai covers over 2000 square kilometers and includes protected forest, jungle, mountain and grassland habitat. There are also several mountains of around 1000 metres including Khao Khieo. The park is host to almost 2,500 plant species, 67 different kinds of mammals and over 300 species of birds. The abundant wildlife includes many endangered mammals such as elephants, gibbons, tigers, leopards and Malaysian sun bears.  On a drive through the park on the main road you start to notice that many of the trees and man-made structures (sign posts, concrete road safety posts) are wrapped in barbed wire to protect them from the wild elephants roaming around the park. Still, many of the concrete posts have been pushed over by the elephants. No tigers or bears were observed on my visit, but some magnificently colored birds and packs of gibbons were frequently seen.

The park is criss-crossed by hiking trails, ranging in length from one and a half to eight kilometres. A fairly short hike took me through the forest to a small stream. After having my photo taken on a rock overlooking what appeared to be a small precipice, I made a very steep hike down to the base of what turned out to be the tallest and most spectacular waterfall in the park.

At about 250 feet high, Haew Narok falls is quite impressive (note in photo below the spot I was standing is the flat rock on the top left).

My visit took place during the Thai winter (where 90°F is considered “cool”) and thus the water overflowing the falls was fairly timid. In contrast, park rangers were forced to build massive concrete pilings in the woods to keep elephants away during the rainy season when the water rages down the river and over the falls. Prior to building the pilings, 8 full grown elephants in one night alone were swept over the Haew Narok falls to their deaths.

Just outside the park, I was able to see the elephants close up. Heading for Pakchong Creek, I climbed aboard an adult female elephant for a nearly hour-long trek through the local forest. I rode for a while on a two-person carrier on the back of the elephant as my trusted mahout (driver) guided the elephant through the underbrush. But then it was my turn as the mahout dismounted (along with my camera to document the event) and I moved down onto the neck of the elephant to guide us the rest of the way through creeks and forest.

Here's the elephant's head (those are my knees).

From an environmental perspective, the trek through Khao Yai Park and the elephant ride were both heartwarming and disheartening. Tourism has now passed rice production as the biggest contributor to the economy. This increase in foreign visitors brings a broader appreciation for the ecological value of the country. But it also increases the physical demands on delicate ecosystems as more and more people descend on the park, much like the excessive tourist visits to Yellowstone and other American national parks has put a severe strain on the natural habitats, flora and fauna endemic to the regions. It is clear that Bangkok and Thailand must be aware of the environmental and human health ramifications of their continued growth.

Having said that...I can't wait to go again.