Day 5
This is Mark, the presumed co-partner in this endeavour. I haven’t cracked open my ivory leather bound volume (one of six) with the gilt pages. I’ve rarely taken this boxed set from the Folio Society in Britain down from the oak shelves they sit upon so pleasingly.

I like books as beautiful objects almost as much as the contents. Sometimes more. I have two beautifully illustrated and bound volumes of Icelandic Sagas with gilt covers, etc. I’ll probably never read them.

Anyway thanks Ken for setting up this blog for us. We’ll see how successful I am at reading Gibbon. His language is a bit convoluted and archaic. I’ll try to read some tonight. I’m feeling much better today after my rollerblade accident on Sunday (9/13). I can walk without much pain though that’s also due to the oxycodone. Bye for now. Mark

Day 3 Ken here -

Opening Statements

“In the second century of the Christian Era, the empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind.” Stirring words. Up there with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, Gibbon began with a monumental first sentence drawing a line in the sand and daring all readers and critics to disparage the Empire.  Ironically this first volume came out in print  in the same year the world saw the faint beginnings of  another empire, in 1776.

All of this, of course, occurring during  the great century of expansion of the British Empire ( an example:  the “Year of Miracles”, (1759) a year of military victories for England over most of the major colonial powers of the day occurring just 14 years prior to Gibbon writing this famous sentence in 1773).  Empire,  the idea of empire,  and what sort of empire Britain should have was very much in the air.

I can remember reading those words for the first time when I was 11 and discovered an abridged version of Gibbon (pah! we spit on abridged versions) at my grandmother’s house one very hot and humid Minnesota summer day on a family vacation. It was exciting and perfect and I felt I had to do something with it, so I memorized it (which might speak less to Gibbon, and perhaps more to my budding nerdishness). Ponderous cadences, precisely chosen words, but more importantly, thrilling subject matter sank within me in an instant and I knew I had to read more, more  history that is.

I hit the middle of the second paragraph like a NHTSA crash dummy hitting a windshield  ”but it was reserved for Augustus, to relinquish the ambitious design of subduing the whole earth, and to introduce a spirit of moderation.” Relinquish? Moderation? And this it the beginning of the Empire – in 40’s B.C. What’s up with that? Imagine my horror a few days later when I found out they divided the Empire in half 300 years later (but that’s another story.)

The What

I will start noting some of Gibbon’s famous footnotes and characterizations of nations and people as we move through the text.

Gibbon is anything but neutral, and not shy about stating his opinions; traits that were to get him into trouble again and again.

I’m beginning to like Gibbon more and more – maybe it’s the beginning of the Stockholm Syndrome, but after spending some time with him, and now being part-ways (half) through David Womersley’s introduction (as well as doing these first 10 pages) I’m attracted to his loner/outcast vibe. What astounded most readers at first (and by the way is the thesis for David’s entire Introduction to the Decline and Fall) is “the paradox of an invisible author who nevertheless reflected to an age its intellectual culture” (p. xiv). They were astonished that a nobody could write so well! What a small society the top London families must have been – like the 400 in New York City. He was a scrappy fighter, firing heavy volumes of history like cannonballs at the walls of the self-satisfied establishment, and it brought him fame and honor.  I think it surprised even him.

He did what he did out of love – love of History for itself – and we have that passion in common, he and I.

anyway – better get off to bed – and the next 10 pages – also have to figure out how to blog correctly and set up this site -
blogging is work!

As I mentioned earlier,  Siamesecat and I were up to some monkey business. We’d booked a couple nights’ stay in what was touted as a gibbon sanctuary. To cut the suspense, we didn’t see a single monkey, gibbon or not, in our three days and two nights in the forest. It was probably because we made so much noise tramping along the paths that we hardly even saw birds, let alone simians.

Anyhow, it was lovely being right in the thick of nature. After being dropped off from the van that took us to Ban Toup from Huay Xai, it was a good two-hour walk from the little dot of a village to where we spied the first sign to our accommodation for the night.

I’d never stayed in a tree house before and this excited me to no end. Seeing the first one looming ahead in the distance filled me with awe. It amazed me to think of how the first plank had to be hauled up to the top and painstakingly assembled, of course by hand, plank by plank and nail by nail.

As we approached one by one, we were amazed by how well-made the tree house was, and how much space there was inside.

The view from the top was lovely. This particular tree house had a stream running below it. It was great just leaning against the railing and doing nothing except enjoy the scenery.

There was plenty of space for the six of us. The tree house turned into a bit of a tent city at night as each pair of mattresses had a thick mosquito net strung over it. We were definitely glad to put up the nets so that we could escape from the incredibly lot of insects at night. It was the jungle after all. In fact the only entertainment at night ,given that there was no electricity, was chatting in the candlelight. That until Discovery Channel came on, live mind you, as someone spied a large spider champing in its prey in one of the webbed alcoves.

Meals were lovely. It was mainly plainly cooked vegetables with rice, but they were always skilfully cooked with a deft hand that I couldn’t help marvel that none of us particularly missed meat nor did anyone complain that the food was monotonous. There was plenty of fruit and occasionally one of our guides would swing by and ceremoniously cut up a pineapple or mango for us to devour.

Smoking was not allowed in case of forest fires and drinking was only possible if we’d paid our guides an exorbitant sum to go out to Ban Toup for a warm beer. It was worth the hassle at all, so all the exercise in the day, healthy food and early nights going to bed soon after the sun went down, coupled with the fresh, fresh air made it feel like we were on a health camp. It was lovely.

We didn’t have electricity at the tree house but we certainly did have running water. It was a bit of a pleasant shock to come into a tree house and see the sink and tap and use it to wash my hands. They’d rigged up a series of pipes and pumps to get filtered water running to each tree house. It was fantastic. There was a toilet and shower in the tree house too. Toilet paper had to be disposed of separately because it took ages to break down and having squares of toilet paper litter the ground below wouldn’t do at all in an eco-sanctuary. It was lovely taking a shower in the open concept bathroom, though standing on the slats and seeing how far one could fall was a tad frightening. However,  looking out at the valley from this height really took singing in the shower to a new level.

One thing you may wonder is: if we were so high up in the tree, how did we get there? Well, we certainly didn’t climb up, that’s for sure. Believe me, nobody in their right mind would walk under a tree house with this kind of toilet system. It wasn’t quite a boot camp. Guess, I’ll tell you in my next post.

(Yes, this post is written just for the title. More details would be received gratefully.)

Over a period of 17 years from 1770 to 1787, Edward Gibbon wrote The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It was, among other things, a mammoth history (6 volumes, 71 chapters) of the last days of Rome, which for Gibbon apparently meant several centuries. (The book covers over thirteen centuries of history; here’s an outline.)

The work received instant praise. Adam Smith’s letter to Gibbon is typical:

“I cannot express to you the pleasure it gives me to find that by the universal consent of every man of taste and learning whom I either know or correspond with, it sets you at the very head of the whole literary tribe at present existing in Europe.”

The Decline and Fall became the model for all historians that followed — including its pessimism (history as “little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind”), its overarching narrative, and its indictment of religion.

It became a literary monument of the 18th century, and one of the works that every educated man was expected to have read, a part of every bookshelf. Churchill (“I devoured Gibbon. [...] I rode triumphantly through it from end to end and enjoyed it all”), Carlyle (“how gorgeously does it swing across the gloomy and tumultuous chasm of these barbarous centuries”), Virginia Woolf (“not merely a master of the pageant and the story; he is also the critic and the historian of the mind [...] We seem as we read him raised above the tumult and the chaos into a clear and rational air”)… everyone read The Decline and Fall and spoke of it in the highest terms. (Gandhi read it in jail, and considered it an inferior version of the Mahabharata.) It was read by doctors, politicians, lawyers, novelists, even Sanskrit professors.

But then times began to change. Education stopped being the reading of “classics“, and became the learning of “subjects”. Today, no one I know has read The Decline And Fall, nor considers it worth the time.

Recently I spoke with a resident of New York City who took much pleasure in declaring it to be “The New Rome.”

It appears to be a fashion to compare one’s civilization to the Roman empire, usually with a minimum of factual basis. But, thinking back on Edward Gibbon’s monumental Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, it occurs to me that there is more to that comparison than meets the eye. Much of what Gibbon describes during the golden period of Roman Expansion has a mirror today in American expansion. Many of the tendencies and mistakes Gibbon identifies can be observed in American culture today.

The Extent of the Roman Empire: CE 114 - ~260

Gibbon’s History is a massive, sprawling monolith which I have no right to condense. His narrative threads entwine with the complexity of a mangrove swamp to form a layered, nuanced argument. It defies quick analysis. But dominant themes emerge, and if pressed, one could offer a short list of  patterns that hastened the demise of Rome. I think it is no coincidence that Gibbon wrote his History during the American revolution and subsequent experiment with the Articles of Confederacy. From his centuries of absorbed wisdom, he may have served as a warning to all future American seekers of Empire. His warnings, unfortunately, have fallen on deaf ears, to the extent that most people I know have not even heard the name Gibbon.

His work must be read in full, for this shall be a vast simplification. But for interested Americans, the causes Gibbon ascribes to Rome’s decline that have direct analogues in current US condition are as follows.

Apathy among the Population

Gibbon describes this briefly as “loss of Civic Virtue”, but it is a common theme throughout his narrative. At first, in the days of Caesar and Augustus (BC 30 – CE 14), the public had its appetite whet for empire and cared little for their ancient liberty. Later, when problems emerged on the borders (~CE 250), much of the public, accustomed for two centuries to a servile senate, an expanding empire, an easy life, was unwilling to join the legion without the promise of plunder and riches. Finally, when Rome itself saw siege, too few of its defenders were actually Romans.

Likewise with the Senate. An assembly that once spoke the law of Rome found itself reduced within the span of 50 years to having a horse (appointed by Emperor Nero) join its ranks. Its swift and sudden loss of power could not have occurred without the tacit consent of the population – and once revoked, such powers were increasingly difficult to reinstate. By 193 AD, Senate seats were literally auctioned to the highest bidder. The public had forgotten there was any other way.

Such behavior finds its American mirror in the profound indifference expressed by the everyday person over such issues as the Iraq War, the control of finance over government policy, or the dizzying cost of running for office. Likewise with Rome, our Senate seats are for sale: either literally, in the case of the Blajojevich scandal, or figuratively, in the form of a multi-million dollar cost of campaign. As with the average Roman, these issues do not place highly on our American list of concerns. Regarding the military, Barack Obama recently remarked to a group of veterans that though our country can boast a population of 300 million, less than one percent of them wear the uniform. Just as the Roman emperors before them, our leaders have had to look to other means to support their empire.

Reliance on mercenaries and other auxiliary forces

With fewer and fewer Romans reporting for service, the Emperors had to resort increasingly to mercenaries, usually drawn from the Germanic tribes. According to Gibbon the use of auxiliaries dates before the Empire, but they formed vast minority. As its borders expanded, first to Germany via Caesar and Augustus (CE 14) and later to Persia and Iraq via Trajan (CE 98-117), the empire found the need to draw from the border civilizations for defense. Needless to say their allegiances were of a dubious sort. They fought fiercely enough when they pay was good, but they were willing to turn on their benefactors as soon as the money stopped. In practice, they did this several times throughout the third and fourth centuries, until finally, in 410, assisting in the Sack of Rome.

Now compare to today’s “military contractors” such as Blackwater (which has been heavily documented), and others (who still operate largely in the shadows). These corporations are nothing more than modern mercenary outfits, whom we currently pay not only to subdue Iraq and Afghanistan, but to prosecute our “War on Drugs”, maintain control in Latin and South America, and carry out our secret assassination programs. Mercenaries have become instrumental to our foreign policy.

Expanding and indefensible borders

The US Empire c. 2003

One problem with the empire model is that the returns tend to diminish with increased expansion, but penalties for the failure to expand can become quite severe. Thus Rome, once committed to imperial possessions, had no choice but to constantly add to its collection and to defend its hard-won conquests at any cost. Their economic model based itself on plundering the provinces of their resources; as population and urban consumption grew, borders necessarily had to expand. Soon their borders became so wide as to be impossible to defend all at once. The legions would suppress a Gallic rebellion only to leave the East undefended. It was a classic case of “imperial overreach”.

The similarities to America’s method of expansion; first over the North American continent, then over Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, are readily apparent. Frequently the US ran into trouble (namely, in Vietnam and Iraq), but expansion has continued unabated nearly since the country’s inception. It is not hard to see the drain on resources and energy adventures such as Iraq and Afghanistan pose to the American people. Worse still, these possessions, once acquired, must be kept at any cost. Hence, President Obama’s escalation of the Afghan war, and the constant stream of military aid we supply to nations and dictatorships across the globe.

Debasement of Currency

Debasement (cutting silver coins with less expensive metal – usually iron) was first practiced under Nero (CE 98) and saw wide use under Commodus (CE 180-193). Commodus, portrayed in the 2000 film Gladiator, really did fight in the Roman Coliseum – and he charged the state 1,000,000 silver pieces for each appearance. There did not exist enough silver to furnish this “new and most ignominious tax” (to use Gibbon’s phrase), so the treasury found themselves compelled to debase the Roman currency further. The Roman economy collapsed into hyperinflation only 50 years later; and while subsequent policy alleviated the situation, confidence in the Roman treasury did not quickly return.

Currency debasement finds its American analogue in “quantitative easing” – the mass infusion of printed cash seen recently in response to the financial crisis. Note that much of this conjured money has gone into the pockets of a few powerful banks to be distributed as “bonuses” to their employees: just as much of the inflated Roman currency found its way to the Emperor’s private purse (to be distributed amongst the legions). The trend has its roots well before our current crisis: indeed since 1971, the year Nixon took the US dollar off of the Gold Standard, Dollar debasement has ensued with ever-more vigor. We have the power now, as Rome once did, to force our currency upon conquered nations. But as Rome learned in the Third Century Crisis, this power is easily lost.

All of this is not to say that the US is in danger of imminent collapse, or even that a collapse must occur. All prophecies are wrong, and predicting the future based upon the past is a dubious endeavor. Gibbon also ascribes several causes for Rome’s decline either which I do not have the space to discuss, or which do not bear direct relevance to the current US situation. The above is, at best, a crude comparison of the US and the ancient society of Rome.

Still, however, I find some of the similarities rather disquieting.

We had a few interesting visitors yesterday, as we sometimes do.

The folks from Gibbon Slacklines stopped by to see if they could set up a line in the library. Turns out they couldn’t do it without crushing the sheetrock around the poles, but they DID seem to get pretty excited about the new library books we just got in, including the Bob D’Antonio’s Boulder Canyon Rock Climbs.

They’ll be at the Mountaineering Museum for 3rd Thirsty Thursday, so stop by and say hi!

Joe Brown, of the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, was here to shoot a little promotional film for the library.  He and his friend Pete caught all the exciting library action.  Adam McFarren and museum operations manager Sarah Wood set up the all-important reading belay station, while Trail and Timberline editor Chris Case and The North Face athlete Cedar Wright made it to the book check out.  Thanks also to Anya Byers, Stacy Wolfe, Dave Maren and Eli Stein for their incredible ability to act like library patrons.  Stardom is assured.

I’ve always been fascinated by the gibbon’s mode of locomotion. It swings from branch to branch using mainly its ridiculously long arms. It is called brachiation. Here’s a short clip I recorded today of a male black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) brachiating:

His voice is great as well.
(Szeged Zoo)

MEDITATIONS ON DISORDER and FACT:

Persistent and determined belief in fiction over fact is a clear sign of an emotional disorder. – See also: religion, 7/17/05

Poseidon: “Without gods, man is nothing.”  Odysseus: “I was only one man in the world – nothing more and nothing less.”

GIBBONISMS: Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Of interest: The Gregorian chants of the Christian church preserve the vocal and instrumental music of the theater in an attempt to imitate the melody of the Roman school, which was meant to soothe the distress, confirm the faith, mitigate the fierceness, and dispel the dark enthusiasm of the vulgar. – Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1507.

“It is not surprising that superstition should act most powerfully on the fears of her votaries, since the human fancy can paint with more energy the misery than the bliss of a future life.” – Ibid, Gibbon, 1745.

“Among the Arabian philosophers, Averroes has been accused of despising the religion of the Jews, the Christians, and the Mahometans.  Each of these sects would agree that in two instances out of three his contempt was reasonable.” – Ibid, note: 1879.

“…many a sober Christian would rather admit that a wafer is God, than that God is a cruel and capricious tyrant.” – Ibid, 1936.

“…such is the progress of credulity that miracles, most doubtful on the spot and at the moment, will be received with implicit faith at a convenient distance of time and space.” – Ibid, 2059.

“…the favor of the people is less permanent than the resentment of the priest…” – Ibid, 2370.

“Ambition is a weed of quick and early vegetation in the vineyard of Christ.” – Ibid, 2382.

“The calculation of their number [pilgrims to Rome] could not be easy or accurate; and they probably have been magnified by a dexterous clergy, well apprised of the contagion of example…” – Ibid, 2387.

“The dominion of priests is most odious to a liberal spirit.” – Ibid, 2421.

“…all that is human must retrograde if it do not advance…” – Ibid, 2428.

OTHER PEOPLE SAY:

A guru will tell you just enough, but not everything, to lead you on.  A bad guru wants you to suppress your doubts and serve him, or you will be set aside, dropped from favor, lose the “love.”  A good guru tells you to serve a cause, not him, or yourself, and never demands belief.

“In the case of gods, death is only a matter of prejudice.” Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra.

“The history of Christianity is rife with violence resulting from an organized central authority wishing to force its minions to adhere to a rigid doctrine of belief…Even more ironic is the fact that the Church’s attacks on fellow believers have been the worst events in the history of religious persecution.” – Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar, Steven Sora, 145-6.

“It is evident that use of manipulative methods and blackmail can be a very effective means of controlling members.  In certain organizations and movements secrecy and control are very important.” – ibid, Sora, 226.

In order to control the mind, one must control the body.  That is the primary reason religions proscribe sex and cleanliness. – 1/27/06

INTERESTING STRAY FACTS:

St. Morris was the African Christian who inspired the code of chivalry: Serve the king, but answer only to god.

Quid pro quo – one for another, tit for tat.

One light year is six trillion miles!

Humans are by biology and temperament, the dancing ape.  Our closest relatives, Chimpanzees, can’t dance.  Anyone or anything that stops, or tries to control the dance is anti-human. – 1/27/06.

SO, I THINK, IT’S FUNNY:

She looks like an old couch somebody threw out of a trailer. – 7/12/05.

“I’m really intrigued about what I’ve found out about this woman’s skull!” – bright cheerful English archeologist, History Channel, Meet the Ancestors, “The Tomb that Time Forgot.”  “Time” forgot no less.

Go ahead, make my dinner. – 7/7/05.

“How dumb can you be and still be useful?” – scientific question applied to robotics.

“If enough people say, ‘My god, stop talking,’ you become a good listener.” – Gilbert Gottfried, Becker.

“These days, doctors can keep people alive way past their usefulness.” – Hugh Neutron, Jimmy Neutron.

“Church Potluck: What a Friend We Have in Cheese Puffs!” – church sign, Simpsons.

“No one gives a [crap] about labor if they can get a delicious sandwich.” – Squidward, Sponge Bob.

“Barbarians don’t have an education, so they go for the nearest thrill.” – History Channel professor.

END ON THE UPBEAT:

“One cuts it and the other gets first choice.” – How brothers should share pie, Baxter Black, PBS.

PRETTY IMPORTANT NEWS:

Published on Monday, July 27, 2009 by The Guardian/UK

World Will Warm Faster Than Predicted in Next Five Years, Study Warns.  New estimate based on the forthcoming upturn in solar activity and El Nino southern oscillation cycles is expected to silence global warming skeptics, by Duncan Clark.

The world faces a new period of record-breaking temperatures as the sun’s activity increases, leading the planet to heat up significantly faster than scientists had predicted over the next five years, according to a new study.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/07/27-9

 Published on Monday, July 27, 2009 by The Telegraph/UK

Climate Change to Force 75 Million Pacific Islanders From Their Homes.  More than 75 million people living on Pacific islands will have to relocate by 2050 because of the effects of climate change, Oxfam has warned, by Bonnie Malkin in Sydney.

A report by the charity said Pacific Islanders were already feeling the effects of global warming, including food and water shortages, rising cases of malaria and more frequent flooding and storms. Some had already been forced from their homes and the number of displaced people was rising, it warned.

Published on Monday, July 27, 2009 by CommonDreams.org

Profiling CEOs and Their Sociopathic Paychecks, by Thomm Hartmann.  The Wall Street Journal reported last week that “Executives” and other highly compensated employees received nearly $2.1 trillion of the $6.4 trillion in total US pay in 2007, the latest figures available.”

One of the questions often asked when the subject of CEO pay comes up is, “What could a person such as William McGuire or Lee Raymond (the former CEOs of UnitedHealth and ExxonMobil, respectively) possibly do to justify a $1.7 billion paycheck or a $400 million retirement bonus?”

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/07/27

Troisième et dernier zoo de notre liste établie début mai, celui de la Boissière du Doré au sud de Nantes, à la limite des deux départements 44 et 49.
Comme notre amie Deu habite à une quinzaine de minutes du parc, ce fut l’occasion de déjeuner chez elle et de visiter le zoo à 5
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La Boissière, j’en avais un souvenir de petite fille, vieux de 20 ans. Un souvenir d’un zoo pas super, avec des espaces assez petits pour les animaux, …
Sauf que deux décennies ont passé et qu’il est maintenant magnifique. Fred le place en 1ere position dans les trois parcs que nous avons visité ce mois ci
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Premier carnivore que nous croisons, un félin que l’on voit peu en parcs : le serval.
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Un bébé tamarin, âgé de trois semaines ( il est né le 1er mai ). Autant c’est mignon petit que c’est moche adulte ^^
[ Désolée pour la qualité de la photo, mais les singes étaient derrière une vitre ].
Comme je disais à Deu  ” Et voici les parisiens en balade, qui n’ont jamais vu de lapins ailleurs que dans une cage et qui les mitraillent “
Blague à part, en voici un joli parc qu’on aimerait bien reproduire à la maison
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Bon, là, on a pas assuré … Je n’ai aucune idée de l’espèce de cette Turtle … Toujours est-il  qu’elle était bien mastoc. Mais seule, ses compagnons avaient déménagé vers un autre zoo …
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Petit panda roux qui nous a bien fait tourner autour de son enclos pour qu’on réussisse à le prendre en photo
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Tiens, des oreilles ! Qui donc se cache derrière la palissade ?
Et nooooon, c’est pas une loutre comme l’a annoncé une dame a son mari …
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Alors là, j’ai été bluffé … J’avais souvenir d’un parc à orang-outangs tout moche, tout petit, tout béton, tout pourri … Et voilà une magnifique ile où vivent orang-outangs, gibbons blancs et un couple de loutres.
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Par chance, on a pu assister au nourrissage des loups d’Alaska ( dans la série, je sors jamais de chez moi ” boh, z’ont mis des chiens”, dixit un visiteur … )
La meute se compose de 7 individus, la femelle dominante étant probablement pleine.
Au niveau des noms ( la nana du nourrissage nous les a cité ), le blanc s’appelle Alpha et le plus foncé Dark-quelque-chose. Il y a aussi Cheyenne, Wyoming, Ottawa et les deux autres, oubliés !
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Là, ça commence à s’impatienter, la soigneuse doit trop parler à leur gout
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Le pauvre petitou, qui fouille la rivière à la recherche de son poulet (entier ) tombé dedans … Sauf qu’il a pas remarqué que Dark-quelque-chose avait plongé tête la première pour le récupérer …
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Premier des trois enclos à singes que l’on peut visiter. Sauf que les magots, ça a rassuré ni Fred, ni Deu donc juste le temps de prendre 2-3 photos ( en restant à proximité de la porte ) et on est ressortis
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Cette partie est une nouveauté. Deu ( qui vient souvent ) nous disait qu’il y a quelques semaines ce n’était pas encore terminé.
Il s’agit d’une sorte de promenade sur pilotis, qui fait tout le tour de l’enclos à guépards ( que des femelles, ils sont à leur chercher des p’tits copains pour galipettes )
Là aussi, par chance, on a pu assister au nourrissage ( pour ceux qui sont intéressés, ça a lieu vers 16.00/16.30 )
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Second enclos à singes : les maki. Catta, roux et … j’ai oublié la troisième espèce … Vari ? ( à moins que Vari ne soit le roux, j’ai un doute soudainement … ).
Et pour le fun, Fred a tenté une petite vidéo ( avec son nouveau mobile ) des Jumping Lémuriens ^^

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La Savane Africaine.
De nouveau une promenade couverte où les girafes viennent réclamer quelques pop corn. Vivent avec elles, des boeufs Watuzzi, des autruches et antilopes.
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Hum … Madame Ours ne s’étant pas assise au meilleur endroit pour etre photographiée, désolée donc pour les popos ^^.
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Mr Lion, surement exténué par les jeux de sa jeune progéniture.
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Alors eux, je les avais jamais vu ! Il s’agit de langurs ( un petit coté Mireille Matthieu, vous trouvez pas ? ^^ )
C’est un petit singe de moins d’un mètre, vivant en Asie
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L’enclos des chiens de prairie. Assez sympa d’ailleurs car les enfants peuvent voir les petits rongeurs sous un autre angle.
Je ne saurais pas trop comment l’expliquer, ca fait comme des capsules vitrées qui sortent de terre. La tete des enfants se retrouvent donc au niveau du sol de l’enclos ( il y a le meme principe dans certains aquariums, la tete des enfants se retrouvent “dans l’eau” )
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La traditionnelle mini-ferme avec les chevres. Sauf que bon, les rembardes pour pas que les enfants coursent les biquettes, c’est un peu moyen … En plus, ça force tous les visiteurs à emprunter le meme chemin et avec des poussettes, c’est la galère.
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Mamounette a beau etre en Tunisie, y’a pas qu’elle qui voit des dromadaires !
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Et pour finir, un clin d’oeil à ma Charminette avec une grande famille de chonchons

This morning on my way to work I saw a monkey out the window of the company shuttle. It was climbing along a railing on the hillside over the highway. My first thought: “A gibbon!” A few minutes later I realized odds are it was not the primate I vowed never to forget after not remembering the first time what this breed was called the first time I watched the monkeys video when I was four. I recalled nothing about the species but its name and its yellow-brown coat and long arms. Actually, now I think I might be mixing real gibbons up with the monkey I forgot, which might have been the one with a large fleshy nose. Regardless, I just read on Wikipedia that gibbons (which according to Google Images look like the monkey I saw) are found in southern China, so I will consider this unvoiced childhood dream fulfilled.

The best adventure in Chiangmai

I enjoy getting lost. Taking a map, my camera, some water, and follow some deserted mountain road, looking down on valleys, looking over mountain ranges. This is how I found the beautiful little village of Baan Namkhong just a few weeks ago at the end of a winding road, in an area where my maps show absolutely nothing. They couldn’t be more wrong. At the altitude of 1050 metres, this little community is surrounded by ancient lush jungle, huge timeless rubber trees, amazing green scenery, and deep silence and serenity.

That is, until an adrenalin-fuelled scream breaks the silence.

This is the home of Jungle Flight, Chiang Mai’s ultimate jungle adventure: sliding from giant tree to giant tree on cables for over two kilometres, sometimes as high as 40 metres above ground. It is difficult to let go, to jump into thin air at first, but then, the flow carries you away quickly. If you are longing for some thrill, but bungee jumping is a bit steep for you, I think Jungle Flight is just what you have been looking for. However, you will find yourself at the end of a rope all the same, and I tell you that tree is coming real fast as well!

tree up close!

Take a deep breath. Just let it happen to you. Once the first adrenaline rush is over, and those shaking legs support you firmly again, you will find yourself looking at the jungle from a completely different angle, surrounded by treetops, wild orchids – and the word “depth” gets a whole new meaning. There is something timeless and ancient about Jungle Flight, which in a way reminds me of snorkelling.

silent giants

Our guides Pang and Yud are great with people, they know how to make people relaxed, how and when to tease or encourage. We all received lots of personal attention. The guides showed us coffee beans, flowers, a bees’ nest, gave us plenty of time to stop and admire the view, there was time for joking and fun.

When I asked what happens if someone doesn’t have enough momentum and stops in the middle of the cable, they showed me – they left me hanging there in the air, like a giant bird stuck in the canopy. That was the most carefree moment of my past couple of months, in the middle of nowhere. It is amazing too how quickly strangers bond on top of a tree.

It is a crazy idea to slide between trees when you first look at it, but at second glance, it looks perfectly safe. The longest and highest ziplines have two cables running parallel, and you get secured to both during your flight. The three abseil sections also have double safety lines. You are always attached to a wire while standing on any of the 22 platforms or walking the two wobbly skybridges. The guides hook you to the right places all the time, you cannot make a mistake. All equipment was imported, complies with international safety standards, and so does the safety training received by all the guides.

down here?! – no way!

At the very end, to descend from the last platform, you have no choice but to leap into the abyss – an eight-storey gap in the middle of a platform. You can ask to be lowered slowly or to have it with more of a free-fall twist. All I can say about this bit is that screaming actually does help.

There is a little bit of steep jungle walk back to the village, where a tasty lunch awaits the returning members of the expedition. You may also buy locally made herbal tea, honey, herbal pillows, or a Jungle Flight t-shirt. The restaurant overlooks the jungle and more giant trees, where you may wind down and share your favourite moments.

my favourite trees

The tour price is 2,200 baht for the entire 7-hour adventure, and includes round trip transfer, water, insurance, and a short stop at the local hot springs on the way back. You need to pay extra for lunch. If you choose an early pick-up time (6 to 6:30 a.m.) or a late afternoon adventure (leaving at 1-1:30 p.m.), the discounted price is 1,980 baht. You need to be taller than 120 centimetres and weigh less than 150 kilos to sign up.

that’s me at the end of my rope

Seven additional platforms will be completed by the end of April, including the longest zipwire in Thailand – 260 metres. There are plans for a daily ticket with unlimited number of rides. Personally, I can hardly wait for that one!

the longest cable at the moment – 130 metres

I think it is great value for money. First, it may sound too much for a daytrip, but just compare it to what the normal price of a bungee jump is. Jungle Flight takes three hours, you get to ride the longest zipline in Thailand, marvel at the jungle up close and from a bird’s eye view, and actually feel like a bird. It is as close as you can get to flying, something we all dream about. It is an adventure of a lifetime. The only problem is, you may get addicted!

jungle staircase

Your money also helps the local community. This little Khamu hilltribe village of 30 families is too high in the mountains for rice farming, so, the coffee plantations provide the main income. Jungle Flight brings in much needed income and jobs to the village while respecting the community. Part of the profits go towards funding a school van and school lunches to all children in the village, as well as towards maintaining the narrow winding road and providing clean water. Socially responsible businesses like Jungle Flight benefit local people, give them alternatives to cutting down the precious jungle, and are worthy of your support.

Baan Namkhong village

Also, a homestay scheme will be up and running in the near future, which should attract people looking for peace and quiet away from the city, overlooking the mountain ranges. The climate is noticeably more pleasant at this altitude, the trees are still green, an ideal place to escape to in the upcoming hot season.

The price includes transfer but if you would like to “get lost” on your own, head out of Chiang Mai on the Chiang Rai highway for 27 kilometres. At the sign to the Sankamphaeng hot springs, turn right and go a further 4 kilometres. Then follow the Jungle Flight signs for another 13 kilometres up the hills. It takes one hour to get there. A 105 cc motorcycle can just about make it, but that is not something I would like to try again.

I would like to thank the owner of Jungle Flight, Mr Songsai Mangklad (Sonny) for inviting me for a site inspection. Sonny gave me the grand tour personally and took care of me all along the way.

Bettie

www.thai-blogs.com, supported by Jungle Flight

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