Three Weeks Till Take Off

In exactly three weeks from today, Terra and I will be on a plane bound for Bangkok. The summer here in Texas has been incredibly hot and humid (as expected...) so I would say I'm as prepared as I can be for working outside at the elephant conservation park. I'm really not a morning person, so working from 6am to 5 pm everyday outside should be a bit of an awakening, a shake-up, a swift kick in the rear that my lifestyle could use right now.
Plans have shifted a bit and now Terra will only be accompanying me for 5 weeks. Two weeks in the beginning at the elephant conservation park where we will be staying in bamboo tree huts, then a little over two weeks of traveling before we meet up with my dad in Bangkok on October 13th!! We will explore the beautiful chaos of Bangkok's interior and take day trips by bus (apparently the fastest, most comfortable, and most efficient way of traveling) to Ayuthaya (the former capital of Thailand) in central Thailand, as well as Petchuburi and surrounding towns in the upper gulf where most tourists skip over on their way to Phuket and other touristy southern beach towns. Near Petchuburi there are some ancient caves and some of the largest national protected parks so we can swerve off the westerner's path.
After exploring this area of Thailand, Terra will fly back to San Francisco on the 19th and dad and I will head to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai...I am going to show him the elephant park where we volunteered and then we are going trekking in the hills/jungles and will hopefully get to visit the Padaung villages where the 'Long-Necked' women live. I'm not really sure how I feel about exploring exclusive hill tribes yet. As much as I want to see their rural lifestyles, I know that each westerner with a camera that visits them will change their lives and they will slowly veer from their native way of life. The Paduang villages are a little different though...even though they actually make a living off of selling handicrafts to tourists and by posing for photos, the tribe was losing their ancient culture. Less and less of the young women were wearing the neck coils that 'extend' their necks. They were moving into a more up-to-date lifestyle until they realized they could make money off of continuing their original way of village life. So I suppose this is a good example of how tourism in this hill tribe aided in preserving the culture somewhat, even though it is for tourism. ... I'll decide when I get there and after more research what I think about all of this.
After a few days we are taking a boat down the Mekong River into Laos where we will explore for a few days. I'm hoping to stay in this tree house where the only access is by ziplining into it! The views are supposedly amazing. Plans are still a little unclear but I know we are definitely staying in Luang Prabang where each morning villagers humbly offer rice to monks who amble down the road in the early shadows of sunrise. The monks take the rice for their daily meals, returning the villagers' kind gestures with blessings of good karma. Hopefully I will get some great pictures of this exchange and maybe even receive some good karma too!
After Laos, we're going to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia as well as a few other areas of Cambodia...not exactly sure where yet. Then take a boat across the Gulf of Thailand and island hop. Dad leaves November 3rd and I will move on to a wildlife sanctuary located on temple grounds about an hour away from Petchuburi where I will volunteer for three weeks. You can learn all about what I'll be doing but going to their website: http://www.wfft.org/
Yesterday I watched a documentary titled 'War Photographer' about the war photojournalist James Nechtwey, and was moved deeply by his life's work and passion. Although I do not intend on being a "war" photojournalist, I believe my revolution for wildlife and nature conservation is a war in itself...just as the people Mr. Nechtwey photographs, these animals and land have no way of communicating with the world except through our words and our photos. It is a war against those who don't care and those who are so selfish to believe they are the only beings that inhabit this earth or that have any feelings. Elephants are some of the most incredible animals in the world. They live in families, they love, they mourn when their loved one's die. They feel, they remember. They are losing their natural habitats and losing their importance and respect in daily Thai lives. Photos have the ability to capture a moment in time, to channel emotion and urgency through an image, let others see what you are able to.
Although I'm a creative writing major, I have been moving steadily towards photography as well. I have loved taking photos since I was little and became increasingly amorous towards photography while backpacking through Europe and delving into Egypt. By experimenting a lot with 35 mm, point and shoots, a new digital SLR, and studying others' works, I have decided this was the direction I should definitely move towards. It's what I love doing, it's where my ardor dwells. I want to be a voice for animals great and small. I want them to have a chance at a sustainable future. I am at the beginning of the road and am ready to make a running start.
Both photography and writing are forms of communication that have the capability of allowing the world to feel and taste your experiences, to make statements, to open peoples' eyes to what they could do to help. Photos don't allow people to ignore situations...people can't just say 'That's too terrible, It's better just to not know about it" It forces them to take a look and hopefully progress towards change. This trip to Thailand will be my first to take my Digital SLR and 35 mm on and my first real push towards making a difference through volunteer, writing, photography, travel, and observation. Can't wait!

Some of my favorite James Nachtwey quotes from 'War Photographer':

"In a way, if and individual assumes the risk of placing himself in the middle of a war to communicate to the rest of the world what's happening, he's trying to negotiate for peace. Perhaps that's the reason for those in charge of perpetuating the war do not like to have photographers around."

"The main purpose of my work is to appear in the mass media. It's not so much that I want my pictures to be looked upon as art objects as it is a form of communication. Whatever I did that accomplished something, I'm glad for it. But there's always so much more to do. I've never felt complete; I've never felt satisfied. I wouldn't say I could use the word 'happy' about it because its always involved other people's tragedies and other people's misfortunes. At best, there's a kind of grim satisfaction that perhaps I brought some attention, and focused people's attention on these problems. Perhaps it brought some relief. But its shifting sand that keeps moving."

"It's more difficult to get publications to focus on issues that are more critical, that do not provide people with as escape from reality but attempt to get them deeper into reality. To be concerned about something much greater than themselves. And I think people are concerned. I think quite often, publishers don't give their audience enough credit for that. In fact, at the end of the day, I believe people do want to know when there's some major tragedy going on; when there's some unacceptable situation happening in this world. And they want something done about it. That's what I believe. We must look at it. We're required to look at it. We're requited to do what we can about it. If we don't, who will? "

Check out my Slide Show!

Hello There! I'm Caitlin and I just graduated from the University of Redlands with a Bachelor in English: Creative Writing. I am an aspiring writer and an avid photographer who has traveled to 18 countries during my short twenty-two years of life. I've been sky diving over the Swiss Alps, ridden atop a camel in the Egyptian Sahara Desert, explored a flooded Peruvian palm jungle in a dug out wooden canoe, gone canyoning through Costa Rican waterfalls...and that's just the beginning. Traveling and adventure pump through my veins, so I hope my life passions can clash in beautiful and active unity.
Entering the "real world" for me involves pursuing my dreams of bringing awareness to wildlife and nature conservation issues around the world through writing and photography. I am off to Thailand September 10th with my friend Terra, where upon initially arriving we will volunteer at an elephant conservation park in Chiang Mai. We will travel for two and a half months total (unless I get sucked in and can't come back to the states...) and will hopefully volunteer with another wildlife conservation organization during that time possibly in Laos, Cambodia, and/or Nepal. Traveling and taking the time to become intimate with different countries has allowed me to understand different cultures in a personal manner that would never happen otherwise.
I enjoy traveling alone because it makes you put yourself out there, allows you to let go of inhibitions. However, I am really looking forward to the dynamic duo that is Caitlin and Terra. I'm not afraid of experiencing new and crazy endeavors, meeting new people, or exploring uncharted territories. I hope to provide a voice for animals and nature and promote activism and change through art.