Kung!

After a great night of sleep, Randy, his 3 year-old son, and I launched into a full day. We started by squeezing my stuff into the truck. I say squeezing because the bed of the pickup was already close to full with a 100 liter tank and two large oxygen tanks. We did manage to get my two large trunks, my guitar, and my two backpacks to fit somewhere.

That task completed, we drove to the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) where Randy is studying aquaculture. He spent the morning checking out lab equipment he is going to need for his experiment in Ubon. Levi and I looked at fish in the ponds, caught a frog, drank some chocolate milk, and sweated like there was no tomorrow.

After lunch we began the process of loading truck with the lab equipment, concentrated seawater, and the Kung (the Thai word for a creature that I would describe as a cross between a shrimp and a crayfish). We put the (big, heavy) jugs of concentrated seawater in the bottom of the 100 liter tank. On top of them we placed a large tub. After pumping water into the tub and getting the oxygen tanks aerating the water we began to add our 60 or so Kung to the tub.

One of the Kung flipped itself out of the net during the transfer process and fell between the 100 liter tank wall and the tub. I, trying to be helpful climbed up on the tailgate to have a look. My added weight gave enough slant to the tailgate to send the tub from which we were transferring the Kung splashing to the ground. Fortunately the tub did not utterly capsize. But some Kung were lost in the sloshing of the fall. We recovered those that were on the ground, and some (but not all) of those that had landed in a nearby pond.

The loading done we braced ourselves for the 10 hour trip to Ubon. Our first stop we discovered that vibrations had opened the oxygen valve wide open, nearly depleting one of our two tanks of oxygen. We bought some tape, secured the valve, and continued on our way.

The highlight of the trip was a stop at Chokchai farm. I had an amazing burger there.

We arrived in Ubon a little after midnight. By the time we were finished transferring the Kung to their new home. it was almost 2:30. I spent the night early morning at Randy’s house.


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