Lights, Camera...can I go lie down in the shade?

The film crew arrived in Kuraburi on 1 February and the next few days were a complete spin.

A little bit of background...the crew are filming for a television show for TV5 in Canada. The show is called 'Partir Autrement' which I am told loosely translates "to leave otherwise" The first season is currently showing on Monday nights at 10pm, I think they are up to the 4th episode and have been told it's become quite popular. They have a website if you read French http://partirautrement.ekimondo.com/. Looks like when the episode airs there will be video on the site and at that time I should also get a dvd copy in the mail.

We will be in episode 13, the finale of Series 1, which means it should air in 8-9 weeks time. The show, as the title suggests, is about travelling differently eg. fairtrade travel, community based travel etc. Emily and I played the "tourists" and we were filmed doing a range of activities in 2 villages near Kuraburi, Ban Talae Nok and Tung Nang Dam (my third visit there! It was only supposed to be once but it was nice to go back).

Here are the activities we filmed in the 4 days they had the cameras rolling:

--making soap with the ladies who run the tsunami soap cooperative in BTN. The group was set up after some funding and training was given to the community. The women who work on this project all lost their husbands in the wave and do it for a source of income. There is a website http://www.tsunamicrafts.com/. The soaps smelt gorgeous...the use all natural ingredients like lemongrass, tumeric, avocado and I think palm oil.

--Fishing with nets from the beach. We used a giant net which we walked out into the sea then dragged it back to shore. First time wasn't too successful but the second time we managed to catch a few fish and crab, and a whole lot of lil fish that needed to be rescued to go back to the water. The water was warm and we had beautiful blue skies. I bet the colours will look great on film. Didn't mind being filmed in the water so much as it is a Muslim village we had to wear tees and shorts in the water so lucky no getting my pasty, wobbly bum on camera.

--Nipa palm weaving. I didn't do this activity as it followed straight from coming out from the water and I needed to put on some dry shorts. These weaves are used to roof and decorate the exterior of houses here although demand is dwindling due to most houses now having corrugated roofs. Obviously the lifespan for iron is a lot better than the 2 years the nipa palm weaves last but certainly not as aesthetically pleasing.

--Cashew nut shelling. Around this time of year the ladies in the village are sent cashews in 5kg bags to be peeled from the factory, which then have to be sent back, same weight. So they have to send back shells and all to get the weight right. Very odd. They use a homemade peeler/knife object and it's a delicate art not to break the cashew! The ladies do it at lightening speed and gossip about the day's events, while I struggle with one! A lot of fun, though.

--Sea buffalo herding. I was not present for this one but basically the deal is at the same time each evening the sea buffalo all head down to the beach for a spa. What a sight!

--After dinner on the first day, we watched a fishing net weaving demonstration. It was filmed in a villager's house and a few people were watching but only P'Tui and I were watching whilst being filmed. The lady demoing was doing her thing making the nets and we were admiring in silence when suddenly...the sound guy farted. Do you know how hard it is not to laugh, or even let out a bit of a giggle when a camera is on you? Well, P'Tui and I did it, true professionals. however as soon as the camera crew left we were in stitches. I get my high brow humour from my Mum, by the way.

--The next day in the morning we took a longtail boat out to some mangroves, Ban Talae Nok are really getting into conservation and are planting lots of mangroves. We got our hands dirty and planted some mangroves although some had to be replanted as Emily wasn't listening and didn't realise she had to take off the plastic bag acting as a pot! Very very muddy work. The canal we took to get to the mangroves used to much narrower but since the tsunami they had to widen it in order to take out all the material that washed up. There are still some boats lying out of the mangroves that were destroyed by the wave.

--In the afternoon we attempted to do some batik, another cooperative started up by ladies in the village as the soap was not bringing in enough income for all. It was fun first outling the drawing in wax then filling the rest in with paint. Quite delicate work and I have quite a few splotches on my little canvas to show that it was my first time. Very vivid colours, wish we weren't so rushed from filming, otherwise mine would have been a lot nicer!

--Being a Muslim village, we also got to do cultural dressing in the community centre. Headscarfs are really really warm to wear and all I wanted to do was pull out a bit of fringe to funk up the outfit but then I remember that's not the done thing. Add a cheesecloth shirt, a traditional sarong and voila!

We had filmed so much that the film crew didn't think it was necessary to spend a second night in the first village. I welcomed the fact I could go back "home" to Kuraburi to have a nice, cold (bucket) shower. I was sweaty, stinky, and grumpy from the days filming and sometimes travelling on your own means that when you are around too many strong personalities you just need some bloody time alone!!!

Felt very refreshed the next day as we met to head to Kuraburi Pier, the crew did some filming there while I caught up with P'Noy who was going to take us all the Tung Nang Dam again. Orchid conservation, jungle hike and beach walk for the third time meant nothing new and frustrating time with nails again making orchid pots. Beautiful surrounds though and fantastic hike. That night we spent filming at the mosque where things came to a head when budding photographer Emily took a picture with flash just as the film crew was getting his perfect closing shot. Oh oh. Staying out of that one...

Last day of filming and we are lucky to arrive just at the time when the cashew nuts are ready for picking! P'Noy has an orchard(?) of cashew trees on her land and we picked a whole heap, roasted them on the fire (literally, as the pan we were using broke and all the nuts spilled out, then peeled them from the hard shell and ate them hot. With freshly picked young coconuts to drink. Mmmm mmm Dad would have really enjoyed this activity! Did you know the cashew nut is poisonous before roasting? The outside of the shell has a poison in it that irritates your skin and mouth. Nasty stuff.

Last but not least, we headed to a floating fish farm to feed the fish. Well I fed the fish anyway as Emily the veggie refused to. This involved me putting my hand into a bucket of slimy, smelly small fish and feeding it to the bigger fish. Lots of girly squealing involved and thankful for the journalist who offered antibac handwash straight after to get the smell off. It was here at this location where I was interviewed about my experience and wonder if part of it will get to air.

All in all the filming was fun, educational, frustrating, tiring, HOT! Ultimately I hope rewarding for Andaman Discoveries. Disappointingly, I didn't learn any French. But I now have contacts in the French part of Canada (it's the technical term ;)) so I will be putting it on the list of where to travel next. Before the crew left Jeff, the cameraman and director offered to buy us a round of beer then bloody left without paying for ours...tsk tsk! It was my first beer in 3 weeks too. The next day I got a stomach bug. Coincidence? You decide. Some beer brands rinse their bottles with formaldehyde here...spent a few days recovering as the combination of dehydration and heat wiped me of energy. Think I'm right now though, tally ho! As the sage Jen said, it had to happen sooner or later...