Marine Conservation in Thailand

Sunday, 03-Jul-2016

...to Bangkok (arriving at 08:00), and finally (leaving at 09:25) for my last leg to Krabi International Airport (arriving at 10:50).

Upon being met at Krabi by a member of staff, we (three new volunteers; Bi-Bi from Germany, Charlotte from Bristol, and myself) arrived, very tired from our journeys, and in the heat and humidity, at what was to be our new home for the next four weeks; the Utopia Residence at Ao Nam Mao.

Note: What was known as the Utopia Residence, is (at the time of writing) now known as the Taboo Bar Risto Music Angel Bay Resort. Strangely enough, it has another web address/URL, namely: the Taboo Bar and Backpackers Resort; both having different opening times!

After being shown to our respective huts, the three of us assembled in the communal area (Photo TH-001 and Photo TH-002) for our introduction/ induction session.

Photo TH-001

Photo TH-002

As I had already as an Open Water diver, I was given a large PADI manual to read, whereas the two girls were introduced to the world of SCUBA diving. I started reading it during the afternoon, but due of my fatigue, the information wasn't registering.

Although the main activity was marine conservation (usually three days per week: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday), other activities were to include beach cleaning, mangrove reforestation and visiting local schools, teaching the children how to protect the environment.

Weekends were rest periods, whereby we could do what we wanted; with reason!

Monday, 04-Jul-2016

After sleeping for 12 hours, my first full day (this time) in Thailand was an induction day, during which we (the new volunteers) were given information about the area, and what was expected of us during our stay. Lunch was a very nice paid-for meal at the Jungle Kitchen restaurant in Ao Nang. I had Pad Thai, washed down with a Mango Smoothie - yummy!

A draft timetable of events was 'community work' on Mondays and Fridays, diving (weather permitting) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and free time at the weekends.

Ao Nang is a resort town in southern Thailand's Krabi Province. It is known for its long Andaman coast beachfront and access to dive sites off the nearby (local) islands in its bay. It's also a centre for long-tail boat tours to the beaches of limestone islands, such as Ko Hong, Ko Poda and Ko Gai (Chicken Island). Other boats make trips to Railay Beach, a well-known destination for rock climbers.

After lunch, while walking about, we noticed that the town was having a new mosque built; see Photo TH-003. When we finally arrived back at Utopia Residence, we were kitted-out with our diving equipment; all very exciting!

Photo TH-003

Tuesday, 05-Jul-2016

All volunteers had to be ready by 07:00, as we were driven to the port in Ao Nang, from where we were taken out to the dive boat (PDC1 (Poseidon Dive Center 1?)) by long-tailed boats. Unfortunately, my equipment bag had not been loaded onto the boat at the port. About an hour later, it arrived, together with the remainder of the crew, and a few volunteer stragglers. Once everyone was onboard PDC1, we set off for Koh Phi Phi; 2 hours south of Ao Nang.

As we approached Koh Phi Phi, the sea was littered with plastic bottles, expanded polystyrene, and anything else that could float. It looked disgusting and shocking! This was my first experience of what is being done to this planet - and made quite an effect onme! This was just a small part of the world's oceans! Absolutely horrific!

At the dive site, and with our diving equipment (air supply and BCD) checked and securely attached, we jumped into the water. I immediately lost my confidence; I couldn't control my breathing - it was fast and shallow. I simply just panicked, as this was the first time I had been in the sea, for SCUBA diving, for many years; 1993 to be exact! Ryan (my then divemaster) helped and managed to calm me down. [Many thanks Ryan]. I continued the dive, with Ryan as my buddie, going down to about 7 metres. There was a lot of sediment on the sea floor and the visibility wasn't the best. In these circumstances, diving isn't fun! I was glad to get back on the boat; and fill my lungs with fresh air!

After lunch, I tried the dive again, believing that I had totally calmed down and recovered from the morning's problem, but no, I hadn't. I freaked out again after entering the water and had to return to the dive boat, where I spent the rest of the afternoon session!

From a diving point-of-view, my first dive day was a complete disaster; my mo-jo was a no-jo!

Wednesday, 06-Jul-2016

Yesterday afternoon, back on PDC1, it was decided (and I had thought about suggesting it) that I join Bi-Bi and Charlotte to-day, in the swimming pool (to regain my confidence). However, Wilko said that he would be onboard. So after lugging my equipment bag to Utopia Residence yesterday, it accompanied me back to PDC1 this morning!

I buddied with Wilko, while Bi-Bi and Charlotte buddied each other. To-day's diving was much better!; I found my mo-jo!

Thursday, 07-Jul-2016

After leaving Krabi Port (Photo TH-004 and Photo TH-005), it was another bad diving day for me (after only spending about 10 minutes in the water); only because the visibility in the water was very bad! If my dive buddy went more than 1-2 metres away, he/she would have disappeared; and that made me nervous! I did not feel confident enough swimming in 'soup', so it was another day spent onboard PDC1.

Photo TH-004

Photo TH-005

Friday, 08-Jul-2016

To-day, we visited a local school (Ban Thap Phon School), where we attempted to teach the young children the importance of the sea (and the plants and creatures in it). The mangrove forests are invaluable, as they are a natural and safe place for juvenile fish (including sharks) to grow, plus they can exist in both fresh water and sea water!

We also explained how the seas are becoming polluted, particularly with very small pieces of plastic (microbeads/microplastic), and how they are entering the food chain, and importantly, eventually into us (Photo TH-012 and Photo TH-014).

In Photo TH-014, we explained to the children how plastics (for example, microplastics and plastic beads) can enter the food chain; initially eaten by small fish, which, in turn, are eaten by bigger fish, which are eventually caught for our consumption.

Photo TH-006	Photo TH-007	Photo TH-008	Photo TH-009

Photo TH-010	Photo TH-011	Photo TH-012	Photo TH-013

Photo TH-014	Photo TH-015	Photo TH-016	Photo TH-017

Saturday, 09-Jul-2016

Eight of us decided to visited Tiger Cave (วัดถ้ําเสือ, Wat Tham Suea) and the temple above it. Prior to our departure, I made a very short video clip of the Utopia Residence.

Utopia Residence

Video TH-001
[0 minutes, 57 seconds]

Minutes later, the eight of us left in that taxi, bound for Tiger Cave. There are 1,237 steps up to the Hilltop Pagoda on the summit; be aware of the monkeys!

The record time to go up to the summit is about 13 minutes! I was happy if I got half way, but through shear determination, I made it to the top in just under an hour! And Im pleased I did. Although I was totally exhausted by the time I reached the top, the sense of achievement was well worth the effort! So too was seeing the views of the surrounding countryside, as can be seen in the following seven photos.

Photo TH-018	Photo TH-019	Photo TH-020	Photo TH-021

Photo TH-022

Photo TH-023

Photo TH-024

As can be seen in Video TH-002, the vertical rise (height) of some steps varie, with most of them being higher than normal domestic stair risers. Because of the increased height, more physical energy was needed! I found that on the way up, my thigh muscles were mainly affected, whereas on the way down, my calf muscles were mainly affected. Needless to say, my leg muscles were aching for a few days afterwards!

It is worth mentioning that not all of the steps are of the same vertical height, so in addition to exhaustion setting in, some of the deeper steps required more effort to get up them!

We finished the afternoon by visiting the Krabi Hot Springs (Photo TH-024).

Rather than have one long boring video record of the visit to Tiger Cave, I have split the video recording into six smaller, more manageable clips.

Tiger Cave The Arrival Video TH-002 [3 minutes, 01 second]	Tiger Cave The Ascent Video TH-003 [3 minutes, 11 seconds]	Tiger Cave East View at the Summit Video TH-004 [1 minute, 15 seconds]

Tiger Cave West View at the Summit Video TH-005 [0 minutes, 57 seconds]	Tiger Cave South-East View at the Summit Video TH-006 [0 minutes, 38 seconds]	Tiger Cave Homeward, along Route 4 Video TH-007 [3 minutes, 04 seconds]