Going for an expedition is sort of like having a summer job, except that you are at an amazing country surrounded by magical wildlife. But just as in a normal job we work hard 6 days a week basically from 8am to 5pm. Every week we get 1 day off when we can explore the culture, go on adventures and relax to start the next week of work fresh and ready to tackle anything that comes along. In this blog post you can read about what were we doing in Thailand, when we weren't interviewing people about shark populations, measuring fish abundance or analyzing coral cover.
On our first week we had so much to do with getting settled in, setting up interviews and arranging diving that we could only really afford to have a half day off. So as a quite obvious choice, we went to the beach. This was the first time since we arrived in Thailand that we could enjoy the cooling waves and some of the beautiful sea life in the shallows. We were just snorkelling and lying on the beach enjoying the sun. After this we went to the Weekend Night Market where you can buy a fascinating range of food including fried grasshopper, papaya salad, traditional Thai pancakes and coconut patties. But food is not the only thing that you can buy there, plenty of clothes, home decoration items and even pet animals like dogs, baby hedgehogs, snakes and lizards await for you.
On our first full day off Helen, Fraser, Shion, Abby and Emma went on the boat for some fun diving at the Phi Phi islands, while Gregor and Melanie stayed back on land to see some monkeys, enjoy the beach and a must try Thai massage. Unfortunately due to the weather out on the sea the diving trip wasn't the most successful ever. The visibility was really bad underwater so diving buddies had to keep very close. The surge and waves meant everyone was trying their best not to fall into the water and keep themselves and their belongings steady. But everyone got back in one piece and we managed to see a beautiful Hawksbill turtle and a yellow seahorse beside the always pretty corals and colourful fish.
For our third day off, we visited The Great Buddha of Phuket, a giant 45 metre high statue of Buddha sat atop Nakkerd hill overlooking Chalong. There we got great views over south Phuket, and get some nice pictures of the team with the beautiful background. Walking up to the statue we saw trees with thousands of golden leaves hanging from them. These metal leaves can be bought at the foot of the statue and you can write a wee message or wish on them and then hang them on the trees, leaving a mark that, you've been there and paid your respect. Coming down from the hill we even got blessed by monks, something the whole team certainly needed after the bumpy first two weeks.
For our fourth day off, we visited Bang Pae waterfall, in the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park in Thalang, north of Phuket Town. It was about an hour to get there by car, so we had the music cranked up loud and our 'I spy..' game on. When we got there, first we went to see the Gibbon Sanctuary which is part of the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, that rescues gibbons from illegal photo-prop businesses, cruel pet owners and abandoned zoos. Rescued gibbons need plenty of care, medical or other, they need to be prepared for rehabilitation so they can survive in the wild. Gibbons were poached to extinction in Phuket about 40 years ago, but thanks to the hard work of this organisation today more than 30 gibbons roam free in the last rain forest of Phuket. After visiting the sanctuary we took a wee hike up to the waterfall and bathed and fooled around in the cooling water. The whole team was dazzled, it was just breathtaking, being in this pool, water crushing down on you and looking up at the 40-50 meter tall trees, listening to the birds and insects of the jungle.
The next day off was spent having the best time in the Jungle Splash Waterpark. We are proud to say that we tried all the slides and pools, reached a shocking 9 meter height on the boomerang slide and racing each other on the rainbow slides. Going back to Phuket took about an hour and tired from all the fun the lucky ones who weren't driving could nap in the back of the car. After getting back we treated ourselves with a dinner in a lovely restaurant called Sala Mexicali, where we could enjoy live music and amazing food, making this a rather wholesome day for the whole team.
Our last day off was spent on the boat for a whole day of fun diving. And this time it was actually fun, it was probably one of the best dives we had on this expedition. Again we went to the Phi Phi islands like last time, we haven't been doing data collection on these specific sites for logistical reasons so it was great to go somewhere new. It took the boat about 2.5 hours to get to the first dive site, called Shark Point. Now the name is no coincidence, sharks are often seen at this part of the sea. We descended and although we haven't seen sharks, a very friendly blue spotted stingray visited us while we were admiring the corals and fish around the pinnacles. Our second dive was at Bida Nok, first we saw a group of squid just floating about near us, but then our attention quickly turned towards the real attraction. Sharks ! Blacktip reefsharks to be exact, first we saw a juvenile and then two adults. They were magnificent. Blacktips are known for being skittish and afraid of people, so we didn't have much time to watch them, they quickly disappeared. But everyone has agreed that seeing them, was definitely one of the highlights of the expedition. The third dive site was Pileh Wall, which is covered in the most amazing soft corals in every colour you can imagine, thousands and thousands of mesmerising fish choose this site to breed and feed, one of our favourite ones, the different types of clownfish can be observed in their home among the anemone bushes.
We tried to make the most out of our time here in Thailand, both scientifically and culturally, but there is just way to much to see and do and eat, I guess we just have to come back next year ....
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