Tales from Tae Pae Yoi – Koh Phra Thong
Tales from Tae Pae
Yoi – Koh Phra Thong
Ian Woodhall
MAP Asia Volunteer Intern
.JPG)
Yoi – Koh Phra Thong
Ian Woodhall
MAP Asia Volunteer Intern
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| Lagoon entrance at Koh Phi Phi |
When I heard all the MAP Asia staff were going
to be leaving for a week shortly after I would arrive in Trang I was a little
apprehensive. I was thinking of things to do, when Jim suggested I could use
the time to go out in the field to Koh Phra Thong assisting Barry Bendell, MAP
associate and advisor surveying the sea grass meadows. I was relieved and
excited about this, as it would allow me to do some science and to see more of
the country at the same time. I had a spare couple of days in Krabi on the way
too, where I could be a tourist and see some of the beautiful islands and coral
reefs close by. Honestly some of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen in
my life- like moving through a postcard. The enormous limestone Kasks rising up
out of the turquoise sea are breath taking, and seeing a wild Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus) on the reef was the cherry
on the cake.
to be leaving for a week shortly after I would arrive in Trang I was a little
apprehensive. I was thinking of things to do, when Jim suggested I could use
the time to go out in the field to Koh Phra Thong assisting Barry Bendell, MAP
associate and advisor surveying the sea grass meadows. I was relieved and
excited about this, as it would allow me to do some science and to see more of
the country at the same time. I had a spare couple of days in Krabi on the way
too, where I could be a tourist and see some of the beautiful islands and coral
reefs close by. Honestly some of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen in
my life- like moving through a postcard. The enormous limestone Kasks rising up
out of the turquoise sea are breath taking, and seeing a wild Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus) on the reef was the cherry
on the cake.
 |
| View of the mangroves from the boat |
The travel to Koh Phra Thong via Krabi and Kuraburi
was an exciting experience in itself. I had to use all different kinds of transport,
meeting different collaborators and members of the extended NGO family out here
on the Andaman Sea. To get out to the island we climbed in the long-tailed boat
and headed out through the mangroves. This was the first time I had been through
the mangroves in a boat and could see how dense and entangled the prop roots
were first hand. The forest appeared quite extensive, completely covering the
coast we were following. This affirmed to me how important the trees are in
such a large scale for stabilising sediments and providing shelter for juvenile
marine species.
was an exciting experience in itself. I had to use all different kinds of transport,
meeting different collaborators and members of the extended NGO family out here
on the Andaman Sea. To get out to the island we climbed in the long-tailed boat
and headed out through the mangroves. This was the first time I had been through
the mangroves in a boat and could see how dense and entangled the prop roots
were first hand. The forest appeared quite extensive, completely covering the
coast we were following. This affirmed to me how important the trees are in
such a large scale for stabilising sediments and providing shelter for juvenile
marine species.
 |
| Barry surveying seagrass |
We arrived in Ta Pae
Yoi and drove back through the rain and flooded roads to the staff house in Ban
Lion using the sidecar. We had to wait until 16.00 for the tide to be low
enough to survey and as we arrived at the pier Barry asked me to help him get
the kayak down- “so I guess we’re kayaking across then?” I’d never kayaked
before so getting in the thing was a challenge. We landed on the sandbank and
Barry showed me the species we were to survey which was a shock. In my head I
had a picture of large thick ribbons of tape grass spread extensively across
the sediment, but we were surveying very small carpet forming species, which
the dugongs feed upon. We set to work along Barry’s transects, spotting lots of
other fauna and flora as we went, but soon the light was fading. We ended up
working by torch light and still not completing all transects. By the end the
tide was rising and it was pitch black, and I have to admit I was glad to be
getting off there. So now another first- kayaking at night! All was fine and we
called it a day.
Yoi and drove back through the rain and flooded roads to the staff house in Ban
Lion using the sidecar. We had to wait until 16.00 for the tide to be low
enough to survey and as we arrived at the pier Barry asked me to help him get
the kayak down- “so I guess we’re kayaking across then?” I’d never kayaked
before so getting in the thing was a challenge. We landed on the sandbank and
Barry showed me the species we were to survey which was a shock. In my head I
had a picture of large thick ribbons of tape grass spread extensively across
the sediment, but we were surveying very small carpet forming species, which
the dugongs feed upon. We set to work along Barry’s transects, spotting lots of
other fauna and flora as we went, but soon the light was fading. We ended up
working by torch light and still not completing all transects. By the end the
tide was rising and it was pitch black, and I have to admit I was glad to be
getting off there. So now another first- kayaking at night! All was fine and we
called it a day.
 |
| Aplocheilus panchax |
The following day we
had to wait for the tide until nearly 16.30 to be able to complete the survey.
So I decided to use the time to try and sample some freshwater fish from the
local stream just behind the staff house. I love freshwater fish and have kept
them all my life, so I was excited to see if I would recognise any species.
Sure enough I sampled Panchax (Aplocheilus
panchax) and Rasboras (Rasbora spp.) from the side of the
stream. I also saw Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus),
Gouramis (3 Spot (Trichopodus
trichopterus),
and Snakeskin (Trichopodus
pectoralis)), and what looked like a species of giant Danio (Devario spp.) and
possibly larger Barbs (Puntius spp.) out in the main
channel. Suffice to say the bigger (faster) fish in the main channel evaded my
attempts to catch them – easily. Luckily the water was clear and when fed our
leftovers from dinner the night before they were out in the open for me to see.
had to wait for the tide until nearly 16.30 to be able to complete the survey.
So I decided to use the time to try and sample some freshwater fish from the
local stream just behind the staff house. I love freshwater fish and have kept
them all my life, so I was excited to see if I would recognise any species.
Sure enough I sampled Panchax (Aplocheilus
panchax) and Rasboras (Rasbora spp.) from the side of the
stream. I also saw Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus),
Gouramis (3 Spot (Trichopodus
trichopterus),
and Snakeskin (Trichopodus
pectoralis)), and what looked like a species of giant Danio (Devario spp.) and
possibly larger Barbs (Puntius spp.) out in the main
channel. Suffice to say the bigger (faster) fish in the main channel evaded my
attempts to catch them – easily. Luckily the water was clear and when fed our
leftovers from dinner the night before they were out in the open for me to see.
We completed our
survey by torch light once more and returned back to Lion Village for some
dinner at one of the community based home-stay member’s houses. While there we
arranged to re-line the crop shade in the Ban Lion Community Centre garden the
following day. It was a shame to see Ban Lion so sparsely populated as
apparently the villagers the houses were intended for do not want to live
there, as the community set-up does not suit their lifestyle. This reinforced
to me the importance of consulting and communicating with the community any
project is going to impact upon as MAP does. Without this respect and
consideration for their needs and desires, their support will not be won.
Therefore projects will fail, no matter how good their intentions may be.
survey by torch light once more and returned back to Lion Village for some
dinner at one of the community based home-stay member’s houses. While there we
arranged to re-line the crop shade in the Ban Lion Community Centre garden the
following day. It was a shame to see Ban Lion so sparsely populated as
apparently the villagers the houses were intended for do not want to live
there, as the community set-up does not suit their lifestyle. This reinforced
to me the importance of consulting and communicating with the community any
project is going to impact upon as MAP does. Without this respect and
consideration for their needs and desires, their support will not be won.
Therefore projects will fail, no matter how good their intentions may be.
 |
| Beautiful view from the pier as the sun rose |
While waiting at the
pier for the tide to rise high enough for the boat to leave we were lucky
enough to see a juvenile Sea Eagle! Presumably it was hunting mullet that we
saw in small schools surrounding the pier. We headed back to the main land
through the mangroves once again, only this time the tide was still low so we
had to wade through the mangrove channels to get back to dry land. Once there,
it was a quick jump in the truck and before I knew it we were waving down my
bus heading in the opposite direction. Quick goodbyes and a run across the road
in broken, muddy wet flip flops carrying all my things ended my first fieldwork
while volunteering with MAP. All in all – a brilliant experience!
pier for the tide to rise high enough for the boat to leave we were lucky
enough to see a juvenile Sea Eagle! Presumably it was hunting mullet that we
saw in small schools surrounding the pier. We headed back to the main land
through the mangroves once again, only this time the tide was still low so we
had to wade through the mangrove channels to get back to dry land. Once there,
it was a quick jump in the truck and before I knew it we were waving down my
bus heading in the opposite direction. Quick goodbyes and a run across the road
in broken, muddy wet flip flops carrying all my things ended my first fieldwork
while volunteering with MAP. All in all – a brilliant experience!
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Since then I have been lucky enough to be out in the field with MAP many times and it is my favourite part of volunteering. I am so grateful to the villagers, visiting professionals and extended MAP family for the opportunity to take part in their work. I feel very privileged to see and experience Thailand this way, meeting real people with real issues and hearing their voices and opinions on the things that matter to them most.