It is 7.30 in the morning, the sun is shining already and once again we are about to set out to one of Thailand’s dream destinations, the Phi Phi Islands. Or Ko Phi Phi, Ko meaning island in the Thai language.

As usual we all meet at the dive center, equipment is handed out and everybody is already thrilled and eager to get started. After a short ride on the minivan we board our comfortable speedboat Choktip, which is moored at Bang Rong pier on the north western coast of Phuket. Bang Rong makes a perfect launching pad for Phi Phi trips and with the Choktip the islands are reached in a bit over an hour. As we head out of the lagoon towards the open sea we rapidly gather speed until we have reached our approximate travel pace. As we are skidding out through the Malacca Strait we are setting up our dive equipment and chatting excitedly about the first dive site.

Ko Bida Nok will be our first stop on this day, one of the best dive sites around Phi Phi. There are different ways to dive this place, due to the conditions we decided to make drift dive along the western wall, starting south. The whole wall is beautifully covered in colorful soft corals. That alone would make for a stunning dive site, but in addition we see Yellow Fin Tunas, a Barracuda, a sea snake and lots of other reef fish.

After this first great dive we come back to the boat to relax in the sun and enjoy some pineapple and mangosteen. Mangosteen is a sweet and tangy, juicy, and somewhat fibrous fruit, typical for Southeast Asia. Soon the captain takes the Choktip to the next dive site, Losama Bay. Or more exactly, the dive site is a round rock in the entrance to the bay. This rock can be easily surrounded in one dive. Most spectacular is the outside wall of the rock which we reach after passing through a narrow canyon with lots of colorful soft corals. During the dive we find lots of different nudibranches on the wall and can observe huge schools of smaller reef fish while placidly floating past various kinds of corals around the rock, back to our starting point. And what a surprise, as we turn around the corner we even see the leopard shark which can be found here sometimes, resting in the sand. That is an amazing sight at the end of a very worthwhile dive.

Since we are already there we decide to set out our lunch at the small beach at Losama bay. There is still a second boat there, but after a short while they are gone and we have this lovely and secluded spot for us alone. We have plenty of time to enjoy the delicious Thai food and the serene bay. However, as always, time is over far too soon and we have to get back on the boat to go to the third dive site. We are concluding this day with famous Malong. Malong is famous for its numerous turtles, they can be found feeding on the shallow plateau. And we are not disappointed, we see 3 different turtles, one of them is very huge and impressive to look at. At the end of the dive we reach the big boulders at the northern end of the plateau where we spent some time diving through the natural swim throughs. Finally we come up to the safety stop and it is time to say goodbye to hundreds of small reef fish which surround us while we wait to ascent to the surface.

Much too soon it is time to start the journey back to Bang Rong and finally Nai Yang. But we can adore the beautiful scenery of Phi Phi one more time while the boat is making its way home.

The Phi Phi Islands are located in Thailand, between the large island of Phuket and the western Andaman Sea coast of the mainland. The islands are administratively part of Krabi province. Ko Phi Phi Don is the largest island of the group, and is the only island with permanent inhabitants, although the beaches of the second largest island, Ko Phi Phi Lee (or “Ko Phi Phi Leh”), are visited by many people as well. The rest of the islands in the group, including Bida Nok, Bida Noi, and Bamboo Island (Ko Mai Phai), are not much more than large limestone rocks jutting out of the sea.

Phi Phi Don was initially populated by Muslim fishermen during the late 1940s, and later became a coconut plantation. The Thai population of Phi Phi Don remains more than 80% Muslim. The actual population however, if counting laborers, especially from the north-east, from the mainland is much more Buddhist these days.

The islands came to worldwide prominence when Ko Phi Phi Leh was used as a location for the 2000 British-American film The Beach. This attracted criticism, with claims that the film company had damaged the island’s environment, since the producers bulldozed beach areas and planted palm trees to make it look like the book an accusation the film’s makers contest. The film’s release was attributed to an increase in tourism to the islands. Phi Phi Leh also houses the ‘Viking Cave’, from which there is a thriving bird’s nest soup industry.

Ko Phi Phi was devastated by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004, when nearly all of the island’s infrastructure was destroyed. As of 2010 most, but not all, of this has been restored.

For much of the world, the underwater realm was a great mystery until the advent of SCUBA diving. Finally, the oceans were no longer a place of unknown danger or a source of mythological wonders. The early Hawaiians didn’t wait for Jacques Cousteau to introduce them to the life undersea, they had a deep and intimate connection with the waters surrounding these islands since the moment they landed on their shores. The Hawaiian people were dependent on the ocean and the life it sustained not only for subsistence, but for transportation, tools, and an essential element of their culture. They relied on the ocean for their physical and spiritual health, and were careful not to abuse or waste any part of it.

Filefish are just one example of a marine animal that was used for more than just food. Dried filefish were burned for oil, and the fish’s rough skin, where its common name comes from, could be used as an abrasive. Filefish had an important role in the Hawaiian culture as well. Periodically, great numbers of filefish would appear and sometimes would wash ashore. The early Hawaiians believed this phenomenon prophesied the death of a member of the royalty. Oddly enough, millions washed ashore on the southern beaches of Oahu during World War 2, for reasons still unknown.

The scrawled filefish, one of seven filefish found in Thai waters, has brown and blue spots and markings all over its olive-colored body. The scrawled filefish is also called the scribbled, broom-tail, or longtail filefish, the latter two referring to the tail that is almost 1/3 of the length of its body and looks like a broom. The variety of common names used to refer to this one fish may be due to the fact that this species is found all over the world in warm, tropical waters.

In Hawaiian file fish were called ‘o’ili, which means “make a sudden appearance”. At this point, it is still unclear whether this refers to the fact that, at certain times, file fish were very rare along the reef and sometimes they would appear in great numbers, or from the long dorsal spine that pops straight up over the fish’s eyes, on the top of its head. The scrawled file fish is known as loulu in the Hawaiian language, referring to an endemic fan palm that has a similar color. File fish are closely related to trigger fish, and have similar dorsal spines, although there are conflicting reports over whether the file fish’s spine can be locked in place, as the trigger fish’s can. The spine of the file fish is longer than that of the trigger fish, and their bodies are narrower.

Scrawled file fish are among some of the larger reef fish, growing up to 3 feet long, and are rather slow swimmers. Luckily, they can use their amazing camouflage to escape predation by rapidly darkening their skin to blend in with various backgrounds. They are very alert to danger, and often are found hiding in the reef. File fish are primarily vegetarians, but eat a wide variety of food. They are some of the few fish that can safely ingest stinging corals, sea jellies and anemones, and can be seen searching for food by hovering head-down over the sand. Unlike many reef fish, scrawled file fish can also be seen schooling in the open ocean, away from the safety of the reef. They swim in an interesting fashion, by undulating their soft dorsal (top) and anal (bottom) fins, and can move both backwards and forwards with ease.

The early Hawaiians had an intimate knowledge of the land and sea, and not only knew how to use what they had available to them, but knew how to preserve it with an extensive kapu (taboo) system. Hawaiians were excellent conversationalists, taking care to replenish forests after taking plants, not fishing during times of spawning, and taking other precautions to ensure a sustainable future on their islands. Although Hawaiian residents can now purchase food and other products from the rest of the world, wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to?

For the past 2 yrs i see a family of about 6-7 of these little fellas in the trees at our office, watching them fly from tree to tree captures the attention of the guests too.

We have all either heard of or seen Sciurus caroliniensis – but you will likely know this little animal better as a grey squirrel, or a gray squirrel.  It simply depends on whether or not you like British spelling!  However you spell it, the facts and fundamentals of the animal remain the same.  The average length of the grey squirrel runs at approximately eighteen inches – and half of that is the tail, which typically runs about nine inches.  An adult grey squirrel will generally weigh between one and one and a half pounds.  As the name implies, these squirrels look grey, although up close you can see that their fur is actually rather salt and pepper, which of course mixes to look grey.  A lot of them have wiry tan hairs dotted throughout their fur and their bellies are white.   

By and large, the grey squirrel has a rather academic bent, as you can frequently see them on college campuses!  Their actual habitat, though, is very varied.  They live in urban areas and in woodland areas.  They have a penchant for oak trees, beech trees, and other trees which produce nuts.  Naturally, nuts are a large part of their diet, along with berries and seeds.  Grey squirrels sometimes dine on bird eggs as well, not to mention birds themselves when they are nestling, and on insects,   In the spring time especially, they are sometimes fond of various kinds of vegetation.  It is safe to say that grey squirrels enjoy a very well balanced diet. 

Unlike a lot of other squirrels, the grey squirrel does not hibernate during the winter months.  They are also very active in the day time and enjoy scurrying about and foraging for food.  On that note, they tend to be very shy little creatures.  However, when they are fed, their inherent feelings of bashfulness tend to disappear. 

There are a lot of wild mammals in the world.  Of all of them, squirrels are probably the most plentiful.  In Canada, the United States, England, Ireland, and who knows how many other places, squirrels are as much a part of the population as people.  We are especially familiar with them because, as mentioned above, they are very active during the day.  They differ from a lot of other squirrels in many ways, aside of the fact that they do not hibernate. 

For instance, most other squirrels are almost solely vegetarians.  However, as mentioned, grey squirrels do eat birds and their eggs on occasions, and they certainly enjoy insects.  They are also larger than most squirrels, since many of their brethren tend to be about fifteen inches in length with seven and a half inch tails. 

Grey squirrels do not typically take advantage of being larger, however.  In spite of the fact that they have been known to steal eggs, they are inherently friendly and curious little creatures.  Their shyness extends to other members of the animal kingdom, unless they are feeling threatened in some way.

Sea Snakes are highly venomous marine reptiles inhabiting the warm tropical waters of the world. Sea Snakes have developed anatomical features streamlined for adaptation to an aquatic environment. Evolutionary marvels living at sea, Sea Snakes must still surface to breath air unlike eels, underwater neighbors who share the same habitat, like the moray eel, who have gills for absorbing oxygen and are absent of any scales. Banded Sea Snakes evolved from land species into aquatic reptiles having smooth-scaled bodies easy to recognize in shades of light blue with black bands. Excellent swimmers and divers, there are over 70 species of Sea Snakes making them one of the most plentiful and widely disbursed family of poisonous reptiles in the world. Over 50 species are members of the family Hydrophiildae. Snakes in this family typically have laterally compressed tails which they use like oars to propel themselves through the water, valvular nostrils with valve-like flaps which they close upon submersion, accompanied by total loss of ventral plates. Because they must surface to breathe, Sea Snakes are known to frequent the shallow ocean waters of beautiful tropical coral reefs of the world.

Tropical reefs, like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is home to more than 22 varieties of Sea Snakes. Banded Sea Snakes feed primarily on the crabs, cuttlefish, eels, fish, fish eggs, and squid commonly found in the shallows of the coral reefs and estuaries surrounding coral reef habitats. Sea Snakes are not found in the Atlantic Ocean or the waters of the Caribbean. Fish migrating through the ocean waters are known to return to the shallow waters of the sea to set up “baby fish nurseries”. These oceanic nurseries team with newborn life and fish eggs and are primary feeding grounds for the world’s Sea Snakes. As we move up the food chain, these same ocean waters are also frequented by some of the world’s largest predators, including Hammerheads, Tiger Sharks, Black-Tipped Reef Sharks and the Great white shark.

Although aquatic dwellers well adapted to navigate their marine environment , Sea Snakes must surface periodically to breathe. Sea Snakes can stay submerged for extended periods of time with their left lung running almost the entire length of their bodies. Banded Sea snakes do not have eyelids but rather modified scales to protect their eyes. Sea Snakes shed their skin as often as every 2 to 6 weeks. This frequent shedding of their skin, much more often than land dwelling snakes, is nature’s defense to help rid the Sea Snakes of parasites which attach themselves to the snake’s body.

Sea Snake venom is Neurotoxic (affecting the nervous system) classified in the group Proterolglypha and sometimes Myotoxins (affecting skeletal muscles) with a fatal dose being about 1.5 milligrams. Most Sea Snakes produce an average of 10-15 mg of venom so they should always be approached with caution as this venom is 10x more lethal than the venom of the landbased Rattlesnake or Africa’s deadly Black Mamba. Even a dead or decapitated Sea Snake is capable of delivering a bite reflex strike capable of producing a life threatening envenomation. Sea Snake Antivenom is available for snake bite victims or Tiger Snake Antivenom may be used as a substitute. A word of caution – a Sea Snake bite may sometimes go unnoticed due to the small size of their fangs. Sea Snakes have Fixed front fangs with venom designed to immobilize prey and does not produce the immediate “sting” and excruitiating pain immediately following the sting of a Jellyfish, or encounter with the deadly Blue-Ringed Octopus, a Lionfish, Reef Stonefish (the most venomous fish in the world), Scorpionfish, Sea Urchin, or a barb strike from the tail of a Stringray.

Although highly venomous, most Sea Snakes have a placid disposition. These cold-blooded sea reptiles are direct descendents of land dwelling snakes classified in the familyElapids. One now distant and highly venomous land relative in the family Elapidae is the Cobra It is estimated that 75-80% of Sea Snake bites are “blank” non-productive bites meaning envenomation does not occur. Although known to be non-aggressive, except during mating season, only a few Sea Snake attacks on humans resulting in death have been recorded on divers who have disturbed nesting areas. Sea Snakes have a reputation for being very curious and have a fixation for any elongated floating object such as the air hoses of deep sea divers or even a snorkeler’s fin. Most Sea Snake bites are recorded when fisherman fall victim to Sea Snake bites while untangling their fishing net catches. Sea Snakes also present a high degree of danger to humans particularly after tropical storms when they are washed ashore becoming virtually helpless to move and extremely dangerous alive or dead.

Viviparous, Sea Snakes bear live young offspring at sea after an extended gestation period anywhere from 4 to 11 months. Young Sea Snakes are independent at birth swimming immediately away from their mother. Only one species, the Banded Sea Krait – Laticauda colubrina is still equipped with ventral plates to navigate on land, and this species comes ashore to lay eggs. Males have two penises, named hemipenes, with only one used at each mating.

Common Name: Banded Sea Snake
Scientific Name: Laticauda colubrina
Snake Family: Elapidae
Sub-Family: Hydrophiinae (“true” Sea Snakes)
Description: Shades of Light Blue with Black bands that look like black rings running the full length of their bodies.
Characteristics: Not known to be aggressive but will defend themselves when threatened.
Reproduction: Viviparous (bearing live young) and breed from spring to fall giving birth to as many as 14 young from late summer to early fall.
Length: 75-200 centimeters (Approx. 2.5-6.5 ft)
Habitat Distribution: Common in oceanic coastal waters of Australia, New Guinea, Pacific Islands, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Japan. Absent in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean north of Baja.
Subspecies – There are Five (5) major groups of Sea Snakes:
Hydrophiids: True Sea Snakes (54 Species) evolving 30 million years ago from terrestrial Elapids with Fixed Front Fangs.
Laticaudids: Sea Kraits (5 Species) four of which are marine. Strongly banded, common in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Acrochordids: File Snakes (3 Species). Only one species is fully marine. Non-Venomous giving birth to live young.
Homalopsids: Mangrove Snakes evolved from the Colubridae family. Venomous but rear-fanged found in tropical Asian and northern Australian waters.
Natricids: Salt Marsh Snakes (3 Species) also evolved from the Colubridae family. Not venomous and confined to salt marsh environments in temperate and sub-tropical North America.