An elephant homecoming, new erosion prevention rules, widespread flooding and more
Island Wrap #57: Travel & Environment edition for September 27 to October 10, 2021
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A trio of new storms is approaching as much of Thailand continues to struggle with the worst floods to hit the country in a decade. This Island Wrap covers the flood situation along with details on a new erosion-defense plan, a newly discovered flower, stunning whale shark photos, a heartwarming elephant homecoming, renewed calls to build a bridge to a major Thai island — and plenty more.
If you missed it on Saturday, the Island Wrap pandemic edition will catch you up on coastal Thailand’s coronavirus situation, including current containment measures and an easing of the rules for inbound travel to Thailand. I also published two stories about pastoral Ko Sukorn — one free and the other paid — to go with a paid article on a marvelous Gulf-coast beach and the first-ever piece in a new series called Island Shorts, where I share a little extra joy with paying subscribers.
Over on Couchfish, Stuart hit the “big island” in the Perhentians and shared a pair of thought-provoking articles: one on the use of AI in tours and another on how environmental sustainability certification may not always be what it seems.
Pick of the Wrap
October 4th was World Animal Day, and one place in the islands where animals are treated with compassion is Animal Voice on Ko Chang. With help from the Koh Chang Animal Clinic, this non-profit provides veterinary care and sterilizations for stray dogs and cats, and the occasional monkey, while also operating the Grace Place as a sanctuary for as many as 30 animals at once. Support is possible through donations, sponsorship, volunteering and, of course, adoption. Based in Khlong Son, Animal Voice frequently posts adorable puppy pics online.
Weather and shipwrecks
Floods fueled by rainfall from Tropical Storm Dianmu left nearly 300,000 houses and more than a million acres of farmland under as many as 2.5 meters of water in more than 30 Thai provinces, mainly in the Northeast, lower North and Central regions. At least eight people have sadly died in the most destructive floods to hit Thailand since October 2011, when much of metro Bangkok was inundated.
A hospital had to be evacuated in Chaiyaphum, a Northeastern province that was declared a flood disaster zone late last month. The Central provinces of Lopburi and Phichit are also in bad shape. Many residents were trapped in their homes in parts of Ayutthaya, where monks urgently constructed barriers to protect the UNESCO-listed ruins in the ancient Thai capital. Up in Sukhothai, para-gliders dropped food to people in areas that had been cut off by the floodwater.
In the South, flash floods and mudslides hit parts of Phatthalung, Phang Nga and Songkhla provinces. A strong king tide is not helping matters along the seacoasts, with waves fully engulfing west-coast beaches on islands like Phuket and Ko Lanta. A small tornado tore the roof off a building in Samut Prakan, where a high-tide flood forced us to speed away from the coast last weekend.
Flooding has also been reported in several districts along the Chi and Moon rivers in the Northeast, as well as in Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi just north of Bangkok. Some experts said last week that the Thai capital would likely escape widespread flooding, but much uncertainty remains. All meteorological eyes are now on the three tropical storms approaching Thailand from the east.
The floods have not been bad for everyone. On the coast near Cha-am, locals were thrilled to find loads of flower crab and other delicious sea critters that didn’t survive the sudden rush of freshwater pouring into the upper Gulf.
Further upstream in Ayutthaya, a married couple tragically drowned when the tugboat they were using to pull five barges capsized in the swollen Chao Phraya River. In the Gulf, no injuries were reported after a fire caused by a mechanical problem sent smoke billowing out of a Raja ferry bound for Ko Samui.
Wildlife and environment
The newly amended Marine and Coastal Resources Management Act aims to make it illegal, in theory, to construct coastal erosion-prevention barriers without approval from the Dept. of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR). It’s a step in the right direction in a country with a serious erosion problem and a mixed bag of preventative structures, which have often been built with little foresight.
A recent DW Documentary shows just how bad the erosion has gotten in Samut Prakan, but the problem extends far beyond the upper Gulf.
The change should enable officials to approve only erosion prevention methods that have proven effective through research, such as staggered rows of bamboo and/or wood barriers along with mangrove reforestation, as opposed to concrete barriers that often exacerbate the problem. But the change might have come too late. Beachfront landowners and local government bodies have already put up problematic concrete sea barriers in hundreds of places along Thai coastlines.
The revamped act also calls for some 32,000 square km of Thailand’s seas to receive environmental conservation status by 2030, though some fishing will likely continue to be permitted and enforcement of outlawed types of fishing, such as trawling, could be difficult. A related move grants protective status to five islands and three capes, namely Ko Mak and Laem Klad in Trat; Ko Phroet in Chanthaburi; Ko Saket in Rayong; Ko Sadao and Ko Thalu in Prachuap Khiri Khan; Ko Khai in Chumphon; Ko Kra in Nakhon Si Thammarat; and Ko Phayam in Ranong.
Volunteer divers from Ko Lipe recently joined Mu Ko Tarutao Marine Park officials to install ropes and buoys as part of a push to keep snorkelers safe once seven sites in the Adang Archipelago reopen to tourists this week, including sites near Ko Tong and Ko Hin Ngam as well as the bubble-coral garden at Chabang. The divers also removed nearly 1,000 kg of ‘ghost nets’ and other debris from the reefs.
In the upper Gulf, Dept. of National Parks (DNP) divers brought up illegal fish traps and piles of debris from the reef at Ko Chan in Hat Wanakon National Park, which recently reopened to tourism. Here are some photos of the reef at this easily overlooked site set only 25 km south of Prachuap town:
Further south in the Thai Gulf, divemaster and photographer Mr. Phawit Nilayanamit shared his brilliant photos of some free divers posing alongside the hefty whale shark that turned up at the Hin Chumphon dive site near Ko Tao on September 30th.
In the Andaman Sea, tour boat captain Mr. Amrit Pantip filmed three black-tip sharks at the sandbar that extends east from Ko Gai, where even common types of fish used to be rare due to the many tour boats that frequented this popular site near Ao Nang. Footage also surfaced of two men helping a two-meter-long sunfish that had gotten stuck in some ropes and buoys off the coast of Phuket.
A September 27th survey of the sea between Ko Libong and Ko Sukorn revealed three Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, several sea turtles and a lonesome dugong. It was part of an ongoing effort from government agencies and local groups to ensure the survival of endangered dugongs in the area. Sadly, one dugong washed up dead on Ko Libong with a deep cut under one of its fins on October 6th.
From the Northeast comes the uplifting story of a 72-year-old elephant, Pang Yo, that was reunited with her rightful owner after being stolen from him in 2003. Pang Yo had been sold to the Amazing Bukit Safari Camp in Phuket, where she was renamed Nampetch and put to work carrying tourists around on her back. Mr. Chob Riang-ngern was finally able to prove to the Supreme Court that the jumbo belongs to him, and Pang Yo made the 1,300-km trip home to Surin late last month. “We may have grown apart just a bit but it’s well worth the 18 years of waiting. No one will ride her and she won’t be put to work,” he told Bangkok Post.
Skip this paragraph if you’d rather not read nightmare-inducing snake stories. Still with me? Okay, you decide which is scarier: the three-meter python that a woman found stuck in the squat toilet at her home in Chonburi, or the cobra that popped its head out of a bed frame to startle a woman in Krabi.
Officially dubbed the cute star flower, or dara pilas in Thai, a previously unknown plant that was recently discovered in Nam Tok Ngao National Park has a hairy and translucent blossom that belongs to the Rubiaceae family of flora. A little further north in Krom Luang Chumphon Wildlife Sanctuary, a camera trap captured images of a clouded leopard, a sun bear and other elusive animals.
Following up on the swiftlet-nest heist that I covered in the Island Wrap two weeks ago, The Nation reports that warrants for the arrests of four civilians and two “volunteer officers” have been issued by a court in Phatthalung. They’re suspected of stealing tens of millions of baht worth of edible nests and setting fires that killed as many as 1.5 million swiftlets on several islands in Songkhla Lake.
Social media corner
It was a tough choice this week. A tweet by Russell Crowe displays a misty Big Buddha during the movie star’s recent stay in the Phuket Sandbox, and @RetroSiam shared a ravishing photo of David Bowie slurping up noodles while sitting shirtless and cross-legged in a Bangkok longtail boat in 1983.
But I mostly scroll social media to find the nuggets of credible and insightful knowledge that get dropped into the digital ether to be found at random. That was the case when Tom Felix Joehnk shared a 1973 article from The New York Times about how a proposed shipping canal between Thailand’s Gulf and Andaman coasts might have been excavated by, get this, nuclear explosions! The “Kra Canal” concept has been making headlines again recently, sans the nuclear-dig idea.
Food and travel
Encounters: Papa Nor, Thai reggae bar owner — Tim Russell Photography:
Having hung out with Mr. Nor several times in the past, I sincerely hope to see his business survive the pandemic. See Tim’s profile to learn about this singular personality and his legendary bar / art project on Ko Lipe.
Ganja and S.H.I.T. (Suspected Hippie in Transit): Backpacking Southeast Asia in the 1970s — Backpacker South East Asia:
“The year we stayed there, there were only 90 bamboo bungalows on Kata Beach and the surrounding area. I don’t think there were any bungalows or buildings at Karon Beach, so imagine the whole of Phuket with just 90 huts!”
A trip along the coast from Samut Prakan to Samut Sakhon — Richard Barrow in Thailand:
The social media posts that Richard shared during a recent day that he spent with Chin and I exploring the coast south of Bangkok come together to form an entertaining photo essay with many interesting bites of info. (I’ll be writing up at least one article about this area in the near future as well.)
Phuket Vegetarian Festival takes to the streets, without face piercings — The Phuket News:
“The [Naka] shrine asked all Ma Song to avoid wearing any piercings, the likes of which had previously made the Phuket Vegetarian Festival famous around the world, with spirit mediums sporting beach umbrellas, bicycles and even handguns protruding through their faces.”
Their Thai cave rescue film was done. Then 87 hours of footage arrived. — Nicole Sperling for The New York Times:
Filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin pieced together The Rescue with the help of late-arriving footage from the Royal Thai Navy and first-hand accounts from divers who were instrumental during the 2018 rescue of 12 boys and their coach from a cave in Chiang Rai. One of the British divers shared his thoughts about starring as himself in the film with The Guardian.
Video corner
The Tourism Authority of Thailand dropped a new promotional video last week and, while I first found it bizarre, I must admit that it grew on me after a few watches. I appreciate the creativity, and the Thailand imagery combined with scenes from elsewhere on earth strikes me as a message of global reconnection, which I find timely and inspiring. Go ahead, see if it makes you want to travel.
In other news
Feature: New World Heritage site forest imperils Thai indigenous people — Rina Chandran for Reuters:
“‘We don’t know what the World Heritage listing means — no one has told us how it will impact us or whether it will help solve our problems,’ said Gib, who was among more than 20 Karen people who were arrested and charged earlier this year with encroachment after they returned to their ancestral site [in Kaeng Krachan].”
Before his death, Quebecer behind one of the largest online black markets used offshore accounts to dodge law — Jeff Yates for CBC:
“In one instance, Cazes used one of these shell companies to illegally buy a five-bedroom, $7.6-million villa in Phuket, Thailand.”
Phuket luxury resorts face legal action over illegal land grabs — The Phuket News:
Three wealthy, well-connected resort owners may have their land ownerships revoked following investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The Peak Residences was deemed fully illegal, while the Trisara and Sri Panwa resorts may have partially encroached on Phuket’s protected forests. The NACC is also “pursuing charges against 11 local officials involved in the land grab.”
Owners of the controversial Waterfront Condo on Bali Hai Pier ask for an opportunity to resume construction vs. demolish the building — Goong Nang for The Pattaya News:
“Many local residents and tourists have noticed the hulking 53 story condominium that stands incomplete and abandoned at the entrance to the Bali Hai Pier. The story has been going on for many, many years.”
Ko Chang bridge build set for nod — Jakkrit Waewklaihong for Bangkok Post:
The way this article is written makes a proposed bridge that would link Ko Chang to the mainland sound highly likely in the near future, but the idea has been around for many years and it remains far from a done deal at this point. Still, there is a chance that Ko Chang, Ko Samui and Ko Lanta could all join Phuket as major Thai islands with bridges to the mainland over the next decade or so.
First Thai military officer in 15 years passes US Navy SEAL training course — Thai PBS World:
If anyone ever gets trapped in a flooded cave again, we’ll know who to call. 🌴
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