Day 5- Awareness Talk

Today I was meant to have my training with Wid but she was still away until the evening. Some of the others went out to do a snorkel survey while I stayed in with two volunteers; Claire and Dylan. Dylan before I arrived split his toe when he attempted to rock climb when he was out swimming so was unable to do many of the activities. We talked quite a bit as he was also a second year at university but he was at Liverpool Hope University. Later that morning I used the data on the laptop to see if the Hawksbill I saw the other day was a new one. There were a couple that looked similar, so I couldn’t be sure if it was a new one. I was looking out the window at the fruit tree next door, I saw movement and saw there was several squirrels in the tree. These were Plantain Squirrels, I had my camera nearby and was photographing them for at least half an hour. They have brown tops, black stripe with an orange belly (photos to follow). I also saw some white bellied fish eagles flying out to sea. After lunch Wid returned, we helped get the shopping from the Jetty to the house. This was good as we were very low on food. Once all the food was put away, Ramona went through the presentation board we use when we educate divers. One of the dive centres on the other island requested an awareness talk in the evening. Dan, Ramona and I, headed over there. A lot of the divers had just returned from dives so was the perfect time to do a presentation as they were trapped. We start the talk with some fun facts about turtles and finish with information of our organisation and how divers can help. There were a few people who didn’t look that interested but most people were very engaged. I saw several people looking up our website and facebook. Back at the house we watched Cool Runnings before going to bed.

Asian Water Monitor Lizard

Our local Asian Water Monitor Lizard hopefully find some more and get better photos

Videos

Few Links to some videos this is the only way.

My room in Kota Bharu

Hawksbill GoPro Footage

Mystery Turtle

More to follow but sneak peak

Day 4- Snorkel Tour

So I didn't have the best of nights last night shortly after we all went to bed I started getting a killer ear infection most probably from the Jetty jump. This meant I was up for four hours trying to sort it so I could sleep. Eventually after quite a few hot towels on the ear I dropped off. However, the next morning I was meant to be taking a volunteer Claire out on a survey and she is unable to dive down to take photos. I asked her if she still wanted to go to see the turtles she said no, she said she'd much rather just chill as she also didn't sleep very well. I checked this was okay and Maisy said that was fine as there was a survey going on later on. This meant I could catch up with some very overdue sleep. When I woke up I had a wash etc and then sorted through some photos which I've been unable to post due to poor Internet.  I was going through images, then for some reason I looked out the window and saw a squirrel in the tree. In which immediately I grabbed my camera to try and get a photo. Unfortunately the little guy was blocked by a least one leaf each time so was unable to get a decent shot. When the others returned from the snorkel tour with Dan we all headed out for lunch in the Village. I had beef fried rice and it was so good. I'm yet to have a bad meal which has been a relief. After lunch at 2:30 the volunteers who hadn't done the snorkel tour in the morning were supposed to be doing it with me. I wasn't sure if I was going to cause my ear, but I felt better so I risked it. We headed down to the Jetty to find our boat, I had no idea what boat or who to look for. In the end I asked one of the older men sitting down and he said it wasn't here yet, shortly after that the boat did arrive and we got on. The snorkel tour is literally what it sounds like we went round to different popular snorkel sites and look at fish and turtles if there is some. All of the locations on the tour where on the big island. We started off at turtle bay where we did not see any turtles but lots of other cool fish. We then went to PIR which is where we do our surveys. Ramona one of the staff members I have not mentioned yet and one of the volunteers was doing the surveying. Ramona is German and has been working with this project for a while she is really lovely. Anyway as we got there they had just spotted a turtle so we got out to have a look, it was one that frequently comes back recogniseable by a shark bite on one of her flippers. How do we know she's female? This is due to the tail size, females have a very small tail and males have a large tail. We stayed for a while and spotted another turtle however unfortunately it was bombarded by tourists getting too close. Next on our tour was Fish Point this was an area of very shallow water filled with coral, sponges and of course fish. We stayed here for a while and again saw lots of fish, again I'm trying to upload photos and videos but not easy with this Internet. As we were heading back to the boat, I heard one of the girls shout turtle so I swam over. I looked down and there she was, she appeared small but was hard to tell cause of the depth. I decided to dive down and try to film her to get a closer look and as I got closer I could see she was a hawksbill. This is significant as hawksbill have rarely been seen this season by anyone. Dan who has been here 2 weeks longer and Maisy who has been here since March still hasn't seen one so I was looking forward to gloating. Anyway I knew I didn't get a good enough shot for a survey as couldn't get deep enough however as I came up the Boat men (Will put in his name as I am still learning them) was in the water with his flippers on. He asked if he could try so I set up my go pro and let him go get a better video. And he most certainly did more about that to follow. We headed back to the boat and were going to visit shark point, however as we approached the waves were very choppy, so the boatman and I looked at each other and decided to go somewhere else. We headed across to an opposite part of the island where there was a fresh water river that runs into the sea. He brought us up to the river and he had a jug which he filled with this freshwater before throwing it over us. It was cold but so refreshing from the salty sea we had been snorkeling in. We stayed for a while enjoying chilling in this bay before heading home. On the way back the boatman started having a lot of fun by going very fast and deliberately crashing into the current making huge splashes. When we got back to the Jetty on our island I said goodbye to the boatman. We headed home and I sprayed off all the equipment before rushing to get my tablet to check out the footage from the hawksbill. It is amazing so clear and of both sides of the face so we are able to use it in our survey. There is possibilities it is a new turtle but this needs to be checked against our data base tomorrow. We had dinner and after dinner I had a little check of our mystery turtle against a turtle spotted in the same area back in May. Me and Dan both sat there unsure if it was the same or different as the markings were so similar. We seeked the assistance of Ramona and after several back and forth checks we all concluded we don't think it's the turtle from May so fingers crossed it's a new one. After that we put a film on for everyone to watch before bed. I'm looking forward to checking the mystery turtle tomorrow.

Household Geckos

Geckos living in our house, see them everyday

Day 3- Initiating New Volunteers

So today my cleaning job was the kitchen and thanks to the kitchen people last night there was not much to do. Just a few sides to wipe down and washing up to put away. After that Maisy went to collect the new volunteers Katy and Seb, we introduced them to everyone and then went through the welcome talk. They then had to sign the code of conduct and then we waited for the others to come back from the snorkel survey before heading for lunch. The guys from the survey saw 5 turtles but again they said it was very busy with several boats and tourists surrounding the turtles. We went down the Jetty for lunch and I had a cheese omelette with toast. After lunch me and Maisy went and showed the new volunteers water confidence and that was easy as apart from some snorkel stuff and getting into a life jacket when it is thrown at you they were excellent swimmers etc. Maisy then showed them round thr village where the kayaks are kept, while I swam to the jetty and did some fish spotting, saw some cleaner wrasses. did the initiation Jetty jump several times. We then went back to the house and showered. While waiting for people I spotted an Asian Monitor Lizard walking up the path and I ran and got my camera. By time I came back it was already quite far up the path then ran under the house so didn't get an amazing photo but will post it later. Some of us then headed for Pitani Beach for a chill and a beer with the Community lot. We went to the Aluna resort restaurant where it was £2 for a 330 ml can but better than nothing. We chatted til the sun goes down, later we walked back in time for Malay dinner. This consisted of us going to a locals house and having dinner with them. We all have to wear sarongs as part of their culture. As everywhere in the village when entering a building we had to remove our shoes. One thing I have found strange but completely understand is the amount of houses with TVs and big TVs too. However, I've learnt that although their houses are basic, the price to improve them compared to the price of a nice tv is drastically different so makes sense to get a TV. When we got in we sat in the circle and the Man of the house was finishing the cooking while the woman in the house joined us in the circle and served all the food in a circle like a buffet. There was fish, chicken in a spicy sauce, vegetable soup, fried vegetables, chilli sauce, fish crackers (similar to prawn crackers) and my favourite dish egg pancakes with spices and sauce. Before eating a pot with water went round for people to clean their hands with. We had no cutlery so we had to eat everything with our hands. She took our plates and filled them all with rice and then we tucked in. I didn't have any of the fish but I had everything else. Once I had finished she asked if I wanted more rice and of course I did this food was tasty. I had more chicken vegetables and egg pancake with lots of the sauce from the chicken. I must have eaten most of the egg pancakes as not many people wanted more than 2 bits, so I finished it off. I also got served up the rest of the chicken and one of the bowls of vegetables when I had my third portion. What I didn't realise when eating some of the vegetables with the rice was that there was a fat chunk of chilli with all the seeds in my handful and I ate it whole. I do like hot food but I have a limit. Immediately my forehead was dripping with sweat and I downed my ice tea drink. The host women said I could stop but I was determined to finish my meal, couldn't leave waste. I think she liked my attitude, I said she was going to be my new best friend and Melissa translated the woman smiled and shook my hand. I told her I was here til November and she said I must come back, I'm sure I will. She got a tupperware box and filled it with the rice, some of the sauce from the chicken the rest of the veg and a slice from her secret stash of egg pancake. We then we're offered little biscuits I had one that looked like a Jammy Dodger and tasted like one too. After that we said our thank yous and said goodbye. On our way back we popped into the community house as Dan and Maisy had eaten with them. They were listening to music so joined them and had a good laugh teaching Kerry (One of the community helpers, she is lovely from south Africa but now lives in England) about grime and what mine and Dan's nights out in Plymouth are like. Was a great night, it got late so we headed back to our home and went to bed.

Skink Sighting

Found a Male many-stripped sun skink. Very illusive, burying himself in the leaves and moving very quickly. Managed to get a few shots hopefully find some better images. Also seen some household geckos and monitor lizards but no photos yet.

Day 2- First Turtle Sighting

Slept much better than I thought I would, was on a bunk bed that was made by one of the team leaders Nick. I woke up a couple of times due to cockrals calling. Was up at 8:30 for cleaning jobs, my responsibility  was to clean the toilet. After that I had some breakfast; toast and jam. We then got ready to go out on survey, we headed down to the beach and got the Kayaks. They were two person kayaks, we put our snorkels, water bottles etc into the kayaks and then carried them into the water. We went through a bit of water confidence with the new volunteer making sure she could swim and use a life jacket before setting off. We then set off I was at the back in charge of steering and paddling. Our destination was on the other island a small bay where turtles are often spotted. As we approached the bay we could see a lot of tourist boats. According to Maisy this was the busiest she had seen if all season. 10 boats were counted in total with each boat having at least 6 people on. We were later going out than planned so instead of doing the normal transect searching we used the tourists as a guide to where the turtles were. Due to the depth and the last time I free dived I was unable to get that close. We moved around to different depths, keeping two people in the water, two in each boat looking out for the snorkelers. Later on I spotted a Juvenile I got a quick shot of it that's on the photo and video section. Plan to get better ones as my free diving improves. We headed back for around 12 o'clock, as the intern I have taken over from was leaving and Maisy wanted to say goodbye. We paddled back to our island and put the kayaks away. When we got to the house I sprayed off all the equipment we used and then went for a shower as I was very salty. After that we went down to the Jetty for lunch but it was very busy and only a few of the cafes were open. So we walked a bit further through the village and found an open stall. I had tuna cheese and lettuce sandwiches with chips and an orange juice. Food here is very limited mainly rice dishes and things with chips but it still tastes good and it's cheap. After lunch we went through the data analysis and how to identify individuals from our survey this morning.  We only spotted 4 and 1 of them was the same turtle but that was due to limited time and the sheer numbers of people. I was also taught how to show volunteers how to do their part in the data collection. After that me, Dan and a volunteer took a walk to Pitani Beach. This is a little beach that Aluna resort is situated on. I dumped my stuff on one of the tables and went for a swim. The walk out to deep water is a long one and there is a lot of rough footing before it is deep enough to swim. I should have brought my water shoes, anyway the water is lush and had a good swim. When I got back to land we headed up to the Aluna resort bar for a drink, only 2 days in and already found a beer. We sat on the balcony overlooking the bay, it is so beautiful here. Once we had our beer we went down to the lower decking to sun bathe. We were there for a good hour or so, then we realised our volunteer was on dinner duty so we headed back. Dinner was already done thanks to Mellisa one of the other inter,  we had noodles, pees and mushrooms. I added some soy sauce to add more flavour. After dinner everyone was knackered so we chilled and then went to bed. Got two new volunteers coming tomorrow and I'm in charge of making sure they are water confident and showing them around.

Day 1- The Island

So after the fireworks and chanting finished about 11pm last night, I got a great night sleep. Woke up about 5 am but that was probably due to my body clock being out of sync after the flights. I got showered and packed and at around 9 there was a knock at my door inviting me for breakfast. The family that run the inn, invited all their families and friends round for food to celebrate the end of Ramadan.  Everyone was so friendly towards me. Never did I think I'd have squid for breakfast but it was good. I kept getting offered different food that all tasted amazing. Malaysian satay chicken trumps any satay chicken I've had before. A few members of the family wanted photos with me and they liked my grandad shirt as they said I fitted in with the traditional style clothing. One younger lad had been to the UK he studied Mechanical engineering at Glasgow university. I told him I studied at Plymouth he knew where it was but he thought it was pronounced very differently. I really enjoyed my stay at Sofea Travel Inn and look forward to returning. They sorted me out a taxi to take me to the Jetty at 10 which arrived on time. One thing I must say about the Malaysian people they appreciate what they have. Anyway while in the taxi, I saw lots of mixed housing mainly basic hut like buildings but some more modern stone buildings. As we drove I saw many cows and other farm animals. Looking closer l saw many were attached to ropes in these fields. The cows had rings in their noses and rope attached to that. The taxi was nice and air conditioned and the driver and his family in the front were very friendly. Lots of little mosques could be seen as we drove to Kuala Besut. As we got closer, off to my left I could see the islands. I got dropped off and walked towards the sea. I saw what I thought was the company I would get the boat with "Safe Park parking" and thought that was it. I mentioned ecoteer and the guy said I was in the wrong place. He said he would take me and went round a corner and pulled out a mo-ped. He got on and told me to pass him my 18.5kg hold luggage and he put it on his lap. He then told me to get on the back with my rucksack. Was amazed the mo-ped was still rideable. He dropped me off at the correct office and I went in to get my boat ticket. I had about a half hour wait then I got on the boat. It was so cool, bouncing cross the sea. It was about an hour journey and when I arrived at the Jetty I was greeted by Maisy. Maisy was also a volunteer coordinator who had been here since March. She had graduated and worked on  several different turtle projects. I was taken into the village to see where I would be staying and got reunited with Dan. I was introduced to everyone else, they were really friendly. I dumped my stuff and settled in. Me and Dan then went down to the beach to get some lunch.  There was lots of cafe type food places all together and we ordered food at one on the end. We both had sweet and sour chicken with rice. It was different to what I get at home but still good. After dinner Dan showed me where the shops were and then I went to test how good the sea water was. It did not disappoint, was like walking into a warm bath. We headed back up to the house and there was an issue with one of the volunteers. Her flight was late and during her connection to Kota Bharu her luggage went missing. Maisy sorted her out and the lost volunteer came to the island and her luggage was going to arrive later this week. At 4:00pm we went out with the Community project so I can learn Water Safety and Awareness. Basically I was taught what I needed to do when I check new volunteers can swim and snorkel confidently and how to wear a life jacket. We went for a swim then headed to the Jetty for a Jetty jump. This was the initiation, a group jump off the Jetty.  It turned out two of the volunteers at the community project were from Plymouth. We headed back to the house and we chilled there for a bit, before I headed out with my camera. I got a few shots down by the Jetty then headed back as I knew dinner was almost ready. Dinner consisted of noodles with vegetables and eggs. At first I was sceptical but it wasn't too bad. After dinner I had my welcome presentation and we watched a movie and went to bed. Successful first day on the island.

The Journey to Malaysia

Travel day: said goodbye to my parents before going through security, went through Heathrow with no issues thankfully. I was just looking forward to getting on the plane to sleep as I was knackered. I got hungry so went to weatherspoons and had a ham and cheese panini with chips, it was really nice. As I got to the gate I found out, off an information sign temperatures in Kuala Lumpur before I set off were 25°C and that was at 2am, with highs of 32°C for when I arrive. Before I got on as far as I was aware I had a window seat, turned out I had an end seat that didn't have a window. Anyway, walking up the aisle I looked at the club pods, could definitely see the attraction of being a "Club" member as they looked very comfy. As I got settled I got chatting to the other two people on my row. They were Malaysian from Penang and they asked about my travel plans, they had just been to London on a holiday. Before we settled I had a little search through the media system on the back of the seat in front of me. There was a good choice of films to choose from however music was very limited. Was happy to see Deaf Havana's new album on there as well as the new Pigeon detectives album. A few hours into the flight they brought a few complimentary drinks and later some food. I was quite relieved that I had been to weatherspoons to eat before hand as I had the Pasta Alfredo which was nice but wasn't very filling. This came with a bread roll and a chocolate moose. The moose was chocolate and orange it was very nice. After dinner I watched Lego Batman; would recommend and shortly after that slept the majority of the rest of the flight. When I awoke there was 3 hours left we were just flying over India. I was going to watch another film but instead listened to an audio recording of a live Paolo Nutini gig. During this the stewardess brought round breakfast, I had the "English breakfast". This consisted of a hash brown, mushrooms, tomato and what was apparently sausage and egg. I ate it anyway as I was starving but didn't taste right. As I lacked a window the descent and landing was rather disappointing. When I arrived I looked for a sim card and then headed for my transfer. To make it easier my baggage went straight through to my next flight so there was no need to collect it. So off the plane I went, I was heading to the immigration booths when I saw 4 stalls to my right selling sim cards. I'd be advised before to use Celcom as they have the best reception on the island so I went with them. Then I headed to get my visa and my internal flight with Malaysian Airline. They were a bit late boarding but found my seat this time with a window and turns out the two seats next to me were free too which was a bonus. My seat was right on the wing and despite late boarding we set off on time. During take off and the flight I had some amazing views of Malaysia and different cloud formations. The flight was only 40 minutes and as we approached Kota Bharu I looked out at the coast and could see the Perhentian Islands out my window, that was cool. So after we landed I went to baggage claim, I was a little nervous my bag wasn't going to be on the plane as that bit was out of my control but eventually it arrived. I got my bag and I had a prearranged pick up by the people of the travel inn I was staying at tonight, free of charge. The room at Sofea Travel Inn cost me £18 tonight and it is lovely double bed, WiFi, nice shower etc. The staff were very accommodating too and have sorted out my taxi to the Jetty for about £15, which is amazing as it's an hour journey. I've just had a shower and was getting ready for bed but it's the end of Ramadan here so there has been chanting and fireworks. Not sure how long this will go on for but going to be interesting. The staff have offered for me to join them for food tomorrow morning which I'm definitely taking them up on the offer. So far so good Malaysia, tomorrow is the real deal.

Pre-Travel

So less than 2 weeks I travel to Malaysia and it still hasn't completely sunk in. My mate Dan Read is already out there, he flew out last night and landed earlier today. Looking forward to hearing from him and how he is settling in on his first week. I have sorted the last few clothing items that I needed like hats and shorts. I still a few items to get and sort out but other than that almost ready, packing is going to be interesting finding how much space I have. Trying to catch up with as many people before I go, had so much great support from family and friends. The thought of leaving for 5 months has made me nervous, but this has been the dream for so long. Real field work, making an impact on conservation, it has been the reason I've done my degree. It's been a strange year, with a lot of mixed feelings towards the course and university life, however, since finding out I got this placement this has changed everything and it has been all I have thought about. People ask me what course I do, to which I reply "Animal Behaviour and Welfare", often replied with "So you wanna be a vet?". I don't mind explaining that I've done the vet experience and it's not for me, the goal is to become an ethologist. An Ethologist studies animal behaviour in natural conditions, often with the aim to gain a greater understanding of the animals and to help with conservation. This experience in Malaysia will hopefully help gain and develop my skills as a scientist. To have the opportunity to see and study turtles I am very grateful to the Fuze Ecoteer Organisation for accepting me. Spent half the interview talking about my time at Port Lympne working with Rhinos just shows how important experience is. Probably won't update this until when I'm out on the Island, there will be photos and updates on the work I will be doing while out there. Not sure how often I will be able to update this but will do my best to do it once a week at least. Thanks again everyone who has supported me, a special shout out to my parents.