Ramblings of a Sustainable Man

Day 2

Arrival

Lumprayah Ferry to Koh Tao

Inside of Bus from Station to Pier

We arrived at Chumphon station in the early hours of Wednesday morning, from there the next step in our journey was to get to the pier, in time for the 7 o'clock ferry to Koh Tao. We were faced with 2 options: we could, as a group have taken private taxis to the pier but instead we decided to get ourselves packed into the old converted bus, with most of the other passengers. Although this short journey was very cramped (for that time of the morning) and took longer than it should have, we figured that this was still the most suitable mode of travel, both economically and Eco-friendly wise.

We were faced with another choice at the pier; the faster boat or the slower ferry as a means of getting us to the Island. In keeping with our aim for the week, we choose the larger ferry which was capable of transporting a larger number of people to the island per journey but, took roughly an hour and a half longer. It is estimated that a ferry produces 0.20 kg per mile**, while faster boats will only produce increased levels to that amount. However, this was not a straight forward decision to make, and we thought back to an analogy our lecturer familiarized us with when faced with such decisions:

"Compare it to a Horse that can carry one person but get there faster or, an Ox which can carry 10 people from 'A' to 'B', but not as fast" - Arjan Wynn

Wise words indeed. In the end the ferry trip took 3 and a half hours, and we were pretty tried by then. Our supervisors for the week, New Heaven diving school, phoned ahead and asked if we would like them to send a taxi to pick us up from the pier, we told them thanks, but no thanks. We thought it unwise for them to make a round trip in a pick-up to collect us, when we could just get a one way journey to our Resort.

** Information courtesy of Ferry Sources, Carbon Independent,

http://www.carbonindependent.org/sources_ferry.htm

Our Accommodation

Resort

Our accommodation for the week, the Tropicana, was a comfortable enough place to stay, situated on Chalok Beach on the South side of the island. Having finally arrived at our destination, we were rearing to get started on acclimatizing to sustainable living, here are a few of the things we did in order to reduce our levels of energy and resource consumption:

Inside

Fan instead of Air conditioning: - Day-to-Day basis

Turning on the fan helps helps with the incredible heat of the local climate. But we found that by opening the balcony and back doors of the room, creating a passage for air flow, the fan was barely required, let alone the A/C.

Reception/ Restaurant

By doing this, you also allow in maximum natural sunlight (and there was plenty) into he room, therefore making the need to have lights on during the day obsolete and saving energy while you're at it.

Entertainment: - Continued throughout the entire week

Instead of watching TV, browsing the web or playing on the mobile phone, I brought myself along a book to keep me occupied, whenever there was free time.

Water: - Continued throughout the entire week

Water usage e.g. showering, brushing teeth, washing hands/ face and using the toilet, is difficult to cut out altogether but reducing the amount is possible and is an essential aspect to sustainable living.
Having a cold, rather than a hot shower will reduce the energy required to heat the water.
It is of great importance not to let a tap run when not being used, as the average amount of water used for a shower is can be up to 25 gallons for a 10 minute shower (depending on the pressure head of the shower head), and again this is just the lower end of the estimation.
Drinking water is also an important issue, as the human body requires approx. 3 liters per day (Male) and 2.2 liters per day (for Females). Therefore, it is important not to waste this most vital of resources, especially on an island such as Koh Tao, where rainfall can be scarce and most of the drinking water is imported.

Clothing: - Continued throughout the entire week

I found that by wearing light, appropriate clothing for this climate it can have a significant impact on countering the heat and thus reducing your need to seek out an air conditioner or a fan.
Using our environment as a means of combating the climate is another great way to reduce your Co2 emissions; for example, if it gets too hot find some shade or even better, go for a dip in the sea. On the other hand if you are feeling chilly, go sit in the sun or find an activity to do to get your body warmed up.

Eating: - Continued throughout the entire week

There are plenty of options available in this department to consider; eating locally soured food stuffs and ingredients will help reduce Co2 emissions due to it not having been packaged and imported to the island. Simpler meals require less energy to prepare. Not only that but the distance you travel to get your food will inevitably increase your carbon output.
So with that in mind, we mostly had our meals at the Resort restaurant, or within walking distance of where we were staying, taking the opportunity to seek out local vendors that could provide us with food prepared in the most Eco-friendly manner possible (see image below).
Eating locally sourced foods also help support the local economy.
At the resort we only found a common type of mountain bird that just loves to pester you for some of your meal, so any leftovers can be dealt with by them! Helping your you reduce your refuse.

Local tilapia fish prepared in an Eco-friendly manner.

"More food please!"

Activities on Day 2

Discussion on dangers facing Coral Reefs & ways of preventing further damage/ rehabilitation

In the afternoon we met up with Pe Chin, Jake and Pe Boy of New Heaven diving school for a discussion about our time on the island as well as past and current projects undertaken by volunteers, such as ourselves, that aim to prevent damage being done to the ecosystem and world-renown Coral Reefs surrounding the coast of Koh Tao.

Important points garnered from the discussion:

Meeting at New Heaven

Many human factors damaging the local ecosystem, and especially the Corals e.g. refuse finding its way from the mainland into the sea, illegal fishing, anchors from moored boats and the island's over-capacity of tourism.
Volunteer projects to create nurseries from corals and turtles are successful but, the most efficient methods are hugely expensive due to patents on specific technologies/ techniques.
New Heaven and the 'Save Koh Tao' initiative are doing all they can, with a small budget from governmental donations, to raise awareness on the importance of sustainable design/ living, but face many obstacles and challenges from several groups.

Visiting 'View Point' Resort

View Point is a new resort at the higher end of the spectrum (a night there can cost upwards of 10,000 bath) on the island. But the significance of our visit lies in the fact that View Point incorporated a large degree of sustainability into its design.