Stranded Long Tail Boat

Surin Islands, Thailand This is from the amazing Surin Islands in southern Thailand. A dozen islands make up for this marine national park 70 km offshore in the Andaman Sea. Although not that far from the popular and hectic tourist destination of Phuket, it is the total opposite. It is peaceful and quiet, undeveloped and pure. Being protected as a national park I hope it stays that way. Combined underwater and rain-forest wildlife makes these islands one of the most biodeverse places on earth. In a single day I saw a Flying Squirrel, Flying Foxes (giant bats), Pig-Tailed Macaque, Sea Eagle, Sea Turtle, Moray Eels, Giant Lobster (looked delicious), Giant Clam Shell, had a group of Black Tipped Reef Shark swim pass my feet, Clown Fish (Nemo), Puffer fish plus the hundreds of species of corals, coral reef fishes, insects, reptiles, crabs, trees and plants and I don't know the name of. In this picture is a long tail boat stranded on a low tide on a early morning sunrise. I woke up at 5:45am. This is the time day to shoot reflections in the tropical regions as the wind often picks up when the sun starts to shine. It is also the time when things are most peaceful. This was yet another rewarding early morning wake up in this trip, both from a photographic point of view but also from a nature experience point of view. These tranquil moments are the most memorable ones from the trip.