Turn Back the Clock~

Hi All,

Ok I know this post is long overdue... almost 3 months. Apologies once again. ._. It's been a really hectic 2014 so far, with all these induction programmes, lectures, CCAs and random activities that pop up here and there. That aside, the 1 week March Holiday has given me some time to squeeze in this blog post. Well, as mentioned every semester break would encompass a blog post on an overseas shelling destination. This time, were landing ourselves on the Isthmus of Kra (Aha! Big words for a non-geography student :P), on the Western coast of Krabi, Thailand! Yes! Koh Poda, Koh Kai, Koh Phi Phi etc... I believe that's what is going through your minds now but SORRY TO DISAPPOINT YOU. This December Dream nearly turned into a disaster. Yes, the usual flu, diarrhoea and headache... I even almost lost the energy to shell... And to make matters worse, the December Christmas peak season meant that most of the shores were wiped clean of any beautiful pickings... Tragic. :( Nonetheless, here's a quick summary of the whole trip, though it may not seem wonderfully glorious as it was thought to be... :'(

 Ok, this is the left wing of the famed Ao Nang Beach... It's a little hazy though but in any case, the view is something that is worth a snapshot...

 The sunset... Right wing of Ao nang. The shore is parked with numerous long-tail boats, quintessential of Krabi and other coastal tourist destinations in Thailand.

 And of course, the Cabaret Show just down the street...

 No shells collected on the first day, but spotting this brown tree frog just outside by room brought a little sunshine to the rain...

 I could even hold it... :D

 Spider Frog~ Spider Frog~

 Day 2: My parents decided to be adventurous so the family booked a package to experience some White Water Rafting! Mind you this  river is in the middle of Phang Nga, 3 hours away from Ao Nang so if you're just interested in rafting, it's highly encouraged that you visit somewhere else.

 THAT BEING SAID, it was a really WONDERFUL experience, getting to swim in the rapids and stuff...

 This is the entrance to the waterfall. Sounds wonderful eh?

Sadly, NO.

 Another sunset shot of Ao Nang... Yea the rafting was fun but... it the sense of fulfilment does not strike you when you do not get at least a decent shell.

 Loads of shell sand though. Mainly COCKLE and VENUS CLAM shells. Occasionally you'd find some Murex pieces in the pile.

 Low tide reveals some promising evidence of a better shell haul...

 Shell art at Susan Hoi (Shell Cemetery)

 Now, some online research revealed that this beach could yield some promising specimens. Nopparat Thara Beach.

 Another Long-Tail Boat...

 Magnificence of the sun... Look at the purple hue of the sky.

 And of course, not a gem but at least something that's of collection standard. A MARGINED CONCH.

  Also, in a desperate attempt, we (Dad and I) decided to shell at 1a.m. after our Thai massage. By the way, that's what I found. A PEBBLE CRAB. There were dozens of these critters scurrying beneath the surf, only to get stranded on the shore once the waves retreated.

 Morning on the last day, and to my surprise, this shore is teeming with life. Low tide does present so much more...

 TIGER MOON SNAILS, HUNDREDS OF THEM all across the sand. I found one of these recently at PULAU UBIN. The Tiger Moon Snail has a geographic range that spans nearly the whole Indo-Pacific region. Apparently, it is also consumed as street food in some parts of Thailand... :/

 What are they doing? I have no interest whatsoever in finding out. ;P

 JELLYFISHING JELLYFISHING! A HUGE JELLYFISH! This guy is massive. I tried to place him back into the sea but ended up decapitating his head from his tentacles... :(((

 

Ao Nang, Right wing...

 Two different species of MOON SNAILS. :)

 The headland that separates Railay from Ao Nang. :)

 ROCK SEA SLUG! Look at it's camouflage!

 

WHOOPS!

 Railay~ Unvisited though. ._.

 and the mystical cave!!!

 MMHMM!

 These TROUGH SHELLS were also a common sight along the beaches. :)

 Tried to save another...And guess who decapitated another Jellyfish? ._.

 Sand Dollar Test!

 And yes, this is the end. P.s. while flying back to Singapore (Entering from the South), we passed some islands that had beautiful waters!!! YES I have no idea what these islands are but if anyone has any knowledge of them, please feel free to post a comment! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Ok, so that's all I have. On a side note, I chanced upon the INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEAN-UP SINGAPORE webpage while doing some background research for my PI. Yes! Do participate in this meaningful activity! Personally, it doesn't matter whether you sign up or not but as long as everyone does their part in keeping our shores clean, it will definitely make a profound difference to our coastlines and all its inhabitants (And that include seashells too! :) )

A Storm Brewing in the East

Hello once again~

Yes, I back from a period of dormancy... and of course, back from a recent trip at Kuantan, Malaysia! And yes, what is Kuantan without its pristine, sandy beaches? So a 10hr car journey (we got lost) via the North-South Highway finally landed us at our first destination: Cherating beach.

However, you'd imagine the disappointment that I faced when I realised that the MONSOON WAVES have swept all the shells away! The waves were choppy and grey, the wrackline void of any seashells except a few uni-valved cockles... :'( And to make matters worse, I was bitten by a swarm of mosquitoes at 2.38a.m. at night... UGH!!!

Ok, granted that the beach is really beautiful and the scenery soothing to the soul...

 Ok, the photo above is of Telok Chempedak, a beach south of Cherating and on the outskirts of Kuantan. (BTW, it was raining...)

 Haha, initially we did not plan to visit this beach... BUT LOOK AT THE SURPRISE! HAHA! Finally, legitimate shells! THORNY OYSTERS,EGG COCKLES, SURF/BUTTERFLY CLAMS etc.

 Monsoon waves are never clear but they are huge!

 THORNY OYSTER...

 To the left of the coast there's a cliff/headland...

 COCKLES

 OK, time to leave... :D SO, below are the finds from this trip! (Though not as extensive as those of other trips...)

 THORNY OYSTERS...

 ANOTHER SPECIE OF THORNY OYSTER...

 PURPLE EGG COCKLES...

 OLIVES, KITTEN PAWS, INEQUIVALVED BLOOD COCKLE, MITRE SHELL...

 not too sure what this is though...

 and this too... :/

Finally, a MOON SNAIL!

Välkommen till Sverige!!!

So, it has been a long wait... But I can assure you this post would be worthwhile. :D

 

 

Well... Shelling has never been this ethereal, surrounded with beautiful scenery, cool, sunny weather and a whole load of unique shells. Yes, I went to SWEDEN! Yes, that's where your IKEA, VOLVO and ABBA hails from! As my school has an unique programmes called the GAP SEMESTER (Do check out www.gapsemester.ri.edu.sg for more information!), I was one of the fortunate few to actually embark on a 13-day Environmental Studies Programme! And I can confidently say that I thoroughly enjoyed every single bit of it! Essentially, we explored 3 different locations: Linkoping, Hyltebruk and Goteborg (That's when the shelling comes in!) So without further a do, here's a narrative of how that whole North Sea Shelling Expedition started... :)



 So, here we are, on an island. These islands were formed when the ice from the Ice Age retreated. As such, the foundation of these island are generally formed with granite. In total, 10 islands form this archipelago, called the Northern Island Archipelago (I heard that there's a Southern Island Archipelago but... :/) Point to note, look at the pristine quality of the water.

 A scenery so beautiful, and a photo almost suitable for a postcard...

 The typical white-walled-red-roofed houses throughout the Scandinavian shore. All island towns within the archipelago are situated on the eastern shore of the island. Why? To avoid the cold nd harsh wind from the North Sea... :)

 So, we arrive on the island of Rörö (Pronounced 'Rerrer', with a falling and rising tone for the first and second syllable respectively) where our island hike would take place. Apparently, sandy shores are a rarity among the islands so were considered lucky to have been to one of these. :) Rörö itself is the northernmost island in the archipelago, and also one of the smallest. We had a quick bite here. (Warm, delicious butter rolls)...

 And we begin, a journey through along the island's coast...

 Rocks... Rocks and MORE ROCKS!

 This is interesting. During the Ice Age, the retreating ice brought a huge load of stones and pebbles to the western shore of this island. In addition, over thousands of years, the colliding rocks eventually developed a smooth, rounded surface. Just so you readers know, nearly ALL the rocks have a smooth, rounded surface.

 As we hike along the huge granite mounds, we eventually stop for a lunch break, were I managed to take a photo of the stunning scenery... Gorgeous

 And a rock pool! Wonder what's inside... ;D

 Of course, SNAILS! These are a mixture of ROUGH PERIWINKLES and COMMON PERIWINKLES! These were pretty common throughout the coast...

 and a sneaky little crab...

 There were LOADS of Algae. Here are just some of the common red algae...

 Jellyfishing!!! XP

 Just a picture of the wrackline... By the way, BLUE MUSSELS were found scattered in huge numbers all over the shore.

 Red Algae...

 It tickles! Trying to find my balance on this algae covered boulder... The water was FREEZING (Well, in comparison with those in Singapore) Our tour guide was thoroughly enjoying the "as they deemed' warm water...

 Now were on the eastern shore. The sea is much less active and choppy. Wave action is minimal...

 COMMON PERIWINKLES...

 Not too sure what this algae is... Anyone can help?

 and a final portrait of these lovely, tiny creatures... :) So, below are all the finds from the trip!

ett: The ROUGH PERIWINKLE. These were the most common gastropods along the coast...

 två: COMMON PERIWINKLE. Had a hard time trying to identify these...

 tre: the vibrant and colourful SMOOTH PERIWINKLE... There were many hues of orange around. There's even a brown variant in the middle!

 fyra: This is unusual. Most of the time, my shelling is restricted to the coast. But this time, I actually managed to find these beautiful pieces high up on the cliff, in the bushes. Yes, these are the WHITE LIPPED SNAIL. Commonly confused with a similar looking specie, this is a specie with high shell design variance. (Scientific Name: Cepaea hortensis)

 fem: DOG WHELKS! These are classified under the family MURICIDAE (Yea, the ones with purple tanning spit and stuff...)

 sex: NETTED WHELK... Only had 2 of these for this trip, which is a shame...

 sju: The COMMON EUROPEAN COCKLE. Sadly, I did not manage to pick up any double valved specimens... :(

åtta: Last but not least (In fact, these were the most common shells along the coast), BLUE MUSSELS! I had some of these while at the Pizza Place.

All in all, Sweden is the perfect country. Beautiful summer weather, breath-taking scenery and lovely people. Shelling in Sweden isn't all about finding the most species of seashells (as in the case of most Asiatic nations), but instead, finding the best of the best along every single coast. With that, this is the end of my blog post! :)