Hey everyone! My time volunteering at Bubbles on the beautiful Perhentian Islands is sadly over and Im back in Thailand - plus side i once again have the internet so you now know im alive and i can tell you all about it - but im just so sad that im not there anymore. It will be one of those times in life that I'll never forget and has given me so many amazing memories. Where to begin....?

Ok Bubbles is a little dive resort on the densly forested Perhentian Islands - only accessable by a small speed boat with no roads/paths, slow paced and isolated.

The turtles were the main reason i was there. The turtle population in Malaysia and the world has declined rapidly in the last 50 years, dropping by 80-99% for the 4 species that nest in Malaysia. This is due to human consumption of turtles, trawling and poaching of the eggs - this is where i came in as a volunteer. We patrolled the beach all night long in 4 hour shifts and sadly poachers were a common occurance since 1 nest is worth 2 weeks wages- the time i was there no nests were successfully poached which im pleased with, but there were some close and frightening calls! Green Turtles nested most nights and i'd get to quietly sit next to them whilst the 2-3 hour process took place - sleeping under the stars in a hammock everynight was not the hardest job ive ever had!

I spent my days jungle trekking, cleaning and collecting data from the beach and snorkelling in the bay trying to snap the resident turtles on camera (not as easy as it sounds - theyre so camera shy) to build up a picture data base, as well as other marine life as u can see from my snorkelling snaps! One encounter that i wont forget in a hurry was my shark encounter! Black tip reef sharks are found all over the bay but are notoriously shy, normally giving you no more than a glimpse of them darting across the bottom. One evening I was snorkelling on my own out in the bay trying to spot a few turtles, finding myself the one being watched! A black tip (about 1.5m in length) was up at the surface about a meter behind eyeing me up! I was frozen with shock/amazment and we hovered still looking at each other for maybe 15 seconds before it turned and gently swam off into the blue. I knew i was safe because they eat small fish and i guess it just wanted a closer look, but that didnt stop my heart pounding out of my chest! It was such a beautiful moment. Which brings me onto something important - if you can please watch a documentary called SHARK WATER its amazing (that especially includes you Carly!)

Sorry to waffle on about all he wildlife - ive just had my eyes opened to this whole new world! I was in my element surrounded by so much wildlife - the marine life, the forest insects, flying lemurs, giant fruit bats at night skimming you head on the beach, nesting sea eagles, snakes, monitor lizzards (bad though -they eat turtle eggs), the skink that lived on my balcony and my personal favourites - the hermit crabs who gave me so much entertainment during poacher watch at night!

I could talk all day about my time there but i wont bore you - i think you'll get the idea from the pictures. I made some lovely friends there, learnt so much, learnt to scuba dive and felt like i helped i really important cause - time well spent!

xxx