Thailand, the Andaman sea Island on board the Star Flyer (Documentary, Discovery, History)

[Music] magellan and the great portuguese navigators followed in the wake of the monsoons and at the end of the 15th century crossed the indian ocean bound for southeast asia like them were approaching the coast of thailand thailand is almost 1700 kilometers long from north to south the north and center are made up of mountainous areas and vast plains of farmland whereas southern thailand is dominated by the sea the narrow peninsula it shares with malaysia is bordered to the east by the china sea and to the west by the indian ocean before we arrive at malacca where our crews will come to an end we're going to set off to discover the islands of the andaman sea [Music] pocket the pearl of the indian ocean is now a mecca of international tourism known to sailors since the 16th century pocket despite the pirates who infested the andaman sea attracted indian and chinese merchants thanks to the quality of its amber and the beauty of its corals but it was the booming market for tin in the 19th century that ensured pockets prosperity some of the thousands of chinese cooties who came to work in the tin mines made their fortunes and built sumptuous houses in the sino-portuguese style open cast mining urbanization and plantations such as heavier from which rubber is made and which was first grown on pucket in 1903 changed the island's appearance only one 2 000 hector nature reserve gives us some idea of the luxuriance of the tropical monsoon forests which used to cover pocket a sacred animal and symbol of siam whose flag had graced until 1917 the elephant disappeared in thailand at the start of the 20th century there are now a mere 3 000 protected specimens in the northeast of the country today elephants have been brought back to the island so as to maintain the myth to provide some local color and to take the tourists for rides 920 kilometers south of bangkok puckett is a veritable tropical paradise in the andaman sea pocket became an international tourist center in the 70s thanks to its countless white sandy beaches the best of which lined the western [Music] coast the island gradually opened up to high quality hotels and tourism whilst retaining certain fundamental values of thai society such as its friendly hospitality the use of teak in the construction of buildings and the manufacture of furniture and the passion not far from the breathtaking beaches and luxury hotels thailand's daily life carries on as usual a hard-working modest and at times cheerful life marked by an attachment to traditions some of which go back to the dawn of time one day i happened to go with some neighbors to a cockfight after that to start with i bred birds just for the fun of it but my first won a fight i was so happy since then i've made a business out of breeding at first the cocktail liked me stroking him i didn't know how to go about it in fact what you should do is stroke him without him seeing you it's in popular imagery the water buffalo is associated with thailand's countryside in actual fact old habits die hard and the buffalo is still used as a draft animal despite the modernization of farming methods here we see an example of modern fish farming oh got an eagle first of all you dig a pond then you put in the young fish and then you they are fed twice a day and then up to six times a day only at the end of this six month period can you fish them next you empty the pond you let it dry for a month and you start again on board the boats entering the port of pocket the sailors are working away like a cloud of insects caught in the mesh of the huge black nets on the key side there's the general commotion that marks the return of the boats almost 350 of the boats go deep sea fishing an activity which is arduous but provides work for a great number of people i used to sell fish here now i own four big boats and six small ones but these ten boats are employed by 40 people when my husband died i decided to carry on alone just me and my employees for the sake of my two children there's a lot of work it's not very profitable but i've done it all my life so i stick with what i know [Music] once the fish has been unloaded the agitation dies down and calm returns once again the benevolent gods have escorted the boats back to the port at the southernmost point of the island other rituals are underway pagan worshipers of the sun god and believers with offerings for the elephant god are all here to watch the sea burning red and the day being consumed [Music] so [Music] yes [Music] the evening here in puckett continues in an atmosphere of refinement and mystery with traditional dances inspired by the ramayana epic performed to the sound of the kong wong yadzi a kind of rounded xylophone [Music] [Music] this little fishing port has been turned into a turbulent ghetto for tourists in search of fun though not always innocent sex tourism is an undeniable fact but it shouldn't mask thailand's real face that we'll discover all along our journey [Music] the starflyer left pocket during the night and headed north for surin island by morning we're gliding over the andaman sea the sails billowing in the wind we approach seren island just a few nautical miles from burma's territorial waters as we near the island the captain takes over we have to go slowly into the bay because we have 2 500 our arrival is imminent the sails need to be lowered and this is rapidly accomplished with the help of some willing passengers so although the passengers are preparing to disembark the arrival doesn't mean that the crew can now rest they need to tidy everything up and prepare the diving equipment on a boat every crew member has to complete his tasks very methodically the simulin archipelago of which surin island is a part is a jewel which nestles in the turquoise waters of the andaman sea it's now a nature reserve which is completely uninhabited except for a small chow lay community the sea gypsies wow we have no concrete evidence about the sea gypsies origins do they come from india like all gypsies we cannot be sure they're probably the first inhabitants of this region and it's thought that their name is derived from their itinerant lifestyle indeed they use their boats as houses most have now settled on pocket although certain sea gypsy communities still live apart from the rest of the world in villages of houses on stilts as here in surin fishing fruit picking the growing of maniac and the sale of seashells are the only means of income [Music] time is of no importance here the women chat peacefully in an unlikely looking village square while the men go fishing and the children play oh oh [Music] oh [Music] the andaman sea around surin is almost wholly unexplored and it has the best spots for diving in thailand at a depth of less than 20 meters the coral seascape reveals itself to us it was patiently and selflessly built by an army of microscopic organisms polyps when they die they pass on their skeletons to the next generation this is how the coral reef is built and develops at such amazing speed a meter every thousand years in this undersea garden we can see angle fish surgeon fish and soldier fish in all some 240 species whose majestic belly is a continual joy to the eye [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] back on the surface we talk about our first impressions oh he's towel then who cares okay sorry then we head back to the star flyer which is getting ready to sail thanks to the passengers tireless efforts to hoist the sails the star flyer slowly moves away from surin island [Music] in no time at all the 2 500 square meters of wind-filled sails carry the form master out to the open [Music] seat [Music] during the night the starflyer has been sailing south traveling a few dozen nautical miles from the surrend archipelago to the similan archipelago both were classified as thai national marine reserves a few years ago captain lipfed explains that today has been set aside for relaxation and water sports i would say if you like sailing with us please welcome on the sun deck and you can help you don't have to help but you can help to set the sails if you only want to relax and make some nice photos you can make some nice photos but if you want to head you can help us bracing you can help us every time setting the sails and also you can lie in the bounce with net and talk to the dolphins the most relaxing the most peaceful the most comfortable i don't know four stays in here let go so if you already visit four cores then buy four cores stop winning hide forward the captain gathers the passengers together for the daily briefing session on deck he runs through the day's programs of events using diagrams on a blackboard to illustrate his words captain lickfed may not have michelangelo's talent but he has a real gift for getting across to the passengers his passion for sailing he delivers his speech with a touch of non-conformist humor the word similan means nine in malay which is exactly the number of islands in the archipelago similan islands were the result of hellish burning magma 65 million years ago and they are now one of the last earthly paradises this garden of eden is a rocky mass emerging from a turquoise sea [Music] so [Music] on a beach bordered by a lush tropical rainforest the crew of the starflyer has organized a picnic another way of making this day of our vacation unforgettable [Music] i did some selling then i tried those two spots for snorkeling on the left and the right and i must say that of all the places we've been to on this trip around the world it's by far the best snorkeling i've ever done it's extraordinary [Music] of all the animal species that live all year round in the forest the birds are the most numerous [Music] the birds are protected by the national parks rangers at least in theory but the most surprising animal we came across in the forest was the varamus a lizard that can grow up to three meters long and which feeds on carrion eggs reptiles and fish [Music] this one goes up up then it goes from the right right under back on board and while waiting to get underway a sailor tries to teach the passengers the art of not tying not all his students are very gifted okay smile this is oh the crew raises the sails once again the starflyer sets off carried along by the wind over the andaman sea during our second evening onboard ship since we left puckett the atmosphere is very friendly the passengers are already starting to feel at home [Music] [Music] oh all right oh yeah [Music] the following morning when we arrive on deck the starflyer is advancing slowly amid an army of giant rocks whose outline is visible through the mist we're sailing in the heart of nabe one of the most extraordinary natural sights in the world according to legend the farmers of the region are said to have attacked and killed by accident an elephant god who then turned into a gigantic mountain [Music] [Music] to defy the stone monsters or to pay tribute to them the star flyer enters fangna bay with all sails unfurled then it weighs anchor overcome by such a majestic sight [Music] the real story of how fungnac came about is far removed from the legend but no less astonishing at the dawn of time the bay was just a plane dotted with limestone mountains over ten thousand years ago when the glaciers melted the water flooded the valley digging out caverns and covering all but the highest craggy peaks puppy island elephant island or ogre's head island [Music] the sides of the bay are made up of dense swamps several kilometers wide called mangrove swamps the mangroves here with their inextricable aerial roots are the perfect refuge for crocodiles though there are less and less of them these days as we leave the mangrove swamps the rydian fungna bay appears once more with its peaks emerging from the blue water we reach kofingkan in a long-tailed canoe as used throughout thailand from fangnach to bangkok it's better known as james bond island as several scenes of the adventure movie the man with the golden gun were filmed in this amazing setting [Music] uh okay [Music] [Music] we spent the rest of our time at nabe in the village of koppanyi which is inhabited by muslim fishermen originally from malaysia koh panyi is situated at the foot of a cliff which protects it from the monsoons and its houses are all built on stilts the maze of painted wooden houses and the interplay of light and shade are a joy to behold a moment of tranquility for hurried travelers like us [Music] [Music] [Music] hello [Applause] our last impressions are of children dressed in national colors playing barefoot in the school yard in copany pushed by a powerful motor under a threatening sky which the sun's rays manage to penetrate here and there our canoe brings us back to the star [Music] flight uh [Applause] back on board ship we all mull over our impressions of the day as the starflyer heads calmly south sailing past fantastic peaks one last time [Music] fourth day of the cruise by now used to seeing the sailors climbing up the masts a female passenger plucks up her courage and begins to go up the main mast secured by a safety harness [Music] [Music] while we play at being sailors at the front of the boat at the stern the sailors aren't playing they're keeping in shape [Music] this [Music] we borrow the smaller boat and go over to langkawi island on the border of malaysia [Music] [Applause] it's in fact the main island of an archipelago made up of around a hundred islets langkawi's landscapes have been the subject of legends for centuries with its heavenly beaches lined with coconut trees and its dense tropical forest mac acts can be found in the lush forest to the northwest of the island they live in groups of 15 to 30 and feed mainly on fruit small vertebrates or insects when they're not being fed by people think about it this forest is where the natives prefer to go walking legend has it the forest conceals a waterfall where fairies would come and bathe [Music] ah legends are part of the island's cultural heritage they're passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation a long time ago mr bon shapir was entrusted with langkawi's most important legend the curse of makkah masuri legend has it that masuri was a very beautiful woman she was married to one of langkawi's senior dignitaries one day her husband went off to war in the days when siam was at war with the state of kedah during his absence masuri's in-laws jealousy accused her of adultery and she was assassinated in the field not far from here when siam soldiers reached langkawi all they found were burnt rice fields and nothing grew here for seven generations that is a curse in missouri in the taman warrior crocodile farm the saurians which lays in the water aren't legendary figures they are very much alive our main farm is in santa khan which is in east malaysia this will be our second farm and so far this is the largest in malaysia it's 40 acres now here we breed our own crocodiles from commercial wise that means uh we breed the crocodiles for their leather which we do export to russia and japan and apart from that we make our own skin products in what they call it wallets ladies purses belts key chains whatever that comes [Music] after the age of two or three crocodile skins become too hard they can at least have an easy life unless they're hired to perform an aggressive crocodile in a world away more than one thousand pounds here you go ladies and gentlemen the name of the stroke is [Music] and for the finale the star of the show a 500 kilo crocodile lumbers in and makes us somewhat forced to smile ladies and gentlemen [Music] malaysia is famous for its forest the oldest in the world and its shores that great navigators and ordinary tradesmen alike sailed to for centuries the land where the winds meet is what sailors have called it since ancient times chinese junks and indian boats used to gather here driven by monsoon winds langkawi's fishermen now just sail near the coast in their magnificent multi-colored boats the passengers help with maneuvers the sails billowing in the wind the starflyer enters the strait of malacca [Music] [Applause] [Music] for sailors everywhere the strait of malacca is a mythical place filled with memories of the great navigators and pirates numbers uh as we pass between the malay peninsula and sumatra and weight anchor in malacca captain lickfett cannot help being affected by this enchanted place and starts fervently sketching the outline of the caraval of albuquerque the portuguese conqueror who first claimed a stake on malacca in 1511. [Music] originally occupied by a small colony of sea gypsies the banks of the river malacca soon became a strategic place for the shipping trade as it's at a point where the monsoon winds meet be it silk and porcelain from china nutmig and sandalwood from the indonesian archipelago or carpets and jewels from the middle east the world's richest change hams in malacca the town has kept some of its inimitable charm from that cosmopolitan golden age [Music] the rickshaw is certainly the best way to travel in malacca let's first take a look at the chinese quarter the first chinese community came to malacca in the 16th century with their famous business scents the chinese soon prospered and gained control of a large part of the town's trade nowadays they're influential above all in the wood and rubber industries in the narrow streets you can see several houses which are masterfully decorated by the babas the nickname given to the men of the peranakan community the chinese whose parents made their fortunes in tin and rubber in the 19th century some of these houses are now home to antique shops which through the variety and abundance of the objects on display give a good idea of the town's history [Music] founded in the early 15th century by the former governor of singapore malacca was seized in 1511 by the portuguese conqueror albuquerque who headed a powerful fleet albuquerque soon organized the town and built a fort which he called afamosa meaning the famous the portuguese left malacca 350 years ago but the runes of alfamosa in front of which these high school girls are being photographed remain a strong historical symbol for the 500 members of the portuguese eurasian community of malacca [Music] i live in the portuguese settlement portuguese i have lived here since 1938 near novi center to the ultima here we speak christian that is pathway it's not the same as portugal's portuguese not the same it was different the difference they have got that grammar here we don't have trouble it's just like the konkani the origin of this bullock is from india when the portuguese people they before they attack like their capital in gua so they brought this in 15th century to malacca so the indian people they want to carry their luggage their goods are quite difficult so that they are thinking how to get a main transport to travel in the big empire of molecular so one of the workers thinking there why not we brought this bulacan or the mata vande or the malay people's call for that time by the portuguese people they cannot pronounce matavandi of dhati but they are using their language it's a portuguese full words chinese portuguese indian malacca is a goddess with a hundred different faces whose history can be seen on every street corner and is a continual source of surprise to us the maritime museum in the shape of a portuguese caraval is a recent construction by way of contrast the little mill and above all christ church the oldest protestant church in malaysia built in 1741 attest the presence of the dutch for 150 years followed by as many years of english [Music] occupation the banks of the river are no longer as animated as they used to be only boats from sumatra the indonesian island nearby come to unload their cargos of wood the wood comes from indonesia and i transport it on my boat to here in malaysia when i buy wood in the villages it's already cut then we load it onto the boat it takes around 20 days and then we cross the strait of malacca to here in 12 or 14 hours once we get here we sell the wood to a chinese merchant mr attenuation the last excursion on our trip is to the old quarter of malacca [Music] a testament to a golden age that has now disappeared a lesson of a wise old town that has seen it all although islam is malaysia's official religion in malacca you find the country's three oldest temples side by side in the same street the chen hun teng temple or temple of the bright clouds built by the chinese community in the 17th century the hindu temple to the god vinayagar which dates back to 1780. [Music] and the kampung killing mosque built in 1748 and whose style is reminiscent of that of the pagodas [Music] the starflyer leaves malacca carrying in its sails the fragrance of spices and the memory of sounds from another age when malacca was the richest port in the world [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Stop Over - Documentary, Discovery, History

Views: 54,879

Rating: 4.8362575 out of 5

Keywords: Thailand (Country), ure), travel, adventure, boat, sail, trip, ocean, sea, river, sailboat, cruise, stopover, stop, over, Queen Elizabeth 2, Royal Clipper, Le France, Le Norway, Sun Boat II, Classica, Vat Phou, Bolero, Wind Song, Grigoriy Mikheev icebreaker, Silver Cloud, destination, voyage, Stopovertv, Discover, Travel, travels, explore, Stop Over, History

Id: QYj_QhbESWc

Length: 51min 48sec (3108 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 18 2013