Here are a few ways for you to take care of your carbon footprint during your holidays, and then try to take those good habits home with you! 
 
BEFORE LEAVING, SAVE ENERGY
Turn off all the electrical appliances and devices that you won’t use while you're gone. Unplug everything you can and try to keep running appliances at a minimum. If you are leaving for an extended period of time, take this opportunity to clean out your fridge and freezer to dispose of the unwanted items. If you are really motivated, you can even empty it entirely and leave it off while you're gone. Donate the items to a friend in need or a community center for those less fortunate than you. Waste not, want not. 

CARPOOL
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If you cannot avoid driving, try and fill all the spaces in your car that you can. All over the world you can find apps, facebook pages and websites that connect people traveling in the same directions for ride shares. This reduces your carbon emissions and can even save you a little money on gas with friends to share the bill! 

PRINT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE
 
Don’t bother printing your booking tickets. You probably wont need them and find them transformed into a sweaty lump in your money belt weeks later.  Nowadays just showing your passport or ID card is enough for the hostess to find you in the database at the airline check-in counter. You can also show the QR code from the company on your mobile.
Take photos on your phone or save a copy of your important documents on your cloud so you can access it at anytime if needed.
 

DON’T WRAP YOUR LUGGAGE IN PLASTIC
 
Use protective luggage covers or just a secured clip instead of the wasteful shrink wrap machine. There are many options for keeping your luggage clean and firmly shut. 
 
USE An ECO FRIENDLY SUNSCREEN
 
Did you know that conventional sunscreen contains a chemical that destroys coral reefs and marine ecosystems? Its name is oxybenzone, and many sunscreens contain it. According to experts, approximately 14,000 tons of sunscreen end up in the oceans every year.
Search online or at your local dive center for reef safe options. They are now becoming increasingly affordable and easy to find. 

​SAY NO TO STRAWS
When you order your cocktail at the beach bar, don’t forget to say “no straw”. Single use plastic straws have been the target of successful global campaigns raising awareness of how they can impact our oceans. 
If you don't like to sip your drink from the edge of the cup consider a reusable option like metal or bamboo. You can even buy collapsible straws that are easily stored in a small case connected to a keychain. 

BRING YOUR CUP
 
Do you need the comfort of caffeine in the morning? Do you hate drinking your sunset mojito from disposable plastic cups? 
Where many people will think to bring a reusable water bottle, most don't think to bring other reusable beverage receptacles. An insulated thermos for your morning coffee is a great way to reduce waste and keep the drink piping hot until you're ready for your fix. Beach bars are notorious for going through hundreds of plastic cups in a night. You can do your part by having your own party tumbler which will keep your drink cold and covered from sand or other undesirable additions.
There's even an added bonus that some places will offer you a discount for bringing your own cup!
 
…. AND YOUR CUP!
 
Ladies, we all know that week when the bathroom’s trash bin is particularly full. Have you ever tried the cup?
This revolutionary feminine hygiene product helps to reduce the rubbish you can produce during that special time of the month. You can wear it day or nights, for much longer than a tampon. It's also very comfortable and rarely leaks. 
Trying is adopting it! Even for diving, it is tested and approved.

The ribbon Eel is the only member of its genus. Scientists thought for a long time that there were 3 types of ribbon eel, the black, the blue, and the yellow species. But now we know they form a unique species changing sex and colour during its lifespan!

You can find the Ribbon eel in sandy areas around reefs and lagoons of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It can be found in very shallow waters down to 60m.
It usually stays in the same cave for months or even years and two individuals (usually adult males) can be seen sharing the same hole.

​The ribbon eel is a carnivore which preys on small fish and other animals that swim too close to their hole. They can be generally observed poking their head out of their hole waiting to catch  prey as it wanders past.

Every individual is born as male.
Juveniles and sub-adults are black with a yellow dorsal fin. When they reach adulthood, they keep the yellow fin but the body turns blue and starts developing female reproductive organs.
​When they reach their full size, they turn into female and change their color to complete yellow.
They will then find a mate, lay their eggs, and die within a month.

It is due to their short lifespan that the female ribbon eels are rarely observed.

The ribbon is the only protandric hermaphrodite eel, meaning they are capable of changing sex to female if there is a shortage of natural females in the environment.

They are often found in pairs and if a couple successfully establishes a secure den they can be found in the same place together for long periods of time. Sometimes Harlequin Shrimps will even spend the vast majority of their 7-year lifespan in the same place and with the same mate. They will live, breed, hunt, and defend their territory together loyally as long as their surroundings allow them. You may be thinking this is a very romantic gesture on the part of these gorgeous couples. Sorry to burst your bubble, but this behavior might just be a good way to increase their chances for the female’s eggs to get fertilized...

        Harlequin shrimp have very unique dinning habits that could easily be inspiring for the plot of a horror movie. Although they are very small, they survive on a diet of almost exclusively live starfish much bigger then themselves. With a particular taste for their legs and soft tissues (best eaten with a nice chianti). Most seas tars species are suitable but reportedly Harlequin shrimp cannot eat brittle stars.

      In recent years with the growing aquarium trade, these beauties have also become a major target for people wishing to put them on display in their personal fish tanks. When you search the internet for information on harlequin shrimp, the majority of hits are from sites offering information to aquarium breeders and collectors, which is heartbreaking. The appeal is understandable from an aesthetic standpoint, but we would much prefer to observe them happy and free in their natural habitat. We often get the opportunity to spot them tucked away in the reefs while diving Myanmar.

        Although harlequin shrimp may have questionable dietary practices, we still find them to be magnificent little critters and look forward to every chance to meet them under the seas.

In this article I wanted to present the various rays you can encounter in the Andaman sea. Most of the pictures below were taken in the Mergui Archipelago located off the coast of Myanmar and some in Surin and Similan islands in Thailand. 

I will start with the rays spending most of their time laying on the sea floor such as the stingrays and then about the pelagic rays through the Andaman Sea: they swim mid water from the depth all the way to the surface and travel long distances such as eagle rays and Manta rays!