National Geographic Traveller (UK)

ONE FOR ALL & ALL FOR ONE

Menacing clouds skulk over Ao Pra Beach like a pack of starving wolves at dusk. We don’t have much time. Racing against the impending storm, we chuck plastic bottles, food containers and beer-can rings into a washed-up rusty refrigerator, like we’re on a dystopian episode of Supermarket Sweep.

“These things are a real nuisance to sea life,” says Nipon Suddhidhanakool, his laid-back demeanour temporarily dissolving into frustration as he points at the old fishing nets and straws in our plastic molehill. “The fridge is, too, but at least it’s not microplastic.” I hadn’t expected this island’s crystal-clear waters to spew a kitchen appliance onto its powder-soft sands, but I’m told the rough seas at this time of

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