While other related groups were semi-nomadic and formed coastal communities, the Moken considered themselves true nomads of the sea.

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The Moken possess many fables and folk tales which help them make use of the natural world.

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The Thai have two names for the Moken: chao ley, people of the sea, and chao nam, people of the water.

BBC: The end of a wandering way of life?

After the 2004 tsunami devastated the region, park officials brought the several Moken settlements together on the same beach on Koh Surin Tai.

BBC: The end of a wandering way of life?

Like the Moken, who have no tradition of saving what they earn or catch today for tomorrow, I had stopped fixating on the future.

BBC: The end of a wandering way of life?

There, at the far end of the cove, situated on a fringe of sand between verdant hills and an iridescent bay, lay the Moken village.

BBC: The end of a wandering way of life?

They say old habits die hard, and the more time I spent on Koh Surin Tai, the more I saw this to be true for the Moken.

BBC: The end of a wandering way of life?

The 200 or so Moken living on the Surin Islands are part of a larger ethnic group spread out across the Mergui Archipelago off the coasts of Burma and Thailand.

BBC: The end of a wandering way of life?

Traditionally the Moken are huntergatherers, spending much of the year fishing from covered boats known as kabangs, only returning to land to collect fresh water or seek refuge from seasonal monsoons.

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