RGS-Singapore presents: "Asia's Secret Underworld: 30 Years of Cave System Exploration in Southeast Asia" featuring Martin Foakes! Join us at the British Club Singapore at 7.30pm on 30 May as we delve deeper into the sprawling network of caves tucked away in Southeast Asia's extensive subterranean landscapes.
This evening's story focuses on Martin's hunt for unexplored caves in Southeast Asia to survey their physical characteristics and examine their significance in the broader context of the region's natural environment. Martin will describe his experiences from an extremely wide range of caving and adventure climbing expeditions in Southeast Asia across the past 30 years, with some of those eventually resulting in the discovery of new cave passages (and cave animals!). These journeys were made possible with the power of collaboration and mutual understanding between the many fascinating people he had met along the way.
Curious about what lies within our region's deepest and darkest cave systems? Sign up for this talk today! https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/martin-foakes-asias-secret-underworld-tickets-894001652007
Event Details:
Date & Time: 30 May 2024 (Thursday), 7.30pm to 8.30pm (Doors open at 7pm)
Venue: The British Club Singapore, 73 Bukit Tinggi Road, Singapore 289761
About the Speaker:
Martin Foakes has been designing and leading adventurous expeditions in Southeast Asia and Europe for over 30 years. He is an experienced mountain climber and cave explorer who is passionate about the positive impact that outdoor learning and adventure can have on young people, as well as the building of better understanding between different communities around the world. He moved to Asia in 1993, and at that time there were very few foreign cavers living in Southeast Asia, with most exploration being carried out by larger international expeditions which usually visited the same places year after year, so it was a very exciting time to be based in this region and actively exploring remote parts of the jungle that had never seen the light of a caver's headlamp before.
In 2018, Martin joined the Myanmar Cave Documentation Project Expedition, a Swiss-led team of experienced cavers which explored and mapped a wide range of amazing caves and discovered some unique species of cave dwelling animals. He was also part of a diverse group of international cavers who were attempting to survey unknown areas of North Laos close to the Myanmar border in early 2024, with the full expedition report scheduled to be published later this year.
Martin has been described as one of the 'movers and shakers' in the world of outdoor education and he remains closely connected to the wider international caving community. Martin has a very understanding wife and at least three beautiful daughters.