Diving the Similans

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We thought we needed a little treat whilst in Thailand, and it was in the form of 4 days on a dive boat where all we did was dive, eat and sleep. We had never been on a 'liveaboard 'dive trip before so it was all quite exciting. We boarded the boat from Khao Lak in the evening, with about 22 other divers and 13 crew. We started off with one of many fantastic meals and set off for the Similan Islands which are about 60kms off the coast of Thailand.

Our days were pretty long and tiring. We were awoken usually around 6 30 am, in time for a light breakfast prior to our first dive at 7am. We were split into groups of about 4 or 5 divers, and each had a guide which took us on our dives. After the first dive we returned for a full cooked breakfast follwed by a couple of hours free time to top up the tan. Then off we went again mid morning, and returned after our dive for lunch. By this point it was usually time for a nap and of we went to our cabins for a snooze. Diving is meant to be relaxing, but we were diving in some quite difficult conditions which involved swimming against some incredibly strong currents which quickly tired us out. Mid afternoon we were diving again, which was followed by some more food, and a couple of hours later we were doing a night dive, followed by dinner!

We saw some beautiful corals and fish, and were very excited to see lots of leopard sharks, lion fish, sea snakes, sea horses, scorpion fish, shrimps, lobster.....I could go on and on. We were disappointed to have missed a huge whale shark by seconds. Our plans were nearlly spoilt by the King of Thailand who was staying on a nearby island- we thought the navy would stop us from going to Richelieu Rock, one of the best dive sites in the world. Our captain could not find out either way if the area had been closed or not so we went anyway in the hope that we would not bump into anyone in authority.

In total we did 14 dives in 3 1/2 days, so it was really intense. We did 2 night dives when we went out with torches and saw completely different things in the water, and went to visit a boat wreck too. Only one of our dives involved a rescue, when the current was so strong I missed the dive site and panicked as I could not breath fast enough. Trev and I got picked up by another boat, but not before a huge boat sailed by as we were trying to get out of the water and nearly washed us past/under the boat!!!! They kindly took us back to our boat where some hot sweet tea was in order! Fortunately the last dive went ok- it had no current his time- so we finished on a good note and I am yet to be put off by a bad experience.

We are back on dry land now, wearing shoes for the first time in 4 days, wondering why the floor isn't moving and totally exhausted. We are heading north now, towards Ko Tao where we are going......diving !!!!!!

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Photos

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this turtle visited for lunch

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we saw a seahorse

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loads of lion fish

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Leopard sharks

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lots of Leopard sharks

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moray eel

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sea snake