Blogs from Ko Similan Marine NP, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 3

swaydee-krab en sawaydee-kaah!! De laatste week hebben we ons vooral onderwater bevonden. Eerst zijn we gaan duiken aan sipadan, een eiland voor de kust van semporna, borneo, en we sliepen zelf op een nabij gelegen eiland, mabul. Sipadan wemelt van grote vis, het was fantastisch duiken, behalve dat de visibility soms wat tegenviel. Maar op elke duik ziet ge 10 a 20 schilpadden, een vijftal haaien (meestal witpuntrifhaaien, soms nogal groot, maar-weeral-ongevaarlijk), grote tonijnen, grote scholen vis in alle kleuren... De club waarmee we doken was wel een beetje amateuristisch, maar uiteindelijk is alles goed meegevallen. Daarna zijn we naar phuket, thailand gevlogen (air asia is hier echt een zegen: ge neemt ne vlieger gelijk ge nen bus neemt), en vandaar naar khao lak gegaan aan de westkust, waar we een liveaboard naar de similan eilanden ... read more

Well methinks that this blog entry was a little later than I intended but what does one do when you have so much stress to deal with? First off I want to wish everyone back in Vancouver and elsewhere in the world a very Merry Christmas. I drove a beat-up motor scooter across the sandy paths of a tropical island to try and make a last minute Christmas phone call and in the end decided I ought to do a blog as well. So, as I write this I’m sitting in front of a rather old but solid computer in the back of what I can only decipher as a sweat shop/ clothing warehouse on a remote tropical island off the west coast of Thailand. You know it’s bad when you’ve been to so many islands ... read more

After a long and very cold (air con) overnight bus trip from Bangkok to Khao Lak, I arranged to go on a Liveabord dive trip into the Similan Islands. The boat left in the evening of the morning I arrived so I was exhausted when we started out but soon reovered. I have never done a Liveaboard before, it was a brilliant way to dive and see the Similan's. I went with Siam Dive Adventure, their boat is very new and comfortable, the package included 14 dives over 4 days and 4 nights around the Similan Islands. I won't bore you with the ins and outs but everything was good, a great bunch of people on the boat, excellent food, great weather and fantastic diving. My highlight definitly has to be swimming with a 4 metre ... read more

Well it was magic! Manta rays, turtles, huge moray eels, clown fish (nemo fishies, that is), an amazing array of tropical fish, schooling barracuda, the odd large pelagic such as tuna or giant trevally, giant gorgonian fans, an assortment of hard and soft corals, clear, warm, warm water (most of the time) and a great boat. What more could you ask for? Well, whale sharks perhaps but lets not dwell on the negatives... Oh, and I didn't get a photo of the manta ray so you'll just have to take my word for it! GETTING THERE Getting there was ok. I had remembered the night train with reclining seats to be a very painful mode of travel but it was nowhere as bad as I remembered. It is amazing how your perceptions change as you travel ... read more

In a nutshell... Dreamy islands, crystal clear warm waters, powdery white sandy beaches, brilliant blue skies and cotton candy clouds...simply paradise... Getting there... Flew to Phuket via Tiger Air and stayed over a night in Patong Baan Tonsai Garden - a budget motel with lots of European tourists and also local Thais on holiday. The taxi ride from the airport was quite pricey - i paid 500 baht just to get to my dive shop Ocean Zone Divers in Chalong Bay for my EANx course. The next day, after a good day trip with Marina Divers, our friendly driver brought me and Yuko from Chalong all the way up north to Tap Lamu in Khao Lak. There, we boarded our LOB boat and met the other divers for our diving holiday. The drive was almost 2 ... read more