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Thailand  The author lives and works on Koh Samui. To avoid repetition, readers are asked to read his Travel Club report on "Samui & Koh Tao" (many aspects are applicable to both). 
IntroductionA chance conversation with an American friend (& Dive buddy) led to a trip to the Similan Islands. In 2001 Bob Arkwright asked for suggestions as to what music to use for his underwater video footage. I suggested "Echoes" by Pink Floyd. 6 months later Bob asked me to take a look....... "Howzat!" he said. "Mantas to 'Echoes'!". I was amazed at the clarity of his footage, and asked where he had recorded it. "The Similans" he replied. "We're going again next year. Why don't you join us?" ......& that's exactly what I did!! Location The Similan Islands are in the Andaman Sea, 4-6 hours from Phukett off the west coast of Thailand. Optimum time The Similans are in a conservation area and are patrolled by marine wardens. Diving is restricted to November-April to allow the reef/fish a chance to recover. Christmas & Easter are therefore busy, but the period Jan-March is ideal (This also means cheap flights from UK and a chance to escape the winter gloom!) Note: Dive operators have ample dive-sites when the Similans are closed. 
Our PartyOur party consisted of 10 Divers, all connected (albeit indirectly in some cases) to the Dive/tourist industry on Samui. Our nationalities included: Brits (5), American (1). Canadian (1), Dutch (1), Thai (1), Italian (1). The Divemaster (Hans) was Danish and there were 3 Thai crew, including the Captain's wife (her culinary skills were superb, every meal was delicious). Most of us made our way to Phukett from Samui by minibus. Others flew in from South Korea/London/Bangkok and were picked up at Phukett airport. 
Dive Operator"Kingfisher diving" were our hosts. My friends had used them many times and their Boat/Crew/Staff were held in high regard. The Boat "MV Kingfisher" was very comfortable and well equipped. After setting up our diving gear we never touched it for the rest of the week (except when diving-the staff did EVERYTHING!). "MV Kingfisher" had 2 double bedrooms and 2 x 4-bunkrooms, each with airconditioning. These rooms were surprisingly spacious - at 6'4" I was able to stand up! There were 2 (flushing) toilets plus 2 Showers with hot and cold water. They were a bit small for my delicate frame (but at 18 Stone I guess that's my fault!!) Costs Our (4 night/16 dive) trip cost around £300 per person. For more info see the links below. 
Dive SitesMy logbook reveals the following: Barracuda Point (10.8m) A shakedown dive & buoyancy check. (Green Turtle seen). Eastern Front (25.1m) Another Green Turtle. The Coral & Visibility were very good and I noted several species of (non aggressive) Trigger Fish that I'd never seen before. Deep 6 (24.8m) Excellent Rock/Coral formations. Numerous fish-life inc a yellow pipefish. East of Eden (16.2m) A Drift dive on a reef. 2x Hawksbill Turtles and Bumphead Parrotfish. Elephant Head (17.5m) The current was a bit strong - I aborted after just 5 mins (I'm too B-I-G, most of the others enjoyed it!). MV Atlantis (Wreck 31.8m) Home to a few lobsters. Saw a large Moray (2m) in the coral as we left the stern. 
Beacon Point (26.1m)Heavy plankton, ideal for Rays & Plankton feeders. By now we were looking for mantas. I saw two diamond-shaped rays (estimated to be 15m lower and 50m to my left and exceeding 1m wingspan). I franticly banged and started break-dancing (to inform the others) but no one can verify my claim.......... (They weren't mantas .......They looked like Stealth Bombers & were engaged in a "chase me" ritual on a sandy bottom......). Christmas Point (21.8m) Saw some Unicorn fish. North Point (36.5m) This dive produced a leopard shark, a hawksbill turtle, A feeding frenzy by several travellys and a spotted wrasse. Note: From the surface we saw 6-8 marlin attacking a shoal of fish 300m from the boat. (We were having our breakfast and they were having theirs!!) Other dive sites included Koh Bon and Koh Tachai and produced much the same as I have reported. Another species of interest was the (thumb-sized) yellow boxfish. I saw evidence of demolition fishing, but this was not as bad as on Koh Tao on the east coast of Thailand. Richelieu Rock (21.3m) This had walls, coral, colour, current and was by far the best site. Mantas had been seen all day but sadly not by us. (As the sun set on the final day we saw a humpbacked whale 300m to starboard). Note: These notes are based on my experiences. Some of our party dived much deeper but I was happy escorting a photographer at shallower depths. Summary This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip and I will undoubtedly return. "Kingfisher" made it look easy and I thank them for the photos that accompany this report. Dave Covey Hyperbaric Consultant & DiveCourse Coordinator, Samui, Thailand Email: questions@divesamui.org My website: www.divesamui.org  a) www.kingfisherdiving.com "Kingfisher Diving" Website. b) www.scuba-doc.com/divthai.htm Emergency details (Chamber) 
Species of note:i) Powder blue Surgeonfish ii) Indo pacific blue Marlin iii) Yellow boxfish. iv) Leopard Shark v) Hawksbill Turtle vi) Green Turtle vii) Humpbacked Whale viii) Manta ray ix) Unicorn Fish x) Bumphead Parrotfish Return to THAILAND | ||||
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