Our Similan Adventure
Trip Start
Aug 02, 2010
1
35
50
Trip End
Feb 15, 2011
Similan Islands, Phangnga, Thailand
Friday, November 26, 2010
We were introduced to Khao Lak Scuba Adventures by the hotel where we stayed and were very happy with the recommendation. The equipment was well maintained, the dive shop was organised, the crew were very mindful of safety of the divers as well as the marine life in the region and the boat we stayed on had private rooms and four marine showers with joy of joys, hot water! The accommodation at sea was sadly better than where we stayed the night before on land!
Many of the divers were only out for day dives, but the gang of eight or so who stayed onboard overnight were all good fun. Staying overnight meant we got to do a night dive as well as an early morning one the next day. Waking up at sea amid these beautiful, peaceful surroundings, and getting a dive in before breakfast was perhaps the best thing I've done in ages. The breakfast was great, as was all the food. We were really well looked after.
The diving itself was excellent. The Similan Islands is a national marine park, preserved as a place of outstanding beauty and marine life. The granite boulders that make up the islands continue into the sea creating interesting swim throughs and channels and are home to thousands of fish. The first day we stopped at the national park on island nine and climbed around the island for a while, enjoying the view from the viewpoint at the top. We dived North Point, Hideaway and Waterfall Bay on the first day and Elephant Head Rock, East of Eden and West of Eden on the second. We saw a small black tip reef shark (only about 2 meters) and a turtle and some other fish we hadn't seen before like crown of thorns starfish. There were also some great coral fans and jars.
We are so glad we came to Similan and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in diving. A liveaboard is definitely the way to experience it best and Khao Lak Scuba were brilliant. Good times.
