Similan/Richelieu Liveaboard
Trip Start
Unknown
1
4
Trip End
Ongoing
Similan Islands, Thailand
Monday, February 26, 2007
We set off after a suprisingly small amount of (pointless) hanging around.from Chalong on the MV Dive Asia 1, overnight up to the Similan Islands. Diving the Similans was very good, with healthy corals, generally good viz and an abundance of marine life (lots of octopi, some sharks, a an extremely friendly turtle, plus the usual collection of hunting fish and scorpionfish).
However, it was on day two that things got really interesting with the manta cleaning station at Koh Bon. A pair of manta rays were out having fun, lazily swimming by as we fought, what was in places, a pretty strong current. And then, just as you thought that was it, back they came. At one point I was frantically banging to attract my wife's attention as one literally came swimming right at me. Needless to say, a magical experience, which makes all the sea sickness worth while!
Koh Tachai, our next stop, is now the most likely place to see whale sharks, but it was in fact our final destination, Richelieu Rock that we found one.
After the first dive at RR, which was a real pea-souper, I thought the manta's were going to be the highlight, but while we were having our surface interval, crew from another boat came round telling us there was one by the mooring line. A wind-up perhaps? We were all chomping at the bit; there was a whale shark there, why weren't we in the water! Ten minutes later, the boat moved round, we all bundled in to snorkel off after it, and behold, there it was...six meters of beuatiful, if somewhat lumbering, whale shark.
Our following dive was somewhat erratic, missing much of the dive site itself, to have another chance to swim with the whale shark, something which we put right on the third. RR itself is a magnificent dive site, with dramatic rock and an incredible amount of sea life. If the viz had been good, it would have equaled Hin Daeng/Hin Muang. However, the whale shark more than made up for it!
Cruising back towards the Similan Islands, eating dinner, we were actually talking about how suprising it was that we didn't see dolphins, and then suddenly there they were, rounding off the finest days diving anyone could ever ask for.
We also had a free day-trip thrown in for booking with Dive Asia more than 90 days in advance, and I was extremely disappointed with the staff. The local guide was great, but the European's running the boat were unhelpful, and I thought rude. The staff on the liveaboard were the exact opposite - shame the day-trip staff don't learn a thing or two.
