Similan Dive Trip 28 Feb-3rd March 2007

I just got back from diving in Similan Island...live aboard style. Actually, it was a working trip for me; have to take care of a small group of divers. Similan is famous for pelagic i.e. big stuff such as whale sharks and manta rays.

I arrived in Phuket a day earlier together with Nazri, a PADI Dive master. Nice guy. We bunked for the night at Neptuna Hotel, Patong. Nazri's dive bag got sent to Jakarta instead. The Air Asia guy at the counter made the mistake of not checking the baggage tag.

The next day, we went to the airport to greet the divers flying in from Kuala Lumpur. Again, Air Asia somehow managed to piss off Nazri for the second time by not sending his dive bag on this flight. It was still in Kuala Lumpur!!! I went to their office with Nazri and he spoke to some baggage controller in Kuala Lumpur. The fastest they can deliver his bag to Phuket is at 2300hrs and our boat was leaving at 2000hrs.


We took a ride in mini vans to the jetty, about 1.5 hours away. We did 4 boat dives a day including 1 night dive.

The sweet memories from the trip:-

1) At Koh Tah Chai dive site, there was very strong current. After all 10 of us let go off the dive platform on our boat, we ended up at the dive platform of the boat in front of our boat. Just like 10 ekor cicak. Then I looked down to look at the buoy line (the boat was tied to it) and I saw about 10 divers holding to the line for dear life. Their DM signaled to me for us to move off, so we let go of the boat and drifted. ABORT DIVE!


2) I was busy taking pics when I heard divers banging their tanks. So I turned around only to find 2 mantas heading my way (and they were quite close), not on top but at the same level as me. I was stunned for a while (yep, the sight of these beautiful creatures can do that to you, even if you have seen it before). Changed my camera setting and quickly snapped 3 pictures.

3) The highlight must be the dive from the top deck by Asfa, a non-diver. She was so scared due to past traumatic experience. Everyone was cheering her to do it. After about 5 cycles of divers demonstrating the different ways of how to jump plus the countless number of prayers, she finally did it. She is now a changed person. Obviously, fear is not a factor for her. Maybe we had unleash something which we might regret....hehehe!




Something worth mentioning...saw this mobile bank near the jetty. Wow...even had an ATM machine. That's all that I can write. As for the rest of the pics including the u/water pics, you can find it here. Too many to include in this blog.

To all those who were on the trip....thank you for a great time and hope to do it again with you.