This week we had a lot of fun.
Conditions were as good as they have been all season. 30m visibility almost everywhere, calm flat seas and generally no strong currents (obviously not including Koh Tachai, woohoo what a dive that was). However, one thing that struck me most this week was how many secrets there are left to be discovered here.
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Simian islands secrets
I have been in the Similans for four seasons. I thought I know everything about it. Apparently I was mistaken. The first new discovery was on island number 4. There are two big beaches there and I would be lying if I told you they didn’t get busy in peak season. Of course they do! It’s the world famous Similan Islands! But fortunately there are places to escape the crowds. We went for a little walk around the island looking for lizards, bats and Nicobar pigeons.
I noticed a small sign I had never seen before. It was simply marked ‘sunset’. We had a bit of time so we went for a look. What we discovered is that you are able to explore the whole West side of the island and as you can see from the photos, you will likely be on your own when you do. We found several viewpoints with stunning views. The boats are all moored on the east side leaving the west unspoiled. The view of the seemingly endless Indian Ocean stretches far off into the distance. There is nothing between you and India. Just the Big Blue.
Starting to run low on time we headed back towards princess bay. But there was one little detour on the way. Another small Signpost, this one marked ‘small beach’. This modest little beach doesn’t need a fancy name. It’s just there for you to enjoy, if you can find it. Of course there was nobody else here. I can’t explain how nice the feeling of solitude on a paradise island feels. You will just have to come and experience it for yourself. This was a wonderful start to the trip. But the surprises were not just on land.
Koh bon’s secrets
Diving with a small experienced group of divers is the best way to dive. For me as a guide, I look forward to these kind of trips. When you dive with people you trust, you relax more and you enjoy it more. By the time we got to koh bon, I knew we could go exploring to the furthest parts of the divesite and see things that others don’t.
There is a part of Koh Bon that I only discovered recently. A few other boats dive there, but most people don’t know it’s there. In this place the hard corals are the healthiest I have seen in the similan islands. And the number of fish when we were diving there was staggering.
Personally I believe One mistake new divers make is to just keep on moving. I’m of the opinion that if you find somewhere nice, then stay. We had so much fun swimming in and out of the huge schools of glass fish and fusiliers hugging this newly discovered little pinnacle. It was my favourite dive of the trip. And what was the icing on the cake? Nobody else was diving there.
It was a fantastic trip and thank you to everyone that came. I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we at big Blue did. Take at peek at some of the photos and please leave us a comment to tell us what you thought.