Diving at the Similan Islands

The Similan Islands are located in the Andaman Sea, off the west coast of Thailand. There are nine of them and all are covered in dense tropical jungle vegetation, but I’m more interested in the things below the surface.

The perfectly crystalline blue water is luring us all into the depths as we explore the corals and say hello to the fishes. Anybody seen Luca Brasi?

Koh Similan.

The Similans have sensational underwater rock formations and challenging currents swirl around the huge granite boulders. We encounter some white-tipped reef sharks in the area, but they are usually friendly. However, you don’t want to mess with the striped sea snakes, they are as fast as they are lethal.

Diving near Ko Payu, Similan Islands.

While spending time above the surface to remove residual nitrogen, we stop by at Koh Similan and get ashore using a small rubber boat. The beach is made up of coral sand, smooth and blazingly white. We walk up to the spectacular rock, making up for the name Donald Duck bay.

Humid evening at Ko Miang.

I may not be as crazy as the Frenchman Jacques Mayol in Luc Besson’s masterpiece Le Grand Bleu, but Éric Serra’s soundtrack from that movie is always on my mind.