I headed next to Khao Lak, the take off spot for diving the Similan and Surin islands. I did a liveaboard from here last year, but was inspired to come back after having a blast, but also to try and make it to Richilieu Rock (we had to turn around due to weather last year). It is arguably Thailand's best dive spot and one of the best in the world. I arrived a day early in Khao Lak, so tested out my ol' scooter skills and explored around the area, unfortunately, it wasn't the best weather. I had to seek shelter from the rain, but it was nice being out on the road exploring like I did so much last year.
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| Waterfall near Khao Lak |
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| Photos from the scooter |
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| Boat 813 - a police boat that was blown inland during the tsunami. Can you believe it's almost been 10 years. Khao Lak was devasted by the tsumani in December 2004. |
Now, to diving. As some of you might have seen on Facebook, Richelieu Rock is known for BIG sights, especially Manta Rays and Whale sharks. But there are lots of other things to see as well. Seamoths, nudibranchs, seahorses, frog fish, scorpion fish, massive schools of big hunting fish and the list goes on. I only have an underwater camera (18m max), so there is lots that I didn't photograph, but here are some pics I did manage to get. It was a wonderful 4 days, and highly recommended to all my diving friends.
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| Pit Stop on a beautiful island |
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| The Similan Islands never disappoint with the number of fish! |
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| Moray eel - hiding away! |
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| My awesome guide Fai and I horsing around on the dive deck. |
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| Big tuna out hunting on the sunset dive |
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| Anenome carpet - love watching the clown fish and anenome fish! |
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Couldn't resist another shot of this handsome guy.
Whale shark alert! |
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| My dive group - Bernd, Greg, Fai and I were a great team! |
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| Honeycomb moray - the inside of their mouths are the same pattern! |
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| This weird looking dude is a frogfish. Experts at hiding. |
I decided to extend my time in Thailand because:
1. I heard that there was some good diving on Phi Phi (the huge benefits of befriending dive masters who have dived all over the world), and
2. I wanted to stick around for Songkram, the Buddhist New Year and a huge water fight.
So, I went back to Koh Phi Phi, an island that I never thought I would visit again! But, the diving was good and I'm glad I got to experience the party that is Songkram, I even got myself a little, very weak and pathetic water gun to join in the festivities!
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| Leopard shark, resting on the bottom |
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Leopard shark, swimming away.
So cool to see this guy in action |
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| Lion Fish! |
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| Shy anenome fish. |
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| Blue sea star. Beautiful colours underwater! |
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Porcupine fish being cleaned by a
cleaner wrasse (look at his gills) |
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| Maya Bay - made famous by "The Beach" |
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I'm a huge fan of gregorian fans.
Stunning coral! |
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| Purple soft coral galore! |
Phi Phi isn't the craziest place to celebrate Songkram, but it does have a party atmosphere to uphold, so there was lots of partying to be done! All that water was a nice break from the heat.
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| Blessed and ready to PARTY! |
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| Walking the streets of Phi Phi |
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| Celebrations in full swing! |
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| Reloading my gun with some local kids |
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What's Phi Phi without a fire show. Gotta wonder about the burns on the heels the next day ;)
Somehow I managed the urge and didn't limbo or skip rope with fire! haha! |
Another awesome trip to Thailand, but it was time to say goodbye to Pad Thai and Massaman curry and head to a new country, Malaysia!
