Explore Myanmar and Thailand, December 2012

From the Mergui Archipelago to Surin Islands: Mantas, Caves and Christmas Diving

Blotched Stingrays at Shark Cave

18th of December. One of our favourite dive sites awaits us on that third day of our very popular Explore Burma trip. Today we dive Shark Cave… This place is amazing, always full of surprises!

I know it’s going to be a thrilling experience for Romain and Carol-Ann. Inside the cave, the way is obstructed by two massive blotched stingrays, which keep us from going all the way through. “It was a WOW feeling,” Romain said.

Blotched stingray at Shark Cave in Myanmar — Blotched stingray

Cuttlefish during a dive in Myanmar — Cuttlefish

On our second dive there we found two harlequin shrimps and two cuttlefish. For the night dive, some hunting trevallies bumped into us, a very freaky feeling, and a huge great barracuda came to hunt in the beam of our light. Awesome, really!

Current in the Mergui Archipelago

19th of December. It is time now for our newbies to experience current, like strong current! The Mergui Archipelago is an awesome place to dive and it has this particularity of having a lot of current. Open Water divers certifying there are far more advanced than the ones learning in quiet waters…

The current is strong enough that day for us to decide to go down grabbing the anchor line. We are like flags on that line, pretty fun!

Divers descending along the anchor line in a strong current in the Mergui Archipelago — Going down the anchor line

Clownfish among the reef in the Mergui Archipelago — Clownfish

Hawkfish resting on the reef in the Mergui Archipelago — Hawkfish

Once we are at the bottom, we let go of the line and find a place to hide from the current, so we can admire the barracuda hunting on the spot in the blue, where the current is the strongest. Very impressive…

We have a chance to look for macro life as well and we find a magnificent partner shrimp inside an anemone with some squat shrimps. A little further there are many clownfish and a super nice hawkfish.

When the air supply got low, we went up and got caught in the current, which was a lot of fun. We could see the rock passing by as I deployed the SMB and the dinghy came to pick us up. Great fun and good experience for my students.

Deep and Night Dive Specialty Training

20th of December. After doing two dives at the well-known seafan forest, where we found an eagle ray and a school of tunas, we head towards Western Rocky, where we will be able to complete the Deep specialty with Thierry.

Mergui Archipelago landscape and islands in Myanmar — Mergui Archipelago

Diving in the Mergui Archipelago during deep dive training — Deep diving in the Mergui Archipelago

Underwater diving during specialty training in Myanmar — Specialty training in Myanmar

On our way down, up to 40 metres, we stop by the frogfish spot to admire these very hard-to-find walking fish. Once at the bottom, we do a few skills to experience the nitrogen narcosis and work our way up to shallower depths so we do not exceed the allowed bottom time.

It was a success. Thierry coped very well with the depth, and it is now time to think of the night dive training, which we will do in the same area. It is all going to be about night navigation with a compass only, very similar to navigation in a “no viz” condition.

Christmas at the Surin Islands

24th of December. This is our Christmas trip and we go to the Surin Islands National Park. We left Ranong yesterday so we could already be at the dive spot early this morning.

Diving at the Surin Islands during the Christmas trip — Diving at the Surin Islands

Underwater marine life at the Surin Islands — Marine life at the Surin Islands

The usual barracudas are here as well as a few batfish, always very friendly and curious, all of this with crystal-clear visibility. Then later in the day we go to the sea gypsies’ village. That’s a very interesting experience; the cultural gap between this tribe and us makes it a very entertaining encounter.

It’s time now for the afternoon dive. How lucky are we to find an ornate ghost pipefish and the very rare barramundi! During the night dive, you can see thousands of shrimps dancing around with their tiny eyes staring at you. Beautiful!

Now it’s Christmas Eve and a delicious lamb leg is on the BBQ. The Christmas decorations are up, including the Christmas tree! What a great atmosphere: good diving, good food, good people, awesome!

The Mantas Are Back!

25th of December, Christmas Day… I wish to get some mantas for this upcoming dive! We go to Koh Tachai Pinnacle. That’s a cleaning station very famous for manta sightings. Let’s keep our fingers crossed…

Manta ray swimming close to divers at Koh Tachai Pinnacle — Manta ray encounter

Manta ray swimming in the deep blue at Koh Tachai — Manta in the deep blue

As soon as we hit the water, they are there! Finally, that’s the first time of the season that we see them… Two of them are flying around us, passing by again and again.

There are so many fish to look at, but we can’t get our eyes off the mantas. They are so graceful and so big, absolutely fantastic. When the time is up, we head towards the mooring line, but we don’t want to get out of the water as long as we still have a bit of air in our tanks. We keep staring at them and, as if they felt flattered, they come around us just so we can enjoy the show a little bit longer…

What a dive!

Sex on the Reef

26th of December. The weather doesn’t allow us to go all the way to Koh Bon, so we decide to go to Richelieu Rock. Although the dive site is amazing, we still have the mantas in our minds…

Underwater life at Richelieu Rock in Thailand — Diving at Richelieu Rock

Marine life on the reef at Richelieu Rock — Marine life at Richelieu Rock

The rock is covered by reddish soft corals. Huge schools of yellow fusiliers make it fun to swim through them, barracudas cruise around and giant trevallies hunt in the blue. Very nice.

Lower down there are three cuttlefish fighting for one female. It’s mating time…

29th of December. We are back to Burma, which I particularly like because, but not only, we are always alone on every dive site!

Our Customers’ Reviews

Plus de couleurs… More Colours…

“Comment est-ce qu’on va pouvoir s’amuser maintenant, les prochaines plongées vont probablement ressembler à une photo sans filtre rouge, où tout est monochrome et sans couleur…”

“How are we going to have fun now, the next dives will probably look like a photo without a red filter, or everything is monochrome and colourless…”

Colourful underwater scene from a liveaboard diving trip — More colours underwater

Some Great Dive Sites…

“Manta, seen, Rays, Seen, Seahorse, seen. Some great dive sites, favourite is Black Rock.”

Diving at one of Myanmar's great dive sites — Some great dive sites

Mantas, Whale Sharks, Leopard Sharks and Guitar Heroes! We Saw Everything…

“Vraiment une belle croisière, bien dosée à tout point de vue” “Les plongées furent divines: un festival de mantas, requin baleine, requin léopard et ‘guitar hero’! On a tout vu!”

“Truly a beautiful cruise, well balanced in every way” “The dives were divine: a festival of mantas, whale shark, leopard shark and guitar hero! We have seen everything!”

Marine life encountered during a Myanmar liveaboard cruise — Highlights from the cruise

6 Days of Fun Shared Above and Under the Water

“Le soleil commence à descendre sur la mer et les pagodes dorées de ce petit port Birman… 6 jours d’excellente entente et de plaisir partagés sur et sous l’eau… nombreuses plongées superbes”

“Franck et Camille parfaits à tous les niveaux, l’équipage aux petits soins, le cuisinier irremplaçable…”

“The sun begins to descend on the sea and the golden pagodas of this small Burmese port… 6 days of excellent understanding and pleasure shared on and under the water… many superb dives.”

“Franck and Camille perfect at all levels, the crew very attentive, the irreplaceable cook…”