Amazing … the harlequin shrimps!

Meet the Harlequin Shrimps With Us!

We had been looking for them for a long time, but now they are back!!! How lucky we were on our last cruise to spot them in three different places 😉

Harlequin shrimp underwater in the Andaman Sea — Harlequin shrimp underwater.

Group of divers aboard The Smiling Seahorse — The happy divers on board.

And as if that was not enough… we had plenty of amazing things to discover underwater.

But first, let’s keep the suspense and introduce the happy divers who were on board: Don & Tom from the USA; Filippo from Italy and Petra from Denmark; Isabelle, Jean-Philippe, Pierre, Sophie and Sylvain from France; Markus, Monika and Valérie from Switzerland; Neel from England, and Sofia from Sweden.

Once again, the conditions were great and the dive sites looked fantastic, with astonishing corals and seafans.

Colourful sea fan and coral underwater — Astonishing corals and seafans.

Huge schools of fish underwater — Huge schools of fish all around…

And in the middle of all that, magical encounters…

Manta ray passing overhead underwater — A magical manta ray encounter.

School of goldband fusiliers underwater — Schools of goldband fusiliers.

Some of which had been expected for a long time 😉

Frogfish underwater — A frogfish hiding in the reef.

Stonefish resting on the seabed — A grumpy stonefish.

And some others we would never have dreamed of… a ghost pipefish soup!

Ghost pipefish underwater — A ghost pipefish soup!

Ghost pipefish camouflaged underwater — Another ghost pipefish hiding in the reef.

Let’s not forget our usual ones…

Octopus resting among soft coral — An octopus resting among the soft corals.

Mantis shrimp looking towards the camera — A curious mantis shrimp.

Nudis and sea slugs…

Camouflaged nudibranch underwater — A beautifully camouflaged nudibranch.

Decorated nudibranch underwater — Another colourful nudibranch.

Seahorse underwater — Seahorses were smiling

Spanish dancer nudibranch underwater — Spanish dancers were back

Juveniles were in the place too…

Juvenile angelfish underwater — A juvenile angelfish.

Juvenile batfish underwater — A juvenile batfish.

Everybody was very excited about the dives, and also very hard-working!

Divers enjoying their time underwater — Everybody was very excited about the dives!

Divers improving their diving skills — And very hard-working too!

But still, we had time to relax and share a drink all together!

Guests relaxing and sharing a drink aboard The Smiling Seahorse — Time to relax and share a drink all together.

Exploring the Islands

There was also time to explore the islands and enjoy the spectacular scenery above the water. Kayaking was a great way to discover some of the more isolated corners of the area between our dives.

Kayaking and discovering isolated islands

Guests exploring an isolated island — Exploring an isolated island.

Amazing scenery and fantastic weather during the day — The scenery was amazing during the day with fantastic weather!

Beautiful dramatic sky over the sea — Beautiful scenery above the water.

And our famous breathtaking sunsets…

Breathtaking sunset over the Andaman Sea — And our famous breathtaking sunsets…

Dolphin accompanying the boat on the way back to the mainland — And to finish a splendid trip, what’s better than this on our way back to the mainland?!!!

Congratulations to Our Certified Divers!

Lots of courses took place on this last cruise, so congratulations to Tom, Don, Sophie and Valérie for their Nitrox certifications; Pierre and Sophie for their Advanced Open Water certifications; Valérie again for her Deep Specialty; and Jean-Philippe for his Rescue certification.

And the palm goes to Petra and Filippo for completing their Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Nitrox certifications! Good job, guys!

Divers celebrating their Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Nitrox certifications — Congratulations to all our newly certified divers!

Marine Life in the Andaman Sea

Ultimate Marine Life Guide to the Mergui Archipelago

Myanmar has a large area of the Andaman Sea, made up of the Mergui Archipelago and the Burma Banks, and it is also very rich in marine life.

We have been diving in Myanmar since 2012, and I have written quite a few blog posts about the critters we have encountered here.

I wanted to share on this page the Ultimate Marine Life Guide to the Mergui Archipelago, linking to the articles we have written about all these wonderful critters.

SEE THE MARINE LIFE GUIDE HERE!