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Over the top !!!

29/11/2017

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Top level dive cruise to Mergui Archipelago

Top level dive cruise to Mergui Archipelago

If there is one thing we can say about this last trip in the Mergui Archipelago... it is all said in the title ...
As an introduction to this new season, it gives us high hopes ;)

You can see the smiles in the faces of our happy customers! It was a great atmosphere on board thanks to: Claudio from Argentina, Ricardo from Spain, Ann-Marie from Ireland, Claes from Sweden,  Ghislaine and Alex from France!

We saw so many stuff that I don't even know what to start with ...
So we'll start huge!
That must have been the best unexpected encounter of the week ... on a night dive ... when you just see this biggy coming straight to you, that's an experience!
Eagle ray in Myanmar

And then, to meet with two fatty nurse sharks in a narrow cave ...
Nurse sharks in there caves

​What was amazing first, was the number of fishes, everywhere on every dive site!
Plenty of fishes and beautiful soft coral
Angel fishes

​Glass fish all around ...
A glass fishes
 
​And second, there was big and small everywhere! That's what makes Burma different!
​Nurse and white tip sharks, rays ...
Beautiful blotched stingray
The fly of the eagle ray...

An incredible number of cuttlefishes and octopuses, even mating ;)
The color changing cuttlefish...
Camouflage expert, the octopus...

​Amazing patterns and colors... Guess from what?!
​Amazing patterns and colors... Guess from what?!

Fantastic corals ...
Flower? Mushroom? No, coral!
Seafan Forest in Mergui Archipelago

​We didn't need to beg the divers to do the four dives a day!
​We didn't need to beg the divers to do the four dives a day!

Underwater, it looked more like that:
Diodon Hystrix
Happy dive buddy on The Smiling Seahorse cruise
Seafan Forest in Mergui Archipelago

Back to the boat, exhausted but happy! There was still enough energy for a drink ... After the last dive of course!
Back to the boat, exhausted but happy!

​Or a round of Yam's!
A round of Yam's?

And the morning after, here we were going again in the middle of the fishes!
Clown fish cached by Franck Fogarolo
A dangerous lion fish on the coral reef...
Angel fish and so beautiful Nudis eggs...

​Also in the sand, there were nice surprises!
A curious scorpionfish...

​We were not the only curious ones, they were staring at us too!
We were not the only curious ones, they were staring at us too!

The only one who didn't look very pleased to see us was our first stonefish of the season! But he never looks smily anyway ;)
A well camouflaged stonefish

Some juveniles around, made us even happier!
Blue angelfish
Tiny Seahorse

Last but not least, the world of the smally ones!
​Nudis ...
So colorful nudibranch!
 
Shrimps of all kinds: durban dancing, squat, glass shrimp, zanzibar... and so much more!
Durban dancing shrimps
Glass shrimp

And a spearing mantis shrimp!
And a spearing mantis shrimp!

​Our favourite ones:
2 tiger tail seahorses

And Franck's favourite, the spanish dancer!
The graceful spanish dancer

This time, we had a special guest on board, Camille (the "office boss") was having a funny holiday cruise!
Camille, the boss, can be funny too!

During the island hopping stops, always nice views of the local life:
Local sea life in Myanmar

​From above, it was as beautiful!
Beautiful Mergui's waters!

​Crazy skies ...
Blue sky and sea on the sunset...
Golden sunset in Mergui Archipelago

And an unforgettable sunset on Black Rock...
And an unforgettable sunset on Black Rock...

To finish, congratulations to our students: Claes who did his Open Water, Advanced and Nitrox course; and Ann-Marie for her Nitrox certification!
​
Special thanks to Ghislaine and Alex, it was a pleasure to welcome you again on the MV Thai Sea; and see you next year ;) !!!
Our Padi courses students
Our student get Nitrox certification!
Our cruises in Myanmar...
6D  Burma: Mergui Archipelago
7D Burma: Black Rock in a week
8D/7N Burma: Undiscovered Mergui
5D Thailand: Best of Surin/ Similans
​
Read more about Burma's best dive sites
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Fresh start of the new season and already great reviews!

15/11/2017

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Our two first trips just ended and already we can see that the customers are more than happy!
Of course, the fight between the Dive and the Cook team is back on track to be number one ;)

"Merci à votre staff, en particulier aux cuistos pour tous ces succulents repas que l'on va regretter ... J'espère revenir un jour."
"Thanks to your staff, in particular to the cooks for all these delicious meals we're gonna regret... Hope to be back one day."
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"Fantastic trip with some great diving ... Loved the food and the crew ... Will definitely be back for more!"
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"Super croisière ... un service impeccable, une nourriture délicieuse et de belles plongées. Heureuse d'avoir vu un requin pointe blanche, des hyppocampes, un poisson crapaud, des langoustes ..."

"Great cruise ...an excellent service, delicious food and beautiful dives. Happy to have seen a white tip shark, seahorses, a frogfish, lobsters ..."
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"Un grand merci pour l'organisation et la patience de Camille pour répondre à nos questions ..., puis un grand bravo au cuisto ... Un staff super souriant aux petits soins ..."

"A big thank for the organization and the patience of Camille to answer all our questions ..., and congratulations to the cook ... A great super smily staff very caring ..."
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"What a trip we had! Remember you always ..."
"Special thanks to my guardian angel ..."
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​"Thanks for all the advice and excellent photos!"
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​"Loved it and you guys!"
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An Underwater photographer’s ultimate guide to the Mergui Archipelago...
Mergui Archipelago: Myanmar's diving destination...
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Full Moon cruise on the Mergui Archipelago...

8/11/2017

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Full Moon cruise on the Mergui Archipelago...
For this first trip of the season, we were happy to welcome on board a whole Finnish team:
Marjaana, Uljas, Päivi, Tuija, Sauli, Iiro, Julius, Pertti, Jari, Juha, Juhani, Raili and Seija!
A group of funny people enjoying diving, long tanning sessions on the front deck, good food and gin tonic ;)

It was so good to see these beautiful wild islands again, improbable sceneries in the middle of magic waters...
Isolated tree on a rock
The staff was on the alert, excited!
​Checking the weather conditions:
Our Captain, always thinking to make the trip more secure...
That everything was perfect on the boat: 
Franck, the boss, serious but cool
​Finding the best spots to relax between the dives:
Happy boat boy, happy customers...
Spotting at the surface:
You take picture of me... I see you...
And under water, to find the coolest things ever:
Dive on Shark Cave
Preparing the best meals:
Best food ever with our happy chef!
They gave all they had :)
Take a map but always ready...
And it worthed it! 
​Amazing dive sites ...
Amazing Seafan and marine life...
​And fishes everywhere, just magical!
​And fishes everywhere, just magical!
Barracudas ...
Barracudas school
Jacks ...
The crevalle jack, also known as the common jack
Tunas ...
Tuna, Tuna Tuna...
Sometimes looking as they were playing hide and seek !
Lion fish playing hide and seek...
Pinky scorpion fish...
Allowing the divers to wonder at all the life and colors around them...
Having fun with them...
A happy diver and smiling chest fish...
Or just observing them ...
Hey you!...
Sometimes needing to focus a little bit more on these cuty little ones!
Crab or shrimp... So tiny!
An
Can you find this one hiding? 
So tiny white frogfish...
And of course, our favorite ones...
Our favorite, the Seahorse!
The atmosphere couldn't be more relax during the day!
The atmosphere couldn't be more relax...
Relax! Cheers!
Relax and enjoy the landscape...
And getting funky at night!
Guess what is going on...
With our famous box game!
We can say for sure that these Finnish ladies were flexible!
We can say for sure that these Finnish ladies were flexible!

When not diving we were just chilling in these amazing places you can find only in the Mergui Archipelago!

Lämmin Kiitos Kaikille ;)

​So enjoy, and see you soon for the next review!

Burmese beach...fairy...
Burmese coast... so beautiful

Mergui Archipelago: the Jewel of Burma...
Discover the best dive spots around Mergui Archipelago...


Scattered like pearls on a blue velvet bed sheet are a bunch of 800 islands scattered over the Andaman sea just off the eastern coast of Myanmar. This is Burma's tropical paradise of Mergui Archipelago. The British colonial name of "Mergui" still remains as opposed to the Burmese "Myeik". 
Myanmar has got turquoise waters, palm-fringed white sand beaches, amazing dive sites, rich wildlife, mangrove forest, but despite the fact that there are only a few islands in Thailand, comparatively, Mergui Archipelago, is far less famous than its Andaman Sea neighbor, the surin and similan islands.
In fact, Myeik Archipelago is one of the world’s best-kept secrets due to the fact that it was only opened to tourism in 1997 and is still under quite a strict regulation.
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  • When & Where
    • Schedule and Prices
    • Destinations >
      • North Andaman Thailand >
        • Similan Islands
        • Surin Islands >
          • Richelieu rock
        • The essential Underwater photo Guide to diving Thailand
      • South Andaman Thailand
      • Mergui Archipelago >
        • Marine life in the Andaman Sea
        • Burma's best dive sites
        • The Ultimate Underwater photo Guide to diving Burma
  • ABOUT
    • Our Boat >
      • DELICIOUS FOOD
    • Guest Book
    • Diving in Thailand in 2022-2023 >
      • Ranong Departures >
        • 3D Thailand: Surin National Park
        • 4D Thailand from Ranong 5pm-7pm
        • 5D Thailand: Surin and Similan
        • 6D Thailand: Surin and Similan end to Ranong
        • 7D North Andaman: Surin and Similan from Ranong
        • 8D Thailand: North & South
        • Alternative itineraries for full charter >
          • 4D4N Evening to morning - Surin Similan
      • Khao Lak Departures >
        • 5D North Andaman from Khao Lak to Phuket
        • 5D North Andaman: All of Surin and Similan
        • 6D North Andaman: All of Surin and Similan
        • 6D North Andaman: From Khao Lak to Ranong
        • 7D North Andaman: All of Surin and Similan
        • 7D North Khao Lak to Khao Lak
        • 8D North & South Andaman Thailand
      • Phuket departures >
        • 5D North Andaman from Phuket
        • 5D South Andaman: Lanta and Tarutao National Parks
        • 6D North Andaman: Phuket to Khao Lak
        • 8D Thailand: South & North
    • Blackwater diving in Thailand
    • Marine life in Thailand's Andaman Sea
    • Diving in Myanmar | Burma dive cruises >
      • 6D Burma : South Mergui Archipelago
      • 7D Burma: dive Black Rock
      • 8D Burma: Undiscovered Mergui
      • 9D Burma: Exploration trip
    • Dive Courses >
      • Learn to Dive
      • Continue diving education
      • Rescue diver
      • Professional Dive Courses
      • Hone your dive skills with a PADI specialty course
      • Photo coaching in Thailand on the Smiling Seahorse
    • FAQ
  • Plan your trip
    • Accommodation in Ranong
    • SHA+ hotels in Phuket
    • Bungalows in Koh Phayam
    • Khao Sok National Park
    • Taxi services >
      • Taxi services to and from Ranong
      • Taxi services to and from Phuket
      • Taxi services to Tap Lamu and Khao Lak
    • 10 things to do around Ranong
    • Covid-19 news & infos >
      • COVID-19 update travel to Thailand
      • Covid-19 protection on-board
  • PROMO
    • HOT DEALS
    • Whale shark expedition - 4 Feb 2023 - North and South
    • Manta rays expedition - 19 Mar 2023
    • Photo clinic + Blackwater 23 Jan 2024
    • UW Photo clinic North Andaman 31 Jan 2024
    • Manta rays expedition - 18 Feb 2024
    • Whale Shark Special - 19 Mar 2024 - North and South
  • gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • CONTACT
  • BLOG
    • Most popular posts