East of Eden

Trip Start Sep 23, 2004
1
61
77
Trip End Ongoing


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow
Where I stayed
Tent on the beach
(Ko Similan hotels)

Flag of Thailand  ,
Thursday, January 17, 2008

It was another early start to get our transfer vessel out to the Similans. The boat was snug, but we had much more room on the dive boat, especially after the snorkellers all headed off in the transfer vessel. Soon we were under the water at our first site, the renowned East of Eden. It was a lovely dive but probably wasted on us at the time; Rick hadn't dived for two years and it was our first time together as buddies, so I think we spent more time looking at each other than we did looking at the reef! It was a drift dive, and the gentle current sweeping us along made things easy. The dive site had impressive plate corals and gardens of staghorn coral. Enormous gorgonian sea fans spread out into the current to catch plankton, and feather stars perched on top of them. Orange and white saddleback clownfish peered out from blue and cream anemones, shoals of blue chromis and glassy baitfish rippled in front of us whilst impressive emperor angels and spotted clown sweetlips patrolled the reef. Bright yellow boxfish, looking too cuboid to be real, scooted around rocks and vibrant powder blue tangs swept by Similan Island from our dive boat
Similan Island from our dive boat
 .

We were lucky enough to repeat this dive the following day, this time with my dive camera. A whale shark was in the area, attracted by enormous quantities of plankton and a steady current. We weren't lucky enough to see it, but the plankton bounty had brought the rest of the reef to life. Feather stars reached out tendrils to feed, blue triggerfish chased each other around bommies and a large Titan triggerfish was busily excavating a nest in the sandy bottom, positioning pieces of coral precisely and ignoring small opportunists who dashed in to much any tasty tidbits unearthed by her activity. There were swarms of brightly coloured anthias, grumpy dogfaced puffers, and a splendid lionfish with trailing fins fanned out; a venomous beauty. A cleaner wrasse worked its way systematically over the dive group, tickling as it checked us out. The colours were glorious and it was a spectacular dive.

We visited four other divesites during our two days on the boat.  Hideaway Bay was pleasant, though not spectacular. Anita's Reef had beautiful soft corals and gardens of sand eels, which looked like plants growing out of the sandy sea bed. They vanished into the holes if we got to close, leaving squiggles of sand from their digging as the only sign of their presence On Koh Miang
On Koh Miang
 . A blue spotted stingray shuffled across the bottom, eventually gliding away with tail raised. Stonehenge and Deep Six were atmospheric, with enormous boulders creating swimthroughs and perfect hiding places for fish. We came across lurking squirrelfish, staring at us balefully with enormous eyes. Schools of tiny silver fish undulated around us, and we sighted colourful clown triggers, regal angelfish, a forraging moray eel and a banded krait- a black and white stripy sea snake hunting for gobies in the sand.

At the end of each day, the dive boat dropped us off at the island, where we relaxed on the beach outside our tent and listened to the raucous screeches and squabbling of the colony of fruit bats above the dining area.
Slideshow Print this entry