Kyspeaks.com

The biggest appeal of diving to me is the calmness I get when underwater, listening to nothing but the breath that I take and the bubbles flowing out from the regulator, the sense of weightlessness and the ability to move about without restriction in 3 dimension. It is a form of freedom you never get on land.

The magnificent seascape and underwater creatures, well, they are just a huge bonus. While no picture can convey that sense of liberty, here are some underwater pictures I took from various dive sites at Similan Islands.

My gears were Olympus E-PL3 with the underwater housing coupled, Inon UWL 100 & Dome port, and a single Sea & Sea YS-01 external flash.

swim through, Deep Six

I logged 14 dives over 4 days of diving living aboard M/V Vilai Samut operated by Liquid Adventure. (previous year experience here). The boat departs from Khao Lak at night, so night one started before day one. The sites we went to were:

Day 1:

• Stone Henge
• Deep Six
• West of Eden
• West of Eden (night)

tiny black reef fish atop table coral at West of Eden

We were lucky to have excellent visibility of at least 30-40 meters in more than 70% of the dives, and had at least 20 meters in the rest of the dives too. Comparing with Pulau Sembilan/Lumut’s 5-10 m visibility…

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics, and say no to shark’s fins!

giant spiny lobster, night dive at West of Eden

sea snake, Koh Bon

the reef at Koh Bon

clown fish in anemone, night dive at Elephant Rock

an unnerving cuttle fish, night dive at Elephant Rock

lion fish, night dive at Elephant Rock

Dave convincing a lion fish to pose, Richelieu Rock

cleaner shrimps, Richelieu Rock

chevron barracudas, Richelieu Rock

star fish on coral, night dive at Koh Bon

boxer shrimp, night dive at Koh Bon

porcupine fish, Bon Soon wreck

Bon Soon wreck

ghost pipe fish, Bon Soon wreck