We stayed in Khao Lak at the Sarojin. This is one of the hotels nearest the Similan islands. One of the top ten dive sites of the world, I am keen to use my scuba skills. We organise a joint scuba and snorkelling trip so that my wife can come too. This is not a dive boat this is the sleek speedboat Lady Sarojin belonging to the hotel. It can manage 28 knots which is a very good job because the islands are 80 kms from the mainland and it takes an hour to get there. This is a very fast speedboat going like the clappers so it bounces up and down big time even on an almost calm sea.

The islands were not what I expected. We were thinking of the Maldives but these are rocky quite high and strewn with boulders and vegetation but still beautiful. Beaches are few and far between but the ones were see are idyllic. You can only come in the winter months because from May to October the South west monsoons blow wet and very windy weather and the marine park is closed. This was a bright March day with a gentle swell. We have two snorkellers, two divers and two no shows. That means one dive master each for the divers and some excellent Thai boat staff for the snorkellers.We stop to pick up our cylinders from a mother dive boat.

As we arrive at island number 3. The Thais are not very inventive here the nine islands are known only by a number. The dive sites are better. We start off at East of Eden. I am buddied with a South African dive master Chris. He has been diving here for a couple of years and is great at spotting. We are regaled the tale of the moray eel Emma who was fed sausages by a Thai dive master. He managed to get the eel coming to him and delving into his pocket for a frankfurter. One day he came with no frankfurter so the eel bit his thumb off! There is no sign of Emma on our dive – good job too – no frankfurter. We see fantastic coral but come back to find the snorkellers had seen a big turtle and a barracuda. We saw only reef fish, garden eels and a lion fish. Dive two was West of Eden. Just round the corner. This is a rocky site with a canyon dive through. We pick up a small turtle who swims with us.

Then it is lunch. This is no ordinary lunch. There are three huge seafood platters and some excellent beef after a lovely cold hors d’oevres plate, all washed down with very nice Australian wine for the snorkellers and water for the divers who still have an afternoon dive.

Our last dive is between islands 6 and 7. We are in search of rays for Monica who has never seen one. We pick up 4 or 5 and a very rare dragon fish that looks a bit like a flying fish but it is very slow. Then we see a sea snake that comes out does it graceful party piece and after we have left returns to its crevice. Unfortunately we encounter the contents of a large dive boat and it is a bit like a Bond movie without the harpoons. Up till then despite a lot of dive boats we have seen no one underwater.

Then we are finished – its happy hour and we can drink but we are driving back at 27 knots bumping along so most of Geraldine’s chardonnay lands on me and my Singha beer goes up my nose. We can’t get anywhere with the three bottles and the champagne. We had a super crew who jump around after everything we need.

What a fantastic day. We are home now with a bit too much sun and we can still feel the bumps of the returning trip, but some fabulous memories.

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