Guest feedback from Alec L.

Hi everyone,

I'm just back from my Similan Islands boat trip and on solid land in Khao Lak.

A friend,Jeurgen(sorry for the spelling,if you read this) is working for a Dive Shop in Khao Lak.....Khao Lak Scuba Adventures...and put me on the list for the next trip,so arrived on the 18th,then headed off to the Islands on the 19th with Jeurgen as my dive guide.

Reading in the reports about the Similans,they always say that they are beautiful.Unfortunately,this usually means pretty scenery,shame about the diving!!!

I was totally mistaken-----the Islands themselves are breathtakingly beautiful,the Dive sites are nearly all, absolutely stunning.The visibility underwater was usually 40 to 50 metres (almost like a swimming pool) and the scenery was often more like a mountain range than anything else,often covered in fabulous soft and hard corals.

The animal life ranged from good to incredible.Others on board saw Mantas,but I wasn't lucky this time.That said,I have not been disappointed at all---so many close encounters with fabulous beasties.Morays,Octopus,Barracuda all within touching distance(in fact,on occasion,they have actually bumped into me,or my camera lens,at least!!) On top of this,there was the more unusual stuff,harlequin shrimps,pineapple fish (no photo though,dammit!),a strange little pipe horse fish,stone fish and more scorpion and lion fish than I could count---we even had a white tipped reef shark come visit during a night dive!!

To any diver thinking of doing the trip---don't hesitate---it will not disappoint.

Unfortunately,I'm having problems uploading photos and video at present.I've managed a small selection of photos,but some of the videos are real "wow" jobs(not boasting---the creatures are definitely the stars!!). Worse comes to worst,I'll upload them when I get home-----only a week and a bit (Boohoo!)--I've really enjoyed the whole of this 3 months trip,but I guess all good things must come to an end,Eh?

Have no idea what to do with the extra time.I may well stay here,fabulous beach and my accomodation is cheap(but good)--and there's even a bar that sells Kilkenny Beer!!(at an exorbitant rate,but so nice to taste REAL beer again!).Money is running worryingly low,so options are a little limited.Still,only an hour or so to Phuket Airport (for flight to KL on the 2nd) and the resort is....well...a resort---the usual tatty souvenir shops,and bars...but fortunately,still a few local food places----60p for a bowl of delicious spicey noodle soup.YumYum!!!---have a bowl for breakfast,and you're not hungry until the evening.

Well,I've rambled on enough,

See you later,

Alec.