After a long and very dark winter in early 1999, I decided a trip to somewhere exotic was in order, so I booked on a ten day trip to the Mergui Archipelago, Burma.
Edinburgh, Heathrow, Bangkok and then on to Phuket where I arrived mid-morning and was transferred to the Coral Amari Beach ... Read review
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Advantages: The underwater stuff Disadvantages: The smells!
After a long and very dark winter in early 1999, I decided a trip to somewhere exotic was in order, so I booked on a ten day trip to the Mergui Archipelago, Burma.
Edinburgh, Heathrow, Bangkok and then on to Phuket where I arrived mid-morning and was transferred to the Coral Amari Beach hotel in Patong Beach. I had the afternoon to have a quick look around the town, which is centre on the beach itself. Then it was off to bed for an ... ...Getting there
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The day started at 8 a.m. rounding up the other four divers that would be on the yacht Crescent with me. As it happened they were all British and were making a video on declining shark populations in SE Asia and had been out in Thailand for two weeks already. All assembled we got in the minibus for the four and a half hour drive to Ranong where we could ... more
After a long and very dark winter in early 1999, I decided a trip to somewhere exotic was in order, so I booked on a ten day trip to the Mergui Archipelago, Burma.
Edinburgh, Heathrow, Bangkok and then on to Phuket where I arrived mid-morning and was transferred to the Coral Amari Beach hotel in Patong Beach. I had the afternoon to have a quick look around the town, which is centre on the beach itself. Then it was off to bed for an early start in the morning.
------------------------------------------------------------------ Getting there ------------------------------------------------------------------ The day started at 8 a.m. rounding up the other four divers that would be on the yacht Crescent with me. As it happened they were all British and were making a video on declining shark populations in SE Asia and had been out in Thailand for two weeks already. All assembled we got in the minibus for the four and a half hour drive to Ranong where we could cross the river into Myanmar.
The countryside was breathtaking with the odd elephant to be seen hauling lumber at the side of the road. Once we had cleared immigration at Ranong all the gear (and there was plenty of it) was transferred into a long tail boat for the journey across the delta to Kaw Thaung or Victoria Point, as it was known.
The river is exceptionally turbid and there has been an increase in Bull shark attacks which they say like turbid water you have been warned! The Crescent was moored in the estuary and once all the gear had been stowed we had to pay a visit to the Myanmar immigration officials who were meeting us in a hotel in town. No sooner had we landed than we were beset by some of the local kids who decided to adopt us for our brief stay.
On arrival at the hotel we were informed to keep cameras out of the way. The reason, the cost of the visa is $140 US - the cost on the actual immigration document is $20 US - its good to see that bribery and corruption aren't dead and that government officials don't want to be recorded on the take! This is the norm and if you do visit don't be perturbed when they hang on to your passports. SEAL (our hosts) were the first dive operators to be granted a licence by the Myanmar government and are well known to them.
The town of Kaw Thaung is like nothing you've seen before - very smelly, very dirty. However all the people are very friendly and my whiter than white legs attracted a lot of smiles. One of the most frightening things you will see is people with bloody teeth - it 's the result of chewing something called 'bing' which is made of crushed palm leaves and who knows what else. The palm leaves basically cause your gums to bleed but I am assured that after a few weeks on this stuff your teeth will always be white?
After a short delay while Crescent lent their tender to the Myanmar customs and a brief but very warm tropical storm, we motored out of the delta for an overnight run to the first site at Stewarts Island.
Crescent is a 70ft ketch with one double berth and six singles. Two electric compressors are mounted at the rear of the wheelhouse and you have the skipper, a chef and two boat boys to ensure the only exercise you do besides the dive is to get up the ladder. The food onboard was Thai and was exquisite especially when livened up by a catch of fresh fish by one of the boat boys.
------------------------------------------------------------------- The Diving -------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 1 - Stewarts Island / In Through the Out Door. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The basic plan for the week was first dive of the day at 07.30 followed by breakfast and then another dive followed by lunch then another dive followed by dinner depending on the location. Stewarts Island was used as a check out dive - and what a check out it was! The swim through was an absolute animal but stunning. The return to the boat was quite interesting too. As we came over the shoulder of the reef at one end of the island a 4-5 knot current ripped us off the reef and plunged us back down - 15 m to 30m in about ten seconds. Because of the visibility (35m+) it just seemed perfectly natural and we all enjoyed the ride.
Second dive of the day was at a site called In Through the Out Door. A stunning site with amazing life - coral rock cod, long snout pipefish, trumpet fish, black banded coral nakes, yellow tail barracuda, cuttlefish, moray, octopus and lionfish. This was my first dive with a camera and as you can see first efforts weren't too bad.
Third dive of the day was at the same site but along a wall - amazing fans, sponges and soft corals, and a pair of mating cuttlefish. ------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2 - Black Rock ------------------------------------------------------------------ An overnight steam saw us arrive at Black Rock at about 6.00 am. Black Rock has a reputation for sharks and rightly so. We dropped down to 40m right on the edge of the reef and were rewarded with some patrolling Oceanic Blacktips on the edge of the blue. Further encounters included three Leopard sharks.
The third dive of the day was even more rewarding. While kitting up, a long process when there are two still cameras and two video cameras to be handed, sharks were seen 100m off the bow leaping out of the water after bait fish - an amazing but unnerving sight. The dive resulted in mantis shrimp, white tip sharks and some large morays. -----------------------------------------------------------------
Day 3 - North Eastern Little Torres / Khun Thee Island ------------------------------------------------------------------ In the water by 8 and instantly rewarded with a 2-3 m bull shark followed by two gray reef and later a blue spotted stingray. A force 7 storm that came out of nowhere made life a bit interesting on the second dive as only two of us were in the water - the other two were just about to enter - that's how quickly it came in!
After the excitement of the storm we motored to Khun Thee island where we did a little exploring on land and then I suggested a night dive in the bay after dinner . -----------------------------------------------------------------
Day 4 - Black Rock ---------------------------------------------------------------- Lots more shark encounters - white tips, leopards and a pair of eagle rays as well. -----------------------------------------------------------------
Day 5/6 - Silvertip Reef, Burma Banks ----------------------------------------------------------------- Obviously from the name you can tell that this site is known for its sharks. We did three feed dives over the two days and were rewarded with several nurse sharks, lots of white tips and a large! Silvertip. Sitting with your back to a coral head in water that you 've just filled with the blood and flesh of three day old dead fish watching a 3 m Silvertip swim towards you is probably one of the most stupid things you can do - but if you get the chance I couldn't recommend it more highly.
The steam to South Twin rewarded us with the company of a pod of about fifteen dolphins for about half an your. This was followed by a night dive into the blue. Basically we hung six big torches on the end of a rope at 35m and left them there for half an hour. Quite an interesting experience - all we saw was a small shoal of squid and a lot of phosphorescence when we turned the torches off, but it's very unnerving when you re in 30m of water in the middle of the Andaman Sea - you do get the feeling you're being watched! -------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 7 - South Twin Island ------------------------------------------------------------------- The dive site for all four dives was named by the skipper - White Man Walk Home after a fibreglass cruiser played chicken with the reef, very ominous for the last day of diving? During the four dives there were no sharks to be seen but caught a glimpse of a manta ray, unfortunately we were at 25m and he was at about 10m and as it was the last dive the thought of decompression illness happily kept us from him.
All in all, seven of the best days - the relaxation, the stunning scenery and the sense of adventure made this into an unforgettable experience. I still had three days left and therefore on my return to Patong Beach I booked a three-dive trip with the dive operation in the hotel for the Sunday, allowing me a 36 hours away from diving before flying home.
The live-a-board was with a company called South East Asia Liveaboards (SEAL) run by two British guys -a very slick operation with three yachts, which runs trips to the Mergui archipelago, the Andaman islands and the Similan and Surin Islands. My main reason for choosing Mergui was the fact that it had only been opened up to foreigners in 1997 and therefore would become an increasingly popular destination so I thought I'd get in quick before it followed so many other dive destinations.
South East Asia Liveaboards Co., Ltd. 225 Rat-U-Thit Rd, Patong Beach, Phuket 83150 - Thailand. www.seal-asia.com
Advantages: Cheap, friendly people, nice and warm weather, great snorkling Disadvantages: Many tourists, people trying to sell you stuff all the time, bight sun
This trip contains information about my trip to Thailand (Phuket, Koh Samui and Bangkok) in September 1998. I landed in Bangkok on a Saturday morning and I met my girlfriend in the airport. We only stayed in Bangkok to the following day cause we really don’t like big cities. But it is strange with big cities…there is always something to do there and that attracts people. We spent the night at the Dusit Thani on Silom road. I booked this using asia ... ...had a standard room and it was OK. The service at the hotel was very good. The following day we spent looking a bit around in Bangkok. When we arrived at the airport we booked a guided tour. It was only about 7 US dollars and it sounded great to start out with. We were taken to the golden buddha, the standing Buddha and we drove around in town. BUT we were also taken to a tailor place were we were placed in a couple of chairs and we “had” to see ...
gard 05.07.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of General: South (Thailand)
Advantages: You're by the Ocean Disadvantages: A lot
We had been given a choice before we left home if we only wanted to spend a few days in Bangkok and fly home or spend three days in Pattaya. Half of us had decided we wanted to see Pattaya. Our JAL Representative made sure we got on our Mini-Van and gave instructions to the Driver when he should pick us up to bring us back in time for us to make our plane to take us back to Canada. He went home with the other fifteen Travel Agents.
Thank goodness ... ...half a large bottle before we reached the city limits of Bangkok. We travelled for about another hour, (it's about 150 km), until we reach the port of Pattaya.
We had been told we would be going to wonderful beach resort. We knew that it was not on an Island like Puket is. There was a great beach and some nice Hotels but there was as much sleazy things as there was in Bangkok.
We were booked into the Amari Orchid Hotel, (it was rated as five star ...
MRS.CANADA 10.10.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of General: South (Thailand)
Advantages: Good courses,Cheap, Friendly people,Great food Disadvantages: Traffic problems,
Golf is flourishing as the 'in-game' in the Buddhist kingdom of Thailand,especially in the South, and many aficionados consider that the place will soon become one of Asia's golfing capital. perhaps the main one outside of Japan - as more and more land is turned over into beautifully manicured fairways.
Moderate green fees, low hire charges and a booming tourist market means more
and more overseas visitors are playing golf in this South East Asian ... ...local golf playing population is also increasing in leaps and bounds.
According to recent statistics, there are over 450,000 golfers in Thailand, with about five new ones born
every day. It's not just the players who are getting hooked on the new greens - local and overseas corporations have been quick to see the profits that can be gained from golf course development, and they have started to cash in on the boom. Increasingly too the tour operators ...
ashford 14.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of General: South (Thailand)
Advantages: People are very helpful and easy access for health needs Disadvantages: Extreme heat and mosquitos
When I first came to Thailand I was very happy though the journey from the Philippines is not a long time it's still very tiring. I've noticed how the Thai people reacted to Foreigners though for them I look like them and they expect me to know their language that i've never heard before. The advantage was that the place which is Hua-Hin, outside Bangkok was just like a heaven. The people are smiling and it was a very nice experience. When my husband ... ...to the nearest hospital and the doctors and nurses look after him very well. The people are so friendly. The disadvantages is that if you drive in their roads is that the rule is 'there is no rule'! They drive pass you just like that most especially with their motorbikes and another thing is the heat. It was nice to have holiday there but not to live for a long time. The heat is sometimes so extreme and tourists like Eroupeans are most affected and ...
Lot-Lot 30.07.2000
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Review of General: South (Thailand)
Advantages: See Below Disadvantages: you feel like you haven't seen much...don't worry, though, just come back!
The South of Thailand is very beautiful. There are stretches of white beaches and warm water everywhere, and a visitor might be tempted to try to visit every beach in the area (you'd need about a year). For several good reasons, though, I advise travellers to choose one place and stay put.
1. The Taxi Mafia
Remember back in the North when you were paying 30 or 40 baht for a tuk tuk to take you across town? Try 500-600 baht for a taxi to take you ... ...You will pay through the nose to go anywhere.
2. Kamakaze Drivers
Want to rent a moped? Keep in mind that dozens of foreigners are killed every year in Thailand by being knock off their mopeds. Anyone who has been to Thailand can vouch for their creative take on driving.
3. Hassle
You probably just came from the North. You were moving around every day. You're at the beach now. Chill out.
4. Deals
Our hotel was 800 baht a night. When we said ...
JeffSumm 05.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of General: South (Thailand)
![The South Iz The Nu Afrika, Volume 1 [Explicit] - Yung General (MP3-Download)](http://images.ciao.com/ide/images/icons/no_pic_generic_S1.gif "The South Iz The Nu Afrika, Volume 1 [Explicit] - Yung General (MP3-Download)"){kind=icon}
