Anxious to book a liveaboard dive trip out of Khao Lak, we hopped aboard a crowded local bus, where we found ourselves seated on a lovely pile of rice bags. After looking at just 2 dive operators we decided to suck it up and pay for a 3 day/3 night stay on a dive boat -- one of our best decisions in Thailand! Our destinations: Ko Bon, Ko Tachai, Prem Chai wreck, and the world-famous Richelieu Rock.
Welcome aboard the Manta Queen IV, our home on the sea! Great sunsets, buffet food served 4 times a day (+ snack) and, of course, world class diving. As Khao Lak Adventures motto goes, Eat, Dive, Sleep, Repeat. Who could ask for more?
Rudely awakened from our slumber at 6am to the sound of "wakey, wakey!" (thanks, dive master Judith), we reluctantly climbed out of our bunks. Below, our first glimpse of Ko Bon with the sunrise.
Everyone attentively listens to our dive briefing. After the 10th time everyone was a little less enthusiastic, just a little...
Better view of the Koh Bon water archway.
Now for a quick tour of our floating abode:
Nick relaxing on the sun deck between dives. Oh my god, where is the beard??
Kaitlin getting some R&R as well.
Magnificent view of the crystal blue water and the bow of the boat. Remember, no touchy the Buddha spirit!
Designated drying area.
Here's the dive deck, where we prepare to jump in for the wreck dive.
Time to dive!
Here we have a sampling of some of the excellent sea life we saw below the surface, pictures a courtesy of Judith, our dive master. Have a look at this spotted moray eel! Isn't she(?) gorgeous!
A particularly stunning nudibranch, part of the sea slug family.
Getting certified for deep water water diving (30 m) or 100ft. Kaitlin is playing with the yolk of an egg. The yolk has neutral buoyancy, and can be moved around without breaking.
Angelfish!
Wassup, fellow sea compadres?
Without Judith we would have never spotted these ghost pipefish. Behind you can see some of the soft coral Thailand is famous for; although the pictured specimen is yellow, we saw purple and red varieties as well. In fact, the purple variety blankets Richelieu Rock.
A peacock mantis shrimp. Something that can only be seen in its natural habitat since it has the ability to break glass with its feet -- Imagine that in an aquarium. The eyes can also swivel 360 degrees.
One of the many clown fish varieties we saw, hanging out in its anemone. They can be aggressive if little ones are around -- pretty sure this guy bit Judith.
More anenomes swayin' with the currents.
Seal Pufferfish
Big Trevally
Schoolin with some batfish
Some kinda sea slug
Nemo!
Good shot of a scorpionfish. These critters can be hard to see due to their excellent camoflouge. But don't get too close, they are covered with a venomous mucus!
Two scorpionfish hiding amongst the rocks
A sea horse living at Richelieu
The purple gardens of soft coral have made the diving at Richelieu Rock famous
A pack of large barracuda!
A lone barracuda with a diver in pursuit.
A pair of harlequin shrimp hiding under a rock
An angry spotted eel
Banded boxer shrimp
Rock-borer urchin
A large pack of durban hinge-beak shrimp
The whole crew posing for a shot before departure. It was a great trip, and we couldn't have asked for anything better!
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