Scuba Diving in Koh Chang

Mention diving in Thailand to any reasonably seasoned diver and he will most likely burst into some tale of his exploits on a live-aboard in the Similan Islands or regale you with an awesome wreck in Pattaya, stun you with the images of a Krabi dive or simply bore you with intricate details of his open water course on Koh Tao. He is likely to mention almost every dive site in the country with the exception of Koh Chang and the diving found there. I have had the great pleasure of diving Koh Chang and felt that I’d be selfish to keep it a secret for any longer.

Koh Chang, the largest island in the Koh Chang archipelago and the second largest island in Thailand (Phuket being the largest), lies in the East of the Gulf of Thailand , only an hour from the border of Cambodia. It can be reached by air (cheap flights from Suvarnabhumi airport fly throughout the day), road or sea. There are three ferry services that operate out of Koh Chang and run hourly. The island’s pace is surprisingly relaxed considering its size, this is mostly due to the geography of the island which splits the West coast into sand-fronted valleys with large mountains separating the villages. There is only one road that runs the perimeter of the island and connects the villages together with some of the steepest and bend-ridden tarmac I’ve ever been witness to! The vast majority of civilization hugs the West coast and tends to become less commercial as you drive from the North, where the ferry docks, to the South, where most of the diving boats leave.

The sea on the beaches of Koh Chang itself is great for swimming in (shallow, sandy, warm at 32 degrees Celsius and calm) but offers poor diving. So diving is done from boats, usually fishing boats that have been fitted for diving. They are slow but offer space, easy access to the water from diving platforms and stability in rough seas. There are also some schools that work from faster but less comfortable speed boats. The visibility is extremely unpredictable as there are so many islands and different currents that make reading the water almost impossible until you are at the dive site. The visibility at one dive site might be as low as six meters but if you move to another site, only ten minuets away, you will be presented with fifteen meters of clear water. The flora and fauna on offer is also unpredictable though a glance through any fish book of South-East Asia will give you a very good idea of what to expect. Whale sharks are annual visitors (March-April is the best bet) and there are often sea turtles, bamboo sharks, octopus and all the other usual suspects.

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After the trek to (and from) Makalu in Nepal, we were ready for a change of pace, so we headed from 5000 meters down to 0 meters and eventually -30 meters in the Thai islands. It being the low, rainy or "green" season (depending who you ask), we decided to stick to the Gulf of Thailand rather than the Andaman Sea islands as they are supposed to be drier this time of year. We settled on Koh Tao, a more recently developed, quieter island that has become a mecca for divers. Getting there was an adventure in itself. After arriving back in Kathmandu we found the city and indeed the country more or less shut down for a protest strike or "bandh" led by the Maoists. This left us relatively confined to our hotel in Kathmandu with no businesses open and no motor vehicles on the road. The exceptions were emergency vehicles and tourist transport buses. The tourist transport buses were very difficult to get though, so our friends at Rolwaling Excursions picked us up from our hotel to take us to the airport. We did get stopped at one point by some Bandh enforcers looking to make sure they were transporting tourists. They saw us and we had no further problems. After the flight, we felt like we were going out of the frying pan and into the fire as Bangkok was similarly embroiled in political upheaval. However, like our first visit, we found the protests confined to a small area of Bangkok and not an issue for us. We cabbed it directly to the rail station, however, and hopped on the overnight train to Chumphon (over the bridge on the river Kwai incidentally). From there a two hour ferry to Koh Tao and another world seemingly as far away as you could get from politics and protests. In Koh Tao we made the decision to first head to the quieter east side (or sunrise) side of the island and Tanote Bay. Though the island is not big, a very bad road serves to fairly isolate Tanote. There are only four or five "resorts" in the bay, each consisting of maybe 10 (maybe fewer) bungalows. It...

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I'm literally blogging from heaven right now. Really, I am. While drinking a coconut shake. We're on Koh Tao, an island in the Gulf of Thailand. As I'm sure you've all read, Bangkok is sadly experiencing some serious and dangerous political protests. I'll post another blog soon about our experiencing with what has happened. But we've left Bangkok for a safer place. And what we've found is quite possibly the coolest place I've been to in Thailand.

The island is so beautiful, it looks fake. Bob said, as we pulled up in the catamaran, that it looks like Disney created an island paradise. We've spent the past four days swimming, eating wonderful food, snorkeling, sitting on white sand, more swimming, so you get the picture. Koh Tao is Thailand's major dive destination so the sea life is incredible. We wade out into waist-deep water and there's the reef. Eventually we'll actually go on a snorkel boat but we've got time; I don't plan on heading back to Bangkok immediately. It's unsettling to have to check the news before you leave the house for fear of walking into a massive protest.

I'm also not leaving anytime soon because the trip to get here is quite an adventure. We opted to take the night train where we learned our first major lesson; when taking a night train in Thailand either get an AC car or get a lower level bed. We somehow got an upper and a lower berth. The lower was wonderful. I slept so well. Around 8:30 pm the train crew comes around and folds out all the beds, puts linens on and sets up the curtains so you can curtain yourself off from the rest of the train. The bottom berth has the advantage of a window, getting a cool breeze the entire night. The upper berth, that Bob slept on, gets no air. And it's under fluorescent lights. So he got no sleep and ended up dehydrated in a puddle of sweat. The train was running on Thai time so we rolled into the station an hour late. Not a big deal because once off the train, we waited for an hour before...

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Visit to the traveller?s paradise: Thailand

Every visitor thinks that whatever place he has been to is the best.  He can go and on about the majestic beauty, calmness or uniqueness of that place.

So if someone is fond of Kodaikanal or Kashmir in India, it is very obvious that he will advice everyone else to at least visit these places in a lifetime.

Same goes for other places. For those who are smitten by the Thailand beaches will tell another story of adventure, fun and exhilaration one must experience there. Thailand as a tourist destination offers some really amazing options. Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Angthong, Bangkok, Ko Phangan, ang Yuan, Suratthani are some of them. However, the most popular one is Koh Samui. Especially, if you are one of those who love to party and dance till the wee hours, Koh Samui is the place for you.

Green Mango or Soi Green Mango, next to Chaweng Bach Road; Reggae Pub on Chaweng Beach and Bauhaus, Super Sub On Lamai Beach is some of the hot pubs which party-goers will swear by. Many other smaller pubs and bars are spread all over the island. So you can choose depending on your style of music and hard drinks, of course, the kind of pub you want to visit.

There are many ‘girlie bars’ also, so don’t be surprised if you found yourself being followed by an elegant lass to your room. A word of caution, don’t take her words that she is in love with you too seriously, because she may be doing all that to earn a bit more bucks for herself and her family.

Source: Visit to the traveller?s paradise: Thailand « Thailand Travel

I have only been gone a day but I'm already feeling so nostalgic about Koh Tao. My brain's a lot of mush these days, but in the best way possible. I've finally stopped having nightmares about late 2009, which I think is a positive indicator that this trip is doing exactly what I had hoped. Instead, I'm having dreams about swimming, the fantastic people that we've met, diving, and traveling. Every community has their own quirks. Some of them are endearing, and some of them are annoying. I love the stray cats and dogs of Thailand. I know that Animal Control is a big thing in the US and I'm sure that they serve a great purpose, but I enjoy the scruffy animals that hang out here. I definitely don't bury my face in their fur or anything (and yes, I have seen tourists do this); all of these animals could use some shots and a nice long trip to the vet, but they don't seem hungry, they have restaurants and tourists to feed them, they lay around the beach all day, and they make me smile. I will especially miss the black kitty that lived outside of our room. I'll miss the children. I was not irritated by them at all for some reason (shocker!!). They play in their parents' workplaces. They're polite and cute and all smiles. I had a play date with a little girl in a restaurant yesterday, the cook's daughter, and even though we don't speak the same language, we had a great time together. She's 4 and she wears pink eye shadow. I did grow weary of throwing toilet paper into a trash can (with a lid, so it's a whole squat, grab-handle, drop paper, and try to not touch anything gross dance). I now recognize that being able to flush is a luxury, and while it's good to receive that wake-up call, I definitely had moments in the middle of the night when I was just dying to drop the paper in the water. Eric and I are so grateful to Ban's Diving Resort for miraculously turning us into PADI Advanced level scuba divers. I'll never forget our instructor Lucy from London, who made her...