avoid any jellyfish protection creams - uselss and dangerous

As posted the Wicked Diving Website....Please copy and post

The season has begun and diving is great! However some unscruplous marketers are trying to exploit people's fears. Trying to sell divers, snorkelers and visitors some "magic cream" that prevents jellyfish stings - people can be put at risk of injury or death.

Avoid this cream, let any dive shop or retail outlet that supplies it know how they are endangering their clients and please avoid it at all costs!!!

If you think this is just opinion...please read the email below regarding this product. Written and signed by the world's leaders in Jellyfish stings, envenomation and the head of DAN. I guess they might know a bit more than someone who makes and sells magic creams?

From: JOHN LIPPMANN
Sent: 03 November 2009
To:
Cc: 'Lisa Gershwin'; 'Andrew Jones'; 'Peter Fenner'; 'Dr. Kenneth D. Winkel'; somchai.bussarawit; potjaman; lthaikru
Subject: FW: Marketing of Safe Sea in Thailand

We have been following the recent renewed correspondence about the proposed marketing of Safe Sea in Thailand. As you are aware, there are a group of us, including some well-known medical and marine biological jellyfish experts, who have been closely monitoring the situation with dangerous jellyfish in Thailand and we are all very concerned about the introduction of Safe Sea at this point in time.

Let us re-state some important facts:

1. There is definitely at least one variety of potentially lethal box jellyfish found in Thai waters. This includes the Chironex species as well as other chirodropids, currently unidentified, but probably just as venomous . There is absolutely no doubt about this as we have received good photographic evidence of these jellyfish, and have extensive evidence from numerous cases over more than a 20 years of the distinctive scarring caused by the stings of these particular jellyfish.

2. There have been numerous documented deaths caused by jellyfish in Thailand over many years: we currently have an article in print with details of a number of documented deaths and “near-misses”. The death of the Swedish girl last year was certainly not an isolated case, although to date it was the one that received the broadest media attention. We also have a steadily increasing number of case reports of life-threatening stings, including those with permanent scarring as well as those producing Irukandji syndrome.

3. Substantial experience from northern Australia over many years has shown the importance of effective prevention strategies. To date these have included the wearing of protective clothing, suitable netting, appropriate signage and education. As a result, despite the presence of large numbers of dangerous jellyfish at certain times of the year, there are very few serious stings.

4. The Safe Sea may have been shown to be an effective barrier to the stings of certain species of jellyfish. However, it appears that there is absolutely no evidence that it is effective in the prevention of stings from life-threatening box-type jellyfish, especially Chironex.

5. We are further concerned that even if Safe Sea should someday be demonstrated to be “as effective” for Chironex-type box jellyfish as it claims for other species (i.e., 75% efficacy, in reducing the frequency and severity of stings), this is still unacceptably high for otherwise unprotected exposure to lethal species.

In light of the above, we consider it to be irresponsible and dangerous to promote an unproven product in an area where the consequences of using the product could prove fatal. It is likely that tourists and Thai locals would be lulled into what could well be a false sense of security by using Safe Sea instead of taking preventative measures that have proven to be effective. Severe stings or deaths occurring without added protection of these preventative measures we suggest could have ongoing consequences.

Receiving FDA approval from Thailand does not indicate that the product is effective against Chironex-type box jellyfish stings and can be misleading in this context.

For all the above reasons we implore you to refrain from marketing Safe Sea in Thailand until such time that it has been independently demonstrated to be effective against the potentially lethal species found there and it is established that this product effectively prevents envenomation when interacting with these species.

Sincerely,

John Lippmann OAM Dr. Lisa-ann Gershwin Dr Peter Fenner AM
Executive Director Director MD (London), DRCOG, FACTM, FRCGP
DIVERS ALERT NETWORK (DAN) ASIA-PACIFIC Australian Marine Stinger Australian Marine Stinger Expert and author
PO Box 384 (49A Karnak Rd) Advisory Services
Ashburton VIC 3147
Australia Dr Ken Winkel Andrew Jones
Tel: +61-3-9886 9166; Fax: +61-3-9886 9155 Director Father of jellyfish sting survivor
www.danasiapacific.org Australian Venom Research Unit

Please feel free to contact us, DAN or any of the above with questions regarding this and other products promising to "prevent jellyfish stings"




-Similan Diving

Similan Divers - Flying Fish Diving in Khao Lak

Now open and ready to serve your needs!

Flying Fish Diving

Your new Favorite Similan Divers!

Our Khao Lak dive school teaches all PADI scuba diving courses from Open Water Diver (beginner) to Instructor and a variety of Specialty diver lessons using the PADI system of diver education and their latest training materials.

You or your group gets your personal dive instructor. He/she will take as much time as necessary to insure that everybody gets the best training possible. We want people to have a fun class and a good time rather than pushing them through. All our scuba dive instructors have several years of teaching experience.

Our courses are conducted in Khao Lak and on the Similan Islands

We teach in several languages.

Come join us for a world-class adventure

Visit Thailand on long-term visas for free!!!

Get a fee-free Thailand visa until 2010

In an effort to help encourage Thailand’s travel and tourism industry, the Royal Thai Government has agreed to extend the exemption of the Thailand visa fee for tourist visa applications until 4 March 2010.

The exemption will apply to all applicants for a Thailand visa on arrival at all international airports in Thailand as well as those applying at Thai embassies and consulates abroad for stays longer than the period for which they are normally eligible.

Thailand currently gives a Visa on Arrival for citizens of 20 countries for a stay not exceeding 15 days. Citizens of another 42 countries are allowed a visa-free stay in Thailand not over 30 days.

Visitors who wish to stay longer than those periods have to apply for Thailand visas at the Thai embassies or diplomatic missions abroad before their arrival in the country.

The extension is one of several measures taken by the Thailand tourism industry to invigorate itself after a number of global and local events that have led to a temporary drop in visitor arrivals.

TAT Chairman, Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat says, “As a result of the global economic downturn, the worldwide travel and tourism sector has declined as people have become more cautious about spending on leisure and business travel. Hence, the government has implemented many measures to enhance Thailand’s competitive advantage and strengthen our country’s unique qualities.”

This offers a great opportunity to sign up for a 60 or 90 day visa. Stay in Thailand longer, do a Similan Liveaboard or even consider doing your Instructor Training!

Dive with Nitrox while in Thailand!

EANx diving has many advantages over air diving.
Some of the benefits are:
1. EANx, when used with standard dive tables or computers, provides a tremendous safety factor.
In fact, when utilized in this fashion, the actual nitrogen accumulation is that for a 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meter) shallower dive.
This application of EANx is ideal for divers who simply wish to be more conservative individuals who are not "as young as they once were" or those who may not be in the peak of physical fitness.
2. A significant increase in bottom time no-decompression limits.
3. A reduction of the possibility of decompression sickness.
4. A slight reduction in nitrogen narcosis.
5. A reduction of decompression time if the no-decompression limits are exceeded.
6. Reduced fatigue after the dive (declared by many EANx divers).

Safe Diving

Learn to dive - Thailand's best places

Ever wonder what it would be like to jump into the water and look into the face of a passing turtle?? The underwater world is mysterious and yet inviting, the experience of diving it provides and addictive sense of zen. There's no better place to have your first dive experience than Thailand – with good conditions year round. Where to learn to dive in Thailand?

Most dive shops in Thailand offer PADI or SSI certification but it's also possible to find a few offering NAUI or CMAS. Beginners may be more comfortable diving in the calmer and shallower waters off the east coast of Thailand, with destinations such as Koh Tao or Koh Samui being the most popular on that side. The East coast has less marine life and coral though.

As the West coast has much better marine life and coral - you may want to consider this as your destination. However The weather makes diving unsafe from June through October. If you plan on visiting during this time - you will probably have a better time diving around Khao Lak and the Similan Islands. Hotspots for diving around here include Phi Phi and Koh Lipe.

Phuket has several dive operators to chose from, but the conditions near the pollution strewing island can be intolerable. Khao Lak offers an excellent choice of dive shops and also has a good range of accommodation to suit most tastes. It is also the closest jumping off point to the Similan Islands.

Phi Phi is quite popular among the younger crowd but there are hotels catering to older couples and families, which also offer scuba diving courses.

The Similan Islands, technically located in Phang Nga province, provide some of the best dive sites in the world. Protected within a marine national park, the nine islands are still pristine and rich with wildlife above and below the water. Most dive operators will take you ashore at one of the islands, where you can enjoy the powder-white beaches and see exotic birds and monkeys. Under the waves, the colorful reefs and boulder formations are teeming with coral and a variety of marine life. Sometimes whale sharks are even spotted in the waters, as well as rays and other sharks. Visibility is good, varying from 30-50m.

The best way to see the Similans is by liveaboard, and most dive operators will allow you to do your Open Water dives from the boat if you've completed the paper and pool work ashore beforehand.

Much like Phi Phi, Koh Tao is a fun place for backpackers to learn how to scuba dive. This may well be the most affordable place in Thailand to take a PADI Open Water course and to build up your dive log. Unfortunately it's not the best diving in Thailand – but it's not yet the worst either. Koh Tao used to offer frequent whale shark sightings but they are relatively rare these days. It's also conveniently close (2 hours by speed boat) to Samui. In fact you can do diving courses on Samui too.

The number of dive boats on a site is not restricted, so you may find there is too much company around peak dive times. You may find yourself surrounded by 50 to 100 divers at a time, with most of them being Open Water students or day trippers from Samui. Needless to say, Koh Tao might be great for learning and for progressing to instructor – but it's not all that great for just recreational diving. Many people come here specifically to advance through courses and proceed with PADI Advanced, Rescue Diver, Dive Master/Master Scuba Diver and Instructor courses.

There are so many choices on Koh Tao that you should look carefully at each dive shop and make sure they offer you the best value for money. Not all dive instructors are the same, and some are downright scary. Likewise, equipment standards can vary, and you'll want to make sure any shop you choose has quality equipment and maintains it properly and hygienically. You should also check into the insurance policy of the dive shop and enquire as to if you should purchase your own dive insurance for the hyperbaric chamber if you have an accident.

It boils down to this - you get what you pay for. If you think it's a bargain - it's not! Your life depends on well-maintained well equipment and good staff. If you would like to know where to learn to diving in Thailand?

Most the dive operations in Thailand are run by foreigners, which is just as well since Thais have a rather different approach to safety and responsibility, but you'll find yourself diving with plenty of Thai staff who are their usual friendly easy-going selves

Thailand - free visas for visitors until 2010

Get a fee-free Thailand visa until 2010

In an effort to help encourage Thailand’s travel and tourism industry, the Royal Thai Government has agreed to extend the exemption of the Thailand visa fee for tourist visa applications until 4 March 2010.

The exemption will apply to all applicants for a Thailand visa on arrival at all international airports in Thailand as well as those applying at Thai embassies and consulates abroad for stays longer than the period for which they are normally eligible.

Thailand currently gives a Visa on Arrival for citizens of 20 countries for a stay not exceeding 15 days. Citizens of another 42 countries are allowed a visa-free stay in Thailand not over 30 days.

Visitors who wish to stay longer than those periods have to apply for Thailand visas at the Thai embassies or diplomatic missions abroad before their arrival in the country.

The extension is one of several measures taken by the Thailand tourism industry to invigorate itself after a number of global and local events that have led to a temporary drop in visitor arrivals.

TAT Chairman, Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat says, “As a result of the global economic downturn, the worldwide travel and tourism sector has declined as people have become more cautious about spending on leisure and business travel. Hence, the government has implemented many measures to enhance Thailand’s competitive advantage and strengthen our country’s unique qualities.”

This offers a great opportunity to sign up for a 60 or 90 day visa. Stay in Thailand longer, do a Similan Liveaboard or even consider doing your Instructor Training!

Diving animals and breath holding

Nature has shaped through evolution they way animals behave. This means that some animals have adapted to feed in places where the rest of the animal kingdom living around them cannot go. This naturally then eliminates a large part of the competition from the food chain.

The Similan Islands have whales, dolphins, turtles, birds and many other non-aquatic species that dive under water

So how are they able hold their breath for so many minutes without losing consciousness or dying? First, let's revise some other physiological principles in order to understand more clearly what is happening.

The need to breath is felt when the carbon dioxide (CO2) level rises above a certain threshold. The CO2 will dissolve in the blood causing its pH to decrease, which is making the blood slightly more acidic. The sensors in the medulla oblongata (the base of the brain) will then "tell" the animal that it is time to breath again.

Oxygen (O2) and CO2 are carried around the body by the blood in two different ways. One is simply the fact that both O2 and CO2 can dissolve in the blood. This will account for a small fraction of the whole transportation process. The other method uses the haemoglobin, a protein present inside red blood cells. Both O2 and CO2 molecules have the ability to attach themselves to the haemoglobin, but the carbon dioxide has a much greater affinity to do this. Therefore, whilst haemoglobin can carry up to four molecules of O2 it carries a much larger amount of carbon dioxide, normally about 23 percent is transported in the blood. However. The main point is that in most animals the O2 reserve is solely in the lungs and the blood. Once this reserve is depleted, the animals will need to breathe again to exhale CO2 and inhale new O2.

Breath holding diving animals have the advantage of an additional mechanism which, relies on another very similar protein called myoglobin. This protein is located inside muscle cells. In humans it makes up for only a very small percentage of the muscle mass. This percentage changes drastically in the animals with the need to hold their breath and it goes up to 45% of the muscle mass in sperm whales, animals that can hold their breath for up to two hours.

How does it work? Simply the blood will carry O2 to the tissues and the extra oxygen that is not used "immediately" will be stored in the myoglobin more or less in the same way as in the haemoglobin. Once the animal is under water and can no longer breath, the O2 stock of the blood will become depleted, the myoglobin will then release its O2 in to the blood that will carry it around where it is needed. At the same time the myoglobin will "catch" the excess CO2 in the blood restoring to a level that does not trigger the need to breath. When eventually the animal returns to the surface to breath air, the myoglobin releases all of its stored CO2 and replaces it with fresh O2. The amount of myoglobin present in the animal muscles will determine the maximum time the animal can spend underwater.

The more the animal wants to stay under water, the longer the period it has to stay at the surface for the gas exchanges to take place. A dolphin needs to breathe a few times (about two to four minutes) to stay submerged 20 to 30 minutes. A sperm whale will breathe 4 or 5 times per minute for up to 15 minutes at the surface to stay two hours under water. Sea birds normally dive for 3 to 10 minutes according to the species they belong to and need to breathe for about 2 to 3 minutes before diving.

Thailand Advice

Thailand is Amazing, but These Tips Can Help You Enjoy it Even More
Thailand is a fascinating country, full of amazing things to do and see. But, if you want to have the best vacation possible, there are things you can do to make sure that happens. I’ve been living in Thailand for 4 years and have come up with a list of, what I think are the Top 10 things
to do to make sure your holiday is perfect.

1.Get a tourist visa at your local Thai embassy or consulate. Until last year, it was easy to come to Thailand as a tourist and, by doing visa runs every month (going over the border into Cambodia or Laos then coming right back to Thailand again), you could stay here as long as you wanted.The Thai government have now clamped down on too many visa runs, so it’s best to get a 60-day tourist visa at a Thai embassy in your own country. This can then be extended for an additional 30 days at an Immigration office in Thailand, giving you 90 days before you have to leave the country.

2. Learn a little Thai before you get here. Thai is a language that really nobody else speaks except the Thais, and there are only 60 million of them. So if you come to Thailand and can speak some Thai, you will find your experience is even more enjoyable, as the locals love anyone who even attempts to speak their language. “Sawatdee kha” Hello and Goodbye, (or Sawatdee krap, if you’re a man), “Kop Khun kha/krap” Thank you, “Tow rai kha/krap?” How much is that? – all will get you a smile and a nod and usually a cheaper price!

For those of you who are even more adventurous, sign up for a Thai language class at a local Thai temple in your country before you come, or check out Learning Thai for more in-depth Thai language lessons online for free!

3.Don’t bring much cash with you. Not only is it safer to not carry around huge wads of cash (although I’ve never had a problem with pickpockets in Thailand), you will also find you’ll get a better exchange rate if you pull money through to Thailand from your bank account with your ATM card. All the money changers and the banks charge a fee and give you a lower exchange rate. Most banks in the US and Europe have low fees or no fees for withdrawing money via an ATM.

4. Bring lightweight clothing. Thailand is one of the hottest countries in the world. It is hot all year-round. Light-weight pants, long shorts, skirts, t shirts and cotton tops are preferable in this climate. Bring one dressier outfit for if you go to a more expensive restaurant or nightclub, but any other clothing you might need can be purchased here for as little as $2. The quality is great too.

5. If you’re coming to Bangkok, don’t stay on Khao San Road. Khao San Road is the backpacker area of Bangkok. It’s full of flea-ridden guest houses and dodgy Westerners. The Thais look down on people who stay on Khao San Road and, honestly, with good reason sometimes. Pay a few extra dollars and stay at a guest house off Sukhumvit or in northern Bangkok near the sky train. They’ll be cleaner, better taken care of, and you won’t have to experience the 24-hour noise of Khao San Road or the disdain of the Thais. Better yet, pay a bit more and stay in a nice hotel. Still cheap by Western standards and with very good accommodation and customer service.

6. Take advantage of all modes of transportation in Thailand. In Bangkok, we have the sky train, the underground train, taxis, tuk-tuks, a great bus system, boats going up and down the Chao Praya river, and even motorcycle taxis. Try to experience all of them while you’re here, as they’re all part of Thai life. They’re all also reliable and inexpensive.

My favorite is the boat system on the canals and on the Chao Praya River. You really get to experience the local culture when you’re crammed on a boat with 200 other people, and you see parts of Bangkok you would never see otherwise.

7. Speak to the Thais. Thais love to talk to foreigners, yet I see many foreign tourists here who make little or no effort to speak to them. Most people will know a few words of English and, even if they don’t, they will smile and try to speak to you with sign language. Funnily enough, it’s easily understandable and will really make your holiday. I’ve never understood those people who go back home saying “We had a great holiday in Thailand”, yet they barely interacted with any Thai people while they were here.

8.Eat local food at the food stalls. Some of the best food in Thailand is at the food stalls. It’s cooked fresh while you watch, the variety of food is endless, and it’s cheap. You will also experience the ‘real Thai culture’ as you sit at the side of the road and watch the traffic and people walk by. In certain areas of Thailand, you’ll also even see the elephants walking by!

If you’re not sure what to eat, check out my article on Street Stall Food in Thailand. I guarantee, if you try the food you will love it.

9. Get out of Bangkok and hit the beaches, the mountains or the jungle. Thailand has some of the best beaches in the world. Cities like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Kanchanaburi and Ayutthaya also have mountains, jungle, historical temples, traditional Thai cultural events, night markets and more.

The best way to travel to most of Thailand is by bus or train. Public transportation here is very reliable and very cheap. A bus ride to Hua Hin, 3 hours outside Bangkok, is around $5. Taking the train to Kanchanaburi, an hour away and home of the Bridge over the River Kwai, is just over $1. Most of them are air-conditioned, and many of the buses will also come with a bottle of water, a snack and a movie for the price of the bus ticket!

10. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Thailand has things you will never experience at home. Fried bugs, beautiful golden temples, saffron robed monks, tuk-tuks, elephants and monkeys. It also has some of the nicest people in the world, the vast majority of whom would never do you harm.

I have lived here for more than 4 years. I have never had my wallet stolen, I have never felt threatened, I have never been in danger. I’m a single woman who often walks home alone at night without any problems. A feat I wouldn’t consider attempting in my old hometown of Los Angeles.

Try anything and everything that is offered to you. From weird food and drink and strangers suddenly holding your hand to help you cross the street, to a quick ride on a motorcycle taxi zipping through traffic on a Bangkok street – it’s all exotic and interesting. You’ll discover that Thais are wonderful, that eating a fried bamboo worm isn’t going to kill you, you won’t die from 10 minutes in a tuk-tuk on a polluted Bangkok street, and you’ll go home having had the best holiday of your life.

Follow the tips I’ve laid out for you and, I’ll guarantee, when you get home, you’ll already be thinking about booking your next trip to Thailand.

-Khao Lak Diving

Stay in Thailand - for free - long-stay visas are free until 2010

Get a fee-free Thailand visa until 2010

In an effort to help encourage Thailand’s travel and tourism industry, the Royal Thai Government has agreed to extend the exemption of the Thailand visa fee for tourist visa applications until 4 March 2010.

The exemption will apply to all applicants for a Thailand visa on arrival at all international airports in Thailand as well as those applying at Thai embassies and consulates abroad for stays longer than the period for which they are normally eligible.

Thailand currently gives a Visa on Arrival for citizens of 20 countries for a stay not exceeding 15 days. Citizens of another 42 countries are allowed a visa-free stay in Thailand not over 30 days.

Visitors who wish to stay longer than those periods have to apply for Thailand visas at the Thai embassies or diplomatic missions abroad before their arrival in the country.

The extension is one of several measures taken by the Thailand tourism industry to invigorate itself after a number of global and local events that have led to a temporary drop in visitor arrivals.

TAT Chairman, Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat says, “As a result of the global economic downturn, the worldwide travel and tourism sector has declined as people have become more cautious about spending on leisure and business travel. Hence, the government has implemented many measures to enhance Thailand’s competitive advantage and strengthen our country’s unique qualities.”

This offers a great opportunity to sign up for a 60 or 90 day visa. Stay in Thailand longer, do a Similan Liveaboard or even consider doing your Instructor Training!

Advice and information on the Similan Islands

Explore the Koh Similan - A Group of Nine islands in the Andaman Sea
One of the best-known island groups , largely because of the wonders that wait beneath the clear blue waters that surround it.

"Similan" is derived from the Malay sembilan, and means "nine". Each of the Similan Islands has a number as well as a name. These are, running from north to south: Koh Ba Ngu (No. 9), Similan (No. 8), Payu (No. 7), Miang (No. 4, No. 5 and, in some opinion, No. 6), Payan (No. 3), Payang (No. 2), and Hu Yong (No. 1). Hin Pusar, or "Elephant Head Rock", is alternatively designated No. 6 by some. Koh Bon, lying 17 nautical miles north of Ba Ngu, is part of the Similan National Park and may be granted honorary status as No. 10.

Ironwood and gum trees are among the larger trees, while jackfruit, rattan and bamboo form part of the denser undergrowth. The islands are home to crab-eating monkeys, dusky langurs, squirrels, bats, lizards and a good variety of birds (though the monkeys are shy and rarely seen by the casual observer). But the most striking feature of these islands, at first glance, are the huge boulders that litter the western and southern shores on several of the islands.

Another highlight, as the visitor soon discovers, are the white coral-sand beaches, splendidly picturesque and often deserted. The most interesting sights, however, are to be found beneath the waves. Some of the most spectacular coral growths in the world can be found here - and the same boulders that scatter the shores have turned the waters around the Similans into an adventure playground for divers.A variety of forces have given shape to these islands. To begin with, the Similans were intrusions, upwellings of hot magma that found their way through weak spots in the Earth's crust 100-150 million years ago, working their way through thick layers of sedimentary rock already laid down at least 100 million years earlier still. Then, unimaginably powerful movements in the crust cracked the granite substratum into blocks, preparing the way for experiments in sculptural form by wind and wave.

Today, piles of curious stones, some of them as big as houses, lie as though collected and later abandoned in careless heaps by some ancient race of beachcombing giants. Even Donald Duck Rock, the distinctive formation teetering high above the cove on Koh Similan (Island No.8), has been shaped in this way. And boulders just like these spill in jumbled piles down beneath the surface of the sea to 35m and beyond, where submarine peaks, canyons, caves and passageways provide scuba divers with some of the most interesting submarine prospects in the world. (On the west side of the islands, currents have kept the formations clear of sand; on the coral-covered sandy slopes of the east side, the boulders have been largely buried.)Underwater, meanwhile, all sorts of marine creatures have helped establish the reefs and the sandy beaches. When you climb up to Donald Duck Rock, consider the brilliant white sand below. This beach is in large part a product of diligent scraping and nibbling away by organisms such as the parrotfish - an average individual of which species may excrete more than 16 kilos of sand in the course of a year's lunching on hard corals. And there's plenty here to eat.

The conditions for coral growth are ideal, with a minimum prevailing sea temperature of about 28oC and exceptionally clear waters. More than 200 species of hard coral alone have so far been identified in this area, while these islands have the greatest profusion of reef fish in Thai waters. In fact, in terms of both marine life and bottom topography, there's more variety than you'll find in most other dive destinations around the world. Similan Diving has almost everything - coral walls (if you count Koh Bon, to the north, as one of the Similans), big rocks, huge sea fans and barrel sponges, caves, swim-throughs, and plenty of shallows for snorkelling as well. For, although the fringing waters around the islands average from 30-45m dropping down to 70-80m between islands, you'll find coral gardens in as little as six to seven meters.

Similan Islands - Thailand | Information and advice

Explore the Koh Similan - A Group of Nine islands in the Andaman Sea
One of the best-known island groups , largely because of the wonders that wait beneath the clear blue waters that surround it.

"Similan" is derived from the Malay sembilan, and means "nine". Each of the Similan Islands has a number as well as a name. These are, running from north to south: Koh Ba Ngu (No. 9), Similan (No. 8), Payu (No. 7), Miang (No. 4, No. 5 and, in some opinion, No. 6), Payan (No. 3), Payang (No. 2), and Hu Yong (No. 1). Hin Pusar, or "Elephant Head Rock", is alternatively designated No. 6 by some. Koh Bon, lying 17 nautical miles north of Ba Ngu, is part of the Similan National Park and may be granted honorary status as No. 10.

Ironwood and gum trees are among the larger trees, while jackfruit, rattan and bamboo form part of the denser undergrowth. The islands are home to crab-eating monkeys, dusky langurs, squirrels, bats, lizards and a good variety of birds (though the monkeys are shy and rarely seen by the casual observer). But the most striking feature of these islands, at first glance, are the huge boulders that litter the western and southern shores on several of the islands.

Another highlight, as the visitor soon discovers, are the white coral-sand beaches, splendidly picturesque and often deserted. The most interesting sights, however, are to be found beneath the waves. Some of the most spectacular coral growths in the world can be found here - and the same boulders that scatter the shores have turned the waters around the Similans into an adventure playground for divers.A variety of forces have given shape to these islands. To begin with, the Similans were intrusions, upwellings of hot magma that found their way through weak spots in the Earth's crust 100-150 million years ago, working their way through thick layers of sedimentary rock already laid down at least 100 million years earlier still. Then, unimaginably powerful movements in the crust cracked the granite substratum into blocks, preparing the way for experiments in sculptural form by wind and wave.

Today, piles of curious stones, some of them as big as houses, lie as though collected and later abandoned in careless heaps by some ancient race of beachcombing giants. Even Donald Duck Rock, the distinctive formation teetering high above the cove on Koh Similan (Island No.8), has been shaped in this way. And boulders just like these spill in jumbled piles down beneath the surface of the sea to 35m and beyond, where submarine peaks, canyons, caves and passageways provide scuba divers with some of the most interesting submarine prospects in the world. (On the west side of the islands, currents have kept the formations clear of sand; on the coral-covered sandy slopes of the east side, the boulders have been largely buried.)Underwater, meanwhile, all sorts of marine creatures have helped establish the reefs and the sandy beaches. When you climb up to Donald Duck Rock, consider the brilliant white sand below. This beach is in large part a product of diligent scraping and nibbling away by organisms such as the parrotfish - an average individual of which species may excrete more than 16 kilos of sand in the course of a year's lunching on hard corals. And there's plenty here to eat.

The conditions for coral growth are ideal, with a minimum prevailing sea temperature of about 28oC and exceptionally clear waters. More than 200 species of hard coral alone have so far been identified in this area, while these islands have the greatest profusion of reef fish in Thai waters. In fact, in terms of both marine life and bottom topography, there's more variety than you'll find in most other dive destinations around the world. Similan Diving has almost everything - coral walls (if you count Koh Bon, to the north, as one of the Similans), big rocks, huge sea fans and barrel sponges, caves, swim-throughs, and plenty of shallows for snorkelling as well. For, although the fringing waters around the islands average from 30-45m dropping down to 70-80m between islands, you'll find coral gardens in as little as six to seven meters.