Text and photos: Isabelle & Amar Guillen
We had a dream, to dive on "East of Eden", which can be translated by the east of the Garden of Eden, in the Similan Islands in the Andaman Sea. Reports in magazines and a National Geographic documentary had convinced us: it was the kind of place where photographers can dive a hundred times, where on a few tens of square meters, and in a few meters of water are concentrated. hundreds of species! But beyond this mythical site, the Andaman Sea lived up to our dreams ...
EAST EDEN: A MYTHICAL PLACE FOR DIVERS
Over a few dozen square meters, East Eden is a concentrate of life: between toad fish, gobies, leopard sharks and moray eels, but also dozens of species of other fish, hard or soft corals a few meters away. depth. It is also the place where the famous Emma moray lives, who in 2005 mistook Matt Butcher's finger, who was feeding her, for a sausage! The finger of the unfortunate diver was torn off and swallowed ... His story, moreover filmed and still available on Youtube, has greatly served the cause of opponents to feeding. This is where we want to go.
QUIT PHUKET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
To discover East Eden, the best way is to go on a diving cruise, because the site is located more than 70 kilometers from the coast of Thailand. We had chosen a departure from the island of Phuket which is located in the south of the country. But after a few weeks spent in the Thai countryside to discover its sweetness of life, it is a real shock and it is hardly if we meet Thais. The city seems to be built only with hotels, bars and diving clubs that line up along the main avenue that leads to the port where cruise ships wait to take divers to the Sea of Andaman! Fortunately, we only spent a day in Phuket before boarding.
IN DECEMBER, THE BEST VISI
We are in December and it is certainly at this time that the weather conditions are most favorable to discover the sites of the Andaman Sea. Indeed, during the months of February, March and April, under the effect of rising temperatures, the plankton becomes denser and visibility drops dramatically. But it is also at this time of year that we can easily see whale sharks who come to enjoy this abundant food. While we are preparing our cabin, we hear a fuss at the front of the boat. We discover the tradition in Thailand to chase the bad spirits is to light at the front of the boat a piece of bamboo covered firecrackers that causes a terrible noise that would chase any demon who would think to stay on the boat.
THE TWO ARCHIPELS OF THE ANDAMAN SEA
We first join the Similan, 100 kilometers northwest of Phuket, a string of islands located between two marine national parks: the Andaman Sea is made up to the south by the Similan Islands and to the north by the Surin Islands. The two small archipelagos are national marine parks which have been protected by law since 1982. In these parks, it is forbidden to fish and all the underwater fauna is under high protection. The name of the Similan Islands is derived from the Malaysian word "Sembilan" which means the number 9 because this small archipelago is made up of 9 islands which even if they have a local name are always identified by a number ranging from 1 to 9 starting with l southernmost island.
CORAL OASIS AND GRANITE ARCHES
The Similan Islands are granite and each island has a different feel whether on land or underwater. Some are covered with small forests while others are populated only by a few yuccas and other cacti. Of the 9 islands only two are inhabited by national park rangers. Underwater, the contrast is striking: The dive sites located to the east of the islands are composed of gentle slopes where you can see oases of corals; the sites located to the west are made up of large rather bare boulders that form passages or tunnels. The current can be quite strong and the captain's role is essential to be dropped in the right place. These currents go from north to south and carry a lot of nutrients: hence the large number of species of soft corals and hard corals and hence the very impressive size of gorgonians.
CAP ON THE ISLAND NUMBER 7 AND EAST EDEN
After a night of navigation and a rehabilitation dive at Honeymoon Bay, on island number 4, we are heading towards our objective, island number 7, and "East Eden". Once the boat is anchored off the island of Koh Pabu, we embark on an inflatable so as not to damage the coral reefs that emerge on the surface. We are dropped a little east of the site to drift quietly during the descent. Our goal is a granite peak placed on the sand whose Thai name is "Ruan Gluay-Mai", the Orchid Rock. The current of 2 knots makes us drift gently; the site is covered with soft and hard corals and large schools of completely still fish watch us go by. Suddenly we see the peak we were looking for. It is completely covered with giant gorgonians of more than 3 meters, multicolored soft corals that hide the entrance to a small cave where thousands of glass fish are safe from predators.
AT THE FOOT OF THE TREE OF LIFE
It is an extraordinary spectacle on such a small surface. We now understand why the National Geographic crew filmed here for over a week. This is madness and no matter which direction we look, there is something to look at. It's an explosion of life. We look at each other and smile despite the regulator in the mouth. We feel a strange sensation: that of being diving at the foot of the “tree of life” as described in the bible. We're east of the Garden of Eden, aren't we? Sometimes life gives us these extraordinary and incredible moments and we are living one of them. Around the Orchid Rock, on the sand you can also see many sea eels that hide if a diver approaches within 5 meters. The site is also an excellent shelter for many turtles which let themselves go in the current and come to eat sponges or corals. Fortunately, one of us is equipped with a wide angle lens while the other is in macro!
ADVENTURE CONTINUES TO NORTH AND SURIN ISLANDS
After 4 dives on East Eden, we go back to the Surin Islands and another Mythical site: Richelieu Rock, a rocky outcrop located east of the Surin Islands in the north of the Andaman Sea. At low tide, the rocky peak comes out 1 meter out of the water and disappears completely at high tide. The dive site looks like a horse's hoof, the southern part of which descends gently to a sandy bottom 35 meters deep. The drop offs are covered with hard or soft multicolored corals and very large yellow gorgonians. Just like in the Similan Islands the currents are quite strong and go north to south carrying the necessary food for the corals.
AWESOME BENCHES
Unlike the southern islands, the schools of fish on Richelieu Rock are impressive. We spend half an hour photographing a huge school of yellow snappers and we will also come across a school of barracudas and jacks. It is also one of the places where you can see whale sharks but all our efforts will be wasted: it is not the right season and we know it. We dived three times on Richelieu Rock but the site is so rich that we should do at least 7 or 8 dives. But the island, exposed to the wind, has no natural shelter, it is impossible for a boat to anchor for the night, so we usually only spend a day there before leaving.
APPOINTMENT IN THE SPRING
The Andaman Sea has more than 50 dive sites, and some like East Eden or Richelieu Rock are some of the most exceptional dive sites we've been to. The dives to the east of the islands are rich in wildlife whether it is fish, reptiles or corals while the dives to the west are more atmospheric dives with walks in granite canyons. We were a little disappointed not to see more big fish because it was not the period. For this first trip we have privileged good visibility but we will return in the spring, when manta rays and whale sharks come to orgies of plankton.
ANDAMAN SEA PRACTICAL
The Andaman Sea is located in the west of Thailand. You have to land in Bangkok and then take a flight to Phuket to go diving. The best way is still cruising with stays ranging from 4 to 7 days. The best time to dive is from October to March. The water temperature varies between 27 and 29 degrees Celsius. Phuket is an island connected to the mainland by a bridge. Today it is a destination completely dedicated to tourism with islands to discover such as Koh Phi Phi where the movie “The Beach” was shot. As the currents oriented from north to south are quite violent, most dives are drifting with a departure from an inflatable and an end of a parachute dive.
Although many corals were washed away during the devastating December 26 2004 tsunami, most are still alive and the colonies are slowly recovering. It can be estimated that the extinct coral colonies represent 20% of what existed before the tragedy. Some sites like Chinas Wall south of the island number 4, Christmas Point and Snapper Alley (around the island number 9) still show symptoms of destruction but most of the large sites formed by rocky peaks are intact.
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c huge!