The Similan Islands seen by Carol and Jérôme

SIMILAN PARADISE

This month, and for this 3^rd niouzeletter, I chose to tell you a story of love ... The story of this heart stroke that we immediately had, Jerome and me, for the Similans Islands Archipelago where we have the chance to live and work from a few weeks….

First of all, and so that you better understand why this love at first sight, a brief introduction, subject: history-geography…!

The Similan Islands archipelago is located about 100 kilometers northwest of Phuket Island, and 65 km off the mainland coast, practically opposite Khao Lak, infamous during the December 2004 tsunami.

The Similans are nine granite islets covered with lush tropical vegetation. They arise from the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, here called the Andaman Sea. The show is fabulous and unforgettable. Small coral sand beaches with almost immaculate whiteness, border some of the islets.
Coral sand is largely the product of nibbling marine fauna.
For example, the parrotfish, one of the most common species here, rejects an average of 16 kilos of coral sand per year. The conditions for coral growth are ideal here: exceptionally clear water with a minimum temperature of around 28 ° C.

The archipelago has been classified as a National Park since September 1982, prohibiting almost all constructions. Only one island (number 4) offers a few bungalows and tent fabrics.

The Similans Islands are low in altitude and covered with forests of palm trees and coconut trees. The white sand and the turquoise sea make it (personal opinion but not only!) One of the most beautiful places in the world. The inhabitants of these islands are mainly macaques and crabeater monkeys. There are also lizards, iguanas and other reptiles as well as many species of birds.

The islands are made up of volcanic magma from the earth's crust that dates back 100 to 150 million years. By force of erosion by the wind and the sea they have become these granite blocks which make the specificity and the celebrity of the archipelago.

The name Similan comes from the Malaysian "Sembilan" which means "nine", number of islets constituting the archipelago.
The islands are identified by a Thai name or by a number. The numbering starts from the south (island n ° 1) to the north (island n ° 9). The largest (and also the most frequented of them) is Island 8 (Koh Similan). A strange rock seems to have been deposited there, balanced on a mass of granite to the east of the bay: an exceptional panorama!

We headed for the Similans one morning in November, while the sky was sadly dark in Khao Lak.
Arrival at the port of Khao Lak, boarding the "speed-boat" and… 1h15 and beautiful rays of sun later here we are dazzled by what the Andaman Sea offers us more beautiful: the blue of the sky perfectly matches the white small paradisiacal beaches, itself specially designed to lighten the granite gray rock of volcanic formations ...

And around all this splendid panorama, a crystal clear turquoise water revealing, just a few meters from us, coral fish and turtles attracted by our arrival ....
We took our place that morning aboard the Nangmacha, our cruise ship (otherwise known here as “liveaboard”) which will gradually become our second home!

The Similans are known the world over for their dive sites, some of which are ranked in the top 10 worldwide. The variety of aquatic fauna is impressive: from the smallest nudibranch to the largest such as manta rays or leopard sharks, everyone is "full of eyes"! It is impossible not to fall in love with the Archipelago and its dive sites.

We really like this place. We work here with Eric, a young Frenchman, like us in love with Thailand, like us passionate about the Similans, proud owner of the French diving club of Khao Lak: Similan Paradive.

In recent weeks, I start dreaming of great things ... Jerome and I are both very sensitive to the protection of the environment. Finding us in a place like this allows us to consider contributing, at our level, to safeguard the seabed.

In our projects: the organization of a large seabed cleaning week, with the contribution of divers from all backgrounds ...

In our dreams: organize around the Similans an important event known in the world of diving under the name "Objectif Atlantide". I let you take a look at this beautiful project, dating from 1989 and carried at arm's length by an extraordinary team led by Daniel Meouchy. www.ob Objectif-atlantide.org
The principle: organize a great treasure hunt in a part of the world, a competition conducted underwater and on land… I like the project, I say to myself "Why not here"? I say to myself "Why not us"? In short, I tell myself that we are perhaps not there by chance and that we have great things to do here.

For the moment, and before attacking these big projects, we take, every morning, the direction of the Similans Archipelago to find this paradise panorama and to guide our customers through the most beautiful diving sites of this archipelago.
It's pure happiness ... Isn't life beautiful ?!

See you soon for a new travelogue.

A little sun for our friends and families suffering from the sickness of the season: the cold! We think highly of you, I promise !!!

Carol and Jerome

To discover this month:

To subscribe to the newsletter of Carol and Jerome, the “french divers”, lovers of travel and the seabed, go to our site: lhttp: //frenchdiversworld.e-monsite.com/newsletter.html
www.similanparadive.fr: the French diving club, based in Khao Lak for the Similans