Back to the Similan Islands.

Our Christmas Cruise 2007, 9 days / 9 nights, 'The Wicked Witch' liveaboard, took us along the Similans, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock in the north but also at the Phi Phi islands, Koh Ha and Hin Daeng and Hin Muang in the south.

After the success of the 2006 Christmas cruise was the first fast boat to book at this diving trip in 2007 to repeat. Instead of a 5-day dive cruise now but a 9-day dive cruise to the full underwater world in the Andaman sea to admire.

It did not take long for the biggest and only problem for this trip appeared to organize. After several price proposals from airlines to have received that I actually keep it always ended in a confirmed e-mail question where companies fail to confirm the vliegtuigticketten wanted to deliver. Apparently I had the travel period poorly estimated and tickets with departure at the start of the Christmas holidays on December 22 and return on January 5 were impossible to obtain. This resulted in a reversal of the entire organization to which only those willing divers who could take something for the start of the leave period, the plane could take. 15 divers were finally ready, but it eventually fell off two setbacks. After their great effort and good will could find tickets to Mahan Airlines, they were rebuffed in their vacation dreams. Mahan airlines in Europe came to and was blacklisted during the Christmas period and until further notice no longer fly to Europe. I note here somewhere just to the European shield our pennies to be able to spend our much more expensive European airlines or is there still a security risk. Who knows but the web I could find no negative comments about the airline as well as to breaches of security. Through contacts with local dive centers we were still a number of people on the cruise and it was ultimately an international diving trip.

The cruise itself, we are successful call. The mantas were again present at Koh Bon and two long dives we could enjoy their playful antics. I personally had the good fortune along with Amy, Kristof Singh and a manta 15 minutes circling around us have. The top dive sites were visited and the number of boats that visit the Similans starts anyway nice to walk to his limit. So we were pretty much diving around Richelieu Rock. A custom dive schedule with as much as possible other divers evaded allowed us to do this wonderful dive site can be utilized. This method of diving we went through in these days where we at 7hr morning, mostly underwater search was on. The first five days we stayed close to the Similans and the northern islands. We saw a whitetip reef sharks, leopard sharks but also a white frogfish at the dive site 'Elephant Head Rock. The icing on the cake was the observation by two groups of a diving whale shark over the last dive in the Similans near 'Sharkfin Reef'. Run five days after our trip to the south where we came ashore at Patong Beach. A pleasant short stop for the crew to allow sufficient water and food on board to bring the second half of our dive cruise. Some also left us because they just had in the first five days of the cruise to sail. Later that evening we sailed back from the direction of southern islands with some new people on board for our 4-day trip to the southern islands. Near the southern islands, we made our most dives around Koh Ha and Phi Phi islands. No fewer than seven different Tigers cake seahorses (Hippocampus comes) were observed. Many leopard sharks were seen to everyone's satisfaction.

We had our planning in a way that we are on December 31 evening ashore were on Phi Phi islands so as to start to deploy in 2008. The atmosphere on land was abundant but the service at the restaurant that we uitkozen on Phi Phi was definitely better. Ultimately, the ideal atmosphere to be found on our own liveaboard From what we New Year fireworks on Tonsai Bay could see. As a grand finale captain Pu caused a stylish and powerful fireworks on his own boat to us as the new year to shoot.

After two dives on January 1, idereen to my surprise was quickly out of bed, we sailed to Chalong harbor to land, and our diving cruise insurance. Some were left for a few days of nice in tropical Phuket. A visit to Phuket Fantasea, a tour around the island along 'viewpoint', shell museum, the temples of Wat Chalong and the orchid garden, some were even made. Also an elephant ride through the jungle was nice in taste to fall.

Participants in this dive cruises were

January Hat residents, Christel Jacobs, Luc Rooyackers, Carl Vandenven, Eric Hulpiau, Marleen Bekaert, Rik Moens, Patrick Muylaert Verschaeve and Kristof (Belgium)

Wagatsu Miyoshi and Mai Ando (Japan)

Manuel Lefèvre, Amélie Lefèvre, Joelle Lefevre and Guy Lefevre (France)

Amy Best, Matt Best and Mark Jackson (England)

Rick and Pat Matchell Matchell (USA)

Alejandra Quintero Emerich Heny (Venezuela)

Marie-Claire Taylor (Ireland) and Stefan Brad Mann (Australia)