12th June, Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Dive 77: the Corral, Koh Rung **
Max Depth: 13.4m ; Bottom time: 80 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 5-10m

Dive 78: Unnamed site, Koh Rung
Max Depth: 22.8m ; Bottom time: 33 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 3-5m

Comment: After almost 20 days going without getting wet, I was in full "Nitrogen withdrawal" before the plunge for a couple of muck dives in Cambodia. Meeting up with Paul (friend & former Instructor candidate) at the Dive Shop, he has intrigued me with the opportunity to dive with seahorses. Yes, you read it right, it's plural... A 2 hour boat ride to Koh Rung with the rain pestered us the entire day, we descended into a sandy bottom, starting out at 11m depth. Appropriately named by Paul (he discovered the site among many others), "The Corral," it delivered spectacularly!
Common seahorses (adults, pregnant, and juveniles) are spotted every couple of minutes during the dive. Octopus hidden in every other clam shells, crevices, sand and can be seen by any beginners. Then there were a Balloon shark, crabs (all over the place), nudibranch, flatworms, and the rare found of a leafy or weedy filefish ... As unlucky for me, I failed to charge my battery properly, thus within 30 minutes into the dive, my camera was done :-(

Marine life spotted were: Hippocampus kuda (common seahorses, there were 9 different sightings, with 2 beautiful juveniles), Chaetoderma penicilligera (leafy or weedy filefish), ocellated (spotted) octopuses (they were in every other clam shells), a pipefish that looked like Acentronura gracilissima (graceful or bastard seahorse), Cephaloscyllium umbratile (balloon or swell shark, often found in Japan and very uncommon in the Indochina Sea) can also be Cephaloscyllium sufflans
Nudibranches: Bornella stellifer, Pteraeolidia ianthina, Thecacera pennigera

Come dive with the Dive Shop, located on the road to Serendipity Beach, right next to the well-known the Monkey Republic Bar, Restaurant and Guesthouse. The Dive Shop's DM & Instructor, Bora, Shina and Paul, are on hand to help you spot all the little critters.

UPDATE: Click here to download and read Asian Divers' Feature on diving in Cambodia by Sol Foo, the Editor.

If you're interested in looking further into travel to Sihanoukville, Cambodia, some helpful info are: accommodation ranges from 8-15 USD, food costs 2-3 USD per meal (try the Cambodian Lok Lak, it's tasty!), and Anchor Beer costs 1 USD per bottle in the bar (0.75 cents at happy hour). A day trip for diving runs about 50 USD for two dives. And lastly, there's plenty to do in the beach town when you're not diving...cool beach bars, wooden huts with hammocks, music clubs, and even a couple of casinos to keep anyone entertain.


Sihanoukville, Cambodia is a "must dive location" for all macro photographers and rare marine life seekers! I can't wait until my next trip back in September.

See what photos I barely got in the album at Picassa:

the Corral, Sihanoukville

22nd - 23rd May - Racha Yai Island

Thursday, 22nd May
Dive 73: Bay 2, Staghorn Reef
Max Depth: 17.3m ; Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 74: Bay 1, Andaman Princess Wreck
Max Depth: 22.2m ; Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 10-15m

Friday, 23rd May
Dive 75: Bay 2, Andaman Eagle Wreck
Max Depth: 27.1m ; Bottom time: 38 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 5-10m

Dive 76: Bay 3, Lucy's Reef
Max Depth: 20.1m ; Bottom time: 48 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 15-20m

Comments: Much better weather in the last few days, with the wind calming down, and the sea is flat. making a very enjoyable trip for our returning diver, Kelly O from Santa Cruz. Visibility was still quite murky post full-moon, thus 5-10m were the norm for the wreck dives. At the safety stop, we hung out with a school of neon fusiliers, getting cleaned by a couple of Cleaner wrasse, Click here to see the short video clip. Condition improved tremendously at Lucy's Reef, blue water and good sunlight for more opportunities to swim lazily with a school of yellow-tailed barracudas. More photos of the 2 days diving are posted at Picassa, click the link below:

Racha Yai 22-23 May

20th May - Racha Yai Island

Dive 71: Bay 2, Andaman Eagle Wreck
Max Depth: 26.9m ; Bottom time: 37 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 5-10m

Dive 72: Bay 2, Andaman Eagle Wreck
Max Depth: 26m ; Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 5m

Comment: a new wreck sunk recently in bay 2 off Racha East coast. She's a wooden sailboat, sunk in 26m, near the cement blocks area, creating a new attraction for Racha Yai. More photos will follow when condition improve.

9th-10th May: Phi Phi Island

Friday, 9th May 2008
Dive 66: Ko Doc Mai
Max Depth: 24m ; Bottom time: 37 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 5-10m

Dive 67: Bida Nai, Phi Phi Islands
Max Depth: 17m ; Bottom time: 45 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 5-15m

Dive 68: Lohsama Bay, Phi Phi Le Island
Max Depth: 17.0m ; Bottom time: 48 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 5-10m

Comments: A good and not too difficult first dive for Will & Margaret. Ko Doc Mai cooperated with mild current and enough marine life for a check-out dive. Ko Bida Nai was a bit strange, as we began the dive in very milky condition & vis. However, turning the corner into the swim-through, the vis cleared out and allowed a very nice view of the coral garden. Green turtle, yellow-lined snappers, and various pufferfish (seal face, mapped, common etc.) are among the features of the dive. Lohsama Bay surprised me! I haven't been on this dive site in a few years, however, this dive was excellent! Cloudy skies and stormy condition made it as if it was a night dive. With flashlights on, the canyon presented 6 different nudibranch, slugs & flatworms! It was as if I was diving in Indonesia :-) an awesome dive for the macro enthusiasts, and a hidden gem for photographers looking for an easy & shallow site with loads of life.

Saturday, 10th May 2008
Dive 69: Bida Nok, Phi Phi Islands
Max Depth: 23.1m ; Bottom time: 44 min (32% EAN)
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 70: Table Coral City, Phi Phi Le Island
Max Depth: 21.6m ; Bottom time: 48 min (32% EAN)
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10m

Comments: Ah, what a gorgeous morning, sunshine, blue skies, and urgh... lots of wind! Ko Bida Nok surface was very choppy, with waves & swells of 2-3m. Descending into the sandy bottom just outside its small cove, we bumped into a green turtle :-) The rest of the dive was quite relax, a bit of surge, and also mild current moving us along nicely. Marine life features: Bluespotted stingray, pharaoh cuttlefish, feeding jacks, and a 2m leopard shark relaxing in the sand at the end of the dive. Moving to Table Coral city, on the east side of Phi Phi Le to hide away from the wind and waves, for our second dive of the trip. Great patches of coral pinnacles, featuring the "damsel fish" in various families: tomatoes & western clownfish, skunk & clark's anemonefish, soldiers fish (part of the squirrelfish family), and a resting Hawksbill turtle.

More photos at Picassa, click on the album below:

Margaret & Will PP dive adventure

2nd May: Offspray adventure to Phi Phi

Dive 64: Bida Nai, Phi Phi Islands
Max Depth: 17.9m ; Bottom time: 43 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10m
Comment: Dive featured a Blacktip reef shark (1.5m) & green turtle. Coral garden was spectacular as always, and school of blue-lined snappers hung around atop the staghorn coral field, trying to fend off attacks by jack trevallies from the blue.

Dive 65: Table corals City, Phi Phi Le*
Max Depth: 16.1m ; Bottom time: 50 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10m
Comment: My first dive here at this dive site. It's a gem! Nicely stacked cement cubes to creating a pyramid like artificial reef. Table corals, sea fans, and staghorns are healthy in shallows, right up to 3-4m along the wall. Marine life feature: friendly tiera batfishes, 4 different versions of anemone fish (western clownfish, clark's anemone, tomato anemone, and skunk anemone). Video of "Lavena & the clownfish" below:

See more at the photo album below:

Phi Phi Adventure 2nd May

May Day, 2008: MSDT PREP

Dive 62: Scuba Cat Wreck Bay 2, Racha Yai Island**
Max Depth: 31.9m ; Bottom time: 35 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m
Comment: Spectacular Visibility for our deep dive. The wreck is in great shape. With very mild current, we had no trouble spending our full 20 minutes exploring the hull and the inside.

Dive 63: Do Little Do Bay 3, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 17m ; Bottom time: 50 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m
Comment: Must see TV... check out the action scene between "kung fu Joe vs Johny trigger fish" below:

25th - 26th April: Open Water Course

Friday, 25th April 2008
Dive 58:Bay 2 Staghorn Reef, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 15.2m ; Bottom time: 44 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m

Dive 59:Bay 1, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 8.5m ; Bottom time: 54 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20-30m
Comment: A bit windy today thus creating some swells on the east coast of Racha. The dives though are till fantastic. Ed, Maria & Courtney were all under weighted in the first dive, thus took a while to sort out before we finally descent and start the dive. Second dive was mostly skills demonstration, though I did spot a short-nose bent stick pipefish at the end of the dive.

Saturday, 26th April 2008
Dive 60:Bay 2, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 18m ; Bottom time: 46 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 30m

Dive 61:Bay 1 Home Run, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 22.2m ; Bottom time: 50 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 30m
Comment: Spectacular weather today, sunny skies & a little cool breeze. The OW students, Ed, Kanade & Courtney, started to get this divin' thingy :-) superb buoyancy control, and the condition was excellent for their adventure to their deepest depth of the course, 18m. I went with Maria to find the eluded Ornate ghost pipefish down near the wreck in Bay 1. We were rewarded with a good 10 minutes alone with this beautiful creature. See the photo album for the course below (click on the image):

Openwater Course, 25-26 April