Similians, Burma Banks, Megui Archipel

Hi,

after some looking around (see other Thread in this forum) especially at the "BOOT" Show in Germany we are thinking about doing a Thailand (Similians) and Burma (Burma Banks, Mergui Archipel) liveaboard tour over my 30th birthday (15. Dec) (Hey Eric what are you doing on your birthday? Want to join ;-) )

Now I have some questions?

1) Is this destination worth the money you have to spend. (2500-3500 € per Person for 2 Weeks (9 or 13 days Liveaboard and 2-6 days sightseeing including flight) depending on exact arangment and dollar<->euro rate)

2) Do you know a good vessel operating this tour (we are looking into Mermaid 1 at the moment. They have a good reputation but are expensive)

3) I heard horrorstorys about totaly destroeyd reefs through Dynamite Fishing in Burma. Are they true?

Simon

First thing you do is CHECK THE WEATHER CYCLE when you venture out to the Two-Seasonal tropics. Usually Rainy-windy season.

I went out to the Burma Banks/Similans in 1979 it was nice then, 1993 things had little changed.

Bang Fishing has always been a problem out there.

Boat-wise, you get what you pay for. Few places are worth spending E3500 on.

The dollar sucks on the international market presently so it's a good idea to buy them now.

I went to the Similans in 2002 (May) on a charter organised by Blue Planet cameraman Peter Scoones on the boat Thai Mai. That boat was chosen by Peter after many years experience in the region. During my 10 days I did 55 dives. 31 at a single site in the Similans called "East of Eden" which was perfect for reef photography. Each of us just headed off on our own when we wanted to. I then did 19 dives at Richelieu Rock (that I have mis-spelled) and 3 at another similan site called Barracuda Point. The two sites we did in the similans had great coral - though it did partially bleach on the last couple of days of our trip.

Alex

Oh, and Simon, thanks for your tips for use of the Ixus.

i have been to the similans and surin islands (richelieu rock, koh tachai, koh bon) i think 7 times over the past 3 years. each time i have been there i have seen great great life and reef. for the big stuff i have seen a whale shark, mantas (huge guys about 5m wingspan, they just come up to you look at you and swim around), zebra white tip and black tip sharks (nothing bigger though).

in terms of little stuff the variety of critters is quite remarquable though not as extensive as indonesia.

yes there has been "bang" fishing there. in fact one of the most beautiful sites of the similans, fantasea reef, was completely destroyed. most of this happens off-season (northern hemisphere summer) when there are not tourists and the park rangers just don't look in the right direction.

however i have never been disappointed. richelieu is a fish (and diver) magnet, tachai has brought me amazing interactions with mantas, morning edge (in the similans) has one of the most incredible bommies provinding umpteen opportunities for photos, if you are on a boat that knows as to go to elephant pinnacle (not too far from elephant head but no visible markings) and you will see a fantastic sea fan garden, christmas point will delight you with swimthoughs and zebra sharks. boulder city and shark fin reef will also maybe give you mantas (though not as likely as up in tachai and certainly not as playful). and the similans has a lot more to offer, but i would recommed splitting your time between similans and surin

i have spoken with people who have been to burma and not one of them has been satisfied: destroyed reefs, not sharks, no fish... i have not withnessed it myself so i can only repeat what has been said. this comes froma good friend of mine as well as dive masters in the similans.

plus there is always uncertainty with myianmar: the operators (and there are less and less because of the crap quality) are never certain to be allowed to go there.

the only boat i know that is left doing this burma run is the ocean rover. expensive, luxurious, very very comfortable boat. it also includes similan and surin dives in the trip. but it is expensive, but as far as i know you really get what you pay for so

you have to be careful selecting your operator in the similans; there are a lot of yahoos and cowboys out there. plus certain boats are more geared towards certain markets: singaporians, japanese, backpackers, etc.... again you get what you pay for...

i have personally been on 2 boats from www.scubacat.com, te scubacat itself and the scuba adventure. the 1st stays in the similans and is a more basic boat, though it is very comfortable and has the biggest dive platform i have seen, check it out. the 2nd one goes up north on 4 day trips. it is much more comfortable, with fewer divers, has air con and a dive leader, pj. i find it to be the better value for money up there, and also scubacat is very security conscious as opposed to many other operator out there ( i was once on a boat that had to return to harbour while we were under water because IT WAS SINKING!!!!!). it is also very flexible when it comes to dive sites. the only down side is that it is not extremely camera friendly (there is a rinse bucket and some outlets but not dedicated photo area)

so is it worth coming all the way from europe and spending so much money? I think so , as i said i have never been disappointed. in fact i just spent 9 days there over xmas and new year and saw mantas at tachai again and again and again...

thailand is a great country with very friendly people and great food. just avoid bangkok and patong (in phuket, stay more towards kata beach or kamala beach).

sorry have to run but please ask more questions, i can try and answer them on the forum or jsut send me an email

/paul

I'll be on the Ocean Rover at the end of April/begin of May. Any idea what the water temps will range at that time?

thanks

I'll be on the Ocean Rover at the end of April/begin of May.  Any idea what the water temps will range at that time?  

 

thanks

I was on the Viking last April/May and plan to do the same this year. The water temp was a very warm 86F almost everywhere with a couple of very memorable thermalclines.

Ok, I have to go further in the Burma thing (Status opf Reef destruction). The Operating doesn't seem to be a problem, cause the big operators all have agreements with the Mynamar Govnt. (150 $ per Tourist)

Thanks to all of you

Simon

Ok, I have to go further in the Burma thing (Status opf Reef destruction). The Operating doesn't seem to be a problem, cause the big operators all have agreements with the Mynamar Govnt. (150 $ per Tourist)

 

Thanks to all of you

 

Simon

The owner of the Viking told me last year that he cancelled plans to go to Burma for that reason. I'd be interested in what you find.

in addition, the myanmar government is not known to respect its engagements with operators, so there is no guarantee that the 150US pp extortion will help.

/paul

Regarding the payment of the fee of $150pp to the Myanmar Gov/Military Regime, you may want to consider whether you really want to contribute to the coffers of such a cruel and oppressive oligarchy. I'm about to launch into a bit of a rant...

You probably already know about the appalling human rights record of the military junta that rules Burma. They use more child soldiers than any country in the world and brutalise them during training - forcing them to commit horrific abuses and even civilian massacres. They forcibly recruit desperately poor locals into chain-gang road building/mining projects, precluding them from tending their crops and thus effectively forcing them into starvation. They have imprisoned and killed a goodly proportion of the population on political grounds. They have consistently imprisoned the democratically elected leader of the country (Aung San Suu Kyi) for well over a decade... you get the idea.

I don't mean to be a spoiler/winger, but it just seems to me that you might want to weigh up whether contributing money to these thugs is really the best use of your tourist dollar?:?

Sorry for the rant. The Similans are brilliant and I would highly recommend visiting them.