| Reef
type: | Walls,
ridges, pinnacles, boulders |  |
| Access: | Live-aboard
boat only | | Visibility: | Great,
from 15-30 metres | | Current: | Variable,
often strong | | Coral: | Excellent,
especially soft corals | | Fish: | Fantastic
large and small | | Highlights: | Whale
sharks, guitar sharks, soft corals in a rainbow of colours, schooling pelagic
fish | | | | North
of the Similans lies Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, the Surin Islands, and Richelieu Rock.
All of these areas offer world-class diving that differs from the Similans and
should be part of your itinerary when you visit the area. Koh
Bon: The Perforated IslandKoh Bon is located about 20 kilometres north of island
#9 and features one of the only vertical walls in Thailand. The dive site is on
the southwestern point and consists of a 33 metre wall facing the small cove,
and a step-down ridge that carries on to depths of over 45 metres. Leopard sharks
are common on the ridge and on the sandy flats below the wall. Although the soft
corals are not as high-profile as they are in the Similans, the colours of the
corals are radically different and include shades of turquoise, yellow and blue,
besides the more common pinks and purples. Koh Bon is one
of the better places to see manta rays, especially towards the end of the season
when there is more plankton in the water. Koh
TachaiTwenty-five kilometres north of Koh Bon, Koh Tachai has an offshore
underwater ridge that runs perpendicular to the island. This is considered to
be one of the finest dives in the Kingdom and is famous as a place to see not
only the more common species of corals, fans and tropical fish, but larger animals
such as rays, leopard sharks, nurse sharks and hawks bill turtles. Whale sharks
make an appearance on a regular basis. Tachai also boasts a breathtaking sandy
beach on its northeastern shore; a great place to hang out and feel like Robinson
Crusoe.
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