Phi Phi Island Marine Park: Phi Phi Ley, Bida Nai & Bida Nok

Tobias Reitmayr · Issue 49, Jul/Aug 2009 · pp. 66–68

Products mentioned: Canon EOS 350d, Sea&Sea housing, Canon 18-55mm, Canon 10-22mm, YS-90auto, Canon Powershot A95

I would say I know this place like my vest pocket (literal translation from German). After almost 4 years diving fulltime in these waters, I feel extremely familiar with the waters around Phi Phi Island in South West Thailand. But still there are creatures I have not come across and conditions of the sea that still surprise me. And that is what the thrill of this Andaman Sea is about; you don’t know what awaits you after the next coralhead and the currents might be very different from what the tide chart tells you. I’ve lived and worked in other places and seas but have not experienced the kind of oceanic moodiness that I find here. This tiny group of islands lies around 40 km off the Phuket peninsula in Thai waters on the continental shelf with depths of around 30m everywhere. The Islands consist of impressive limestone rocks enthroning the dark and sometimes troubled waters. The season…