Christmas underwater, around the Similan islands, Thailand

 

Merry CHRISTMAS to ALL of YOU :-)))

Today with the underwater reportage from the national park Similan islands in south west Thailand. These islands are located around 50 km from Khao Lak and may be reached in 2-3 hours from the mainland by boat. This park is famous to be a real underwater paradise in the Andaman Sea and a place not to be missed. Our pictures will show you the colourful Christmas trees, the tiny crabs, some beautiful fishes and corals.

 

However even if you may see a lot of colours we have actually spotted more dead coral and destroyed ecosystem than an intact one. It was pretty sad to see that Similan islands (advertised as one of the top10 diving spots in the world) are suffering not only from heavy coral bleaching (due to global warming of the oceans) but also from other distructive natural & especially human activities. We were told that a lot of the big fishes are gone (either to escape the crowd or being fished)...Last but not least one may see the beginning recovery of the underwater world: the growth of new corals. I truly hope that the big tourism industry built around this disappearing beauty (like diving&snorkeling trips) will support and participate in it!