Leaving Khao Lak for The Similan Islands

Time had come to leave mainland for The Similan Islands, a national park located off the coast of Khao Lak or around 100km north west of Phuket. The park is a well-known area for divers, and contains some of the best dive sites in Thailand.

We had pre-booked the liveaboard trip while staying at the Crystal Dive Resort, and now had to finalize the payment (vouchers, please!) at the Similan Diving Safaris center in Khao Lak before boarding.

The boat nearest to the pier was our living space for the coming four days and nights.

Crew and divers gathering. Only happy faces.

Traditional Thai boat ceremony while leaving the harbour. The boat crew used fireworks to scare away bad spirits.

The kitchen crew served a delicious Thai meal after the ceremony, and then we headed down to our bunk beds to try to get some (sea-)sleep before next days first dive.