Thailand Part 6: My scary but beautiful Dive at the Corals and Caves of Koh Ha

After enjoying ourselves a bit at Koh Lanta I decided to use our last day at the Island to go diving while Fie was taking a snorkeling trip and @martibis went to some waterfall.

So in the morning we first got a proper breakfast and then went straight to the harbor to enter our boat from Blue Planet Dives to get to a dive spot called Koh Haa and enjoy two beautiful dives there.

On the boat some of us decided to do some morning yoga and enjoy the view to wake up and start the day properly.

I love being on the boat!! but I have to admit that I got super nervous about the dive. I had only done 4 dives in my life before, being in Belize when I did my PADI certification. - And there we had perfect conditions: Warm water, clear view, beautiful corals and fish. And I was with friends.

This time when we got the briefing from our dive master, he told us that the view will be bad because of the storm, and there are probably really big fish in the water, so I got really nervous.

I am afraid of fish hahah.. I know you could say now, whats the point of diving if you are afraid of fish?- And you are right. The reason I`ve been waiting so long to do my PADI even tough I lived in the Caribbean for 3 years, is because I am afraid of big fish and also have a lot of respect of the ocean.

I am a really good swimmer, but its different when you are 18 meters down and depend on each other in case of emergencies. For me the ocean and also any kind of animal is unpredictable. I like seeing fish.. but I am afraid to get to close to them or get attacked by them for some reason haha.

Anyways. I still love to challenge myself and a dive like this would help me feel more comfortable getting down there again after. - I mean.. in Belize we were surrounded by reef sharks and I did survive haha how could this be worse?!

So when we finally arrived to the spot I was still nervous but had no choice then to go for it.

Koh Haa is a tiny group of uninhabited islands about an hour and a half boat ride from Koh Lanta. Much like Thailand’s Similan and Surin Islands, it closes to the public for several months each year for the monsoon season.

This gives the marine environment time to regenerate before the next busy tourist season. However, this group of islands is closed for a few weeks more than the others for another reason — this is where the Thai Royal family likes to dive.

When we arrived with the boat it just looked stunning and I couldn't wait to go and explore the marine life down there.

(yes we took a drone with us hehe)

In the briefing our dive master told us that the plan was diving along the corals up north until we get to the caves, dive through one of them and then go back with the current until we find the second one. Check out that one and then get back up at the meeting point. - Sounds easy no?

So I got ready and jumped into the water.

The view was really really bad!! - I mean you could hardly see 2 meters in front of you... I instantly freaked and came back up.. I told the guy no way I am going down there with currents and everything if any second I could loose my guide, because I don't see him anymore..

I am not a pro yet so I am a bit slow in navigating through the water. And I`ve never done anything like this before.. I mean our guide said the view is almost like a night dive...

So he tried to calm me down and convinced me to try again. He would hold my hand at first, so I couldn't loose him, until I manage to get comfortable again and navigate good. As he also happened to be cute I agreed and so we went down in the darkness..

Underwater the landscape is equally stunning featuring large boulders and rocky reefs, all thickly covered with colorful soft corals.

All manner of reef fish, damsels, wrasse, butterflyfish and coral trout floated about the soft coral. Anemonefish of all different types hovered over the many anemones. In the meantime, schools of snapper, fusiliers, jacks and barracuda swarm in the blue. In the crevices and caverns, we saw giant moray eels, pufferfish and the odd giant grouper.

My favorite where the little NEMO families, seahorses and the very toxic but beautiful clownfish.

The moray eels are still fuckin scary to me. I am always afraid of them to come out and bite me haha. We also escaped a little trigger fish that was about to attack us, coming out of the blue...

I managed to stay calm the whole dive until then, and actually the further down we got the more light we had..

Once we got to the caves it got creepy though. We had to be careful not to get lost in the tunnel system which made me nervous again.

We swam along the wall toward a few enormous boulders, worth exploring before we entered the first cavern.

Past the boulders there is a sloping reef, covered in a forest of whip corals. We swam back around this reef and through the enormous arched entrance to the first cavern where we ascend to a small air bubble to check it out.

The cave extends another 160 feet (50 m) above water. It’s an impressive sight, worth checking out before swimming through another grand arch to the second slightly smaller cavern. It was pretty dark and way more blue than in the open water.

It was a very special experience to get through this cavern.. and also beautiful. But also as you may see on my face I was happy to get out safe hahaha

Once we were back on the boat we got some water, lunch and chilled in the sun, talking about our experiences down there.

We were pretty cold after two long dives and enjoyed the sun on deck while we went all the way back to Koh Lanta, where @martibis was already waiting for us at the beach to have dinner.

So once we got back we got a quick shower, swang our asses back on the scooter and made it just in time to have I lunch and some beers at the beach while enjoying the sunset!

I just love the sunsets in Thailand. They are always unique and incredibly beautiful!

As always I hope you enjoyed reading my post and I am grateful for every Upvote, Resteem and Comment, as you are supporting my travels with it!!