Diving Myanmar’s Myeik Archipelago

SCUBA DIVING Myanmar’s Myeik Archipelago by Juan Gallardo, a born adventurer from the Spanish city of Seville who has lived in the UK, the US and Europe. Juan first visited Myanmar in 2012 and has been living in Yangon since 2014. He is passionate about photography and Burmese cuisine, which he captures in his book: “Delicious Myanmar – Discover Myanmar through its people and food”.

I recently spent eight days on a liveaboard in the Mergui (Myeik) Archipelago and it was the best diving adventure I’ve ever had. The fact that we didn’t come across other boats at any of the dive sites made it extra special, especially for the underwater photographers amongst us.

The diving sites are incredibly beautiful with colourful, soft corals, swim-through caves, macro life, and a big chance of meeting a whale shark or giant manta rays.

The boat I chose had an amazing crew and the diving instructors were super friendly professionals with great respect for the environment. They conducted clear briefings before every dive, which made me feel safe and comfortable under water.

The boat has three decks and eight cabins, all of them with air conditioning and a sea view window that can be opened. The upper deck is the chill-out area and the area where briefings take place before each dive. Instructors are so familiar with the diving sites that one of them has created maps of the different islands, which are used to explain the diving plan prior to every dive.

The upper deck is also the dining area where you can help yourself to coffee, tea, toast, water, electrolyte drinks, fresh fruits and, my favourite, pineapple jam biscuits. If you have ever dived in Thailand, you will be familiar with the biscuits I’m talking about.

Special mention goes to the chef on board and her assistant who prepared the most delicious Thai food. The wide variety of food included meat, fish and vegetable dishes far tastier than in most restaurants. In the mornings we had a European style breakfast including corn flakes, muesli, fruit, brown bread, pancakes, omelettes, fried eggs, sausages, tea and coffee.

We did a total of 22 dives, starting in the early morning before breakfast, with the fourth and final dive just before sunset. We also had the opportunity to go on a night dive, which is always exciting.

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ONLINE IN
Globerovers Magazine July 2018

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ONLINE IN
Globerovers Magazine July 2018