Bangkok: Last day

I repacked once again. This time resulting in an 11kg city backpack and a 28kg gear bag. Luckily they didn't charge me for the overweight. The taxi ride to the airport, arranged through the guesthouse for 290 THB, took 45' using the normal road (not the expressway). There's a 500 THB departure tax. The duty free hall is fairly big but rather uninteresting.

Bangkok: Chatuchak weekend market

From the Khao San road area the easiest way to get to Chatuchak is by taxi (80 THB). Once there you can wander around the vast covered market area for hours. They sell all kinds of things here: clothes, household stuff, silverware, amulets, souvenirs, furniture, ... and of course food. Quite an experience. A must see really.

For a totally different shopping experience you can head to one of the big up-scale shopping centers like Siam Center/Paragon or the more popular MBK complex. In the former I had a nice cafe latte and muffin in Starbucks, for 135 THB. And in the latter I enjoyed some great Japanese food (sushi, tempura & soup) and sake, for 420 THB.

It's quite amazing actually how fast you can move from one price range to another, eating for 30 THB, then dining for 600 THB, just by walking to another street. And as you can imagine, I didn't even come near the really expensive places...

from Hua Hin to Bangkok

There's a 2nd class AC bus leaving Hua Hin for Bangkok every half hour. The ride takes about 4 hours and costs 160 THB (including a small bottle of water). From Bangkok's southern bus station it's a 15' taxi ride to Khao San road (55 THB by meter, 200 THB if you listen to the touts).

Before leaving Bangkok, I'd left my heavy dive gear at New Siam guest house for 15 THB/day, allowing me to travel light. A real luxury! At New Siam, prices vary from 240 THB for a single fan room with common cold water shower to 550 THB for a double AC room with private hot water shower. Breakfasts here are decent.

For nice food I can recommend the Baan Sabai hotel & restaurant. It still has some colonial atmosphere and a quiet terrace.

Hua Hin

Hua Hin is a modern coastal city, only 2 hours south of Petchaburi (30 THB by 3rd class fan bus), fully geared towards tourism, both Thai and foreign. Its long beach is completely lined up with private properties, towering condos and tourist class resorts. While this may not sound too great, in a way it's actually nicer than over-built and over-crowded Koh Tao. At least if you find the right place.


Baan Talay Dao resort is a fairly new and relatively small place with accomodations varying from comfortable studios to deluxe suites, just a couple of kilometers south of town. I stayed here three nights, enjoying buffet breakfasts, walks along the beach, the refreshing swimming pool & jacuzzi, the peaceful lush garden setting and dinners overlooking the beach... all that for about 80 USD/day, all included. The restaurant serves delicious Thai food and pretty decent steaks.

Petchaburi

Just a short 3rd class train ride (3h45, 138 THB) from Bangkok lies Petchaburi, a town off the main tourist maps, where people still smile at you and offer help without being asked. I stayed in a no-name Chinese hotel, in a basic fan room with common cold water bathroom for 200 THB.


The town is full of wats (= temples), one of them on top of a small hill, where monkeys rule without mercy. Vendors actually sell corn and bananas to feed them. And they know it. It's strongly advised NOT to bring anything in a plastic bag unless you want to get rid of it. I personally witnessed several take-away strategies.

Strategy #1: A medium sized monkey nonchalantly strolls towards you, looking the other way, as if interested in something in the trees. But as it passes by your side, it suddenly turns around, snatches your bag away and leaps off to examine its catch.

Strategy #2: An alpha monkey comes towards you without a trace of doubt, its purpose clear: your plastic bag. In this case I was holding the bag and cleared it away from its grabbing hands. Having missed the bag, it then jumped straight onto me to get another go, baring its teeth to warn me not to fool around. At which point I conceded and it ran away with its booty: a couple of sweet cakes and a botlle of water - which it expertly opened to have a gulp after having gorged on the cakes.

Strategy #3: When a tourist is stupid enough to buy monkey food, why wait till he/she actually gives it to you? As the vendor hands over a couple of bags of corn to an unsuspecting (Thai) tourist, a big female monkey jumps in and runs off with both bags crammed in her arms.

Bangkok: Wat Pho

Dressed in shorts I wasn't allowed in the Royal Palace, but I could enter Wat Pho (entrance fee: 50 THB), the temple of the oversized golden reclining Buddha. There're quite a few other temples and stupas on the grounds and several stone statues of fierce looking guards.

Bangkok: Khao San road

Khao San road & surrounding streets truly are a phenomenon. So much so that they've become a tourist attraction. It's much more alive than Charoen Krung road where I stayed upon arrival. Not only because of all the backpackers from all over the world, but also because you can easily get away from it all by submerging yourself into the bustling city life just a couple of streets away. Off the main tourist streets, you can get a street side meal for 20-30 THB. A fraction of the price you pay in the places catering to tourists.

from Koh Tao to Bangkok

After 3 days of doing nothing but sleep, eat, read and walk along the beach at sunset I finally got myself together to leave the island and bought a joint ticket (ferry-bus-train, 2nd class AC upper bunk) for 1080 THB.

The Songserm ferry is pretty terrible, its aircon being set to deep-freeze, chasing everybody up to the windy roof for the 3 hour crossing. From Chumporn pier to Chumporn train station it's only a short 10' bus ride. Dinner in the nearest eatery, as I really don't feel like lugging my 40kg of gear around town. The express train leaves on time, and I'm actually able to get some sleep before arriving in Bangkok around 7:15 (only 45' late). From the station its a 50 THB taxi ride to Khao San road.

Shambara guesthouse is full, so I head over to another backpacker street nearby, and end up in the Bella Bella guesthouse. Basic twin room with fan and common cold water bathroom, 270 THB. I'm totally drenched in sweat by the time I've climbed the stairs to the fifth floor. But, it's quiet up there, and there's even a view of Bangkok's rooftops. Eggs, toasts and coffee breakfast costs about 70 THB. Internet access is cheap at 30 THB / hour and burning a CD only costs 100 THB.

Koh Tao: Jamahkiri health spa

Just to sweat a little bit more I went to a herbal steam sauna, then, in order to cool down again, I got smeared in with aloe vera gel and wrapped up in a sheet to relax, followed by a face cleaning treatment and a jasmin oil massage. All in all 2h30 of special attention, for 1750 THB at the Jamahkiri spa & resort. Because I'm worth it :o)

Koh Tao: Like a flying fish

Shortly after I arrived on Koh Tao, an ad in one of the restaurants caught my eye. It was about a flying boat. The place being close to where I stayed I went to check it out and met Rafael, Israelian, owner of the shop, pilot and instructor, who was happy to answer all my questions. So now, three weeks later, after having done all my deep wreck diving and Bjarne's OW course, I showed up again and made arrangements for a little trial flight (about half an hour for 2800 THB only). As passenger of course.


Rafael set-up and prepared the FIB (Flying Inflatable Boat) did his pre-flight checks, got the boat pulled into the water and off we went!

After taxiing for almost 10' to get the right wind we effortlessly took off, rising higher and higher above the sea. Whow! Then we skirted the island's coastline for about 25' before smoothly landing back in Mae Haad bay.


The FIB only takes two people (incl. the pilot), securely strapped up, with a visored helmet and earphones for in-flight communication. Not that I said much, as I was just too enthralled enjoying the view.


Yeah, I could imagine myself learning to fly one of these. Just for the fun of it. Apparently it only takes about two weeks to learn (consisting of theory, about 15 hours of duo flights, 3 hours of solo flights & exam - all that for about 2000 USD).

I was not allowed to bring my own camera, to avoid it flying off on its own into the rear propeller. A precaution I accepted reluctantly. Unfortunately the FIB's wing-fixed camera didn't do its job properly, so I've got no in-flight pictures :o(

Gulf of Thailand, April 2006

Imagine a deep blue sea and a clear blue sky, all around you, as far as the eye can see...


Standing on the M/V Trident's upper deck, that's exactly the view I enjoy right now. Slowly sipping my early morning coffee. Waiting for the sun to rise just a little bit more, so as to have more light penetrating the water.

Everything's ready, I just need to gear up and splash in for some deep wreck diving!

trip report
travel blog

Thailand - info sheet

Visum	Belgian citizens automatically get a four weeks visum upon entry. For longer stays a visum must be requested beforehand. In Copenhagen, a two months visum can be obtained from the Thai embassy within a week. Besides your passport you must bring two pictures, a copy of your Danish residence permit & travel documents, fill in an application, and pay 175 DKK.
Time	Bangkok time = Copenhagen summer time + 5h
Weather	Air temperature's around 35°C, very humid with occasional tropical showers. Water temperature's a balmy 29°C.
Currency	1 Euro = 46 THB 1 USD = 37 THB
Language	English is barely spoken by some.

Deep wreck diving in Thailand?

Two and a half years ago I got trimix certified and followed an advanced wreck diving course in the Philippines. So it was about time to put the two together. But where? Having been invited on an exploratory deep wreck diving expedition in Sri Lanka, I needed a place relatively nearby where I could refresh my skills, in preferably similar conditions. Subic bay in the Philippines not being my favourite place, I checked out my options in Thailand.

Even though Thailand doesn't immediately pop up as a possible destination when thinking about technical diving. There's some deep diving going on on its west coast, with Mark Ellyatt having put Phuket on the tec diving map thanks to his 313m deep record dive, but there are -as yet- no wrecks to speak of. And on the east side, the Gulf of Thailand is a rather unknown place when it comes to wreck diving. That is, until you start looking a bit deeper.


Somehow, a Google search resulted in a link to the M/V Trident. And it immediately caught my interest, offering exactly what I was looking for: exploratory deep wreck diving! Co-owned by Jamie McLeod (tec instructor trainer) and Stewart Oehl (tec instructor), two British expats living on Koh Tao, the M/V Trident is currently the only ship organizing deep wreck diving expeditions in the Gulf of Thailand. Besides the owners, there's also Michael (tec diver), another British expat, who acts as divemaster & gas blender, and of course there's the ship's Thai crew: captain, cook, engineer & deckhand.


In less than a year Jamie & Stewart have found over a dozen wrecks, lying in 50-70m deep water. From wooden fishing boats to cargo vessels to WWII war ships. And they've got plenty more marks and sonar glitches to check out. One wreck in particular has gotten them a lot of media attention, both good and bad: the USS Lagarto, a WWII United States submarine sunk by the Japanese in May 1945 and now lying 70m below the waves. Considered a war grave, it's alas a no go site.

Thanks to the M/V Trident, the Gulf of Thailand is indeed becoming a serious wreck diving area, with virgin undived wrecks waiting to be found.

The Tattoo bar

When not looking for wrecks, the M/V Trident's dive crew can often be found in the Tattoo bar, a beach-side British hang-out, only a short stroll from Master divers in Mae Haad bay. Cold beers, English pies, American burgers, New Zealand steaks, beautiful Thai sunsets, ... What else could you wish for when stuck on dry land?

This is where I first met Jamie & co after arriving on Koh Tao a couple of days ago and it's here we all gathered yesterday evening before sailing out into the Gulf. Stewart rejoicing over the fact that, yes, I do occasionally have a beer too.

Boarding & departure

I'd actually already boarded earlier in the day, as I'd had to vacate my bungalow, check-out time being 11am. A group having cancelled last minute, it turns out there's only one other diver besides me. Meaning I've got a three bunk cabin all for myself. And being the first one on board I even got to pick which one. What a luxury!


My few non-diving-gear belongings quickly thrown in one of the lower deck cabins, the first thing I did was to take advantage of the bright daylight to check and set up my gear. After which I just made myself at home and relaxed.

A little after 8pm we took off, with an offering of noisy fire crackers to appease the gods, before heading out to sea. Once we'd left Koh Tao behind, it went all black around us.


Sitting on the upper deck, Jamie tells me about the HTMS Pangan, the wreck we'll be diving the next few days. Weather & time permitting, we might also check out an unknown mark. The last two days are reserved for Big Boy, an as yet unidentified wreck, which they've only dived once before in rather rough conditions. In other words: adventure guaranteed! Briefing done, Stewart shows me how to use his dive planning software. Just so as to keep my feet on the deck.

The HTMS Pangan's history

The HTMS Pangan was a Royal Thai Navy Transport, built in Japan in 1927, about 60m long & 10m wide, 1874 tons empty & 2442 tons full, with 2 diesel engines and 3 guns (60, 40 & 20mm).

She sank the 19th of July 1961, at 10pm, off the coast of Surathani. Her entire crew (81 souls) was saved six hours later by a Japanese freighter. Why she sank however is not too clear. She'd left Bangkok earlier that week carrying 'damaged' ammunition & gunpowder to be dumped at sea.

Officially she went out of control and the crew abandoned ship when her main engine broke down after battling heavy seas for several hours. Supposedly a large wave had hit the ship, some of the cargo broke loose and rolled to one side, making her list heavily and take more waves. Totally swamped the pumps & engines failed. Rough seas would have been very unusual at that time of the year and the cargo might not have been as properly strapped down as it should have. More probable however, from the damage on the wreck, a fire broke out and she went down ablaze...

Deep wreck diving stop by stop

How to find a wreck

Basically, it takes a lot of dedicated research to find a wreck. Knowing what you're looking for is probably a good start. Knowing where to look is next. Or vice-versa. There're bound to be some kind of records somewhere, be it maritime archives or battle reports. Anything that might give you an approximate location will do. After that it's search & explore.

Wrecks attract fish. So having your ears tuned into the fishermen's grapevine might give you some good clues as to where to look. Though they're most likely to be very protective of their best fishing locations.

And while you're out there anyways, why not keep your sonar on. Who knows, you might just get lucky and stumble upon something.

One way or another, Jamie & Stewart have already found several wrecks over the past year and still have a whole bunch of probable & unknown marks and mysterious sonar glitches to investigate. All written down in Jamie's little book of secret coordinates.

Getting there

We sailed all night, arriving in the early morning, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It's actually the sudden quietness that woke me up, after having been lulled to sleep by the constant throbbing of the engines.

Using GPS coordinates the captain steered the M/V Trident to the wreck's approximate position. After which a search pattern was performed using the sonar to pinpoint it as accurately as possible. On his signal a deckhand then let go of a drop line, a relatively thin line weighted down by about 10kg of lead at one end and kept afloat by a buoy at its top end.

Anchoring

No anchor was actually dropped. In stead, Stewart jumped in the water, fully geared up for action, to go and tie down the M/V Trident directly to the wreck.

Depending on the conditions, one or two crew divers jump in the water near the drop line's buoy and are handed the end of a ticker line, after which they descend into the blue looking for the wreck.


If they're lucky they'll be able to see it on their way down, or find it thanks to the fish that usually hang around a wreck's vicinity, using it as shelter. If the visibility is bad they might need to perform a circular search using a reel attached to the drop line. If unlucky they may have to resurface and the whole procedure then needs to be repeated from scratch for another try.

Usually though, as was the case this morning, they find the wreck on the first try, tie off the line, give three strong thugs to signal the surface crew of the successful tie off and either resurface immediately or after performing a short dive. At this point the M/V Trident is securely tied to the wreck, thus ensuring a direct line of descent & ascent for subsequent dives. No need for divers to search for the wreck each time they go down, loosing precious time and running the risk of not finding it in bad viz.

Stewart having done the tie-off, Michael then jumped in to set up the deco rig, a horizontal metal bar hanging 6m below the ship, where divers can perform their last deco stops, breathing surface supplied oxygen.