Koh Nangyuan is not an island who could keep her secret for very long. Slowly but surely she has charmed many a tourist in Thailand and now ocean lovers have to work hard to protect her purity, coral reefs and magical marine life. Whilst Koh Tao’s bays were blissful, tiny Koh Nangyuan only 10 minutes away left me mesmerised with her underwater treasures.
For not deep within her waters lay beige, bundles of coral reef which provided sustenance to a large ecosystem of marine life. Blue and orange Christmas trees worms clung tightly to the coral, moving only to close in on itself as I moved closer.
Dark-shaded Parrot Fish swam in their big school stopping only to peck on the coral. The multi-coloured males seemed to enjoy their space and moved along in a solitary manner confusing my eyes with their aqua, yellow, pink and blue streaks. Pink Anemonefish peaked from out of the jelly-like anemones whilst little black and white striped fish whizzed around us and enjoyed getting quite close.
Even though we couldn’t go as deep as the divers a little way offshore, what I did see was more than enough and marks my favourite underwater experience to date. If I didn’t have to, I would probably never leave the quiet serenity found beneath the surface.
Here’s a glimpse of what we found in her turquoise bay…
Let’s Go!
Let the underwater exploration begin.
Fish in such shallow waters.
Wasn’t long before we were surrounded.
If only I had gills…
Vaughan filming whilst getting friendly nips from these little guys.
Brightly-coloured Christmas tree worms.
The closer you get, the smaller these bursts of colour become.
Even without the fish, the coral is something to behold.
Mountains of coral.
Pink Anemonefish swimming close to their home.
Love these fish also known as Pink skunk clownfish.
The warm water allowed us to stay under for ages.
Just another fish going about his day.
A large school of parrot fish.
Nibbling on coral.
Their journey continues…
Diving deeper
It just keeps getting better…
and better.
Underwater forests.
Multi-coloured parrot fish.
We met some humans beneath the surface,
…came across some loners and
those who stuck together.
Just below the surface…
there’s only calm.
May we forever have crystal clear seas and rich, marine life to explore with a snorkel and goggles.
Awesome photos! Looked like a brilliant time – what camera did you use? The pictures came out great.
Thanks Lily, my husband used a GoPro. The photos were actually not nearly as crisp and clear as they can be with an additional accessory for the camera. We only discovered this after snorkeling, but we’ll head back under water with all the right gear next time 😉