Our first stop after Bangkok was Ko Samet. It's a tiny island which in some parts is undeveloped and undistribed but other beaches have loud Russian trance playing most nights.
Anyways whilst on Ko Samet I went to speak to Mong at Mong Divers. After i told him my qualifications he said I should go in the shallows with his two thai instructors and practice some skills. After that he said there was a dive in the afternoon at the local reef. I got to dive for free and even ended up leading the dive with two paying customers. Was difficult at first as I had never dived the site but once I got us on the right direction it was a fun dive. Sadly the reef isn't exactly the most healthy with dead corals and a lack of life. However due to the water flow there are some large giant clams and we also saw two hermit crabs engaged in a shell wrapping battle over ownership of the biggest shell. Was fun to watch and you could hear the banging of the shells as they hit together. Both customers said they enjoyed the dive and thought I did a good job.
Afterwards Mong said I was welcome to go back anytime and I asked him about any conservation projects on the island. He showed me pictures of various projects they run and also said they have links with Marine Biologist at universities in Thailand. They had successful reintroduced sea grass, ran a clownfish introduction program and released infant sharks on the island. Would of been great to stay to help out but as it wa the first stop of the trip I felt like there maybe more to offer. I can always go back as Mong said I have a open invitation. It was a great expirence and good start to the trip and although it's a beautiful location (see photo) I expect other island in the south of Thailand will have much better dive with healthy reefs. Thank you Mr.Mong see you again soon.
