Fishy fish

As you can see on my first post back, I went SCUBA diving in Thailand. There are some absolutely gorgeous dive spots in the gulf of Thailand, the most famous probably being “Sail Rock” It looks quite inconspicuous from above the water, just this small rock sticking out in the middle of nowhere, but once you go underneath the surface, there is a 30 m high vertical coral reef just going down and down and down. It’s awesome.

 

 

I find diving a strangely mesmerizing experience. Your start off at the surface, feeling clumsy and totally out of place. The gear is heavy and annoying and one bobs about in the salt water, trying to swim somewhere without getting completely tangled. And then you have to just dive down into the blue, with nothing beneath you and just this bottle on your back to keep you alive. I have to admit, I then to panic slightly on descend. It’s scary and it knocks the breath out of me (which is bad. NEVER stop breathing when diving). And then you get to the reef, or find yourself in the middle of a huge swarm of silvery fish, just floating weightlessly in the blue. All you can hear is your own breathing, and the funny sounds the bubbles make when they get in contact with you. It’s one of the most peaceful feelings I know. The world down there is so far removed from the one up here, it’s incredible. The fish come incredibly close, almost close enough to touch. I find the movement of big swarms one of the most impressive sights there. It looks as if they think together.

I did not take these pictures by the way. Taking pictures even a few meters underwater requires special flashes and obviously a waterproof case for the camera. They were taken by my dive master but at the exact dive sites we went to.