HUA HIN, Thailand - As tourism increases in the beauty spots of Asia and
development races ahead in a relentless tide of construction, many of the
natural wonders that attracted people in the first place are being swallowed
up. Beaches become concrete boulevards, primary forest becomes a parking lot
and coral reefs simply don't become. The natural expansion of human activity
forces us to seek out new playgrounds. However, as the planet
slowly runs out of untouched destinations, the emphasis is shifting toward
their conservation and the reduction of our impact on them.
Myanmar is a newcomer to the tourism and scuba-diving industry, with a total of
about 200,000 visitors in 2003 compared with 10 million in neighboring Thailand
that year. The ruling military junta is making more effort to promote tourism
in Myanmar, much of which is to the anger of human-rights activists who believe
the generals will use the revenue to prolong their regime. But politics aside,
the islands and waters of Myanmar's Mergui Archipelago are a beautiful part of
the world.
In the 18th century the area was of major importance for trade between Eastern
and Western civilizations, with the port of Mergui a significant access point
bridging the Andaman and South China seas. The archipelago fell into obscurity
after World War II and the changes that took place in Myanmar, known as Burma
until 1989. It has had very little human interaction for more than 50 years.
There is a small indigenous population of sea gypsies but in general the
850-plus islands composing the archipelago, some of which are the size of
Singapore, are uninhabited.
Negotiations between dive operators based in Phuket, Thailand, and the Myanmar
authorities began in 1994 for access to the frontier dive spots at the Burma
Banks - a number of submerged sea mounts in deep water in the Andaman Sea - and
the myriad tropical islands of the Mergui Archipelago. Permission was finally
granted in 1997 and a few boats began to run trips to these largely unexplored
islands and reefs. Today, almost eight years on, there are only a handful of
vessels that regularly travel to the islands of the Mergui Archipelago, which
makes it one of the last remaining scuba-diving frontiers on the planet.
There is a rather steep US$150 one-off entrance fee to the National Park, but
this can be forgiven if it all goes into the preservation of the natural
ecosystems there. The government seems to be heading in the right direction
with this by outlawing dynamite fishing, which in Indonesia and the Philippines
is still a prevalent method of procuring fish and anything else in the
vicinity. An even bigger step was taken in May 2004 when the Myanmar
authorities also outlawed shark fishing in the area and created a "shark
protection zone" between some of the islands.
Trips
to the archipelago depart from Kaw Thaung, just west of Ranong, Thailand, and
usually run from five to 10 days. Most live-aboard vessels such as ours, the
MV Faah Yai, run up the coastline stopping at a number of islands and
dive sites on the way. The diverse marine ecosystems offer a multitude of
environments including mangroves, shallow inshore islands, fringing reefs,
offshore rocky outcrops and pinnacles and sea mounts in deep, clear water.
Visibility varies with the seasons and positions of the dive sites. Closer
inshore generally is not as good but some of the offshore spots yield stunning
gin-clear water with better than 35 meters of visibility. One small rocky
outcrop called Black Rock lies in water that drops down to more than 100 meters
deep and often attracts larger pelagic fish such as barracuda, tuna, mackerel
and reef sharks to feed in nutrient rich currents. While the sharks didn't put
in an appearance during our visit, the spectacular underwater topography,
pristine coral formations, and crystal-clear waters more than made up for it.
Other dive sites include underwater cave systems (one aptly named "Shark Cave")
housing countless crustaceans and even a four-meter nurse shark, which
fortunately was sleeping at the time. Coral gardens contain untouched, healthy
hard corals and fields of anemones, many of which are home to clownfish,
recently made popular by the movie Finding Nemo. Huge red and yellow sea fans
stretch more than two meters in diameter and an explosion of color can be seen
from a colossal variety of soft corals, sponges, clams, ascidians, holothurians
and sea stars.
A dive after dark reveals another world altogether with coral polyps feeding in
the gentle moonlit waters, crabs and lobsters on the prowl, moray eels
venturing out of their lairs under the cover of darkness and flamboyant
cuttlefish and squid drifting into the blackness. A fantastic display can be
seen if lights are extinguished as the bio-phosphorescence is illuminated in
the darkness forming large swirling clouds like tiny marine fireflies.
Marine life is equally impressive because of the remoteness of the dive spots
and the limited impact of human activity when compared with across the border
in Thailand. Moray eels were spotted on almost every dive, massive schools of
fusiliers swirl around coral pinnacles and along vertical walls, inquisitive
batfish move in for a closer look and even large octopus remain unperturbed by
divers. Leopard and whitetip sharks were spotted by some of the divers at
depth, but these retained some of their shyness and stayed at bay. Large black
rays frequent the area and many spots are popular with mantas, which come in to
feed at certain times of the year when the plankton is blooming.
Underwater photographers can also not fail to be impressed with the variety of
smaller life - brightly colored nudibranchs, porcelain and decorator crabs,
pipefish and seahorses are all on display. Close inspection of any coral head
can reveal an entire community of macro marine organisms living in symbiosis.
The islands also offer an array of activities for the non-diver or the
adventure naturalist. Kayak and river trips are available, and trekking through
virgin forests on uninhabited islands can reveal some of the last jungle cats
and other large mammals to be found in Southeast Asia. Huge expanses of
mangroves extend for many kilometers inland and form a perfect ecosystem for a
wide variety of birds and monkeys.
The Mergui Archipelago represents one of the last natural areas of the world
that have yet to be consumed by tourism and development. The natural beauty of
the region both above and below the surface is simply stunning, and its fate
now lies in the hands of the authorities that manage it and to some extent the
people who visit it. The professionalism and environmental awareness of our
crew was an admirable example to any operators running trips in this area. We
only hope that the area remains in its natural and undeveloped state for many
years to come.
Martin J Young is a correspondent for Asia Times Online based in
Thailand.
To book a liveaboard trip to the Mergui Archipelago or for more information
please see www.siamdivers.com
for dive sites in Myanmar and the rest of Southeast Asia take a look at www.asiadivesite.com
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Trips
to the archipelago depart from Kaw Thaung, just west of Ranong, Thailand, and
usually run from five to 10 days. Most live-aboard vessels such as ours, the 
Marine life is equally impressive because of the remoteness of the dive spots
and the limited impact of human activity when compared with across the border
in Thailand. Moray eels were spotted on almost every dive, massive schools of
fusiliers swirl around coral pinnacles and along vertical walls, inquisitive
batfish move in for a closer look and even large octopus remain unperturbed by
divers. Leopard and whitetip sharks were spotted by some of the divers at
depth, but these retained some of their shyness and stayed at bay. Large black
rays frequent the area and many spots are popular with mantas, which come in to
feed at certain times of the year when the plankton is blooming.
