Mantas Below

After nineteen years of diving and my third safari to the Surin and Similian Islands (Thailand), I finally experienced a dive with manta rays. The dive trip overall was great, but the two dives at Ko Bon with mantas was purely spectacular. These creatures glide through the water with the grace of an aquatic eagle. Ranging from 2 to 6 meters in width. On our second dive at Ko Bon (Manta Point), Captain Wat dropped us right in front of one. Three feet in front of my face, this giant (about 4 meters wide) glided right over my head, giving me a perfect view of its belly. The photos are from a fellow diver on the same trip in 2008.

My friend Kieter, also from NYC, came along and got PADI certified on the trip, he really lucked out for a first trip.