Rob: Wow what a day diving I’ve had. I had gone to the Koh Bida Islands doing my last day of an Advanced Course with Paul my student. On the first dive at Koh Bida Nok we had planned to do a drift dive. Twenty mins into the dive we looked up and had the best surprise ever! A whale shark around 6 metres long came swimming towards us. A mere baby in comparison to the adult but to us it was a giant. It wasn’t hanging around playing today but just cruising past. Luckily it doubled back on itself and we got another glimpse. We had the biggest smiles ever under water and on the boat. But not everyone was so lucky.

The people who didn’t see the Whale Shark were doing an Open Water Course and had been doing skills in the bay area. Thankfully though when they did the next day’s diving in Koh Ha they were rewarded by the Whale Shark cruising past. We spent our dive in the blue waiting but missed it, but we were more than happy that everyone on the boat had seen it. The whale shark was spotted for several days after in Koh Ha and another boat in the same week had stopped next to four (!!) on the surface.

Anyway after the first dive and my adrenalin buzz after the sighting I didn’t think the next dive could compare. I was mistaken. We dropped in as usual at Koh Bida Nai where we stay shallow. We went to find two Tiger Tail Seahorses. I have been wanting to take a nice photo or video or these for ages but never had the opportunity. Today was my lucky day as the Sea Horse wasn’t hiding, holding onto the fan with his tail but out having a bit of fun.

It was one of the best days of my life.