Koh Dok Mai
This small island is located on the way to Shark Point
if you leave from Phuket and
is considered one of the best wall dives in the area. Koh Dok Mai (meaning ‘Flower Island’ in Thai) is a huge limestone rock that rises
steeply out of the sea and plunges straight down to the sea floor at 30m
on the northern and southern tips.
Generally the dive is started on the east side drifting with the current, where divers follow a vertical wall covered in clams,
hard corals
and huge sea fans. There are two caves located on this side. For macro
lovers Koh Dok Mai is probably the best Thailand has to offer, look out
for Cleaner Shrimps, Seahorses, Ornate Ghost pipefish, numerous
Nudibranchs and Sea Slugs, Frogfish and juvenile White-Eyed Moray Eels. Bearded
Scorpion fish, Banded Sea Snakes, Common Lionfish, Forsters
and Chevron Barracudas are also common residents.
The west side is a gently sloping hard coral reef with an abundance of
colourful marine life decorating the underwater cliffs.