Thailand - Pearl of the Andaman

Returning to the Dive Sites That Started It All

Back in Phuket this week, and back at the Westin Phuket Siray Bay.

The resort has definitely aged a little over the years, but honestly, so have I.

Thankfully, we're both holding up just fine.

It still feels like the peaceful escape I remember — tucked away from the crowds, traffic, and chaos of Phuket's party scene. The kind of place where you can actually hear yourself think.

One of the highlights of the trip was getting back into the water and revisiting some of my favourite dive sites around Phuket.

The Racha Islands.

Shark Point.

Anemone Reef.

And the King Cruiser Wreck.

Some dive sites lose their magic after you've done them a few times.

These aren't those sites.

Dropping into the water felt familiar in the best possible way.

The visibility around Racha was stunning as always. Shark Point and Anemone Reef were packed with marine life, and swimming through the King Cruiser Wreck still gives me that same feeling every time.

No matter how many times I dive it, there's just something special about exploring a wreck that's slowly been reclaimed by the sea.

What made this trip even better was getting to dive with William, my PADI Open Water instructor.

It's been quite a while since those certification dives, so it was great catching up and sharing a few dives together.

It's funny how years can pass, life gets busy, and people go off doing their own thing.

Then you descend underwater together, and somehow it feels like no time has passed at all.

A lot has changed since my first dives in Phuket.

Back then, I was the nervous new diver.

Every breath felt important.

Every skill check felt like an exam.

And I was probably checking my air gauge every three minutes just to make sure everything was still working.

Now, diving feels much more natural.

Much more relaxed.

Instead of focusing on myself, I get to focus on what's around me.

The reef.

The fish.

The tiny details I would've completely missed before.

And that's one of the things I love most about diving.

The more comfortable you become underwater, the more you start noticing.

Yet one thing hasn't changed.

The ocean still leaves me in awe.

No matter how many dives I log, there's always something that catches my eye, surprises me, or reminds me just how little we've actually explored beneath the surface.

The funny thing is, the more experience I gain underwater, the more I realise how much there is left to learn and discover.

And maybe that's why I keep coming back.

Not just to Phuket.

Not just to these dive sites.

But to the ocean itself.

Because every dive feels familiar, yet somehow there's always something new waiting down there.