Join me on the 2015 'Ray of Hope' Expedition to Myanmar & Thailand

For the second year in a row I’ll be leading a ‘Ray of Hope’ Expedition to Myanmar & Thailand for the Marine Megafauna Foundation.

The 2015 expedition will take place from 28th February – 8th March 2015, onboard the luxurious Deep Andaman Queen liveaboard vessel.

This year the trip will start by exploring Myanmar’s vibrant waters with some of the best and most experienced dive guides in the region, before re-entering Thailand and visiting its most prestigious dive sites.

One of the biggest highlights of this trip comprising 26 dives in total will be the two days diving at ‘Black Rock’, a breathtaking dive site that Dr. Andrea Marshall previously identified as a major manta ray hotspot in the region after encountering over 30 different giant manta rays in one day! Additionally, guests on the trip will have the opportunity to dive at the best macro site in the region, the ‘Three Islets’, the famed ‘Western Rocky’ and ‘Burma Banks’. The second leg of the trip will be highlighted by dives at Thailand’s world-class dive site ‘Richelieu Rock’ in the Surin Islands Marine National Park, as well as key manta sites ‘Koh Ta Chai’ and ‘Koh Bon’. The 2014 season saw a surprising number of encounters with large pelagic species at these three destinations, and we are hopeful that the manta and whale shark sightings will once again be sensational!

The trip will also integrate cultural highlights and community work with the area’s indigenous community, the Moken, on Bo Choo Island. The Moken are sea gypsies who previously lived their lives at sea, and have now settled on a small group of islands. Unrecognized by any government, the Moken are one of the 10 poorest ethnic groups in the world, yet are a charming and smiley bunch of folk.

More information is available here, but all-in-all it is going to be once-in-a-lifetime experience exploring some of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant reefs, contributing to world-leading manta ray research and undoubtedly capturing some great photographs along the way!