Boonsung Wreck

Khao Lak · Phang Nga Province · Thailand

The Boonsung Wreck proves you do not need crystal visibility to create a world-class dive site. This collapsed tin-mining dredger off Khao Lak sits on a sandy bottom at 18 to 22 metres, a jumble of flattened metal plates and rusted pipes surrendering to the sea since the 1980s. It is not photogenic like an intact warship, but for macro enthusiasts, Boonsung is a goldmine. The collapsed structure creates hundreds of small sheltered spaces, and marine life has colonised every one. Seahorses cling to wire cables and metal frames, their tiny bodies swaying in the current. Ornate ghost pipefish hover beside soft corals, their leaf-like bodies almost invisible against the backdrop. Frogfish sit motionless on sponges, waiting with the patience of ambush predators. Harlequin shrimp hide beneath plates in mated pairs, their blue and pink spotted bodies a reward for anyone willing to search. A typical dive follows a slow circuit of the wreck, scanning every surface for camouflaged life. Nudibranchs in vivid colours graze on hydroids. Mantis shrimp peer from burrows with absurd stalked eyes. Scorpionfish lie in ambush so well camouflaged you can stare directly at one and miss it until your guide taps the substrate beside it. Above the wreck, schools of batfish and barracuda provide a midwater backdrop, and the occasional cuttlefish drifts through, changing colour in mesmerising waves. Visibility ranges from five to twenty metres, and the water can be green rather than blue. None of that matters when you are face to face with a creature smaller than your thumb, more elaborately decorated than anything a designer could imagine. Boonsung is a day trip from Khao Lak and has quietly built a reputation as one of Thailand's finest macro dive sites.