I is for Illuminate

The word "illuminate” will never mean the same to us again.

The husband and I went on a trip to Thailand in 2011. Ao Nang is a small island in the Krabi province of Thailand that is not as commercial as the rest of the beaches in Thailand. After an evening of island hopping, we ventured out into the sea for a night dive experience. Our boat anchored in a spot off Maya Bay (of The Beach fame). All the lights aboard were switched off and we plunged into the chill waters in complete darkness. To be honest, it was scary in the beginning, but we were blown away by what happened next.

As we moved our limbs to make our way through the water, our bodies lit up in the most brilliant colours of blue and green. Photophosphorescence! The bioluminescent plankton that surrounded out bodies lit up and illuminated the diving spot. Remember the scene from Life of Pi where the whale jumps out of the water? Yeah, that. I scoured the internet for pictures to give you an idea of what it would look like, but none did justice. So, I am posting a photo of bioluminescent phytoplankton that I found on news.nationalgeographic.com to give you a glimpse of the wonders of the ocean.

The night dive at Ao Nang was the highlight of our trip (pun intended J )