I signed up for a two tank dive with Lanta Diving Safaris to go out to the legendary Hin Muang area. They set me up with definitely the most annoying dive guide I’ve ever had but we saw several huge manta rays which made it all o.k.

Judging size underwater is a little tricky due to how water reflects light but two of these rays were at least 15 feet (5 meters) across.

They glide along effortlessly as they filter out tiny microorganisms from the water to eat.

Here’s some videos I took with my GoPro

These rays are increasingly under threat – the latest cause is over fishing because some Chinese people believe their gills have medicinal properties. This is a link to a really good documentary about this.

These dive sites are a little bit of a boat ride (about 1 hour each way) from Ko Lanta, but this isolation has allowed the reefs and wildlife to flourish.