Floored: exploring on the sea bed

During the summer time, Ngoc Le would dive into the azure depths of Nha Trang’s ocean almost everyday.

“It’s like going sightseeing,” he said. “But it’s way more interesting because the scenery is so colorful that one almost feels as if one were in a fairytale.”

Nha Trang Town with its pristine beaches has always been one of Vietnam’s most important tourist hubs. Its fame has been heightened further after recently hosting two major international beauty pageants – Miss Earth and Miss Universe.

Tourists in Vietnam often head to Nha Trang to enjoy its premier beaches and fair weather, but nowadays a variety of water sports services have been cropping up around town.

For many guests, scuba diving represents the most adventurous water activity. A diving instructor will often accompany a diver and closely monitor him or her. Divers are taught how to communicate under water and how to adapt under emergencies, if for example, equipment malfunctions.

The first step for novice divers is to get acquainted with the diving suit and associated equipment. The diving kit includes a typical suit, a pair of goggles, an air cylinder and a 13-kilogram aqualung. In addition, divers are required to wear two fins attached to a chain weighing up to 14 kilograms, which helps them to submerge.

According to diving instructors, communication under water must be done via body language and divers are taught to be aware that some fish in deep waters, as breathtaking as they may look, can cause skin rashes and other dermatological diseases if touched.

About five years ago, the Nha Trang administration started to develop scuba diving tours as a means to lure more tourists, especially international visitors. Nowadays, scuba divers can select from a range of locations suitable to their interests and level of experience.

Hon Mun (Morray Beach) is appropriate for beginners with its shallow depth of between five and eight meters. Hon Rom (Madonna Rock) has water that ranges between 18 to 22 meters deep, with some spots reaching 30 meters. Islands such as Hon Trau Nam, Hon Kho are favored by more expert divers as they reach depths of greater than 30 meters.

Hon Mun and Hon Rom are both marine conservation areas. The former islet, located 45 minutes by boat from the port of Cau Da (Rock Bridge), boasts one of the most attractive coral gardens in Nha Trang with more than 300 types of corals. The island covers only one square kilometer, but is home to anglerfish, white-eyed moray eels, demon stingers, and cuttlefish, among other oceanic species.

The eels in the waters around the island often hide among the coral, but diving instructors rouse them to create a breathtaking sight for divers. There are several eels 15 meters in length and also huge groupers flitting among the coral formations.

Advanced divers would enjoy the waters of Hon Rom, an island that contains an impressive array of caves 30 meters below the water’s surface.

In these underground caves, divers can explore the dim grottoes at their leisure, delighting at the various under water surprises that dart suddenly from around each corner.

Follow the outline of the reef to a maze of rock formations surrounded by beautiful corals and swarms of cuttlefish nearby, and divers will truly experience tranquility under the sea at Hon Rom.

Reported by Phan Huy Tram