Basic scheduling plans, first bookings

The basic idea behind this endeavour was
to get some more dive training, like Rescue Diver or SSI Master Diver,
try the liveaboard The Junk
see some friends I made during my diving, like Julia now on Hawaii,
and see some spots I never had the chance or time or both to see, like Raja Ampat, Sipadan, Bali, Fiji, Hawaii, Mexico Yucatan Cenotes...

Some of my diving buddies even proposed the Divemaster course for me...., but i am not sure if I should take that responsibility

So I want to keep all chances open by not planning ahead every day of the 111 days.
A possible schedule could be:

• Start day is March 13, 2017, from Berlin, Germany
• Some diving in West Thailand, check Wicked Diving as a new to me operator in the Similans
• Do the Rescue Diver and some Specialties on Koh Tao, then chill down to Koh Lanta and dive the southern Andaman Sea with Lanta Diving Safaris, fly to Sabah and hang out on Mabul or the Seaventure Dive Rig, diving Sipadan.
• Take a trip to Raja Ampat
• Phillipines, Malapascua and Thresher Sharks? Or Bali or Fiji
• Hawaii, dive with Julia and Brad: Kona etc
• San Francisco, rent a car, drive down Coastal Highway 1 to L.A., fly to
• Mexico, Yucatan, ocean and Cenote diving
• back to Berlin middle of June

I thought of starting with a 7 day trip on the Junk to Similan and Surin Islands, but decided against it.
No early booking discount, no dive deck, all dives are dinghy dives, relatively expensive. Also that would have meant to start diving more or less on the day of arrival in South East Asia. I want to take it easy and allow some time to get used to the area again and sleep out my jet lag (traveling in eastern direction).
So I made a booking for a 3-day-trip with Wicked Diving starting five days after arrival. That way I can do some fun dives and my EFR course with them before the trip and then get an impression of their business. I could ask them if I could become a Divemaster: They offer a dive master internship of 6 weeks with 3 live aboard trips...
That trip ends around 3 pm and at 8 pm I start the next trip, hopefully from the same pier at Tab Lamu near Khao Lak: 4 days and 4 nights on my loved MV Pawara with West Coast Divers

First bookings and preparations

Now started inquiring for the Similans, of course with West Coast Divers

and their beautiful MV Pawara again:

and Wicked Diving

at Khao Lak

Starting it all

I've been working for the same newspaper company for 18 years now and thought it was time for a break.

So I took 3 months off, added some vacation days and made it exactly 111 days out of office. 

I always loved riding my motorbike and the simple lifestyle of Camping, loved to go to vintage car meetings and races with my 45 year old Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, 

but what really made me do this 111 days break is something I discovered only three years ago: Scuba diving. 

Especially on liveaboards in South East Asia...

I must admit it's addictive. 

Whenever I came back from a scuba trip i wanted to go again after a couple of weeks. 

So I set up the plan to go round the world one time, dive a lot, continue my scuba education and meet friends I made in the last three years while diving. 

All the paperwork is done by now, part time contracts signed: I will work for 75% of my salary for nine months now and get three months off with 75% of my salary paid.  

some money is put aside, and it's time to start booking flights, boats and courses...

See you under water