March 24-27, Diving Similans on MV Pawara

No time yet to edit many pictures, so here is a VDO instead:

Pawara 2018 from Vo Sta on Vimeo.

Now leaving for the next trip...

See you under water

March 21, 2018 Check Dives at Koh Haa

So I wanted to make sure every piece of equipment works fine, before I go on the boats, and what better destination con there be than Koh Haa.
Pickup at my Resort at 7:30, warm welcome by the driver, we know each other from last year. Straight to the jetty behind the bridge, and off we go for a two hours ride to Koh Haa.
This gives me plenty of time to set up my gear. Our guide is Martino of Kon Tiki Lanta, my Buddy is Kim, an Asian living in Switzerland.
Two groups of divers,  two snorkeling groups and an OWD course, the boat is full but not overcrowded.
We jump at Koh Haa Yai, the big island with the caves

March 20, 2018 Here we go again...

 


After that epic 100 day trip in 2017, it felt so strange to get back into the business rat race, that I started booking again as early as August last year. Coming back into the working world in Berlin was harder than I had expected, my longing for coral, saltwater and fish made me book early again.

Starting early has pros and cons, you can

Day 45 / Tag 45 April 26 Going round in Ao Nang

My favorite breakfast sometimes:
Ham and Cheese croissant sandwich and a 3-in-1 coffee, all for 42 Baht (1,15 Euro) at 7-Eleven,

I take the scooter for a short foto tour around Ao Nang,  impressive limestone mountains,

longtail boats

Day 44 / Tag 44, Tue. April 25. Divng Koh Phi Phi

Pick up is 10 minutes early, we collect other participants from resorts and drive to the longtail boat port at the river. The longtail taxis us to the dive boat waiting for us in deeper waters.

Longtailboat brings us to the Diveboat

Leaving Ao Nang, course Koh Phi Phi

Again, it's not a Kon Tiki boat, they had a propeller damage the day before,

Day 43 / Tag 43, Mon. April 24 Koh Lanta to Ao Nang

Must get closer to Krabi Airport, my flight to Borneo goes at 8am, allow 2 hours for check in on international flight, that's 6am, travel time from Koh Lanta 3 hours, that would make it 3am. And there is a ferry connection from Koh Lanta Noi to the mainland, which doesn't operate during the night hours. So I'll have to go to the mainland before anyway. I decide to go to Krabi for two days, Ao Nang, to be precise. Have never been there, so why not take a look

Short chat with the swedish lady, warm goodbye from and to the thai family at Bee Garden. Of course we will all see each other again next season...

and I want to recommend it:

contact@lantabeegarden.com (for any questions)

Day 40 /Tag 40, April 21 Diving the Koh Bidas

Finished the Amoxycillin therapy with the last of ten tablets this morning.
I declare myself fully recovered now.

Second trip on the Kon Tiki Queen, starting with some choppy sea, but getting better. Service on the boat outstanding like the last time, especially Mama Jap in the kitchenette and also on the dive deck, and Mr. Bird, deck hand and responsible for filling the tanks between dives.

Just some pics from the dives, not as spectacular as the Koh Haa material

cool Kuhl's Stingray

Day 37-39 / Tag 37-39, April 18-20 Koh Lanta Diving and Driving

Day 37, April 18, Lanta Bee Garden, Khlong Dao, Koh Lanta
Lanta Bee Garden is the last small and family resort left on Klong Dao Beach.
This is the second time I am here,

and this place is so beautiful. Clean and well maintained, they really take care of their site.

I start to check around for dive centers.

Day 21-22 / Tag 21-22, Sun April 2nd - Mon April 3rd. Leo OWD now! Diving with Poo

DAY 21, Sunday April 2nd.
I booked the morning boat to have good odds for Chumpon Pinnacle.
Leo is on the same boat, doing his last two dives for Open Water Diver

Father and Son on the same boat. Last two dives for Leo, then he is OWD!

Day 1 / Tag 1

Starting a bit off track, my flight from Berlin to Cologne was cancelled due to ground staff on strike at both Berlin Airports. The airline offerd a train ticket to Cologne which I accepted, so I startetd at 9:49 am on Monday, March 13th.
The Countdown on this page was set to 2:10 pm, the original scheduled flight time, but who cares about an hour or two...
Nothing to report here, five hours train ride to Cologne, check-in at the airport ond off to Phuket. 11 hours flight and I can't really sleep on flights, so I arrived pretty wasted at Phuket Airport the next day.



I have some people asking for a german version of this blog. I'll make up my mind about that, promised.

See you