Introducing the National Marine Parks New Partner: SAMPAN (Strengthening Andaman Marine Protected Areas Network) Reef Guardians

On 21^st and 22^nd December 2011 Remy and Alex teamed up with dive staff from South Siam Divers and Wicked Diving to learn how to become Reef Guardians. We had such a nice welcome to Island 4 on the 1^st day and spent a bit of classroom time (thank you to our wonderful translator – Pla). 

The objectives of SAMPAN are: 

• To strengthen the cooperation among the relating agencies on the 3 marine national Parks; Mu Ko Surin, Mu Ko Similan and Mu Ko Lanta, which include the environmental quality, social and economic.
• To promote Andaman costal sustainable tourism activities using environmental standard and social criteria.
• To reduce tourism impacts in Andaman coast and enhance the positive relation in natural resources and biodiversity conservation.

The result was the development of a system to monitor the reefs of the Similan National Park with a high level of accuracy but a system simple enough to use that it can be carried out whilst guiding divers on a normal working dive.

Armed with our dive gear and shiny new Reef Guardian monitoring slates we made a trial run in Honeymoon bay.

More training after dinner, and presentation of our rash guards.

Another monitoring training dive the next morning at Anita’s Reef. Hmmmm not so easy trying to count all the wrasse and soft corals on the bommie!

Thank you to all the organisers, SAMPAN
Khaolak Scuba Adventures will be monitoring:  Christmas point, North Point, Three Trees, Turtle Rock & Elephant Head

Taucher.net Inspection of Khaolak Scuba Adventures Facilities and Boats

Khaolak Scuba Adventures would like to offer their thanks and appreciation to Harry from www.taucher.net for his two week inspection of our operation. Whilst here Harry checked out a live-aboard safari aboard the Manta Queen I, an overnight trip on the Manta Queen III as well as a Flying Manta I Boonsung Wreck Trip and Seachart Wreck Trip.

There was a further inspection of Khaolak Scuba Adventures' Scuba Diving Academy at the Mohin Tara Resort along with our new and Khaolak's first dedication Technical Diving Centre and our retail store located above McDonalds in the heart of Khaolak. We sincerely look forward to the article Harry will be posting in both the Dive Inside scuba diving magazine and on www.taucher.net in the near future.

With Khaolak Scuba Adventures, Harry was also here to check out Khaolak and the Similan Islands along with Peter Stiller's Land Tours, our partner hotel the Suwan Palm and also Pu Khao Lak. During this schedule time was found to enjoy dinner at Khao Niau Restaurant and Bavaria House which deserves another big thank you for the great meals.

The entire Khaolak Scuba Adventures team are grateful for the nice and funny times we enjoyed with Harry and hope its not too long before another visit. DIVE, EAT, SLEEP, REPEAT!!

TDI Trimix Instructor Course

In terms of training this season Khaolak Scuba Adventures have been very busy. We have now issued over 100 certifications ranging from PADI Scuba Diver through to (the most recent) TDI Trimix Instructor!

With a large team of multi-lingual instructors and a combined experience of over 100 years of teaching, Khaolak Scuba Adventures offers the most diverse course options in the region.

The latest course on Manta Queen III was taught by Ben Reymenants and was attended by Alex Leeming (taking Trimix instructor course) and Larry Smith (taking TDI closed circuit rebreather, trimix level).

 

At this level of training, nothing can be taken for granted. As a diver on open circuit (regular style scuba) I have to take two tanks (minimum) of the gas mixture to breathe during the dive (either air, nitrox or trimix, depending on the depth) and then two or more nitrox mixes to breathe during the decompression stops. For Larry (on the Megalodon CCR) the dive requires not only the rebreather unit and its two tanks of oxygen and diluant (diluant can be air or trimix depending on the depth of the dive) but also two or three bailout tanks. Attached to all these tanks is a regulator, looking a bit different from a normal scuba regulator, with only one second-stage per first-stage, a pressure gauge and sometimes a low pressure inflator. Then we need a BCD to control buoyancy. These look a bit different from the recreational ones and mine has two inflation cells inside and a harness to hold it all together. Larry has his BCD and harness all together in one unit. We also carry multi-gas dive computers, surface markers with spools, dive knives, lights and back-ups of all of these. Then we work really hard to make it look neat and tidy and streamlined in the water! 

In reality getting in and out of the water can be the toughest part of the dive!

Analysing and labeling ALL tanks.

This kind of diving takes a lot of practice and demands a good deal of planning and attention to detail. If you make a mistake, you know it’s going to hurt! We have to practice, practice, practice.

 

Skills with tanks and a CCR rescue scenario.

So why do it at all? We made some amazing deep dives on sites that may not have been dived before. At 60m we found pristine sea fans, soft corals, sea whips and barrel sponges, not to mention all the trevallies, groupers, rays and fusiliers. We felt like pioneers discovering new dive sites and new parts of well established dive sites like West of Eden. I can’t wait to go again :D

Great Feedback

To whom it may concern,

My girlfriend, Amanda and I, Dean, had the pleasure of staying on the Manta Queen III Live-aboard for 2 nights recently for some diving around the Similan Islands.  I'd just like to pass on our congratulations on running Khao Lak Scuba Adventures as such a smooth operation.  From the moment we were picked up at our hotel, transferred to the speed boat, stayed on the Manta Queen III, transferred back to the mainland and then back to our hotel we felt very welcomed by your staff.  Special mention must go to one of your dive guides, Jerome, who really went out of his way to assist Amanda.  She unfortunately had been struck down by a minor cold just before the trip and in addition to not being too experienced in the water, having only recently become a certified OW diver, Jerome made sure she was comfortable and safe at all times.  Furthermore, Jerome was very flexible with me, being a DM, and allowing me to switch back and forth between dives with his dive group so I could dive with Amanda, and with the advanced dive groups so I could experience certain dive sites more challenging parts.  And of course the Thai crew on board the boat were a definite highlight of the trip...with their always smiling faces and willingness to help it made the whole trip an enjoyable experience for us.

Hoping to dive with your company again in the near future.

Regards,

Dean

Message For Our Customers

Khao Lak Scuba Adventures PADI Dive Centers in Thailand are open for business and -NOT- affected by the flooding.

Over the past several weeks, seasonal rains that are heavier than usual have resulted in widespread flooding in Thailand. While the flooding is having some impact, most key tourist destinations and attractions throughout Thailand have not been affected by the floods and almost all remain open. The flooding areas are Bangkok and some surrounding provinces.

Tourist destinations in southern and eastern Thailand remain fully accessible.

Major tourist destinations such as Khao Lak, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Sukhothai, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Pattaya, Ko Chang, Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, Krabi and Ko Samui, Ko Tao, and all provinces in southern Thailand, are not affected by the floods. They remain fully accessible and are experiencing normal weather conditions for this time of year.

Thai Staff First Aid & CPR Pre-season Training

10 October 2011 - Sea View Resort Khao Lak

During the 'green season' this year Khaolak Scuba Adventures have been busy improving many aspects of our dive shop operation. As the high season approaches we are now undertaking several days of staff training. Starting on the 10th October Khaolak Scuba Adventures set a new precedent in the Khaolak area by providing first aid training for ALL Thai employees. 

The course, conducted by Khun Bomb from the SSS Chamber facility based in Phuket, covers not only basic first aid and CPR, but also education as too what diving related injuries may occur and the role of the chamber in assisting suspected DCI cases.

For the customer this adds a whole new level of safety and assurance. Accidents

can happen, and usually do at the most unexpected times. Once you trip begins with Khaolak Scuba Adventures there is always a qualified First Aider to hand, whether in a transfer vehicle, at the dive shop or out on-board a boat.

All dive staff at Khaolak Scuba Adventures have to have current EFR (Emergency First Responder) Certification and for the 2011-2012 Season, dive staff will be trained as oxygen providers. Reaction, treatment and evacuations can now be handled in the upmost professional manner as any Khaolak Scuba Adventures' employee can assist the dive staff in emergency situations.

Although Thailand has excellent emergency response units, first aid training is not common place. Khaolak Scuba Adventures' employees now have training to handle emergencies at home and also within the local community, something that has very positive benefits for all.

I just became a Recreational Diver Medical Technician (RDMT)

So why did I do it?

Apart from the challenge of sitting in a classroom and not being the teacher, not to mention mastering the skills required to pass this course. The rise in popularity of liveaboards and technical diving has created the requirement for Recreational DMT (RDMT) training. RDMTs may carry out patient assessments, provide advanced first aid for a wide variety of medical conditions and be able to liaise efficiently with medical personnel. This is particularly useful when diving in remote areas such as the Similan National Park and Khao Sok National Park, both areas being at least 4 hours away from basic medical care and fully qualified medical professionals.

RDMTs take an important role here in risk assessment, planning for the provision of first aid, emergency communications and casualty evacuation. We are trained to deliver care for the most common non-diving injuries and conditions likely to be encountered during recreational activity onboard boats and to have a good understanding of the mechanisms of diving injuries.

RDMTs are also trained in the provision of care within the hyperbaric chamber. This reflects the current growth in the number of hyperbaric facilities worldwide and the requirement for additional personnel to be familiar with particular aspects of care within this environment.

Khaolak Scuba Adventures will be able to offer better quality first aid care for any diver unfortunate enough to be injured whilst diving with us. We hope to improve safety by applying specialised knowledge and risk assessment techniques to dive planning, leading to a rise in the overall quality of diving activities.

Where did I do it?

Blue Label Diving in Chalong, Phuket, are our business partners offering many years of experience in technical diving and RDMT training. Ben Reymenants is fast developing a reputation for being the best instructor of technical diving and Dive Medic and Hyperbaric chamber operator courses in Asia.

What does the course involve?

The first part of the course comprises of bringing all basic 1^st aid theory up to date and perfecting skills that we all had but never used, including CPR, Oxygen provision and use of Automated External Defibrillators. Then we moved on to advanced airway management, more in depth shock assessment and management and even providing IV fluids, intra muscular injections and sutures. Of course a great deal of the course focused on recognizing, evacuating and caring for recreational divers with decompression illness. We had a thorough orientation to the SSS hyperbaric chamber facilities at Phuket International Hospital and made two simulated treatments inside, qualifying us to assist in the care of real patients receiving recompression treatment.

The RDMT training is challenging and fun and will promote safer diving and superior care for recreational divers around the world.

Welcome to our new PADI partner – Ocean Breeze Resort

Yesterday Tony Andrews (PADI regional manager) met with Stefan and our business partner Mr Kamran (CEO at Ocean Breeze) to complete the contract for Ocean Breeze to become a PADI Resort and official business partner with Khaolak Scuba Adventures.

We will be working together with Ocean Breeze for the benefit and growth of both businesses. Conny, who has been a PADI instructor for seven years and has been working as a booking agent within Ocean Breeze for two seasons, will continue to promote diving there and assist our instructors at the pool side when they are conducting confined water training sessions. Also, Mr Kamran has generously offered Khaolak Scuba Adventures staff and students a 20% discount when they use the poolside restaurant before or after training sessions :)

By Alex Leeming

Khao Lak Scuba Adventures management are taking care of their staff and the community:

At the moment we are working hard, behind the main dive centre, to install a proper Kitchen with two professional Gas cookers, a big sink, a preparation area, some fridges and a store room. The purpose of this kitchen is to prepare food for Manta Queen I, Manta Queen II, Manta Queen III and Flying Manta I. It will also be available for our Thai staff to cook their own lunch. It is important to us to provide the means for our staff to have healthy food and clean facility to cook in their lunch break. This way they have enough energy for the demanding days of high season. We all know how those days feel ;-)

 

Our friend (and new colleague) Felix was the Chef Trainer and assistant Head Chef from the Marriott Hotel in Munich, Germany. As you can imagine, Felix was pretty excited to hear about this opportunity from Stefan to work for Khaolak Scuba Adventures and also do some charity work in the Khao Lak Community. Stefan and Felix came up with a great plan to give orphans in the area the opportunity to train to become professional chefs.

 

We want to give something back to the beautiful Kingdom of Thailand where we are welcome and given the opportunity to live our dreams. We believe that the best way to do this is to invest in the education of local children.

Felix, welcome to the Khaolak Scuba Adventures team and we wish you many successes with your future trainees here!

By Stefan Kasweber

 

Message from John.

Hi everyone...My name is John and I'm the Retail Manager for All 4 Scuba; which is the retail arm of Khao Lak Scuba Adventures.

For the upcoming season we are significantly expanding the range off products that we stock.

These include equipment from Scubapro, Aqualung, OMS, Intova, Sub Gear, Uwatec, Sea and Sea and many many more.

With this expansion, we now have one of the largest displays of dive gear available in Southern Thailand !!!

So, whether you are looking  for snorkeling sets, a finger reel or a complete set of dive equipment; stop by and see us at 'All 4 Scuba'. A warm reception and expert advise awaits you.

We are located just above McDonalds on the main street in Khao Lak.

We are ready!

The offices are complete (nearly!)

Now that Annelies has arrived and started working with our full time office staff the team is complete. Alex has moved into the Tech Shop and it already looks great even though the signs have not arrived yet.

So let me introduce the official team to you:

Stefan Kasweber, General Manager, you know this Bavarian already J He doesn’t drink a lot of beer and he does smile a lot, are we really sure he is Bavarian?!

Lars Pohlmann, Operations Manager, we have another German to keep us super organized and on time for everything.

Annelies Fleers, Sales and Agent Representative. From The Netherlands and speaking many other European languages, this lady will keep all our agents happy.

Alex Leeming, Head Instructor and Tech Shop Manager. From England, supporting all the dive staff liaising with the PADI guys and in charge of Khao Laks’s first technical diving centre.

John, Retail Manager. Also from England, will be the “go-to-guy” in Khao Lak for everyone’s equipment needs.

Ryan Scheemaker, Web master. From The Netherlands, this is the man behind our beautiful new website and providing our essential database.

Bee, Manager’s Assistant. This lovely Thai lady keeps us all sane, liaises with the Thai staff and keeps, facebook and our blog up to date.

We all have brand new Macintosh computers to work from and are very excited about the new website and database that Ryan will deliver to us very soon. We are also working with a professional Apple Mac service engineer from Germany who will install our office network, server, firewalls etc.

I am VERY excited to announce that Ben and Simone Reymenants will continue their partnership with Khaolak Scuba Adventures and help me run the Tech centre. They will be opening their new office in Chalong this weekend despite delays to the work from the beautiful monsoon weather!

Of course these are not the only people working here in low season, Pa Faan and Oi are in accounting and Phi Toun and all the Thai taxi drivers are busy with building an extension out the back of the dive centre. 

Chris is also busy checking on the progress of the boat refurbishments having already worked hard to service all the dive equipment.

Come high season Phi Toun will be helping Lars with operations, with bookings in the main dive centre and the tech centre and with hotel advice for our guests. Chris will be the technical support offshore, so he is on all the boats making sure compressors blending systems and diving equipment are all in tip top condition.

So, we can’t wait to get all our dive staffs back to Khao Lak for a big celebration in October - we miss you guys! And we will need lots of tourists to take diving and snorkeling too.

See you all soon J

                   Story by Alex Leeming

Make the boat better for our customers.

Khao Lak Scuba Adventures Boats are at Asia Marina Dry Dock Phuket

During the last month all Khaolak Scuba Adventures Dive Vessels were out of the water for general overhaul to make them better, and nicer. We made massive adjustments to our Liveaboards, Day trip boats and Local Dive boats to make them even more comfortable for our guests in the upcoming season.

On Manta Queen I we installed sound reducers for the generators and the engines.

Some woodwork has been replaced on the upper deck and the whole boat has been

re-painted. We changed one 4 bed cabin into a Twin cabin, less guests equals more space, more quality, more fun J So we have reduced the amount of guests to 22 during our 4day/4night trips to Similan Islands – Koh Bon – Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock. The Engine has been completely serviced also the Blending Station for Nitrox and brand new Safety Tools like a Satellite Phone have been installed.

Manta Queen II has new cabin windows, just slide to open them, sound reducers were installed and the whole boat has been painted.

All life rafts came off all the boats for service; we never cut corners with safety at

Khao Lak Scuba Adventures.

Manta Queen III was out of the water as well, even though she was in operation just a few months. The hull has been cleaned and painted, we have new floor covering in all cabins and the nicest sundeck in Similan Islands is now partially covered.

We changed the benches on the Dive deck, making it more comfortable to gear up while sitting and equipment can now be stored after the dive, just below the bench in equipment boxes.

As soon as we have all boats back in Khao Lak, three additional air conditioning units are going to be installed in the captain’s – and Thai staff cabins and a new Nitrox Membrane System is going to be put in so that we can keep all our Nitrox divers happy.

All in all we made lots of adjustments and changes. The boats look beautiful

again and we wish our guests and staff an unforgettable dive holiday onboard our Fleet.

                                                                  Story by: Mr.Lars Pohlmann

We have all you need for your holiday.

What do we know about your dream vacation? Your dream destination? What do you want to do in your free vacation time? Go party, do sports, sight seeing? Do you want to learn about the country and the people and try the local cuisine?

Whatever your dream holidays may look like, Khao Lak Scuba Adventures will be your partner. We are not only focused on diving and snorkeling adventures, we also advise you in hotel bookings – whether you prefere luxury style or a simple bamboo hut, all-inclusive offers or individual solutions. 

Together with our experienced tour-partners you can explore the jungle around Khao Lak. Enjoy the amazing experience of riding an Elephant, prove yourself in white water rafting or explore the unspoiled rainforest by ATV/quad bike.

To arrange your taxi pick-up’s,  for restaurant recommendations, shopping tours, nightlife or baby sitting ask Monika. She can organise everything.

As our first cooperation partner we want to introduce you to ECO Khao-Lak Adventure with experienced English and German speaking tour guides. With over 12 years experience running professional tours, Eco Khao Lak Adventure can guarantee, your trip will be a safe, memorable & exciting experience. 

Good Book.

A newly released book by renown underwater photographer Beverly Factor shares with young readers a message about the need for ocean conservation.

Titled “Angelee Saves the Sea,” the 40-page hardcover features Factor’s original full- color photography throughout, with most images running full page to highlight the natural beauty of the underwater environments.

Beverly Factor tells the story of an Angelfish, who intends to save the ocean from pollution and destruction. Angelee’s plan is to create a picture book with photographs of all the friends she meets on a journey through the seas. Each fish that Angelee encounters shares a personal story about why their species is endangered, and how instead their habitats can be protected.

“Angelee’s goal is to give her photo book to the world’s leaders,” Factor says. “She hopes people will take notice of the beauty of the sea and the danger it faces, so they’ll change their ways to protect the ocean environments.”

Jean-Michel Cousteau says “Angelee Saves the Sea” is “certain to help the next generation better appreciate the wonder of the sea, and inspire young people to care for it.” Ocean conservationist Ted Danson calls it “an unforgettable adventure story that educates children about the sea.”

And filmmaker Greg MacGillivray says the story “is a wonderful paean of imagination, beauty and adventure, and helps us all understand the importance of the ocean to our very soul.”

“Through real underwater photographs, I want children to really ‘see’ the beauty of the ocean, and get to know its inhabitants,” Beverly Factor says. “Unlike conventional children’s books with illustrations, the photographs help children learn about each animal, and why it is endangered or threatened.”

Khao Lak Scuba adventures would like to recommend you this book. It's a good idea to make a book like this. For more information on "Angelee Save the Sea" , please click here. Thank you Ric Parker from Thailand Dive and Sail for the information.

Good to be back.

My name is Dan Slater. I’m from England. I’m a PADI diving instructor. I was in Thailand for 10years before I moved to Indonesia. Thailand became my second home, working in the Similans for 8 seasons and the gulf of Thailand for the rest. So, when I was offered the chance to come back to Khao Lak Scuba Adventures I jumped to the opportunity to work and dive with my friends again.

It feels great to be part of the KSA family again. Khao Lak has a great community feel. The local are so friendly and helpful which is refreshing change from other places I have worked.

I’m a big fan of micro life and I’m really looking forward to finding everything that the Similans has to offer like Frog Fish, Ghost Pipe Fish, Xeno and Candy Crabs, Sea Horse and much much much much more. I’m looking forward to showing you these amazing underwater critters whilst having a safe and fun experience.

Khaolak Scuba Adventures are excited to announce the opening of Khao Lak’s first ever technical dive centre!

But what is technical diving? Let’s go back to the beginning here. We have commercial diving (people in hard helmets with air supplied from the surface, welding, drilling and generally working hard and not admiring their surroundings!) and recreational diving – the fun stuff! Within recreational diving there is no-stop diving (often called sport diving) and technical diving. No-stop diving refers to the fact that you can come to the surface without needing to make a decompression stop (although you probably do make safety stops). No-stop diving includes your open water certification, advanced open water diver, rescue diver and many other specialty courses, including instructor certifications.  Technical diving picks up where No-stop diving ends generally at nitrox (a breathing gas with oxygen levels greater than 21 percent). 

I want to try it! Where would I start? Nitrox is often the first step you will take in technical diving but most people have already learned about nitrox in a no-stop diving situation. Entry-level technical diving courses will teach you about diving with up to 100% oxygen and the risks associated with this. For some divers the goal is to “go deeper for longer” so decompression theory would be learned here and all the extra equipment that is required to accomplish decompression dives.


Do I have to go deep for technical diving? Not at all! Although technical diving is commonly thought of as deep, there are courses that stay within the 40m depth range. Closed Circuit Rebreathers for example are becoming popular with photographers and videographers who want to stay shallow for the best light.

And what if I do want to go deeper? At Khaolak Scuba Adventures, we have course curriculums that take you as deep as 100meters! Sounds a bit scary? Don’t worry we do this in a way that each course builds on the last and takes you a little deeper.  By receiving training in this manner not only are your skills and knowledge increasing but also your comfort level.

It sounds a bit complicated, how long does it take? We offer courses and schedules to suit your needs, whatever your level of diving. At Khaolak Scuba Adventures you can take the time you need to master the theory, through self-study, classroom presentations and equipment workshops. But your instructor will be keen for you to spend as much time in the water as possible because we know that this is where you really learn to dive!

Is it expensive? With such a variety of courses on offer, and the choice of which of our boats you wish to dive from, we are confident that you will find something that suits your budget.

                        Story and photos by: Alex Leeming

KSA Tech Instructor

Khao Scuba Adventures HOT DEALS !

Some very HOT DEALS are now available for the upcoming season at some very COOL prices ! These package prices are only available through us until Nov 30th 2011 and are subject to availability. 

So, grab them while you for the most complete dive packages available in the Similans ! For more information and booking visit our website, www.khaolakscubaadventures.com or contact us.

English is fun.

English class today 05/07/11.

I’m Thai and never been to a boarding school. I remember that we had little dialogue at the start of just about every English class. As the teacher entered the class all of the students would obediently stand up and say “Good Morning teacher, how are you?” and the teacher would answer “Good Morning, I’m fine thank you, and you? ” to which the students replied “I’m fine thank you” and the teacher told us to sit down. The lessons began after that short conversation.

I have learned basic grammar and basic vocabulary. I could not remember much about what I’ve learned because the class is very big about 45 students per one teacher. Students could not get chance to practice, the teacher run all the show. My English was not useable after high school. I guess all the Thai employees form Khaolak Scuba Adventures have the same experience.

My English start to improve when I studied diving. I learned a lot from diving manuals, divers on the boat and European colleagues. I met many boat crews who could not speak any English on the first day of working on the boat. Few years later they speak some basic sentence but still not good enough to have specific conversation.

Mr.Cherdchoo Chatpong (Oh) the owner of Khaolak Scuba Adventures knows how important it is to have staff who can speak good English in the company. It makes for a better service and customers’ safety. This low season we have a native English teacher come over to teach English to Thai staff who work in the office and on the boat for 2 months. All of us get to come to the office at 9am to study until 11am on Monday to Thursday. All of us get back to work at 11pm and finish work at 5pm.

We really hope the English class will help all of us to have better contact with customers and give us ability to provide better service.

Supreme Day Trip.

M/V Manta Queen III

A day trip to the Similans is a great choice for both divers and snorkelers. If you don’t have the time to do a live-aboard trip, or simply don’t wish to stay on the reef, you may wish to book a day trip to the Similans with Khao Lak Scuba Adventures or a day trip to the dive sites around Khao Lak.

For the certified diver, we offer dive guides. If you are not a certified diver you may want to just snorkel or try an introductory scuba dive. Discover Scuba Diving program offers you the opportunity to explore the underwater world with a scuba dive instructor. The program is very easy and requires no previous experience.

Most day trip boats are slow big boat, they take about 3 hours from Tublamu pier to the Similans. Khao Lak Scuba adventures offer 2 boats for a day trip, the speed boat with 4 engines will transfer you to the Similans within 1hr 20 minutes and our M/V Manta Queen III is permanently waiting somewhere in a beautiful bay at the Similans.

Most day boats usually depart from Tublamu pier at 8am – 9pm, Khao Lak Scuba Adventures’ boat leave at approximately 9am. We start the pick up at 7am. As soon as you are on M/V Manta Queen III at the Similans, we will serve you some snacks and drinks. After the boat briefing and dive briefing the snorkelers will get back on the speedboat to go to a shallow reef or the beach. The big boat will take divers to dive.

After the dive, divers and snorkelers will meet up at the big boat to have lunch and relax. After lunch, the snorkelers will go to a different place for snorkeling and the divers will go diving at a different dive site.

Everybody gets back to the big boat again after the 2^nd dive and have some fruits, snacks and drinks before heading back to Tublamu by speedboat. You will arrive in Khao Lak at about 6pm with a big smile and the experience of your life.

Khaolak Scuba Adventures run the day trip to the Similans National Park from the 15 October to 15 May every year.

A shrine of the household god.

Our shrines for the household god.

A shrine of the household god can commonly be found in front of Thai houses. This shrine is usually a small structure or a setup of a small house or small temple on a stake and has-figurines dedicated to a spirit or god that is part of the official religion, to ancestors or to a localized household spirit or god. Brahmin is the person who tell the owner of the house where the best place to put the shrine is, most of the time in front of the house facing east or north.

Small household shrines are very common among the Thai. Usually some flowers and small offerings are put daily by the shrine. On the Buddhist day of worship the Thai will put food , flowers and drink on the shrine to worship a spirit or god.

A household spirit or god is the one that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. Many Thais believe that the shrine will bring luck, success in bussiness and make people in the house happy. It has been a common belief in folklore across many parts of the world to be true.

Khao Lak Scuba Adventures will make a ceremony by a Brahmin to set up the shrine of household god on the 13 of June 2011. The pictures will be follow on our Facebook Khao Lak Scuba Adventures.

What can do in Khao Lak from June to September?

Sunset at Khao Lak Beach.

Khao Lak's high season from October to May is when The Similans National Marine Park is open. The Marine Park attracts many tourist who come to Khao Lak to start their scuba diving trip to The Similans. It can sometime make Khao Lak crowded and more expensive, especially over the Christmas and New Year holiday periods. During the low season from June to October The Similans National Park is closed, the hotel prices are down, and Khao Lak become peaceful again. Tourists sometime wonder what can they do when there're in Khao Lak if the Similans are closed?

Khao Lak Scuba Adventures offers a day trip to Phuket, or Khao Sok Lake from June until September. Very few travel agencies offer any day trips to places around Khao Lak and Phang Nga. You can visit the lake at Khao Sok which has a very nice view, Phang Nga bay, Elephant tracking, surfing, tracking to the waterfalls or view point, or have the beach for yourself.

The weather is not too hot in the low season. It rains often, but isn't recommend for anyone to visit Khao Lak during this time unless you love rain!

If you want to escape from the crowds and chaos during low season, Khao Lak is the best place to come!

What is a Live-aboard diving trip?

Dive!

If you are planning your next dive holiday and you’re not sure where to go or what to do, then consider going on a Live-aboard diving trip. It doesn’t matter if you have 10 or 500 dives under your weight belt, anyone that loves to dive and relax will absolutely love to relax on board of a Dive vessel.

Live-aboard diving trips are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways of comfortably experiencing diving in locations around the world. Live-aboard vessels are exactly that, live on board and you’re eating and breathing diving. Everything is focused on diving. You eat, sleep, dive whenever your computer says, “GO”, and you’ll travel from dive site to dive site, seeing the most beautiful places in the world. Live-aboard can offer dive sites usually hard to reach by daily diving boats, making it interesting to visit remote islands or reefs.

Eat!

Live-aboard dive vessels give you a wider range of destinations than day trips. Live-aboard vessels typically range from 18m/60ft to 40m/120 ft in length or larger and offer the ability to cover a wide and extended diving range as opposed to a day charter, which returns to dock each night. If you’re into large crowds or you like solitude and tranquility, you don’t have to worry. There is a vessel for everyone’s needs.

Trip lengths of live-a board vacations typically range from three to ten or more days. Most vessels depart the dock in the afternoon or evening, as the distances involved usually require overnight travel. When you awake in the morning, you’re on that breathtaking location and diving commences.

Sleep!

Most live- aboard vacations are designed to serve all of your diving needs, as well to provide you a high level of comfort while on board. Live-aboard vacations cater to their customers by providing excellent, gourmet meals and snacks, clean and comfortable sleeping quarters, TVs and DVD/VCR players for an evening of movie watching, plenty of hot water showers, photo/video stations for equipment and editing, tanks with air or Nitrox and weights for every dive, plenty of professional crew members to guarantee your comfort. Live-aboard diving trips are about diving and there is no shortage of that. Typically, depending on where you’re diving, you can get up to 5 dives a day if you’re up to it. The average is 3-4 dives per day. Liveaboard dive trips are about relaxing as well. Many vessels have lounging decks to work on your suntan, read, or simply catch up on your sleep if you are escaping a stressful job. Whether you want to make only two dives per day, eat heartily, and relax, or make six or more dives a day and pass out in your cabin from exhaustion and get up the next day and do it again, Liveaboard trips can accommodate.

Khao Lak Scuba Adventures offers 4-day/4-night live-aboard trips to the Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock between October 15 and May 15 every year. Our fleet consists of the M/V Manta Queen I, M/V Manta Queen II and M/V Manta Queen III. To see the various features of each and decide which is right for you please see our web site or send email to bee@khaolakscubaadventures.com
                                                                           Story by: Simine Reymenants
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