Special New Year’s Trip – Similan Islands Diving Liveaboard

Celebrate New Year’s Eve floating in the bay of tropical island on the Andaman sea. Watch the sun go down after a late afternoon dive and indulge in a delicious New Year’s eve dinner. Stay up late and get up to the sundeck just before midnight to count down the seconds together with the others onboard and with a glass of champagne in your hand. Look up and you will see a galaxy of stars above you as bright as you have ever seen to start the new year with (we don’t use fireworks on New Year’s eve – we haven’t found biodegradable firework yet). Sounds good? Then join us for our New Year’s Special Liveaboard trip with Wicked Diving. We offer you 4 days of great fun, special surprises and amazing diving all around the Similan Islands. Why not jump to the trip details and booking section?

We carry only 14 guests on our trips, so the groups are small with a relaxed pace and uncrowded dive sites. Each cabin is air-conditioned with sea views and fresh air. There are 3 toilet / hot shower units on the boat and there is a large gear up area and dive deck. A total of 5 boat crew will be waiting on your needs and we also provide at least one dive guide per 4 guests. You will be treated to the best in Thai hospitality!

When you dive with us you make a difference. Our boat and trucks use only locally produced Biodiesel so your money makes a difference in our community. Wicked uses only fair-trade, phosphate-free soaps and detergents on our boats and in our shops so that we don’t affect our environment around us. Your sheets and towels will be 100% fair-trade organic cotton. Also, 10% of all our profits go to local NGO’s as we continually strive to make the world around us better.

Our staff are among the most experienced and highly trained in all of Thailand. Our continual training programs assures you that all staff are current EFR (1st aid) and DAN Oxygen certified. Wicked Diving has not one but two Instructor Trainers and an experienced Dive Medic on staff. We are the evacuation and emergency center for the entire region. In addition we conduct our dives and courses in English, Swedish, German, Thai, Indonesian, Dutch, Belgian and French (and even American).

Bumphead Parrotfish – Marine Life of Thailand

The Bumphead Parrotfish or Bolbometopon muricatumis both amazing and beautiful. This is the largest of all the parrotfish family – which is known for colorful displays and strange lifestyles already.

The Bumpheads can grow as large as 1.3 Meters (4 1/2 Feet) and weigh as much as 80 Kilos (180 pounds). They are quite impressive and very exciting to watch. They have the very unusual shape to their heads (it is theorized) as they will use it to ram coral communities to make dining easier?! I’ve never seen this, but their heads look like they’ve had a bit of abuse, so it could very be true.

The other really amusing feature of the bumpheads are their teeth. They have what appears to be a huge beak sticking out. It is in fact a fused tooth that is so thick it can scrap and crush coral colonies. It looks very funny and is kind of intimidating at first. Once you realize they are not only harmless but quite timid you’re attitude changes.

They are also quite peculiar in that they are hermaphroditic – they change sex. They are usually seprated by colors – the juveniles (found in shallows) and females are drab and the males are very brightly colored and vibrant.

As they are very slow to mature and reproduce, they are quite susceptible to diminishing populations or even extinction due to environmental or more realistically – human interference. They are very popular in the Aquarium trade and the Mock reefs of restaurants and resorts

They sleep in shallow areas and often in cracks and nooks in the reef that are often too small for them. Thus they are easily captured for aquariums or spearfished for meat.

Their role in the reef is amazing. Parrotfish are one of the primary sources of sand! They scrape algae off with their teeth, and whatever else gets in, they digest the food, and deposit sand. In most areas where the Bumpheads live, they play an integral role in controlling algae growth. Off the Dominican Republic there were large numbers of Parrotfish and living corals until the mid-80’s. Then, after all other species were fished out, the Parrotfish (Not Bumpheads in this case) were taken in huge numbers. Very soon after the coral was all dead as there was no growth control on the algae. Now imagine when these are the size of humans and eat nearly 3 tonnes of algae a year!

(While they are not list as Endangered they are listed as threatened. In many areas of the world they are extinct. )

They are also quite peculiar in that they are hermaphroditic – they change sex. They are usually seperated by colors – the juveniles (found in shallows) and females are drab and the males are very brightly colored and vibrant.

While we do have them on The Similans – they are not common. Most frequently they are found at Shark Fin Reef and Boulder City. They are spotted at other sites, but not with the frequency one would hope.

So when you do see one, prepare for a giggle and a memory. You can also do your part in preventing their decline by asking what exactly the fish you are eating is – any kind of parrotfish is bad. They are also not that good an eating fish. Also avoid any of the farm raised shrimps and prawns as their feed is purely bycatch from trawlers – which destroys the habitats.

Honeymoon Bay – Similan Islands Diving

Honeymoon Bay

Honeymoon Bay is located to the east of Island 4. The sheltered location of the bay allows for a very easy and relaxing dive. Due to the shallow sandy areas this is a great place to conduct introductory and refresher dives, as well as the check dives. While not the most challenging of Similan Diving - it is still a chance to see many great things

The location of the reef parallel to the islands longest sandy beach also means that it is accessible as a beach dive if you are staying on the island. The reef is also a good night dive, although it is a popular mooring spot so be aware of overhead traffic. The reef gently slopes down to a sandy bottom of about 26 meters, and is made up of clusters of hard corals and small rocks.

The current (although it tends to be mild) runs from north to south and the multiple mooring lines means that it is possible to start the dive at any chosen place. At the northern end it is possible to see large Jenkins rays lying on the sandy bottom. Also scan the floor for garden eels. Large schools of fusiliers are often swimming around the shallower parts, as are a range of other reef fish including goat fish, butterfly fish, banner fish and cube box fish.

It is also possible to see some large giant morays hiding under rocks. During a night dive the reef is a great place to search for crustaceans, including crabs and lobsters, as well as flat worms and nudibranchs.

Diving depths run from 0-25 meters (0-85 feet), though most time is spent in the shallows 5-10 meters (15-30 feet).

Currents are minimal due to location.

Visibility tends towards the murky, being this close to shore and beaches. 15 meters (55 feet) is normal.

Divers of all experience levels can dive here.

Similan Diving

Festival Time in Thailand!

Thailand boasts some of the world’s best festivals at times that don’t line up with the Commonwealth of Nations’ school holidays.

Try to set your trip for Loy Krathong, held on the full moon in November, and make your way to Chang Mai. There you will witness the waterways filled with floating Krathong (banana leaf rafts lit with candles) and the night-sky speckled with flying lanterns. It’s truly a stunning sight.

If you’re visiting in the spring shoot for Songkran, one of the world’s most unusual, fascinating and brilliantly chaotic festivals. Songkran marks the Thai New Year and spans from April 13th-15h. During the celebration businesses throughout the country shut down (particularly in Bangkok and Chang Mai) and citizens partake in a national water fight. The streets are filled with revelers signing, spreading mud paste on each other’s faces and dumping water on each other. It challenges Spain’s famous Tomatina Festival for both messiness and enjoyment. Both Loy Krathong and Songkran offer excellent opportunities to connect with locals.

The Songkran festival in Khao Lak is much more low key – meant for families and great fun. It also coincides with some seriously incredible diving to! One of the best times to  Dive Khao Lak

At the end of the day, finding a way off the Banana Pancake Trail is simple-all it takes is a spirit for adventure, a thirst for something new and a willingness to split from the pack. The only downside is you might have to try a new dish for breakfast. I’d say it’s certainly worth the trade-off.

Phuket Airport Expansion to take place

The AOT (Owners of the Airport) finally approved a budget of almost $200 Million to expand the airport, increase capacity and hopefully hire another Immigration officer or two (or 50). The airport capacity is expected to reach 12 million passengers by 2012. It currently handles about 6 million passengers per year.

The expansion in Phuket will address crowding at Thailand’s second busiest airport and meet the expected rise in air traffic demand over the next decade.

AoT now expects the expansion, including constructing a new terminal for international passengers, improving the existing terminal, upgrading the jet fuelling system and building new taxiways, to commence by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, AoT has embarked on an in-house study on building a terminal dedicated to private jets at the Phuket airport, part of a bid to further enhance the southern resort island’s growing reputation as a destination for the internationally rich and famous and for jet-setting businesspeople.

Conceptually, the terminal, the first of its kind in Thailand, would be built separately from the expanding main terminal under a build-transfer-operate contract. That means private companies would invest in and run the facility but AoT would own it.

However, hidden in this news is that the construction is expected to begin by the end of this year. We fear this may lead to major delays and confusion as “the end of this year” is in fact peak season. However it means that development in this area will continue and that capacity will grow.

It also bodes well for Khao Lak and the area. As Phuket Island has already reached capacity and suffers from horrible decay in both infrastructure and culture – Khao Lak is the natural choice. In additionto the long beaches and lack of sex tourism – the great diving is so close at hand!

More details can be found here…. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/19230/aot-okays-b5-8bn-for-phuket

-Khao Lak Diving

Professional Dive Courses In Khao Lak

It all starts with those first few breathes underwater!

This can happen while on vacation in the tropics and awakening to the reality of an alternative lifestyle!

Certain people find this experience as they swim over a coral reef and find themselves face to face with incredible marine life  and realize that this is the real world – not the cubicle back home!

Some people change their lives as they interact with dive professionals and see the rewards of such a lifestyle and how it can easily become a reality.

The international  dive industry is an incredibly exciting lifestyle to be professionally involved in and has many unique career opportunities all over the world for people from all different cultures.The Khao Lak Instructor Training center (Khao Lak IDC) is one of these places.

When considering a career as a dive professional you want to make sure that you get off to the best start possible! With your entire  dive career in front of you – you should be looking for the right dive center and staff to share your Divemaster/Instructor Course. You need to feel comfortable and confident  with the team and the facilities. You should be looking at a center that does  not claim or boast to be “the best” or “the biggest” – that usually means less attention,  dozens of students and a great big pyramid scheme.

There are other many massive commercial,  business orientated dive schools  to choose from. These are called factory schools – and you will soon know why! If you have never dived before and can get instructor certification within 6 months – something is wrong. Instead why not look for an Instructor Training Facility that offers a  more personalized, real world approach to instructor training?

Safety, standards and an eye to service is the real key to a good dive center! In addition look for a wide range of courses options – do these schools only offer basic courses or are there experienced divers too? Your experience should be applicable to the real-world. You will want to to actually work after the course is done!

A few questions to ask!

• “How fast is the course?”  Wrong question – “How long is the Instructor course?” – that is the real question. As much time being mentored, trained and supervised as possible – that’s what you want.
• Are the staff all made up of other inexperienced instructors?
• How many dives do they have?
• What certifications do they have?
• Are courses taught in wide rage of settings

How many students have they certified?

Khao Lak IDC offers these options to a wide range of students. Located near the Similan Islands – This is one of the best palces to become a professional diver!