With only 7 days till the Koh Tao Festival, the finishing touches are being made to the dance routine, costumes are being made, impromptu dancing whenever a certain song comes on in the bar like a freaky flash mob dance!! I think Heather has earned a day or 2 off, she’s been dancing her little socks off, leading rehearsals, film editing, teaching diving and organizing beach clean-ups. Thank you Heather for all your hard work, we’ll do you proud.
It looks like we will all be having Weird Beards on Wednesday again as today we welcome back Hal(lvard) who has returned from his time over the pond in France. Our multi-linguist is back with us for a few months so a few beers in the bar tonight.
Speaking of the bar! Welcome to Lou who is our not so new anymore hostess with the mostest, she used to be found at places like the Fishbowl and Vibe but now we have her here at our very own Big Blue Bar. Its great to have a character behind the bar, it makes up for all of our quiet and shy staff members!!!!
Just in case you were wondering... its 36 degrees today. Not even a breath of wind! The sky is a pallette of awesome blue, with odd tufts of pure white cotton wool balls. The sea is flatter than a pancake. The water temperature is a cockle warming 30 degrees & the clarity in the water is over 20 meters minimum everywhere! The marine life is as vast & multicultural as ever & the boats & the dive sites are practically empty. The sunsets are a rosey red & the beers are an icy cold... just in case you were wondering!
So the Bangkok protests between the Yellow shirts & the Red shirts has kicked off in Bangers this weekend & many countries have issued travel warnings advising travellers & tourists to avoid Bangkok & Thailand. Seems to have worked too! I actually saw tumbleweed rolling down the streets of Sairee Village last night, its that quiet here in Koh Tao. So what better time to stick 2 fingers up & go do some shopping & check out the latest 3D blockbuster at the IMAX cinema in this great country's capital city. What a bunch of overhyped codswallop!
Friday 12th March 2010-
12 of our dive master candidates completed their Deep Diver and Nitrox Diver course yesterday on our Full Day Trip to Sail Rock. The guys were exposed to 40m and the use of nitrox for the first time. This training is required for anyone wishing to join us on our wreck diving trips coming up next week. While Andy and Thomas were in technical diving gear for safety the students, being recreational dive master interns, were on a single cylinder. The course was combined with several different agencies which was based on the students preference. On top of the 3 great dives it was also Martins birthday which he spent celebrating at the front of the boat from seasickness. I’m sure he’ll have a repeat performance tonight for his birthday party. Happy Barf-day!
The Save Koh Tao Marine Conservation Branch and Sabai Jai Mini Magazine are running a photo contest on a bi-yearly basis, and all winners will be printed in “Sabaijai” upcoming edition and Koh Tao Calender 2011. Prizes will be awarded for winner of land and underwater with a selection of restaurant vouchers and bar drink voucher. Selection of winners will be done by local judging team.To enter you must pay the entry fee (100B), and supply a photo and photo information to Big Blue Diving in any readable format (jpeg, gif etc) in any resolution. Photos above 1mb will be ok. (Photography should be taken within the past 6 months in Koh Tao.) Individuals may enter as many times as they like. All funds raised go to the Save Koh Tao Group for future conservation projects. Good luck & Happy snapping.
"Just wanted to say a quick thanks for a brilliant time with Big Blue at Koh Tao. My Instructor was Deano & he was fantastic and if I would have had the time I would be doing my advanced open water with yourselves tomorrow. Again, thanks for a great time - already planning my next spot of diving (Red Sea probably) and if I am back in Koh Tao anytime soon I shall look you up again. Cheers, Craig Hicks."
Nice one Craig. Glad you had such a good time & look forward to seeing back on the Rock again soon.
Tuesday 9th March 2010-
If you do a google search on Diving Koh Tao, Open Water course Koh Tao, ssi shop koh tao, Advanced Course koh Tao, Divemaster Course Koh Tao, diving Thailand, best dive shop koh tao, best diveshop Thailand, fun diving koh Tao, scuba diving koh tao, diving Thailand, dive koh tao, padi dive resort koh tao, rescue diver koh tao, number 1 dive shop koh tao, tech diving koh tao, best manager koh tao, best instructors Koh Tao we come up pretty much first every time, certainly on the first page & if we didn't already then this will definitely help! ; )
‘‘The Cove,’’ a U.S. film about a controversial annual dolphin hunt at a Japanese town, won the best documentary feature at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony Sunday in Los Angeles. Directed by Louie Psihoyos, one of the world’s most prominent still photographers, the film depicts, partly through the use of hidden cameras and microphones, the capture of dolphins by local fishermen in the whaling town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. After screenings in selected countries such as Japan, Australia and the United States, the documentary provoked criticism against the hunt, while local fishermen defended it as part of a Japanese tradition, saying the practice was not bloodthirsty as they built memorials for the dolphins. Reacting to the Academy Award, fishermen in Taiji voiced anger, saying they were misleadingly described as ‘‘Japanese mafia.’’ A senior official of the local fisheries cooperative association rejected an interview, saying, ‘‘Whatever we might say, it will just help advertise the movie.’‘ Taiji Mayor Kazutaka Sangen said, ‘‘Dolphin hunting is not an illegal activity. It is necessary to respect each culture’s diet, based on an understanding of regional traditions.’‘
Full Day Trip to Sail Rock coming up on Thursday & we have a queue forming outside the dive shop with people waiting to sign up to dive the best dive site in the Gulf of Thailand. For just 3500 Bt you get to dive Sail Rock, Samran Pinnacle & Southwest Pinnacle have a cooked breakfast & the best Massaman curry Chicken on the planet all between the hours of 7 to 5! Better do some queue barging!
Monday 8th March 2010-
"After rocking up to Ko Tao four English sisters with four heavy backpacks wandered down the beach looking for a dive school. After a sweaty walk we stumbled upon Big Blue Diving Resort. The place had a buzz about it and we were very happy to be offered a welcome drink to quench our thirst! Jim came to meet and greet us and straight away we felt at home! There was a story behind why we wanted to learn to dive as our dad had been a diving instructor and growing up we would love to hear his diving stories. This was going to be a different experience to his stories of diving in the North Sea. Jim explained the courses and we were introduced to our PADI Open Water Dive instructor Nick. We all had the most amazing experience after completing the 3 day open water course and we had caught the diving bug so what better way to continue by completing our Advanced Open Water Course..Night dive, deep dive, sharks (well one sister saw them!) trigger fish.... Bring it on! We've been introduced to a whole new world and now our travelling will revolve around diving! We'll be back to Big Blue in the near future to do our rescue course and sure our dive master.... Thank you Big Blue and especially Nick for being a fab instructor!" Sian Maddocks, one quarter of the Maddocks clan!
So we have now revamped our 200 Bt fan rooms with a new cement walls instead of wood & have replaced each bed with a brand new metal framed bed! Its definitely about time as I think we've had these rooms since the dawn of man so we are very excited to be opening them back up for business again as of tomorrow. Just 200 Bt for an individual fan room with your own bathroom. Not bad at all. Not as good as our free accommodation we offer in our Air Con dormitories with hot water shower, but still, not bad!
Norway has dramatically increased the quota of mike whale that its whalers are allowed to catch this year. They announced their quota for 2010 would be 1286 whales- 45% more than 2009! Last year they killed 484 whales, the lowest taken in the commercial whale hunt in a decade. Conservationists say this was due to a lack of demand for whale meat & that they were surprised the quota has been increased. Such a huge quota defies logic & any pretence of claims of sound management. This is nothing more than the empty rattling of harpoons & it is clear these quotas are being set more for political show than anything else! If you are Norwegian, do something!! Stop the slaughter of whales in your country & boycott whale meat... & greedy self centred politicians!
Saturday 6th March 2010-
The brave among us this morning all got up before the crack of dawn to do a bit of sunrise diving at Chumphon Pinnacle. Nothing like being up before the fishies! I had no idea we had so many nutters staying with us who could manage to get up that early on their holiday, but obviously we do as more than 30 people signed up to be the first people to dive Koh Tao's best divesite today. Crazy cats!
Soup is off! An advert showing real footage of a dying finned shark has been shown on Chinese TV. The ad was made by Wild Aid & Shark Savers as part of a campaign to halt the demand for shark fin soup. It shows Chinese basketball star Yao Ming in a restaurant pushing away a bowl of soup after seeing the shark die. Well played China! Now if only other countries would follow suit the world would be a far better place!
"Oh My God i had so much fun doing my Open water with you in Feb 2010 - so much so i am planning my next adventure back over your way to do my advanced :) Thank you for making my holiday so awesome - especially Deano & Sonia :) Miss you guys x- Emma Lovejoy" Thanks Emma. Look forward to having you back here for your Advanced...and Rescue... & Divemaster perhaps?
Thursday 5th March 2010-
Eagle Ray in Confined Water!? Imagine that! Most dive shops on this Island offer the first day of the Open Water Course in a swimming pool! Lots of phlegm, pubes, chewed off fingernails, discarded plasters & some pools on the island you even see dollops of man milk! But if you are wise & really want to get the most out of your dive course then I highly recommend doing your confined water training in the sea! Like we do! & if you keep fingers crossed you might see an Eagle Ray too. Or a Turtle. Or a Seahorse!
"Hi Jim, Thanks for all your help. I've just arrived back in England (sadly) after a fantastic holiday in Thailand and wanted to thank Big Blue for a great diving experience! My instructor, Nick, was brilliant and we had some great dives. Please pass on my thanks. Sorry not to have met you. I hope to come back some day soon!Kind regards, Belinda" Cheers for that Belinda & thanks for the email! Next time I hope to meet you too, if I can tear myself away from my computer!
Young love! Simo & his lady friend Jodie, & Erik & his lady friend Beccy, have all gone off for a busman's holiday together to the Philippines! You'd think that when you work 365 days a year diving in the ocean you might be more inclined to do something a little different. But so into their scuba diving this lot that they have all gone east for a scuba orgy! Lucky lucky bar stewards!
