Sunday 26th April 2015
To all our returning students and divers please remember that we are still alive and kicking and that we have moved location just a little further up Sairee towards the North (not quite the Great Ice Wall but the boss man Jim is our King of The North, just don’t tell him he already was killed at the Red Wedding!!) It is further away from Lotus Bar which means the we are no longer next to the nasty stinky pipe and we have a much cleaner and quieter beach. You might still spot a couple of wildlings at the other end of the beach around last orders and possible some wobbly bucket holding white walkers but we are a much more civilized bunch in the North! Ok enough Game of Thrones references now. Star Wars next…
Well done to the Koh Tao community who supported Earth Day 2015 with a huge clean up. This time instead of the usual beach and dive site clean ups we went in land and headed to the roads looking for trash. To be fair we didn’t have to look far as unfortunately the roads and drains were pretty full, in one section alone outside a dive school we will not mention we filled 17 rice bags with rubbish! Plastic was the biggest culprit, bottles and straws and bags. 2 of these items are not necessary, you do not need a straw to drink out of a can or a bottle so don’t use them, if you do for shakes and fresh coconuts throw them in the bin!!! Plastic bags may be a convenience but you do not need them. Reusable bags are all the rage now and will easily fit into your bag for when you stop off in 7-11 for an air-con break. Do you really need to put a packet of cigarettes and your toasties in a plastic bag? No!!! Just say no to straws and no to plastic bags. To go one further we at Big Blue Restaurant have started using paper straws for our shakes, which are fully biodegradable. Go Big Blue. Huge thanks to Rachel and Big Blue conservation for getting us all involved and for being part of the community clean up, we even had the local Police cleaning with us.
As the Similan season comes to an end a few of our lucky DMTs and Instructors have headed off over the Khao Lak to jump on the last trip. With whispers of mantas, turtles, ghost pipefish and seahorses let hope they all found what they were looking for. As is typical at the time of year they arrived to a massive down pour which left them no other choice but to shelter between 2 golden arches and scoff yummy processed food that wouldn’t be seen dead on Koh Tao. The Swedish vegans in the group just licked the windows as the dripping rain water tasted better than the cardboard they normally eat. Have a good trip.
14th April 2015
So much for a hot Songkran!! The saying goes when it rains it pour it did it pour down yesterday! In celebration of the water festival the heavens opened and mother-nature soaked us all with her massive water pistol! Thankfully the buckets of ice water ran out fairly early and the best place to yesterday was in the sea as it was warm. A group of us went down to raid a few other dive schools and then returned to join in the festivities for the Thai New Year. Most of us were in bed by 6pm having partied hard with our Thai staff.
The top bods from SSI have been over to Koh Tao to help promote the new DiveSSI dive app for your mobiles and tablets. This app is really great and allows you to see your certification cards and you can do your homework and study at home as you can download the digital manuals once you have been registered, in all major languages. You can also log your dives and be kept updated on any chances with the dive community. Koh Tao is now predominantly an SSI teaching island, and Big Blue has one of SSI’s most experienced instructor trainers who has been with us here for over 15 years. We still teach PADI courses and most of our instructors are able to teach both SSI and PADI. #REALDIVING
Whaleshark soup right now and Southwest seems to be the main location for these beauties as well as Sail Rock so we are planning a full day trip on Thursday the 16th April. The full day trip includes 3 dives breakfast, lunch, soft drinks, brownies and some of the best dive guides on Koh Tao! The FDT is 3800 baht
Thursday 9th April
Koh Tao is HOT HOT HOT right now and the diving is spectacular. The full moon rush is over so if you are planning on heading over to do some diving now is the time. The sea is as flat as a mirror and the sunsets are mouth-watering enough to have you heading to the bar after a great days diving for a cold refreshing beverage. Apart from the fact that I am sweating enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool I do have to say I love this time of year, having to add an extra 15 minutes to your walking time because you have to pop into every 7-11 and pharmacy for an air-con break!
The mass invasion of previous Big Blue staff has come to an end. The two weddings were spectacular! Congratulations for Emily and Craig and also to Hannah and Stephen, it is going to take a lot to beat that wedding! Next up will be Skui and Rod! Big Blue Babies will be launched soon. Bubble makers in the making!
The Thai New Year festival Songkran is just a few days away on the 13th April. Please be aware that travelling may be busier than usual due to this huge 2 day water fight! Be prepared to be hosed down with ice water (yes!!) and have talc put on your face as a sign of thanks. We only dive in the morning on this day so as to give our Thai and Burmese staff the afternoon and night off! It doesn’t take much to get these guys up for a party!!!!
