Thailand Diving with Sea Bees - Adventure in good hands

News from Sea Bees Diving Thailand

Sea Bees Diving is coming again to Birmingham, the "Dive 2008"

	Don't miss the annual Dive Show in Birmingham, the "Dive 2008"! Sea Bees Diving will be present once again at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) from 01/11 - 02/11/08 at booth#1266. Don't forget to stop by and say hello to our staff. As always, we are more than happy to answer any questions you might have. Your Sea Bees Team looks forward to welcoming you there.

Dive Site Clean Up at Koh Mai Thon on 20th September 2008

On the latest International Coastal Cleanup Day we had 32 guests in all, both our own customers and those who joined us from other dive companies around Phuket. Everyone met at The Anchor Inn (the Sea Bees restaurant next to the dive shop), and at 9.10 am we left for Chalong Pier where, once onboard, a final equipment check took place before MV Excalibur II set off for Koh Mai Thon.

This small island on Phuket's south-east coast, with it's beautiful sandy beaches and clear water, is a perfect spot for holidaymakers who want to escape the stresses and strains of modern life. The diving is suitable both for beginners and for those who just want to drift their way through a nice relaxing dive. The many small pinnacles offer a diverse range of marine life such as moray eels, nudibranchs, fusiliers and soldier fish - sometimes even razorfish are to be found bobbing gently just above the sand. Sea Bees only make occasional visits to the dive spots around Koh Mai Thon, when they want to avoid the congestion sometimes found on the busier sites or to offer their divers something a little bit different from the rest. During previous dives we realised that a thorough clean up was necessary to remove rubbish which our divers had begun to find there.

During our one hour journey to the site our tour leader Stefan gave a very detailed briefing about the dive site itself, and also about procedures for safely cleaning the reef without causing any damage to the corals, after which gloves and net-bags were distributed to all. Once the clean up began there was a steady stream of divers returning to the surface with full loads - almost every 5 minutes another net-bag appeared filled with beverage cans, nets, plastic bottles, shoes, flip flops etc. At one point even a large truck tyre was taken from the reef. Stefan, who was stationed on our dinghy, was very busy meeting all the dive teams to collect the rubbish until, after one hour of diving, two large barrels had been filled (not including the truck tyre which would not even fit). In all about 100 kg of rubbish were collected.

On the way back to Phuket every participant received a Certificate of Recognition for their involvement in the International Coastal Cleanup Day, which was supported by SSI (Scuba Schools International), TDA Diving Association (Thailand) and Green Fins Thailand, which is affiliated to the United Nations.

After arriving back at the pier, everyone was treated to a drink at the Anchor Inn. All participants could clearly see the importance of the clean up and were very satisfied with the good work done on the day. All in all the event was a great success so thank you again to all participants - the environment will thank you for it on your next dive........

Bangkok Situation Update - the emergency decree has been lifted

As of September 14, 2008/ 12.00 hrs (Bangkok Time)
THE EMERGENCY DECREE HAS BEEN LIFTED

The Emergency Decree was lifted on Sunday morning (14 September 2008) thereby ending the state of emergency in Bangkok.

Following the ruling by Thailand’s Constitutional Court on 9 September 2008, Mr Somchai Wongsawat, as first deputy prime minister, has assumed the role of acting prime minister. The House of Representatives will vote for a new prime minister on Wednesday, 17 September. Cabinet ministers will continue their duties until a new prime minister and a new cabinet are sworn in.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) anti-government rally is restricted to the designated protest site and the immediate areas. Tourists and expats in Bangkok are advised to avoid travelling to areas near the demonstration site namely — Government House and Ratchadamnoen Nok Road (Makkawan Bridge).

TAT has been conducting random interviews with individual tourists at various popular tourism sites around Bangkok, such as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Khao San Road, Chatuchak Market, Suan Lum Night Bazaar, Siam Square and CentralWorld at Ratchaprasong intersection. Foreign tourists were asked how they felt about their stay in Thailand over the past week and early this week. All of the individuals responded positively and indicated that the situation has not in any way affected his/her visit to Thailand.

For visitors planning trips to various sites around Rattanakosin Island (Koh Rattanakosin), shuttle boats and river taxis that serve the various public piers along the Chao Phraya River provides fast and convenient transportation to several of these sites.

All other areas in Bangkok remain unaffected by the rally. There has been no significant disruption to life and business in the capital beyond added traffic congestion in a few areas. The vast majority of the city, including all the major tourist spots (including The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun-Temple of Dawn, and Sanam Luang – The Royal Ground), shopping centres and riverside attractions, as well as all roads and public/private transport systems are functioning normally. Bangkok’s city taxi and rail services are unaffected. All hotels and resorts in Bangkok and throughout Thailand are open for business as usual.

Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok’s international airport) and all regional airports around Thailand are operating normally. Rail services in provincial areas of the north and northeastern regions are operating normally. Service has also resumed on most of the rail services to destinations in the south. (Call Centre: 1690). Major surface routes between Bangkok and other parts of Thailand are unaffected. Travel to key destinations around Thailand, such as Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Northeastern Thailand (Isan) and other parts of the country remains unaffected.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has embarked on an immediate tourism recovery plan and is working closely with the Thai tourism industry to restore confidence in the destination.

TAT has also participated in several online travel forums such as Tripadvisor.com, Lonely planet.com and VirtualTourist.com

Web link to the Thailand Tourism Update page on TourismThailand.org
http://www.tourismthailand.org/thailandtourismupdate/

For further information, please call the Tourism Authority of Thailand Hotline.
Simply dial 1672 from anywhere in Thailand. For overseas enquiries, please contact the Tourism Authority of Thailand office nearest to you.

Tourists planning to travel to Thailand are advised to check the latest situation
regarding their travel plans with their travel agents or contact:

Tourist Information at the airport: +66 (0) 2134 0041-2

The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA): +66 (0) 2237 6046-8

World Clean Up Day with Sea Bees Diving in September 2008

Sea Bees Diving will conduct another World Clean Up Day, this time in Koh Mai Thon, supported by SSI, TDA, CMAS and PADI. You can make a booking at Sea Bees Chalong office or e-mail us at info@sea-bees.com (for internet bookings please add 'Clean-Up-Day' in the subject line).

World clean up day with Sea Bees Diving Phuket 2008

The day trip is planned for the 20th of September, leaving from Chalong in the morning, and includes one long clean-up dive at Koh Mai Thon, snacks and fingerfood on the boat, and is of course free of charge. Diver have to bring their own dive equipment (gloves are recommended) or gear can be rented from Sea Bees Diving for the day.

The number of participants is limited to 30 divers, so early booking is recommended.

You have to start young...
BIS Flying Fish Tawan Cruises Challenge - Phuket

The BIS Flying Fish Swimming Club is an independent swim club based in the British International School in Phuket. Last weekend the Tawan Cruises Challenge took place at the School. This is an international swim event with many teams competing from all over South East Asia and Australia.

Numerous competitions took place in the Olympic sized 50m pool, for ages from 7 to 18, and over the 2 day event the participants, their parents and a lot of visitors had a great time.

We from Sea Bees had our own booth at the event, with our dive instructors Alex and Born on hand to provide information about diving and how to get involved in this fascinating sport no matter how old or young...

From Bubblemaker to Junior Open Water Diver

The perfect introduction for kids from 8 years up is the Bubblemaker course. Easy going and lots of fun they will learn all about diving as they are professionally introduced to a new, wonderful and fascinating world. They learn how to breathe underwater, how to hover as if in space and of course plenty about the huge variety of underwater life.

This course is the basis for continuing education up to and beyond Junior Open Water Diver. And as you can well believe most of the kids want to do more diving afterwards.

For us there sure is nothing quite like inspiring kids to get into diving and seeing them go on to become the divers of tomorrow.

For more information about professional kids diving education contact info@sea-bees.com

"Youngsters on tour" - MARCO POLO April 15th - 21st

This tour was a real "Youngster tour". Eight guests started to Similan Islands and Richelieu Rock together with our young dive instructors Sascha and Alex. The average age was about 29 years and that was the "youngest" trip of the whole season.
Right from the beginning the spirit was pretty good and enhanced as on our second dive at Koh Bon Westridge we had a manta encounter. Everyone was satisfied and happy. Could there be a better start than that?
How would this tour proceed? What other experiences would come up on this Similan Tour? We didn't have to wait long for the answer. Three hours later - at Koh Tachai Twin Peaks - we had our next manta dive!

Seemed like having a real manta tour? Yes, that is what is was - the next day at Richelieu rock we saw manta ray number three.

In the next days of our dive safari other great highlights were coming up. Leopard sharks!! For some of our guests it was their first shark encounter. But Sascha and Alex had more to offer, such as ghostpipe fish, frog fish and the day before the last day we "found" at Elephant Head a pair of harlequin shrimps.

As this tour had a fantastic start there had to be an awesome end, right? And there was: at Sharkfin Reef and Boulder City we saw humpback parrotfish, more leopard sharks and some of us were really lucky to see a shovelnose ray.

Altogether we had a fabulous trip with great dive experiences. Thanks to Ari, Michael G., Michael W., Christine, Vanessa, Alex, Julio and Andrea. We had a great time!

And here are the Youngsters:

Tauchsafari mit Sea Bees Diving Phuket and Marco Polo in den Similan Inseln, Thailand

from left to right:
Dive instructor Alex, Julio, Andrea, Alex, Vanessa, dive instructor Sascha, Ari, Michael, Michael and Christine.

In front from left to right our Marco Polo crew: Chalai, Tuang, Som und Pui.

GREEN FINS PROJECT - Sea Bees 'adopted' a reef

The Sea Bees team Phuket has adopted Staghorn Reef and will take special care of this frequently dived reef from now on.

Sea Bees Team in Phuket hat die "Patenschaft" für das Staghorn Reef übernommen

Last week Chloe and Jay Jay from Green Fins Project Phuket introduced the detailed program to the entire Sea Bees staff. Environmentally friendly guidelines have been implemented to promote a sustainable diving industry. Besides following the guidelines Reef Watch Monitoring is of particular importance.

Sea Bees will take active part in the reef monitoring. We will continuously record data at Staghorn Reef, which will be passed on to Green Fins.

But not only Sea Bees staff - you can take part in recording data as well. How?
Very easy. Whenever you are on a daytrip with us - no matter if on MV Aragon or MV Excalibur - ask your dive guide. In a special briefing you will be provided with all the information how to assess the status of the reefs, so you can record data during your next dive.

We really hope that many of you take advantage of this offer and help us to support the Green Fins Project.

More information about GREEN FINS can be found under www.greenfins-thailand.org

Join in the Reef Watch Monitoring on our Daytrip boats MV Excalibur and MV Aragon and take active part in the reef conservation project.

Below are some pictures showing the onboard Reef Watch training given by Chloe and Jay Jay from GREEN FINS to our staff and interested guests on MV Excalibur.

Sea Bees Diving und Green Fins auf Excalibur

The reef project has begun - Sea Bees Diving and our Staghorn Reef.

Songkran - Thai New Year April 13th to 15th 2008

Our New Year is already gone quite a while and also the Chinese New Year, which was celebrated on February 7th. But celebrating New Year is not over yet. On April 13th, Songkran, the Thai New Year is coming up. That means we will celebrate New Year for the 3rd time. Not bad isn't it?
Maybe some of you have already experienced the Songkran festival here in Phuket. It is very special....

Songkran Festival is the traditional Thai New Year and the most important feast for Thai people. It starts April 13 and lasts between 3 and 10 days, depending on where you are in Thailand. The word Songkran is from Sanskrit and means "move" or "change place" as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac and a new Solar Year starts. At this time, people from the rural areas who are working in the city, usually return home to celebrate the festival. Thus, when the time come, Bangkok temporarily turns into a deserted city.

The Thai people celebrate this festival with a lot of water. Traditionally the ceremony was to pour water into the palms hands in order that bad actions, bad thoughts flow away with the water. It was a way to purify. Children show their respect to elders by performing this water ceremony. Also scented water is poured over the shoulder and slowly down the back of the person. While pouring the water in this manner, people say good wishes and words of blessing for the coming New Year.

For the Songkran festival, Thai people clean everything, i.e the house, the previous year bad actions, the Buddha statues, one's own spirit. They go to a wat (buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to the monks.

But nowadays the Songkran festival is mainly known for its splashing water madness. The emphasis is on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival's spiritual and religious aspects,
It is not uncommon to have buckets and containers of water thrown at you by teams of merry makers in the backs of trucks as you make your way down the street - particularly in major tourist areas Small children delight in equipping themselves with water guns and spraying anyone who comes in their path - no one is exempt!
Often Songkran is called "water" festival and the following pictures show why...!!!

Sea Bees in co-operation with INDEPTHS
Dive insurance for Thailand now available

It is now possible to arrange personal diving insurance here in Thailand directly at our Sea Bees office.

Coverage is arranged through INDEPTHS - a well established and experienced insurance provider - who offer policies suitable for everybody from beginner to divemaster. Daily, weekly, monthly and annual policies are available so you can choose a policy that suits you, whether you are here for a daytrip, a dive-safari or spending a longterm dive-holiday. Coverage is effective immediately and applies to the whole of Thailand so if you are diving throughout the country you will remain covered.

A dedicated dive-insurance policy has several advantages over general holiday/accident insurance as it is designed with diving in mind. Many treatments such as the use of hyperbaric chambers are covered as part of the policy, and prepayment of expenses is not necessary as INDEPTHS have payment arrangements with hyperbaric chamber facilities. Also, many general insurances contain more restrictive depth limits beyond which they do not provide cover.

Premium rates are based on the term of the policy - for less than 1 week rates are around 3 Euro per day, two weeks cover is around 25 Euro, and one month costs approximately 31 Euro.

If you are interested in arranging dive insurance, just ask us for more information when you arrive, and we will be happy to provide you with all of the cost and benefit details.
Sea Bees Diving - Adventure in good hands

LIDS -London International Dive Show 2008

Holger, Sea Bees Diving owner, just returned from ’sunny’ London Dive Show a few days ago. Sea Bees Diving was attending the Dive Show at ExCel Exhibition Centre London this year again - third time in a row.
We had two very successful days at the exhibition and were pleased to see many Sea Bees customers dropping by to say hello.
Sea Bees Diving at LIDS -London International Dive Show 2008
Thank you very much for your support and we look forward to seeing you back here in tropical Phuket hopefully soon again.

MV MARCO POLO Tour 4. - 10. March 2008

On this tour our guests themselves provided us with interesting and pleasant stories. So we like to tell you what was going on aboard Marco Polo.

Similan Islands diving with Sea Bees Diving Phuket

Of course we like to party and therefore we are always happy having a birthday child with us on Marco Polo. This time the lucky one was Christian. We had an enjoyable birthday party, including a birthday cake - but we won't tell you with how many candles - singing happy birthday, dear Christian and maybe a little bit unusual: the birthday child himself recites a poem. For sure we didn't miss to clink glasses (bottles) that night.

After the tour we've learnt, that Christian made his 200th dive during this tour. Why didn't he tell us? Maybe he didn't look forward to having another party with us?? Who knows...

The main actors on Marco Polo: Christian, Paul and Rudolf

Paul was not as lucky - at first. During one of our first dives - at Koh Bon - he lost his expensive Kowalski torch. Every one can imagine how annoying that is.
Three days later on our way back we opted for another dive at Koh Bon and - yes, you might guess it - Chris, our tour leader, found his torch during that dive! Paul couldn't believe it and was perfectly happy, as he didn't expect to see his Kowalski ever again.

Harlequin Shrimps in the Similan Islands with Sea Bees Diving Phuket

And what about Rudolf? He did his 100th dive with Sea Bees. Congratulations! Now he is "authorized" to apply for our free Marco Polo Thank-you-Tour next month. The same night he dropped in his "letter of application" and we will probably see him again at the end of April. And at last but not least: Rudolf celebrated his 222th dive on Marco Polo!

Next to all this happenings on bord of Marco Polo, there were some excitements underwater in the Similan Islands as well.

Leopard sharks, sea horses, ghost pipe fish and lots of very pretty nudibranchs.

Another highlight was waiting at Richelieu Rock where we found to pairs of harlequin shrimps!

Summer-Promotion Phuket - May 1 to October 31, 2008
Dive & Relax

Again we have some attractive specials for you which will make your holidays even more enjoyable. At the first of May our "green season" starts, a nice season with quite a few advantages.

In general you can say it is a bit more quiet over here. The streets in Patong, Kata or Karon are not that busy anymore, the beaches are calmer and lush green nature awaits you. Of course there are some rain showers. But usually they don't last for hours and are not a daily occurrence either.

How about temperatures? Don't worry, you don't have to bring your warm clothes. It’s still warm here - day and night time.

Of course our daytrip boats MV Excalibur and MV Aragon will be going out to the best dive sites around Phuket every day. So if you like, you can dive with us daily and explore the fascinating Andaman Sea.

You can choose between following 3 Summer Specials:

Our Dive Box - 3 daytrips / 6 dives for 1 EURO only!!

If you book 12 nights at our Palm Garden Resort Phuket you will receive 1 Dive Box per bungalow for just 1 Euro.

Or, if you come only for a short holiday or if you combine your stay in Phuket with something else ( maybe a shopping tour in Bangkok??) this special could be interesting for you:

- book 5 nights at our Palm Garden Resort Phuket and get a 20% discount on one dive package of your choice. (one per bungalow)

holiday resort palm garden in Phuket

diving in Phuket with Sea Bees Diving

and for all of you who just want to dive with us during the "green season" we offer

- a 10% discount on all our Phuket dive packages.

If you are interested in one of these summer specials just send an e-mail to Hilla at - info@sea-bees.com - She looks forward to hearing from you.

Yoga with Roxanne in our Sala at Palm Garden Resort Phuket

From now on we offer twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday 6.30pm) evening Yoga classes in our Sala at Palm Garden Resort Phuket. You can join classes after coming back from your daytrip. Relax from an exciting day and get fit for the evening.
Roxanne is an experienced Yoga teacher and enthusiastic diver too. The classes are set up for the special needs of divers.
And here is what you can expect in your Yoga classes with Roxanne:

I. Breathing Exercises
The class always starts with breathing exercise called “pranayamas”. There are various techniques to practice breathing. You will learn to slow your breathing rhythm, to increase lung capacity and calm the mind when faced with diving challenges.
Deep, slow, controlled breathing is the key to enjoying a wonderful diving experience.

II. Poses (Yang)
Next part of the class are exercises or active postures also called “asanas”. Power, flexibility, balance and strength are trained. Joints and muscles get more limber. In general we classify strengthen (yang) and lengthen (yin) aspects.
While doing the poses we focus on correct breathing.

III. Deep Stretches (Yin)
These exercises - Yin postures are held for three minutes or longer - stretch torso and neck muscles made tight from diving. As Yang poses emphasize muscular movement and contraction. Yin exercises target the connective tissue of hips, pelvis and lower spine.
Yin und Yang – two sides, one whole.

IV. Deep Relaxing
The class ends while lying on your back and relaxing your limbs in the final pose, also called “savasana”. Concentration is completely focused on relaxing your body that means every part which has been trained during the class.

The result: you will notice complete relaxation but feel energized and alive
So why not try Yoga during your next stay with us? Just let us know the day before and enjoy the class.

Sea Bees say thank you!
...and rewards your loyality

	Anyone who has done 100 dives with us can avail of an exclusive free "Thank-You-Tour" on Marco Polo. This dive safari aboard Marco Polo combines adventure with comfort, and the excellent dive-sites, fantastic visibility and small groups (max. 4 divers per guide) will guarantee an unforgettable dive experience. Our roomy double cabins and spacious decks offer plenty of comfort, and our kitchen serves up delicious International and Thai cuisine. But of course many of you know that already!
To avail of this offer we recommend that you apply for a place as quickly as possible, as the trip is on a "First-come, First-served" basis. The tour departs on the 29th of April and returns on 5th May 2008. info@sea-bees.com

Marco Polo Tour Highlights

It is quite a while since we filled you in about what is going on aboard Marco Polo. Not because we didn't have tours recently - we still go out regularly every Tuesday evening - or that there was nothing to see, but because we only want to report the really special highlights.
And now we have had an extraordinary tour again, which is really worth reporting.
This time Sascha was our tourleader - Chris had to stay on shore - and Alex our dive instructor went with him.
Among our guests we had a few returning customers. This is nothing special in itself as it often happens, but Olaf was aboard for the 12th time and is very much becoming a fixture.
For two other guests - Manfred and Daniel - it was the 4th time on Marco Polo.
Of course we are very happy about that as it shows that you enjoy your time with us and are very satisfied.

Our tour started with a shark encounter at Barracuda Point. It was our first dive and we saw Whitetip Reef Sharks and Napoleon Wrasse. Could there be a better start to the trip?
We took it as a good omen and during the next few days we saw nearly everything that divers could wish for:
Seahorses, Ghost Pipefish, Barracudas, Sepias, Manta Rays and Leopard Sharks as well as Frogfish, Harlequin Shrimps and Jenkins Whip Rays.

And as the tour started with a special encounter what else would you expect at the end? Exactly... more sharks of course.....
On East of Eden we saw Whitetip Reef Sharks again.
Excellent weather and a smooth sea during the whole trip - divers, what else could you wish for?

Our new Spirit House

just a few days ago we got a new Spirit House - in Thai Sarn Prah Phum - at our Palm Garden Resort and of course we like to show it to you.
All over Thailand Spirit Houses can be found in nearly every home, school or business. They come in different shapes and sizes.

A San Phra Phum is a shrine to animist spirits found in the Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The house is intended to provide a shelter for spirits which could cause problems for the people if not appeased. Offerings like candles, flowers, incense sticks as well as food and drinks, cigarettes and everything a ghost might need, are left at the house to propitiate the spirits. ...
Thai people believe that by keeping the spirits "chao tee" happy with a comfortable home and daily offerings their lives will be more safe and successful.

Mounted on a pillar or on a dais the spirit house is normally in the form of a traditional thai house or temple. Made out of wood or cement, often nicely painted or with carvings or sometimes even gold-plated..
Placed in an auspicious spot, most often in a corner of the property, the location is chosen after consultation with a Brahmin priest.

Sea Bees Diving is coming again to London

London International Dive Show (LIDS 2008)

8/9 March 2008
booth #260
ExCeL Exhibition Centre, London

We look forward to welcoming you and as always we are more than happy to anwer any questions you might have. So, if you are there, don't forget to stop by and say hello to us.

Sea Bees Diving is now a member of GREEN FINS

Since the first of January 2008 we are a member of GREEN FINS.
GREEN FINS mission is to protect and conserve coral reefs by establishing and implementing environmentally friendly guidelines to promote a sustainable diving tourism industry. The Program was initiated by the United Nation Environment Programm and in Thailand the responsibility of implementing the project lies with the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC) located on Cape Panwa at the South East corner of the island.
The expected outcomes of implementation of the Green Fins Programme are:
- Increased awareness of good diving practices - Eco-friendly diving
- Increased protective measures for coral reefs
- Increased coral reef data and information at the selected sites
- Improved coral reef health
With our membership and active engagement we want to support this program as it should be in our all interest and responsibility to protect and preserve marine environment. Here are some interesting facts and informations:
- Thailand welcomes over 550,000 dive tourists each year
- Thailand is home to over 80,000 certified divers of its own.
- Thailand`s dive tourism has increased by more than twenty-fold from 25,000 divers in 1985.
The East Asian Seas region contains one of the greatest concentrations of coral reefs in the world. The area is so rich in biodiversity that more coral and reef fish species can be found here than anywhere else.

Greeen fins