Similans & Richelieu Rock

[Tafflad]

I couple of weeks back I posted in the General Asia forum that I was in Singapore and looking to dive for the weekend before flying back to UK.
Had great advice and after a lead was hooked up with Quero ... booked for next week to do hop up to Phuket, join a 4 day 4 night Livaboard on Manta Queen to do Similans & Richelieu Rock.

Been bugging Marcia with Q's .. thought I'd also post these for some forum comments ...

Although done 200+ dives, mostly day boat /shore/rib diving, so never dived a Livaboard in warm waters ... 5 days on a converted Trawler in Orkneys (Scapa Flow) is a bit different to that.
Could do with some advice from those that have this experience ..

# 3mm shorty or 3mm full suit, which should I take ?
# How much / what should I take in way of clothes for the boat
# Tips ... how much is custom to tip for boat crew, how much is custom to tip the dive guide.

any other tips welcome.

 

[watboy]

I'm fairly tolerant of cold (on thai standards at least), but 4dives a day I will start to feel cold. I usually bring my full body 3mm as well as a rashguard and board shorts. The first dive and the night dive I wear the full body. But the dives during the day w the sun up, i'd just go rash guard and shorts. Maybe better to bring the full.

You need minimal clothing to pack. Typically i bring fresh boxers and t-shirts for every day and 2 pairs of shorts.

For tips, I don't know whats expected of foreigners, but I usually give 1,000 baht to the boat boy fund, and 500 to 1000 baht to my guide, depending on how good/useless they are. Thats considered excessive on Thai scales, what do fahrang pay? The best guides are the ones that you can tell them what you are expecting and deliver it. For me that is fish spotting, I usually tell them in advance the things i'm interested in and the things they don't need to point out to me. The worst are the dive nazi's who think they know everything and want to control your dive - they get zero tip from me.

I couple of weeks back I posted in the General Asia forum that I was in Singapore and looking to dive for the weekend before flying back to UK.
Had great advice and after a lead was hooked up with Quero ... booked for next week to do hop up to Phuket, join a 4 day 4 night Livaboard on Manta Queen to do Similans & Richelieu Rock.

Been bugging Marcia with Q's .. thought I'd also post these for some forum comments ...

Although done 200+ dives, mostly day boat /shore/rib diving, so never dived a Livaboard in warm waters ... 5 days on a converted Trawler in Orkneys (Scapa Flow) is a bit different to that.
Could do with some advice from those that have this experience ..

# 3mm shorty or 3mm full suit, which should I take ?
# How much / what should I take in way of clothes for the boat
# Tips ... how much is custom to tip for boat crew, how much is custom to tip the dive guide.

any other tips welcome.

 

[Buadhai]

I've never bothered with a wetsuit in the tropics except on night dives. On a liveaboard I just borrow one from the boat for what is usually just one, maybe two, night dives. For day dives I wear a rashguard and pair of running shorts (they dry quickly). I bring a fresh t-shirt for every day. I sleep in a pair of cotton drawstring shorts.

I also bring a very lightweight jacket for wind and sun protection and late-night and early-morning warmth. I always have the lightweight sort of sarong that the Thais call a Pa Khao Ma. I use that instead of a towel after dives. They soak up a lot of water and dry very quickly.

(Aside: "Pa Khao Ma" means "White Horse Cloth" and was the name of a well-liked brand of Thai sarong.)

A hat and sunscreen are essential unless you want to be like me and have to visit the dermatologist twice a year once you reach age 50.

I'm with watboy on the tips.

Cash is essential for the above-mentioned tips, beer, national park fees and Nitrox.

 

[lord khram]

Being used to diving Uk waters, you will not find the water in Thailand cold. Generally wetsuits / shorties are not necessary if you dont want to use one as Buadhai suggests, some prefer to wear them for protection.
Occasionally you may become a little cold whilst in the water, but soon warm up after the dive.
Clothes, just T shirts and shorts as you would wear on land.
Tips are not compulsory, and generally in Thai culture are not expected or given, this is something that was introduced by tourism. Give what ever you feel according to the service you recieve.
Hope you enjoy, but dont expect wrecks like the ones at Scapa.

 

[Buadhai]

My wife (Thai) always tips. But, she worked for years as a waitress before she finished law school.

BTW - just finished packing. 15 kilos of gear and clothes. Depart Korat tomorrow morning!

 

[Quero]

LOL, you guys are all echoing what I told Tafflad by email. Well done!

Have a great trip tomorrow, both Tafflad and Buadhai.

 

[Buadhai]

Thank you. I'm like a kid before Christmas right now. I always have a great time on these trips.