Last year I was contacted by a young Australian lady who teaches English close to where I live. She had just learned to dive in Okinawa and was looking for someone to dive with. We tried a couple of times to arrange something last year, but each time something went wrong and we couldn't dive. The last time was 6.30am, just as we were about to leave for Sasebo after she had stayed the night with us, and then came the phone call from the dive center to say the waves were too much and we couldn't go.....
So I said, more or less tongue in cheek, "Well it looks like we'll have to go somewhere like Thailand to get a guaranteed dive!"
........and then I saw the gleam in her eyes and realized that she'd taken me very seriously! Two days later she phoned me to confirm she really wanted to go........so I booked the trip.
This would be my third trip to Phuket and the Andaman sea and due to how busy it already was I elected to go with the Colona 6, which I'd been on on my second visit. The Colona does 2 day trips to the south of Phuket...Phi Phi, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang etc - and 4 day trips to the north - the Similans, Surin, Richelieu.....
.....string them together and you've got yourself a diving safari for 6 days with potentially 21 dives if you do them all. Before I'd always been on the northern leg first, but this time we were starting in the south.
After arriving in Phuket we spent one night in our hotel - the Baan Ton Saai in Patong..
....before boarding the Colona 6 the next day.
The Colona is quite a small boat, maximum 14 divers, and it's quite 'intimate' and close together. It's probably not the first choice for anyone who needs a lot of privacy! However..... it's clean, the crew is excellent, the guides are knowledgeable, and the food is good. It's a nice boat.
Having had our first briefing, set up our gear, settled into our cabins, and ate dinner - we set off heading for Hin Daeng & Hin Muang as our first destination. Thai boats leaving harbour have a tradition of setting off a load of Chinese firecrackers - to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck!
So I said, more or less tongue in cheek, "Well it looks like we'll have to go somewhere like Thailand to get a guaranteed dive!"
........and then I saw the gleam in her eyes and realized that she'd taken me very seriously! Two days later she phoned me to confirm she really wanted to go........so I booked the trip.
This would be my third trip to Phuket and the Andaman sea and due to how busy it already was I elected to go with the Colona 6, which I'd been on on my second visit. The Colona does 2 day trips to the south of Phuket...Phi Phi, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang etc - and 4 day trips to the north - the Similans, Surin, Richelieu.....
.....string them together and you've got yourself a diving safari for 6 days with potentially 21 dives if you do them all. Before I'd always been on the northern leg first, but this time we were starting in the south.
After arriving in Phuket we spent one night in our hotel - the Baan Ton Saai in Patong..
....before boarding the Colona 6 the next day.
The Colona is quite a small boat, maximum 14 divers, and it's quite 'intimate' and close together. It's probably not the first choice for anyone who needs a lot of privacy! However..... it's clean, the crew is excellent, the guides are knowledgeable, and the food is good. It's a nice boat.
Having had our first briefing, set up our gear, settled into our cabins, and ate dinner - we set off heading for Hin Daeng & Hin Muang as our first destination. Thai boats leaving harbour have a tradition of setting off a load of Chinese firecrackers - to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck!