February 7, 2011
We had so much fun with our first scuba diving trip in Phuket last November that we planned ahead for Chinese New Year in 2011. Of course the online book work never happened so we spent some of our time out of the water watching DVD training courses and taking the exams, but finally got in the water with all of our heavy gear and had an amazing time. We saw lots of fish right off the shore along the reef at Karon Beach.Alison and I were able to finish up our course and are now PADI certified scuba divers. Brian and Jacqueline will probably finish that up on our next go around tbd.....Phuket Scuba Club
is a great place to work with. Simon, Alexia, Kevin and Chantal took good care of us. www.phuket-scuba-club.com
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| The view from our room |
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| Star light, Star Bright, first star I see tonight..... |
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| Alison loves to catch the waves. |
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| Jacqueline and Dad playing paddle ball. |
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| A bit of body surfing |
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| Alison, Riko, Hannah, & Jacqueline |
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| This is where the very expensive "Bird Nests" for Bird Nest Soup are. |
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| A baby elephant was brought in to one of the hotels across the street for someone's wedding. |
We stayed at a quaint little inn at Kata Beach on a hillside across from the beach and above the Phuket Dive Shop. It was absolutely nothing special but it was clean and convenient. I think we paid all of S$45 per night per room. Sure beats whatever astronomical amount we paid at a resort last time. We had a couple of great Thai meals right on the beach and watched a fire dancer, heart shaped hot air lanterns released into the sky and several gorgeous sunsets. On Saturday we joined a family from Singapore American School whose daughter is in 8th grade also.
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| The fish loved watermelon |
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| I guess the top doesn't have stingers |
The 10 of us took a speed boat trip out to the Phi Phi Islands and hit 3 great snorkel spots and had a wonderful lunch right on the beach. The snorkeling was amazing. Lots of fish! The Sergeant Majorfish ate watermelon and bread right from our hands. We also saw a Pacific Lionfish, Cornetfish, Moorish Idol, Moray Eel, Blue Sea Stars, Sea Cucumbers, Sea Urchin, Durban Dancing Shrimp and many varieties of coral. So much of the coral has been bleached due to warm water, but some is recovering. Probably the most exciting thing we saw was the jellyfish they pulled out of the water. Next time I need to have an underwater camera. We made a beach stop at "Monkey Beach" where the monkeys literally eat right from your hand The sand was as smooth and clean as powdered sugar and the kids had a great time building sand castles and sculptures. Lots of singing, fun, sun and a bit of sunburn as well.
We stayed at a quaint little inn at Kata Beach on a hillside across from the beach and above the Phuket Dive Shop. It was absolutely nothing special but it was clean and convenient. I think we paid all of S$45 per night per room. Sure beats whatever astronomical amount we paid at a resort last time. We had a couple of great Thai meals right on the beach and watched a fire dancer, heart shaped hot air lanterns released into the sky and several gorgeous sunsets. On Saturday we joined a family from Singapore American School whose daughter is in 8th grade also.
The 10 of us took a speed boat trip out to the Phi Phi Islands and hit 3 great snorkel spots and had a wonderful lunch right on the beach. The snorkeling was amazing. Lots of fish! The Sergeant Majorfish ate watermelon and bread right from our hands. We also saw a Pacific Lionfish, Cornetfish, Moorish Idol, Moray Eel, Blue Sea Stars, Sea Cucumbers, Sea Urchin, Durban Dancing Shrimp and many varieties of coral. So much of the coral has been bleached due to warm water, but some is recovering. Probably the most exciting thing we saw was the jellyfish they pulled out of the water. Next time I need to have an underwater camera. We made a beach stop at "Monkey Beach" where the monkeys literally eat right from your hand The sand was as smooth and clean as powdered sugar and the kids had a great time building sand castles and sculptures. Lots of singing, fun, sun and a bit of sunburn as well.
