A rubbish education?

As some of Wicked Diving’s new DMTs, Jackie, Tracey and myself (Jo) were recently lucky enough to hang out with some of the very cool kids, who attend the Burmese school that Wicked supports, on a recent field trip.

The trip followed on from previous talks that the kids were given about recycling and they had a chance to put this all into context with a beach clean up.

We took a couple of longtail boats out to a nearby beach which was in serious need of our attention, and the kids were raring to go. So much so that we had to discourage some of them from swimming in their uniforms!

When we reached the beach, they sped off leaving only pristine sand in their wake. They were so eager that we ran out of collection bags a lot sooner than we had anticipated. However, they obviously remembered the messages from their recycling talk as the plastic bags that they had collected were quickly reassigned as collection bags.

We collected a huge heap of rubbish and had a fun time doing it. I couldn’t think of a better way to learn. They are a great bunch of kids and we can’t wait to see them all again in a few weeks when we’ll be showing them how to make cool new things out of this rubbish. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure ‘n all that!

A Fishy Project

As a Divemaster Trainee at Wicked Diving you have the great opportunity to participate in an ecological project. The project is integrated in the DM-course and the aim is to plan and carry out a project together with your DMT colleagues.

We had several subjects to choose from but we started out on the fish project. We knew that some of the fish species are endangered and some of the fishing methods are not very good for the aquatic life and environment.

The aim of the fish project was to make an information folder with ratings and facts about which of the fishes are good to eat and which you probably should not consider ordering in a restaurant. We wanted to distribute the folder to other dive centres in town. Our first step was to make a plan for the project. We wanted to find out how many and which different species of fish are served at the restaurants in Khao Lak. Because we knew that the project could easily grow to big we wanted to limit it to a few, the most important species.

This was our first plan:

After finishing the planning we went to the Saturday-market in Bang Yang to see which fishes we could find. We found a lot of different fishes and seafood. We took some photographs and asked the salesmen/saleswomen for the names of the fishes.

Unfortunately, our visit to the market very much resulted in the end of the fish project because we realized that the proportions of the project wouldn’t be manageable within such a short time span. We would have needed a lot of information about fish rates, fish population and fishing methods in Thailand since this also has a huge impact on the marine life. We tried to find some information on the Internet but it proved to be very scarce.

After some discussions we had to drop the fish project due to the giant scale and the limited information available on the fishing industry and its methods in Thailand.

Still we feel that from what we’ve seen out in the Similans the issue of questionable fishing needs to be further investigated.

/Annika, John, Daniel M & T

The Trash Collectors

Collecting trash is probably the last thing that people think about when going to a tropical Island. The ocean how ever is somewhat of a trashcan for people venturing out on the seas around Thailand. After a time in the sea they eventually end up on the paradise beaches of the Similans. As most people would we strongly disagree that this is the right resting place for plastic glass and other stuff you might find.

This is why we went to one of the beaches in the park on a treasure hunt for trash that had floated ashore. We found quite a lot of stuff that did not belong there and the beach was free from garbage when we left.

It was also fun to play on the beach (especially after we cleaned up all the stuff)

Daniel M

Breakfast

If you find happiness in simplicity you will love this place. Some people like to have a breakfast at a restaurant. I like hanging out on the porch with a nice cup of coffee in yesterdays yogurt cup. Our front porch has a wonderful view and if you get up early you can sit there in the early morning light and see the day come to life.

First trip to paradise

After a week of theory an practical exercises in the pool it was finally time to head out for the Similans. The trip was wonderful, we had a great time on and especially off the boat. As a welcome we saw dolphins on the way out and on the second day a turtle started following the boat. Exited to get some photos I took my camera and threw myself in the wather.

This is what I got with my camera.

/Daniel Mattila

The first Divemaster Training Program of the season has begun!

Well, the season has officially begun! Our first Divemaster Training course started today. After a full day of orientation, lectures and paperwork – Marcel has the group ready to go! 6 weeks of work ahead, but we believe they will make it 😉




Going clockwise – Annika, Daniel, John (all from Sweden) Then Kathi and Marcel and finally – Daniel from Austria.

Keep an eye out for more footage as the course progresses!





Similan Diving

Divemaster housing 2009-2010

I must apologize in advance – I couldn’t find the landlord – so I do not have pictures of the interiors.

However each bungalow comes with double or queen sized bed, hot showers, small refrigerator, a fan, set of sheets and some have a hotplate. All bungalows have screens over the windows – to prevent mosquitoes and other wee beasts.

All bungalows also have a front balcony for sunsets and talking rubbish about the instructors. We also provide Wireless connection – enough for emails, but not for downloading!




The Map to the area can be found here….Zoom in on the shop, and to the right, up that short road is “Wicked Village”. Yup…a sort of gated community. But it’s really cozy!

The bungalows are surrounded by jungle and set in a quiet little valley. Located about 800 meters from the shop – there is no traffic and it is a quiet area. There are 4 bungalows for DMT’s and the other 8 are usually rented by our staff and those from other dive centers – so all divers. They are just off the road that leads up to more houses. This area is only residential and you will find both Thai and Foreign staff.

There is a lady who does laundry right outside the front gate.


From here it is just few minute walk to the shop. While there are some shops nearby – the public market is located about 4 km away – there are very cheap fresh vegetables and fruits available there.

This last picture is of the remote bungalow – set aside further away and definitely quiet – but the Wifi has real problems reaching that far!

-Similan Diving