MV Philkade welcomes 2009!

Ladies and Gents, Friends, Family, Guests-past & Guests-future... Our most sincere apologies for not having posted on the blog for a while. With full Christmas and New Year trips, Mik & I have been rushed off our feet but enjoying some great diving along the way.
Before we say anything more, 'Happy New Year to you all'. 2009 is an exciting one for us as MV Philkade will be taking her maiden voyage to the Andaman Islands very soon. Watch this space because we promise to write more on that later. If anyone still wants to join, I believe we have spaces on the March trip (see MV Philkade's official website).
In the meantime, the 2008/9 season is now well underway and our Christmas and New Year trips were great fun. With a full boat (although MV Philkade rarely feels full with so much space on board), we ran 2 all-encompassing 6-day 7-night trips back to back with dives in the north Andaman Sea at Similan and Richelieu, and dives also in the south Andaman Sea at Hin Daeng, Hin Muang and Phi Phi. Here we all are celebrating Christmas in style with mulled wine and delicious grub!

There was so much to see in terms of marine life! You can check out full trip reports on MV Philkade's official website. Mik and myself spent the 19th December tastefully decking out the saloon with a Christmas tree, lights and tinsel. Then on both Christmas and New Year trips, guests all received gifts including Philkade T-shirts for the gents on board and traditional Thai batik silk scarves for the ladies. We also had our mystery Christmas treasure hunt on board with one lucky guest, Ian from Jakarta, winning an underwater LED light.
On both trips, our on-board Chef really excelled! Guests were complaining that there was too much food! In particular at New Year we had our Gala Dinner al-fresco style on the upper deck. With a variety of buffet-style appetizers including sushi, fresh salmon, chicken liver pate, mozzarella, olives and much more, served with a complementary bottle of wine, the last evening of 2008 got underway in style. Moments later we were all tucking into Chef's freshly prepared lobster, with BBQ King Prawns, Caesar Salad, steamed fish, baked potato and more... Just when we thought we were done and all needed to lie down, the crew brought coffee and chocolates for everybody in an attempt to perk us up and make it through the last hour or so until midnight.
With music playing and some hilarious conversations being had, the evening rolled along successfully and it was almost a shock to find we had 10 minutes to go until 2009! Mik and the Crew gathered on the front of the boat to prepare the fireworks while Kerry and the guests gathered on the fly-bridge for the countdown. Then... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Happy New Year! The champagne corks popped, the fireworks illuminated the sky and there were hugs all round.
Thank you so much to all of our guests on board for these trips. Mik and i had a great time - whether it be diving in Santa hats or enjoying champers on the fly-bridge with you, we have some terrific memories from 2008 and are looking forward to many more 'special MV Philkade moments' in 2009!
Stay tuned for our posting on the Andaman Islands - we are due to leave port on 22nd January :)

Bangkok Protests: The Effects

Apologies for not being able to write about this earlier. Mik & myself (Kerry) were happily out in the Similans having a ball with our lovely on-board guests and didn't have much of an idea until we returned to Chalong on 30th November. Understandably our day on land was spent trying to arrange alternatives for those guests leaving us and ensure those guests coming to join us on our next cruise could make it to us!

Believe it or not - I know the media can blow these things up - all went remarkably smoothly! All of our guests arriving for the next cruise had flown directly to Phuket with no problems. A couple were meant to be flying back to the US that day but made the genius decision to postpone their flights and join us for the next cruise, doing 2 cruises back to back. Brilliant! In the end, we had 3 familiar faces on board filling spaces that they had filled just a day before on our previous cruise. Mik and i would like to thank Alex, Steve & Beth for the ultimate honour of staying on board with us.

The long term effects are presumably not good, especially now that Thailand has been ranked in the top 5 most dangerous countries in the World to visit alongside Iraq and Afghanistan!! Really, it is absurd!!! But for any guests thinking of coming here, or for those of you that have already booked liveaboard trips with us for the rest of 2008 and early 2009, please do not worry or panic.

Phuket is safe. If you can fly directly to Phuket then you are probably at an advantage. Being on holiday in Phuket you would never have noticed the political situation in Bangkok. We are a good long way away here in Phuket and prefer the peaceful holiday environment that you are all hoping to enjoy on your vacations!

Bangkok is also safe but obviously any future closing of the airport will cause problems for anybody trying to reach us via Bangkok. All i can say is that the political situation for the time being is calm and doesn't look likely to explode into protests again any time soon. An election is currently being arranged (which can take some time) and it is highly unlikely that there will be protests during this time. If you are visiting Thailand, now would be a good time to make sure you have adequate travel insurance, but really, you should be fine.

In the meantime, relax and continue to dream of that diving vacation on MV Philkade. Check out some of these great pictures taken last week by Beth Welch of the USA while on-board for our Burma and Similan cruises. Also, if you do have any concerns or questions, please drop us an email at admin@philkade.com or check out our official web-site for all of our trip reports and general information.

The Season Begins

First of all, apologies for the absence. Mik, Kerry, and all the staff on board MV Philkade have had a busy few weeks!! When we last made contact through our Blog, MV Philkade was sat out of the water in the ship-yard getting serviced and generally cleaned up for the approaching 2008/9 season. It was literally 'all hands on deck' towards the end as we had made many improvements to the boat and we had to make the final touches of hanging the curtains, laying the carpets, scrubbing the decks, clearing the workmen's dust etc.

Finally we did it and on 2nd November it was a great feeling to see MV Philkade moored alongside Chalong Pier gleaming in the early evening twilight. By 8pm that evening, we were welcoming our first guests of the new season, a group of eight from Belarus that chartered the boat for 5 days and 6 nights to Similan and Richelieu Rock.

Since then, we have completed another trip with guests from Spain, France, Russia and the USA. Our second group did get a couple of day's rain on their trip but in general, things have gone swimmingly.

Mik and Kerry are particularly pleased with the condition of the reefs and marine life. Richelieu Rock has plenty of ghost pipefish and our pair of seahorses are still in their home. Leopard sharks, white tip reef sharks, barracudas, napolean wrasse and much much more have been spotted on the Similan Islands as well... and that's just with our first 2 trips.

Needless to say, for us, it's great to be back in water and back cruising the best dive sites Thailand has to offer on board the luxury and comfort of MV Philkade. Feel free to read more detailed reports of our trips on MV Philkade's official web-site.

Meet the Philkade Team...Part One

It's about time. When this blog was first set up the writers and editors said that they were the dive crew aboard MV Philkade. Their names are Mik and Kerry. They even put a couple of pictures in the first post so you were able to identify them easily. But who are they really? How did they end up on MV Philkade? There is so much more to MV Philkade than just the luxury liveaboard diving boat (although that helps!). In this article, we are going to expose all... (well, almost)...

Mik Jennings, Cruise Director

Born in 1972 it took Mik some 30 years to realise that he was in the wrong job AND the wrong place. Working as an IT consultant in Leeds he had his moment of realisation while stood in rain that was falling sideways and was accellerated by the wind to the point where it was leaving scars on his face. Within 5 months of that day he had quit his job, sold his house and car and jumped on a plane to Phuket.

His plan was to move around the tropics making a living as a divemaster, but Phuket managed to get it's claws into him. Great nightlife, beautiful beaches, peace and quiet, 10 screen cinemas, shopping centres, great food, great people. Oh, and great diving. And no sideways freezing rain.

From his first dive in the Red Sea in 1997 he's loved being underwater, and is now a slave to his addiction. Luckily after 4 years of tour leading both day trip and liveaboard boats and almost 3000 dives he's living the dream. Mik has been lucky enough to dive from Turatao on the Malay border through the whole Phuket area, Similan, Surin, and the Mergui Archipelago in Burma and is now working on the most luxurious boat in the area. As well as his wide experience around the Andaman Sea he has dived in Turkey, Isreal, Egypt, and Indonesia and is looking forward to adding The Andaman Islands to his list in 2009.

Kerry Leach, Diving Instructor (or whatever else might be thrown her way...)

"A 26 year old breath of fresh air!

And back to reality... Originally Kerry was born in Halifax and then brought up in Bradford, Yorkshire, in the north of England.

With an intro-dive in the Maldives and further scuba training in the somewhat murkier, chillier waters of the UK, her BSAC Instructor Dad (Barry Leach) is to blame for her 'water-based genes'. A scuba diving career was least expected however when she majored in History at university and signed up for a post-grad in Law.

But in June 2003, when a good friend (Mik) made the decision to uproot everything and move to Phuket in pursuit of a scuba diving career, she had her epiphany! First, she struck up a relationship with Mik and then packed her scuba diving gear to follow him to Phuket.

Since then she has accumulated over 2500 dives throughout Thailand, Burma and Indonesia. Of course initially both family and friends thought she had lost her mind but she is sure fellow-divers must understand why she chose the alternative career route and the alternative lifestyle. For those in doubt, Kerry says "I live and work on the best diving liveaboard in Thailand, and what's more... I love it!"

Together Kerry and Mik make up your Philkade Diving Team - sharing the same goals to provide guests a comfortable, safe cruise with many happy memories while on board the luxury diving liveaboard, MV Philkade. For more information you can view MV Philkade's official website.

Keep your eyes open for an introduction to the boat crew in the next few weeks...

More flights to Phuket...

That's right Ladies & Gentlemen. Bangkok Airways start a new schedule on 26th October to ensure more flights are available from Bangkok to Phuket through the high season.

Flights will leave Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport bound for Phuket 3 times a day. Flight time is just under 1hr 30 mins.

Furthermore, last month, Bangkok Airways began their 'on-line check-in' service so you can select a seat 24 hours before the departure.

To read more about Bangkok Airways services, visit Bangkok Airways official website.

Protests in Bangkok AGAIN...

Ok folks, it seems that i spoke too soon. There i was thinking that the blog was now up to date with things. How crazy of me? Once again, the Thais are kicking off in Bangkok. Nothing like a good riot at the start of the high season to enforce a slow-down on visitors to the country. Thank you very much!

On the up-side, Phuket is very quiet and there is no doubt that tourists visiting here are safe. My advice remains the same: You do not need to stay away or cancel your holiday. If you are thinking of visiting Phuket (for diving or otherwise) then you should. It is safe. Just don't be heading to the parliament buildings in Bangkok and joining in the crowds. There is no violence towards tourists, so stay away from the crowds, don't get caught up in it and you'll be fine.

For more information on the situation you can check out the facts in this short article from the Belfast Telegraph. If you have any questions for us directly regarding the situation or MV Philkade then please contact us.

I hope to post more good news next time...

Philkade's shiny clean engine room!

Hello again folks! Going through the photos that Mik and I took this week at the shipyard. I missed a few first time round so here are some pictures of Philkade's engine room...

Please note, the cling film will be removed! It is simply protecting all the hard work that the engineers and mechanics have done in the past few weeks. It's all so shiny and new. Mmmmm...