Weird creature of the month – December

Manta Ray

The word ‘Manta’ comes from Spain and means cloak or shawl. 20 years ago we almost did not know anything about the world’s largest Ray. There are two kinds of Mantas and that is Manta Birostris (the giant ocean manta) and Manta Alfred (the resident reef manta). Mantas are close relatives to all kind of sharks and rays but do not be afraid! They only feed on the smallest organisms in the sea, like small fishes, shrimps and plankton. They are also very intelligent, curious and playful. They actually have the largest brain of all the world’s fishes!

A Manta can never stop swimming. If they do the water will stop flowing over their gills which is the way they breathe. So if they do stop, even if it is only for resting they will die. After a lot of research we now know that Mantas can travels long distance in a very short time thanks to their huge wings. They also go very deep down in the ocean, research found one 1372 meter under the surface.
The Manta Birostris is the largest one and can be up to 7 meters from wing-tip to wing-tip and can weigh up to 2000 kilos. Mantas can probably live up to 50 years and possibly for 100 years, we do not know for sure.

Being a Snorkeling Guide at Kon-Tiki

Imagine you are on the boat, the sea is flat, the sun is shining and soon the happy holiday makers is arriving. It is your job to make sure these people will be having a day they never forget. It is your job to guide the guests on an underwater adventure over the reefs and show them all the fish and corals.

Would you like to be able to make a perfect snorkel day for someones holiday in Thailand to the best ever? Then you should become a snorkel guide for Kon-Tiki.

It is simple, you need to know how to swim and be familiar with and comfortable in the water. To give our guests the most safe and best way of snorkeling, we want our guides to complete the Open Water Diver- and PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course and even the PADI Rescue Diver course to be able to handle any problems if they occur. Once a confident PADI Rescue Diver we offer an intense 2-day-course to become a Snorkeling guide and your new adventure can begin. The snorkeling guide course prepares you for all the tasks you will do during the days at sea. You will learn to do a proper snorkel briefing for your guests, how to assist guest with equipment. Gain knowledge about the marine life and learn the technique to guide the guests on the guided snorkel tour over the coral reefs.

As a snorkel guide you will show your guest the coral reefs at Phi Phi Islands, Ao Nang Islands or Koh Haa yai. You will have the opportunity to take a group of people on a snorkel tour on the surface to amaze them with coral reefs with the colorful fish and they might never seen before. It is not an easy job, you have different variation of people from all over the world, all from beginners to advanced snorkelers and you need to make sure everyone get the most out of the day.

For sure this is one of best jobs in the world. The smile on the first time snorkelers face when you open a whole new world for them and they for the first time look down over the coral reefs with all the fish surrounding them. The smiles of the advance snorkeler when you teach him/her the technique to skin dive down to the fish to take a closer look.  It is an amazing feeling!

If you want to be the person who makes this smile on other people faces, become a snorkel guide with Kon-Tiki.

Ready to take the job? Apply here

Weird creature of the month – April

Flatworms, also called “planarians,” are found just about everywhere there is water. There are many different species of flatworms, some live here, in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Thailand.

Some flatworms can be more than 10 m long, the longest one have been 30 m. They have no body cavity and no circulatory and respiratory organs. With no restriction in shape means the worms can grow flat which gives them their name.

This flattened shape allows oxygen and nutrients to pass through by diffusion. The digestive cavity has only one opening for both the intake of nutrients and removal of undigested wastes, which means that the food cannot be processed continuously.

Flatworms are one of the simplest animal groups with a basic central nervous system and eyes that can only see the difference between light and dark. Some worms lack eyes as they are completely parasitic living in or on another animal.

They are hermaphrodite which means they “choose” their gender during mating. This procedure is quite particular as flatworms use their “penis” to fight each other. The first one to penetrate the other will inject sperm and become male. For the flatworms, this contest is serious business. Mating is a fight because the worm that assumes the female role then must expend considerable energy caring for the developing eggs.

TIME high school abroad – The internship to Open Water

Hey everyone!

It’s now time for new post and a lot have happened since we posted on the blog last week.
This week we started our Open Water course and we joined the Kon-Tiki crew on a boat trip to Koh Haa and discovered the beautiful reefs. We have continued working on the website and we have done a lot. But let’s talk about the Open water course and the trip to Koh Haa instead.

We mentioned in a post earlier that Kon-Tiki kindly had given us the opportunity to get an Open water certification. Of course we took this opportunity to do it. We started the course on Monday with the theory where we had lessons with our supervisor and instructor Niclas after working hours. On Wednesday we went to a pool and exercised the skills you need to become an Open water diver. Some the requirements are taking of the mask under water and put it back on and helping your friend if he would be out of air under the water.

After the day in the pool we kept on working with the theory and on Saturday we would do the final test to get our Open Water Certifications.  We went down to Ao nang beach at Saturday morning where we met the friendly crew from Kon-Tiki and jumped on a boat. The trip with the boat took about 3 and half hours. We finished the last parts of the theory on the way to the diving point.
One requirement to get the certification is to do 3 dives the same day. Niclas, our supervisor and instructor, told us that we would dive three times this time and it would be demanding.

We prepared our gear and checked all the functions. When the boat was close to the diving point we put on our gear and got ready to jump in to the blue. Kon-Tiki served us large breakfast on the way to Koh Haa, in that way we wouldn’t get hungry while being in water. When the boat reached its point we jumped down in the water at once. While down in the water we did some test that we had learned in the pool earlier this week. We had to do an emergency ascent which is a requirement in the course. After the test we went down under water and stopped on the bottom. Here we would do another couple tests to show that we were ready become divers.

We were underwater for about 35 minutes and we managed to see a banded sea snake, a devil scorpion fish. The visibility this day was really good, a perfect day to explore the beautiful marine life in Thailand. When we got out of the water we changed our cylinders with air immediately because we were about to go into the water again.

After 20 min on the boat we went down into the blue again. This time we would do the last part of the requirements to become an Open water diver.  In this dive we followed a reef and it’s probably one of the most beautiful things we have seen. It’s not only the fish species that amazes us, but the all the beautiful colors from the plants at the reefs. To float over the reef and view how the whole reef works together in one unit and supports each other, undoubtedly something everyone should experience. It’s a completely different world under the surface.When we were hovering over a reef, Niclas managed to locate a Hawksbill turtle. It was swimming about 10 meters away from us and luckily the sight was very good. Our instructor Niclas always manages to find something that amazes us! After about 5 minutes it went deeper and out of our sight. Along the way to the boat we encountered a big shoal of barracudas. Their glistening scale was really beautiful, especially when they were some many. We were under water for about 35 minutes.

On the boat again it was time to get a well-served lunch from the Kon-Tiki crew before getting in the water again. We took the opportunity to get some free soft drinks and fresh fruits.  After eased our hunger and thirst it was time to back into the water, the last dive before becoming a certified diver.

We did only a few skills on the last dive since there was alot in the earlier dives. The plan was to swim along a reef downwards and in this dive there was a current but if we stayed close to the reef we wouldn’t notice the current. This time we had moved to another diving point which contained a very beautiful wall of marine life.

We went down under the water and the visibility was still great. Along the reef we saw a Spiny lobster and a couple lovely Banded Sea snakes. As the earlier dives, the reef was covered with beautiful colors from the coral. And again we were amazed by what the marine life offered us. With all the shoals from different species it was like swimming in aquarium.  You can encounter the fishes really close without frightening them.

In the end of the dive we saw Great Barracuda that was drifting in a current not far ahead of us.  From our location it seemed to be big and it was bit scary with its teeth.  But no aggression was shown at all and we could remain calm. The marine life is so friendly to divers!

On the way up to the surface, Niclas congratulated us for becoming Open water divers.
The whole crew would congratulate us on the boat as well when we were about to reach Ao nang.
Once again, Niclas and Kon-Tiki have given us an unforgettable adventure and we are really grateful for this opportunity.

Take care!

Praktik hos Kon-Tiki Thailand – Tiden går fort när man har roligt

Visste du att du kan göra din praktik hos oss här på Kon-Tiki i Krabi? Det visste inte jag för fem år sedan, för hade jag vetat det så hade jag inte spenderat mina praktikveckor med att plocka disk på Princess bageri i min hemstad. Jag hade åkt till Thailand för att lära mig allt om dykning, snorkling och turism.

Daniel är en av dem som valde att göra sin praktik hos oss och han har nu varit en del av vårt team här på Kon-Tiki i snart en månad. Det är tråkigt att vi snart ska behöva ta farväl av vår omtyckta praktikant. I snart 8 veckor har Daniel hjälpt oss med allt från att organisera i butiken, hjälpa till med kunderna till att agera assisterande snorkelguide ute på havet. Och det är precis så det är att praktisera här, du kommer inte alltid veta vad du kommer få göra morgonen därpå. Och det är bland annat det som kommer få dina veckor att kännas som dagar.

Kon-Tiki välkomnar eldsjälar som inte har någonting emot att spendera sin praktik i ett land med en medeltemperatur på 30 grader tillsammans med andra människor som också brinner för vad de gör. Men låt inte destinationen lura dig, det är inte semester utan dagarna kommer vara fulla av diverse olika uppgifter och utmaningar. Men visst skadar det inte att göra sin praktik i ett av Thailands mest berömda semesterparadis?

Någon stannar två veckor, en annan stannar över en månad. Det är något som vi kommer överens om med din skola. Tack vare varierande arbetsuppgifter och mycket nya lärdomar får vi tillsammans tiden att gå väldigt snabbt, samtidigt som vi har väldigt roligt.

Nu har du chansen. Jag rekommenderar dig att ta den, jag önskar att jag hade gjort det.

Se här när Malene blir intervjuad av praktikant från Tingvalla