Back to Burma's best spots!

28/11/2018

The MV Smiling Seahorse was back to the Burma on this last trip.
It was full moon but still the water was flat, and current made some dives fun and challenging ;)
On board, we were happy to welcome: Krista from USA; Marie, Ben, Florian, Yannick, Jean-Philippe, Julien, Evelyne and Gérard from France; Claus from Germany; Claudio from Argentina; and Fausto and Alessandro from Italy. A good mix from all around the world who created a warm and happy atmosphere.

Back to our favorite places, the landscapes were incredible ...

And the emerald waters, it looked like post cards scenes !

Underwater, the same pleasure for the eyes!

And an interesting topography ...

So much life all around ;)

The first mantas were spotted on Black Rock but no picture for this time :(

Don't be disappointed, instead I have a pufferfish saga ;)
Aren't they the cutest things?

So many crabs ...

Cowries of all colors and shapes ...

Rainbow nudis and flat worms ...

There was always this grumpy one not happy to see us ;)

In the seahorse and relatives family, we had some nice encouters ... Can you find the baby seahorse?

An awesome picture from a Zanzibar shrimp!

And the best one ... the pygmy squid!

Between the dives, some were visiting unexplored islands ...

Kayaking ...

Refreshing ...

Having nice walks on endless white sand beaches ...

Chasing the drone ...

Reading ...

Enjoying the view with Sharky ...

As you may have seen, the huge sofa is the master piece of the boat, great for chilling or looking at the incredible sunsets :)

Or simply enjoying a drink all together ...

And to finish, here are some great pictures of the moon !

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Second batch of reviews and still as good!

22/11/2018

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" What is there to say? Nothing except everything is great! "

Our first review in Burmese, hope it's a good one ;)

" Will come back to enjoy more of the delicious food, hospitality and more amazing dive sites - next time in Burma! "

" I expect nothing ... and at least I got everything. I had the feeling and the comfort of a five-star-cruise with individual support, incredible food, and funny staff. "

Still not fluent in German but the last one I understand it: " Thanks you for all! l come back for the Burma diving trip... "

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First reviews of the season and they already are very happy!

19/11/2018

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" Franck, Camille and the whole crew of Smiling Seahorse welcome you with open arms and make sure you fell comfortable from the moment you step on the boat. "

" Amazing! What a delight to be lucky enough to join the new, beautiful Smiling Seahorse boat on its maiden voyage. "

" It goes too fast, I will be pleased to see you again for a next cruise! "

Unfortunalety, I am not fluent in German anymore ... ;)

" Kidding aside, you've got a real gem here. The boat really feels like a labour of love, and the crew feels like a family, and that's special! "

" Super great voyage! We loved everything... We can't even think of anything we would change or add. "

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The first trip of the MV Smiling Seahorse in Myanmar was a huge success...

14/11/2018

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For our first official trip of the season, we have been very lucky!
Our amazing boat sailed as an expert in the Burmese seas, the journey went smooth, the conditions were good and the weather was just fine ;)

On board, we welcomed: Jean-Paul, Remy and Sylvie from France; Hans and Pia from Germany; Dena and Yak from USA; Anne Kathrine, Benjamin, Mathias and Kristian from Denmark.

As our professional photographer is still on holidays ;) , I won't have any underwater pictures ...
But luckily, I have some great ones from our boat! So misters and misses, I am pleased to present you the fantastic MV Smiling Seahorse!
Some outside shots:

From the inside, let's start with the Captain's cabin ...

And just to seduce you, here are some appealing snapshots of our Master Cabins, queen size bed, private bathroom and windows all around ...

The sundeck, the best place to chill during the day and look at the stars at night.

Book your hammock because they are already busy with the staff ;)

Talking about the staff ... Let me introduce you to the team!
Let's start with the one without whom there wouldn't be any bookings at all.
Camille is one of the owners of the Smiling Seahorse, in charge of the office, she is French and mother of two babies.

Franck is "the Boss" on the boat, second owner of the company. He is Camille's husband and father of the two smallies. He is also an amazing underwater photographer.

Then, the soul of the boat, the Thaï staff. Starting with the one without whom we wouldn't be able to go anywhere ... the Captain! He has been with us for the two last years, he is the man who never sleeps.

Then the one who has been with Franck and Camille forever ... the one customers come back for and several times ... Chewy the cook!

It is a hard job to please the taste buds of everybody, with eighteen customers on board and different diets ... he needed an helper, so Youb joined us two years ago.

The second hand of "the Boss", he can do everything with nothing, he is the engineer, the dinghy driver, to sum up the handyman! His name is May and he has been with us for four years already.

Because May is in charge of a lot of things, he needed a helper also. Last year, Toho came by. He is also a welder, useful on a steel boat ;)

He has been the mascot of the Smiling Seahorse for several years, he cannot stop smiling! In charge of preparing the cabins, keeping the boat clean, helping the people to exit the water, filling the tanks ... His name is Pouy!

Because Pouy has a lot of tasks, he also needed help. He is the last one joining the team, but he already has a strong experience in liveaboards. His name is Pam!

For the guides, let's introduce the only non-french one, he comes from Denmark and has been diving in the Mergui waters with us for a few years ... he is Tom!

The only woman on board, it is her third season with us ... Living and working in Thailand for four years, her name is Sofi!

And the newcomer in our team, coming from the other side of Thailand, he has a lot of experience with beginners, his name is Matthieu!

Another newcomer, our new Mascot ... Sharky! He is getting familiar with the boat and everybody loves him already ;)

All focused on our guests satisfaction! And we have been pretty good until now ;) Look at those faces!

Hoping to welcome you on board soon!

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The MV Smiling Seahorse is ready to cross the seas!

7/11/2018

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We had to try our new boat, so we decided to do a "test cruise" in the Surin islands and Richelieu Rock...
We were so happy to welcome our first customers on board: Marco, Rico, Jialan, Justin, Patrick, Marc and Meredith.

The boat was all shiny, with huge spaces ;)
A gigantic sofa to chill and look at the sunsets ...

A fantastic sundeck with hammocks, good for the afternoon naps ;)

A dive deck so large that you could loose your buddy ;)

Underwater, our famous photographer was not on duty, still we borrowed a few pictures from our customers;
The visibility was great and the schools of fishes everywhere ...
Jacks, emperors, barracudas ...

Smaller size but as impressive!

Cuttlefishes were mating, what an amazing show!

And some other nice encounters ...

We had our famous barbecue night with a bunch of happy people! Followed by a little party on our new dance floor ;)

Hope to see you soon ;)

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The Smiling Seahorse Diving Blog

A blog about our diving adventures in Burma and Thailand. Diving trip reports, guest reviews, fishy stories, wildlife fun facts and much more...

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Authors

The Smiling Seahorse has been running dive cruises from Ranong since 2012.
Our team of instructors are reporting with a short blogpost after every trip.
Camille, Franck and some guest writers also contribute during the off season writing on various topics.
Keep tuned for more fishy stories :)