Congratulations Geddis & Gai

Photo taken by Adam Butler  adam@bigsplashpictures.com

Well Tuesday was the wedding of the century on Koh Lanta, my business partner Gediminas (Geddi) was marrying his beautiful fiance Sukanya (Gai) in a traditional Thai buddhist Thai ceremony in Saladan in the morning and a more Western party in the evening.

As a Western woman, the idea of being ready for your wedding at 9am in the morning is terrifying, but Gai was busy getting her hair and make up done at 6am in the morning, so the Blue Planet Staff decided to give her a warm congratulations as they headed off for a days diving.

Taken by Adam Butler Adam@bigsplashpictures.com

Geddis was presented to his bride behind a procession of Thai dancing girls and Thai drummers dancing through the streets of Saladan. As expected, Gai looked beautiful.

In the afternoon, Gai was carried to the reception at Koala Bar, by 4 burly Blue Planet Staff and presented to Geddis, where they exchanged rings and went through a traditional Lithuanian ceremony with their families.

Many, many congratulations to Geddis and Gai and we hope they have a very happy and very long marriage.

Many thanks to Koala Bar (Todd in particular) for his hard work, Wow for making the bride even more beautiful that she was, Adam, for some incredible photos, Lee for a great video and the whole Blue Planet Team for helping to make their day really special.

Mellisa x

Man vs Women

Tonight sees 2 big parties happening on Koh Lanta, but you can only go to one. The men are all staggering to Ling Uan for Gediminas' Stag Party.

The women are planning a lovely evening at Cheeky Monkey to enjoy one of Gai's last nights of freedom!

Make sure you go to the right party, else you  could be in danger and help us see off Geddis and Gai in style.

We may all meet up later at Corner Bar....... should someone maybe warn this bar?

Awesome party Cheeky Monkey!

Hallloween is one of those nights, that you can guarantee an awesome party night, and this year was no different. Cheeky Monkey had a great disco and plenty of free BBQ for all the strange people of Lanta.

Thank you PADI for setting the record straight. The South is fine!

PADI Dive Centres in Thailand are open for business.

Over the past several weeks, seasonal rains that are heavier than usual have resulted in widespread flooding in Thailand.  While the flooding is having some impact, most key tourist destinations and attractions throughout Thailand have not been affected by the floods and almost all remain open.  

The floods are mainly affecting the provinces in central Thailand and a few provinces in the north and northeast.  Provinces in the south of Thailand have not been affected by the floods. 

Major tourist destinations such as central Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Sukhothai, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Pattaya, Ko Chang, Rayong, Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, Krabi, Trang, and Ko Samui, Ko Tao, and all provinces in southern Thailand, are not affected by the floods. They remain fully accessible and are experiencing normal weather conditions for this time of year.

All airports in Thailand, including Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, have not been affected by the floods and are operating as per usual. Suvarnabhumi Airport has considerable flood protection measures in place and officials are monitoring the situation closely.

Tourist destinations in southern and eastern Thailand remain fully accessible by road and train.

Tourists planning to travel to the provinces affected by the floods are advised to check the latest weather forecasts for their destination and confirm arrangements with the transportation providers with which they will be travelling.  Tourists can visit the Thailand Meteorological Department web site at http://www.tmd.go.th/en  for updated weather forecasts.