Symbiosis is pleased to offer a 10% discount on two river cruises early next year between Siem Reap, Cambodia, and Saigon in southern Vietnam, aboard the luxury Toum Tiou II.

Each cruise includes a visit to the World Heritage listed temples of Angkor Wat and Cambodia’s charming capital, Phnom Penh, as well as a voyage across South East Asia’s largest freshwater lake, the Tonle Sap.

Dates:
09 to 16 February, 2014
02 to 09 March, 2014

Contact Symbiosis Custom Travel to book.

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Enjoy 25% discount from the listed price (as shown per below) on a selection of trip dates for cruises in the Philippines aboard the lovely sailing ships, the S/Y Philippine Siren and S/Y P. Siren, and help with typhoon relief at the same time!

On each trip divers can expect to see a wealth of macro critters such as sea horses and frog fish. Each trip visiting Coron will have a selection of wrecks to dive along with Apo Reef. Meanwhile the Southern Visayas has a whale shark guarantee!

Available Trip Dates:-
04-14 Dec 2013 Coron to Batangas, 10 Nights – EUR 2,900
16-26 Dec 2013 Batangas to Coron, 10 Nights – EUR 2,900
22-29 Dec 2013 Southern Visayas, 7 Nights – EUR 2,100
07-17 Jan 2014 Batangas to Coron, 10 Nights – EUR 2,990
18-28 Jan 2014 Coron to Batangas, 10 Nights – EUR 2,990
21-31 Jan 2014 Southern Visayas, 10 Nights – EUR 2,990

As an extra incentive and to encourage tourists to come to the Philippines, Siren Fleet will also donate 50% of the cruise price on any new booking on the above listed trips to typhoon relief.

Both yachts are fully operational and the dive sites in these areas have not been adversely affected by the typhoon Haiyan.

Book now with Symbiosis Custom Travel.

Due to a late cancellation we also have 1 x double bed cabin available aboard the Philippine Siren 27 Dec-06 Jan Coron to Batangas – EUR 2,900 – please contact Symbiosis Custom Travel for discount information.

Book now with Symbiosis Custom Travel.

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Looking for a late dive trip? Where better than in the Land of Smiles and diving in the Similan & Surin islands of Thailand?

Destination; Similans, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock
Duration & Dives; 5D/4N & 14 dives

Trip Dates: 4-8 Dec & 14-18 Dec

Cabins:
• VIP En-suite double, now ONLY THB34,400 per person (Approx. USD1,085, originally B43,000)
• Standard twin share, now ONLY THB24,000 per person (Approx. USD756, originally B30,000)

How to get meet White Manta:
Fly to Phuket on Trip Departure day by 6.30pm, or if before, pickup from hotel in Phuket/ Khao Lak
Depart/ Return: Thap Lamu Pier, Phang Nga

Included; 4 nights’ accommodation onboard, 14 dives, all meals on board, hot beverages, guides, air tanks, weights, transfers* to & from Boat

Not Included: National Marine Park fees (1,600 B.), equipment rental, soft drinks, alcohol, Nespresso coffee, massages, Nitrox, *transfers from/to outside Phuket & Khao Lak centre

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Kick start the festive season with some superb late booking specials from the Siren Fleet Liveaboards!

S/Y Maldives Siren
All 10-night Maldives departures from now until the end of January 2014, 25% discount from the listed price of 3100 Euro per person.

Available Trip Dates:-
12Dec – 22Dec 2013 Maldives Central
03Jan – 13Jan 2014 Maldives Central
14Jan – 24Jan 2014 Maldives Central & Southern

Each cruise offers wreck dives, channel and pinnacle dives, night dives and great snorkelling opportunities. Divers can expect to see whale sharks, mobula rays, schools of grey reef sharks, nurse sharks, black tip reef sharks, turtles, Napoleon wrasse and schools of snapper.

Contact Symbiosis Custom Travel today to book

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Due to cancellation, we have a fantastic last minute discount of 50% OFF this week-long Mekong River cruise from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) to Siem Reap, home to the world famous Angkor Wat, aboard the lovely Toum Tiou II.

Dates: 07 to 14 December 2013 (8 days, 7 nights)
Price: USD 1,850 per person sharing (normally $3,700)
Cabins: Upper & Main Decks

Contact Symbiosis today to book – at this price, cabins will fill very very quickly!

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Great news for sporty travellers – especially scuba divers and anyone joining one of our mountain bike rides; passengers on all SilkAir and Singapore Airlines flights will enjoy more free checked-in baggage allowance from today, 15 November 2013.

Checked-in baggage allowances will increase by 10kg for Business and Economy class travel. Passengers will be entitled to free baggage allowances of 40kg in Business Class and 30kg in Economy class, respectively.

Between Singapore & Silk you can get to most parts of South East Asia, including Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia & Philippines.

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The next edition of the Hua Hin Jazz Festival will take place between 20-22 June 2014, though the exact dates have yet to be officially confirmed by the organiser.

In the Kingdom of Thailand’s Jazz scene, the Hua Hin Jazz Festival is one of the most recognised and established jazz festivals, attracting more than 15,000 locals and travellers to the beachside town of Hua Hin, which is just 2-3 hours drive from Bangkok.

The Jazz Festival was first started by a collection of forward thinking hotels in Hua Hin. They took the lead to organise the Jazz Festival on the beach with the aim of attracting more travellers.

You can follow developments of the 2014 Jazz Festival and how the event plans to grow at http://www.thehuahinjazzfestival.com. Why not include it in your next trip to Thailand? Contact us at Symbiosis Custom Travel to discuss.

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Typhoon Nari is forecast to strike Vietnam at approximately 18:00 GMT today –  14 October. This information is supplied by the US Navy and the Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Center suggests that the point of landfall will be near 16.1 N, 108.6 E. Nari is expected to bring maximum sustained winds to the region of around 166 km/h (103 mph). Wind gusts in the area may be considerably higher.

According to the Saffir-Simpson damage scale the potential property damage and flooding from a storm of Nari’s strength (category 2) at landfall includes:
• Storm surge generally 1.8-2.4 metres (6-8 feet) above normal. Some roofing material, doors, and window damage to buildings;
• Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees potentially blown down;
• Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers;
• Coastal and low-lying escape routes will potentially flood 2-4 hours before the arrival of the storm center.
• Small craft in unprotected anchorages could break moorings. There is also the potential for flooding further inland due to the heavy rain.

Hoi An government has just requested all beachside resorts including Palm Garden Resort, Hoi An Beach Resort, Victoria Hoi An Resort, Sunrise Resort, Boutique Hoi An Resort and other nearby resorts to move guests to Danang city hotels & resort for the guests’ safety. Other resorts located around Da Nang beach are not moving guests to other places but suggest guests not to leave their rooms this evening and instead take room service.

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A ground-warbler from the Philippines is the twenty-third species of bird described in 2013.

The species, dubbed Robsonius Thompsoni, is described in the August issue of the journal The Condor. It was discovered after researchers from the University of Kansas, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and the Philippine National Museum distinguished it from two closely-related ground-warblers. The first clue was the bird’s coloration, according to University of Kansas biologist Pete Hosner.

“When we noted the different plumage coloration between adult birds in the Cordillera and the Sierra Madre in northern Luzon, we sequenced DNA to determine if the plumage differences were individual variation within a species, or if the two plumage forms were also genetically diagnosable,” Hosner said. “We found that Cordillera and Sierra Madre birds were highly divergent in their DNA, almost as different as the distinctive Bicol Ground-Warbler in southern Luzon.”

The new species is named after Max Thompson, a retired professor from Southwestern College and a research associate in the Biodiversity Institute at the University of Kansas (KU).

The Sierra Madre Ground-Warbler is the twenty-third species of bird described for the first time in 2013. There are around 10,000 bird species known to science.

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Raja4Divers Last minute offer – only 1 week left. 10% discount on pre-booked accommodation/diving packages for stays from NOW up to 28th September 2013.
 
Also,there is still 1 bungalow available from 26th Oct to 01st Nov.

Contact Symbiosis now to reserve you spot.

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Pilot Whales have returned to Northern Sulawesi again this year. September is often considered to be “Cetacean Season” on the northern tip of the Indonesian island and add an extra dimension for visitors coming to dive the world class dive spots of Bunaken Marine Park, the Bangka Islands and, or course, the renowned critter haven of the Lembeh Strait.

Other news: the Bangai Cardinal fish that used to be found only in the Lembeh straits are now being seen in the waters around Bunaken.

For more on diving in Sulawesi click here.

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A Thai Airways Airbus A330-300, performing flight TG679 from Guangzhou (China) to Bangkok (Thailand) with 287 passengers and 14 crew, landed on Bangkok’s runway at about 23:30 hrs but veered right off the runway and came to a stop with all gear on soft ground. The aircraft was evacuated via slides. 12 people received minor injuries during the evacuation. The aircraft received damage to both engines and the nose gear, the nose gear is bent but did not collapse.

The airline reported (in their original Thai wording) that upon touchdown the nose gear caused a disruption which resulted in the aircraft to veer off the runway, their English translation reports a failure of the nose gear as cause of the aircraft veering off the runway. The captain took control of the aircraft and brought it to a stop. The airline confirmed 8 people received minor injuries as a result of the evacuation and were taken to hospitals.

The airport authority reported that runway 01R/19L will not be available during entire Monday, September 9th. Emergency services attended to a right hand engine fire following the runway excursion. None of the gear struts has collapsed (contradicting media reports in Thailand reporting the nose gear had collapsed).

A passenger reported that the aircraft touched down normally with its main gear, but when the nose gear touched down the aircraft veered violently to the right, the aircraft appeared to roll left first then right. When the aircraft came to a stop there was fire visible from the right hand side, an evacuation through the left hand doors was immediately initiated.

Due to the disruption on the runways there could be flight delays over the next 24 hours until normal services resume.

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Stay another night for FREE when booking a 2 nights package at Lanjia Lodge in Northern Thailand (Based on 2 persons traveling together)

OR

Stay another night for 1,000 Baht only when booking 1 night package at Lanjia Lodge (Based on 2 persons traveling together)

Notes: The extra night promotion includes the room only and is applicable for is its up until September 30, 2013, only.

Contact Symbiosis to plan your visit to the wonderful hills, wildlife and tribes of Northern Thailand.

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Silk Air, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, has launched its first flight to Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi.

Flights are to be 3 times per week – Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, departing Chiangi airport at just after 8am, arriving Makassar at 1115. The return flight departs at 1245 and arrives Singapore at 1540. Since most flights from Europe arrive earlier than that, a direct connection should be possible.

This will be a great option for anyone travelling to South East Asia on Singapore Airlines wanting to explore Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi, and also for divers going to Raja Ampat in West Papua. Up until now guests have had to overnight near to Jakarta airport and then take a very early morning flight to Sorong. This new route will allow guests to either overnight in Makassar instead where there is a great waterfront hotel and even some local diving, or even perhaps to connect straight through to Sorong.

Travel from Europe to Raja Ampat has just gotten much better – hurray!!

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Want to learn the secrets behind Cambodian cuisine? A cooking school in Siem Reap offers specialist tuition into creating the best Khmer dishes.

The twice daily, half-day cooking classes are conducted by a Cambodian chef at Champey restaurant. Students are first taken to a traditional market to purchase fresh ingredients, and the class is conducted in a traditional style Khmer house in the centre of the city.

It is possible to cook meat, seafood, or vegetarian dishes of the participant’s choice, with fish amok one of the most popular dishes. This is a fish mousse with fresh coconut milk and kroeung, a type of Khmer curry paste made from lemongrass, turmeric root, garlic, shallots, galangal and Chinese ginger. Besides getting to taste their culinary creations, participants also receive a complementary booklet, recipes, a certificate and some spices for home cooking.

Cookery courses at Champey Restaurant can be included in any Symbiosis Custom Travel holiday to Cambodia… so long as you include a visit to Siem Reap!

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