The post Feedback Xtreme Thailand Experience appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Simone Jongen, Netherlands
Had my last day with the xtreme gap group. Had a nice barbeque, watched the most beautiful sunset and did some dancing on the beach for the last time. Guys thanks for everything. These 4 weeks were the most incredible weeks ever.
It’s time to move on now. Bye bye lovely Koh Tao!
The post Feedback Xtreme Thailand Experience appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Learn Freediving appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>You probably never considered trying some freediving before. Whilst you may have been snorkelling, this does not compare to the freedom of being able to hold your breath underwater for minutes on end, and the subsequent interaction you can have the underwater environment without having to worry about breathing every 10 seconds. Okay so free diving is not for everyone, you have to absolutely love being in the water, but if you do enjoy putting on a face mask and checking out the fishies and coral when on holiday then enrolling in a free diving course can be a real eye opener.
We train people in various different locations to learn free diving, the most popular being in Thailand on a small island called Koh Tao, but there are plenty of other opportunities to go free diving elsewhere. One of the most spectacular locations is on a free diving live aboard in the Gilis, that’s in Indonesia by the way a stones throw from Bali.
One of our top instructors is Monica, who is from Argentina and is a next champion free diver, with many credits and competitions to her name. Monica recently went to Palau to practice her skills even further, and here are some of the pictures from the trip alone. As you can see, once you really get into it it will start to influence wages to go and certainly will change your outlook for the underwater world for ever.
Photo credits go to Mike Gerken and Monica Ganame for taking these amazing underwater shots.
The post Learn Freediving appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Intro Week On The Xtreme Thailand Experience appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Starting on the Sunday, you will be taken to Singburi to embark upon a comprehensive introduction to Thailand. During the intro week you will learn more about Thailand, get to know other members of the group, and the local surrounding area. Emphasis will be placed on learning about Thai culture, Thai language and even try your hand at some Thai cooking. You will also check out the famous Buddhist Temple: Wat Phranon Jaksi, the old capital of Ayutthaya (including a visit to the elephant village), Lopburi’s museum and pagoda, and even have a cruise along the river.
When you arrive at the eco house in Singburi you will be shown to your rooms. All rooms are dormitory style with the number of beds in a room ranging from three to twelve. There aren’t any single, or twin share rooms. Whilst staying at the eco-house, males and females are not allowed to stay in the same rooms.
There will be time to relax, take a shower and unpack. There will be an informal meeting after dinner to basically welcome you and to inform you of things like what time breakfast is served. The orientation meeting will be the following day.
There are two co-ordinators at each house. The co-ordinators are friendly local Thais. They are there to show you around, introduce you to Thailand, answer any of your questions and ensure you have a good time. They really make this programme a special and unique one.
During this week you and your group will have a Thai lesson. You will learn enough phrases to get by on.
An explanation of the work places, projects taking place and information on what has been achieved in the past (volunteers that have chosen extra weeks only)
You will be shown the village, markets, temples and monuments in the local area. You will have several opportunities to go to the local town called Singburi. Here you can check your e-mails, go shopping and get a Thai SIM card for your mobile. There is also a pool in Singburi where you can go to swim, relax and sunbathe.
Done in groups to help you make friends with fellow volunteers, project leaders and programme staff. This is a great way to learn the language and a fun way to experience the new culture.
You will have time to explore the local area. There are plenty of opportunities for free time. You can relax around the eco-house, read, go swimming, shopping etc. The project co-ordinators are happy to show you around and point out the beautiful and amazing highlights that Thailand has to offer. Your weekends are your free time so feel free to arrange extra excursions if you’d like.
This option is a great chance to know more about Thailand, bond with your fellow participants, and learn about the local surrounding area. You will learn about Thai culture, Thai language and have a
taste of what has made Thai cooking so famous around the world through some cooking classes. You will also visit the famous Buddhist Temple: Wat Phranon Jaksi, the old capital of Ayutthaya (including
a visit to the Elephant Village), Lopburi’s museum and pagoda. This program below is written to give you an idea of this week (it’s an example):
After breakfast we have a group meeting and take a short walk around the village before lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon we visit a local handicraft shop before being the special guests of a welcome party with local school students performing a Thai traditional dance for us.
An all day trip to the ancient city of Ayutthaya, many ancient ruins and art works can be seen in this city that was founded in 1350 by King U-Thong when the Thais were forced Southwards by northern neighbors. We will then visit the special “Elephant village” followed by dinner near the river side.
In the morning we start with a Thai lesson, after which will visit some of the beautiful and famous monuments and Buddhist temples near our centre: Wat Phranon Jaksi (A huge reclining Buddha image) and the Bang-Rachan hero monument. In the afternoon there will a trip to the local town, here you can do some shopping, swimming or check email. In the evening, we will dinner at a famous Thai
BBQ restaurant.
In the morning, we visit a local school and join in with the local students. During school holidays (from mid-March till mid-May and in October), when the school is closed, we may visit a palm tree
farm or other local life instead. After noon we pick up from yesterday with another Thai lesson and then have an interactive Thai cooking class: after a short Thai lesson introducing the different ingredients
you will learn how to cook these ingredients into a renound Thai dish, and have it for dinner!
A full day travel with several visits in the Lopburi province. Some of the highlights would be visit to the famous Somdet Phra Narai National Museum and the Wat Phraputhabaht Temple (Buddha’s footprint) and we will experience some local cuisine at a nearby restaurant.
Weekends are always free in most programs, but participants can delve deeper with advanced Thai Language lessons or hire local transport to visit the Swimming pool or shops in Singburi Town. (these are extra-curricular, please request on site!). Also feel free to ask friendly staff for help in getting to some of Thailand’s many nearby tourist attractions.
Want to see more about the Xtreme Thailand Experience?
The post Intro Week On The Xtreme Thailand Experience appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Dive with bull sharks before breakfast! appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>
The whole thing that kicked off the idea behind xtreme gap, were those awesome travel experiences, those little nuggets of pure exhilaration that can only be achieved doing things totally out of the ordinary, wetting your appetite for adventure tinged with a little bit of danger.
When we set up the company (we being Oliver Bray and Debby Neeskens) we had quite a few exciting travel experiences behind us already, but our favourite, even to this day was diving every day with bull sharks at chumporn pinnacle. It’s very difficult to describe the feeling of seeing these 2 m shark swim out of the blue past you. Before you’ve even got in the water there is an air of nervous excitement about whether you will see them or not and what kind of encounters you’ll have over the next 40 min.
The experience is mind blowing, to hang there in the deep blue, with your dive buddy behind you and a couple of huge sharks circling you, then curiously examining you, and you staring back at them fascinated by them as well.
Sounds a bit scary, but actually it’s not at all. It’s a massive buzz and highly addictive.
So good in fact, that we decided to help others experience these kind of exciting activities because we know they can be truly life changing.
Certainly was for us, and we know it is to offer customers who do the Thailand divemaster course, and the countless others who live and work in Koh Tao as dive masters and dive instructors.
We hope you take a similar leap of faith, try something new and exciting like diving with bull sharks before breakfast.
The post Dive with bull sharks before breakfast! appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Review Fitness Bootcamp, Richard appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Richard, Singapore
I have just spent 4 weeks at the fitness training camp in Thailand, that I arranged and booked through Xtreme Gap Year. The entire package of Training sessions, Food, Accommodation and airport were seamlessly arranged at short notice without any difficulties. Xtreme Gap is a company that is clearly run by professionals who know their customer’s requirements”
“Once I arrived at the Training camp I was met and shown around by very helpful staff and within an hour I was in my first supervised training session. The place has something for everyone, for males and females of all ages (I am a 41yr old guy), and for all fitness levels. In particular I found the early morning yoga a great way to start the day, followed by the morning body fit class held either onsite or offsite at the beach, Big Buddha Hill or the dreaded Coastal Stairs.
The food complements your training by providing healthy and nutritious meals and protein shakes that help you to keep going through the day.
All in all, it has been a fantastic 4 weeks and I’m leaving much leaner, looking younger (so I’ve been told), feeling fit and energized. It’s a great place to pack in a lot of fitness training, progress your Boxing skills and most of all to have lots of fun!”
Richard C Singapore
The post Review Fitness Bootcamp, Richard appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Review Fitness Bootcamp Thailand appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Bethan, 21. UK.
Bethan joined the Xtreme Gap Fitness boot camp in Thailand. She trained very hard, had lots of support from trainers and other participants and overcame an injury. Well done Bethan. We asked her for some feedback on the fitness training and accommodation:
I am really well thanks it’s been really good. Unfortunately I wasn’t very well last week so missed a few days training, but all better now and was able to start again Monday. The trainers are all great and my accommodation is AMAZING.
The post Review Fitness Bootcamp Thailand appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Feedback Anna, Thailand Fitness Bootcamp appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Anna 35, Finland
Hey Xtreme Gap,
I wanted to write you some time ago, but now finally, thank you for a great trip to Thailand Fitness Camp in June 2012. I had a really great time working out 3 weeks. A great place, met some really great people and I got to do the best workouts ever! I just loved the Buddha runs and Beach Thursdays and also really enjoyed the yogas and afternoon crossfits. I had a knee surgery in Marsh before the trip and after all training at the fitness camp Im in my best shape ever! And no knee problems anymore. So I’ll definitely recommend this to everyone that wants to get in shape and have some really good fun
Cheers,
Anna
A pic from a Buddha Run. I had to show the aussie guys some Finnish girlpower ;D lol!!!
The post Feedback Anna, Thailand Fitness Bootcamp appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Feedback Vicky, Divemaster Koh Tao appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Vicky 30, UK
Vicky did her 12 week Divemaster course on Koh Tao and clearly had a blast!!
Divemaster Done!! Thank you! Koh Tao, its been a blast from start to finish and Ive loved every minute. Great meeting new friends along the way. Now some more of Thailand and then on to Bali….
The post Feedback Vicky, Divemaster Koh Tao appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Feedback Muay Thai Koh Tao appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Ross Butler, UK
Ross did the Muay Thai in Thailand training and trained 12 weeks Muay Thai with Xtreme Gap on Koh Tao. In the last week Ross got in the ring. he trained very hard and his trainer said he was ready. Ross was up for it and kicked ass!! He won!
Ross: It was unreal the rush I got from it was massive. The whole atmosphere was unbelievable loved every minute of the experience. The 3 weeks leading up to the fight I trained twice a day having one day off a week.
The post Feedback Muay Thai Koh Tao appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The post Thailand Experience, DSD Option appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>If you are going to Asia, you might be curious about diving. Especially on Koh Tao as there is such great diving and it is one of the best places in the wold to learn to dive. So why not make a start and choose the Discover Scuba Dive option (DSD) on the Thailand Experience?
This course is ideal if you want to find out what it is like to breathe under water but aren’t quite ready to take the plunge into a Open Water certification programme. The Discover Scuba Diving (dsd) will let you try scuba to see if you like it.
While not an actual scuba certification, during the Discover Scuba Diving experience you’ll learn how to use scuba equipment in shallow water and get a quick and easy introduction to what it takes to explore the underwater world.
It is really cool to learn how to breathe underwater. It takes a little getting used to –after all, human beings weren’t designed to do that – but after a few minutes of awestruck wonder, most participants realize how easy scuba diving really is.
You will learn what wearing scuba equipment feels like and how easy it is to move around underwater while wearing it
Find out what it’s like to breathe underwater and learn whether you can be comfortable there
Learn some basic skills and safety rules that will carry over to your full scuba certification course when you take the next step.
Well depends, there are some advantages to doing your DSD, but it is entirely up to your own personal preference: The DSD Option is cheaper but is not a certification and only takes half a day. in comparison an open water course takes 2.5 days to complete and rewards you with a PADI diving certificate afterwards. We recommend you book the DSD option if you are generally not sure if you will like diving but want to try it out, and book the full open water course if you are definitely sure you want to go for it! It works out a little more expensive, but still it is great value considering getting your open water certificate in the UK can cost up to £700.
The post Thailand Experience, DSD Option appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>