EXPERIENCED BY ALEX SCARIA

Where the mango still tastes like mango!

Why you should always choose an internship far away from home...

It all started with a delayed flight at Vienna Airport...

...but thirteen hours, a delicious meal with a “glass” of wine and a couple of movies later all the anger was blown away. I arrived at Phuket and one of the workers - Sakon - hooked me up.

After 1 ½ hours we arrived at the Board Factory. It was nice to meet all the employees and to get a tour around the factory.

Nok took me to my apartment and to be honest I ve expected something totally different!! My new home was so beautiful and clean (cleaner than most of our flats!) - so my biggest worry disappeared in thin air!
I had 2 hours to come down, unpack all my staff before the guys from the factory picked me up to go surfing - Yes, I had the same thoughts - what an incredible company!!! I felt comfortable from the first moment. So they picked me up and the way to our beach… breathtaking!!

On my first days I had enough time to get some sleep, arrange my things, get to know my neighborhood - therefore I was so happy that I got my scooter after a few days. Being independent - Yesssss

Nok showed me the beautiful waterfalls nearby - so many things and places to explore!

Monday mornings like this...  

Back at the factory you get in touch with a couple of processes not only the ones of making the best surfboards (It goes without saying that you have to take this secret into the grave) but also processes concerning logistic, purchasing or general organization. Doesn`t matter which project you are going to be responsible for, you definitely will get in touch with a couple of other interesting things.

During the week after we've finished work we try to catch the last waves before it`s getting dark. The atmosphere at the beach by sunset is stunning!

On weekends you can either spend your time on hanging around, getting a sunbath oooor get a scooter and explore the beautiful nature Thailand offers.

This weekend my plans were to visit some of the temples around the region Phang Nga. Before I had to move from my first beautiful apartment to another even more beautiful one...  

I started to get to my first destination, but as you know it`s September and that means that we are having rain season… I already had passed more than half of my way when suddenly it started to rain. The first few minutes I tried to continue - put on my raincoat which I brought from home (turned out that it wasn`t waterproof ^^- so buy one in Thailand)  but after getting totally wet I decided to turn round because the sky was getting even darker…

Back in Khao Lak I enjoyed the rest of the day at the markets and the beach where I tried to catch some waves.

Sunday morning I thought - ok today I will tick all of the undertaken temples.

I took all my stuff: a water bottle, suncream (don't forget to put on suncream during the ride with the scooter, otherwise you will be surprised about your crab-look in the afternoon), cash for entry fee app. 20bht/temple, and clothes that cover shoulders and legs. Don`t start your trip too late, because it will takes you a couple of hours to get through! The earlier the fewer people will be there.

I reached the first temple - Wat Khiriwong the atmosphere was special, because I was the only person there. Don`t be afraid of the dogs, or monkeys there, just enjoy the calm atmosphere. 

The second one - Wat Bang Riang was amazing! There are two big statues - breathtaking when you first see them in the distance.

Then I drove to the next one: The Dragon Temple 

This one was REALLY creepy, because first you go through the dragon and reach the garden of creepy statues - then you have to go up to the top of the temple and enjoy the beautiful view :)

After such an exciting day with lots of great impressions I enjoyed my dinner at the beach :) I really recommend this tour - of course you can get a guided tour, but I really love exploring things on my own. You will find places you would have never reached with a guided tour!

During the week we had a lot of rain so we tried to catch some good waves in the morning and had a cuddle with the beach-dogs.

Weekends are there for exploring….I took the bus at 7 am and 2 ½ hrs later I arrived in Phuket old town - unfortunately the weather wasn`t good so I decided to stay in the Sino-portuguese district.

I really loved it there, lots of little coffeeshops, pottery stuff….

I drove to one out of many viewpoints of Phuket - Rang Hill

You have an amazing view across to the other side of the island! I really enjoyed my dishes there.

After a period of twisting and turning I decided to take the last bus and drive back to Khao Lak due to the weather forecast.

During the last weeks everything had to be prepared to make the move from the factory in the North to the one in the South as smooth as possible. Everyone of the employees was really engaged and it´s incredible that almost everyone from the North was willing to open a new chapter here. It`s really cool to be part of it!

It`s alway good to hear: come on - get the camera there are new babies which have to be photographed. Especially the customized boards are eyecatcher!

On the weekend there was a surf-contest at our beloved  Memories Beach - a lot of participants joined this event, especially local people - these kids rock! Due to small waves there were longer breaks, fortunately the riders as well as the audience got the chance to beating their boredom on our most beautiful babys which we offered for testing.  Very cool seeing our boards in action!

That`s how a perfect Sunday should look like! We started early in the morning to reach the spot where we jumped right into the water with our SUNOVA SUPs :) It took us around 4 hours and 12 km to reach the Memories Beach - as the last of us reached the Bar Martin has already ordered thirst-quenching coconuts - THX for that and for the awesome food!

After 4 months in paradise I`m back in Austria to finish my studies. I have learned many things and got in touch with a different culture, which was great! Thank you, Martin for offering such an opportunity and the hospitality! 

And thank you guys! We had such a great time!

I really miss you!