Clarifying the Mess that is Koh Tao...
- Thread starter CanadianSushi
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CanadianSushi
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Hey everyone!
Just wanted to hop on here and give an update as to what happened since I posted my original questions.
We made it to Thailand and got our PADI OW cards! YAY! It was heaps of fun and it feels good to be a certified diver :14:...
After a lot of deliberation, we ended up going with Big Blue Diving...
I made this decision for a number of reasons. First of all, most of the information I needed in regards to the resort, I was able to find on their website. (This is actually why I shortlisted MOST of the dive resorts on the island -- due to incomplete, outdated or otherwise non-existant information on their websites)... The few details that I WASN'T able to find on Big Blue's website, I sent an e-mail to the resort's general manager Jim Donaldson. He was very friendly and answered all my questions very quickly and professionally.
The resort itself for the most part was fine, and our instructor (Alex) was awesome! I've got nothing but good things to say about the staff and the way the diving end of things is run -- very professional. I'd have no problems recommending people go there for their diving or dive training.
The only criticism that I have of Big Blue, and I suppose it's a fairly significant one, is the quality (or lack thereof) of their accomodations. My wife and I stayed in an air-conditioned suite with a queen-sized bed... Other than the fact that our room was a veritable mosquito swarm -- mainly due to the fact that there were about a dozen places where bugs could enter the room... what really bothered me was the state of disrepair and lack of cleanliness. My wife prompty stepped into a wad of gum next to the bed that was kindly left by the previous residents of the room. The bedding was also full of sand and blonde hairs (neither of us are blonde and we hadn't yet gone to the beach)...
When I mentioned this to Jim Donaldson, he had no problem moving us to another room. It was upstairs from the old one. There were significantly less mosquitoes, which was good -- but this time, I had the shower rod from the bathroom fall on my head, and the obligatory wad of gum wasn't on the floor, but kindly stuck to the wall so we wouldn't step on it. :shakehead There were some other problems as well, but I don't care to really get into the details of them at this time.
If/when we go back to Koh Tao, I'll have no problems diving with Big Blue again, but I think we'll be looking for something a little more comfortable in the way of accomodations -- even if it means paying more. I can't complain too much for the price I paid -- 500 Bhat a night... But you certainly get what you pay for...
Also, if anyone's curious, I have all our Thailand holiday photos up on Flickr, including the underwater shots I took.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88031687@N00/
Otherwise, thanks again to all who replied to my original queries -- you were all very helpful.
Just wanted to hop on here and give an update as to what happened since I posted my original questions.
We made it to Thailand and got our PADI OW cards! YAY! It was heaps of fun and it feels good to be a certified diver :14:...
After a lot of deliberation, we ended up going with Big Blue Diving...
I made this decision for a number of reasons. First of all, most of the information I needed in regards to the resort, I was able to find on their website. (This is actually why I shortlisted MOST of the dive resorts on the island -- due to incomplete, outdated or otherwise non-existant information on their websites)... The few details that I WASN'T able to find on Big Blue's website, I sent an e-mail to the resort's general manager Jim Donaldson. He was very friendly and answered all my questions very quickly and professionally.
The resort itself for the most part was fine, and our instructor (Alex) was awesome! I've got nothing but good things to say about the staff and the way the diving end of things is run -- very professional. I'd have no problems recommending people go there for their diving or dive training.
The only criticism that I have of Big Blue, and I suppose it's a fairly significant one, is the quality (or lack thereof) of their accomodations. My wife and I stayed in an air-conditioned suite with a queen-sized bed... Other than the fact that our room was a veritable mosquito swarm -- mainly due to the fact that there were about a dozen places where bugs could enter the room... what really bothered me was the state of disrepair and lack of cleanliness. My wife prompty stepped into a wad of gum next to the bed that was kindly left by the previous residents of the room. The bedding was also full of sand and blonde hairs (neither of us are blonde and we hadn't yet gone to the beach)...
When I mentioned this to Jim Donaldson, he had no problem moving us to another room. It was upstairs from the old one. There were significantly less mosquitoes, which was good -- but this time, I had the shower rod from the bathroom fall on my head, and the obligatory wad of gum wasn't on the floor, but kindly stuck to the wall so we wouldn't step on it. :shakehead There were some other problems as well, but I don't care to really get into the details of them at this time.
If/when we go back to Koh Tao, I'll have no problems diving with Big Blue again, but I think we'll be looking for something a little more comfortable in the way of accomodations -- even if it means paying more. I can't complain too much for the price I paid -- 500 Bhat a night... But you certainly get what you pay for...
Also, if anyone's curious, I have all our Thailand holiday photos up on Flickr, including the underwater shots I took.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88031687@N00/
Otherwise, thanks again to all who replied to my original queries -- you were all very helpful.
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