CODMAN
Contributor
Buddy, have a great time in PG! If ever you do meet up with Ethei Robrigado, for whatever reason, please say hi from me (Simon).
Cheers!
Cheers!
Hi Jackson
Never been to Kota Kinabalu but heard that diving is not that great, well not great compared to the other side of Sabah (Mabul, Sipadan- as mentioned earlier).
I'm leaving on Monday to go to Puerto Galera to do my DM (hmmm... some guys on here may have something to do with my choice of place) they completely convinced me!!!! It seems like PG have everything there- beach, night life, good food, some fantastic dive operations- loads of them, and fantastic diving! You will have a chance to meet a lot of good divers and make great contacts (good if you are considering to work afterwards or do the IDC- as me)
We haven't decided which DC we will go with. We will go there and talk to everyone during first few days. I think that's the best way to choose and see for yourself what you think. I have been in touch with few centers and you would not believe how helpful, friendly and welcoming some of them are!!!!! They will definitely go out of their way to help with everything (accommodation, transport, courses, diving), even if you just turn up, without booking ahead. That gives you peace of mind.
The only think I would say (that's also what some dive centers told me) that the time you are planning to go (JUNE) is a start of wet season in the Phils so there may be significantly less customers, which may affect how many divemasters they need. It maybe more difficult to "work" after you complete your course. However, on the positive note quite few operations told me that they are more than happy to let their divemaster students stay on with them and help out in exchange for diving. That's of course if you impress them enough
Good luck with you search!