Has anyone ever dived in Pattaya ??
Whats it like I have heard it is pretty bad diving but I have not dived there?
I dived with Aquanauts in 2005 while on leave from Iraq.
I was supposed to stay 10 days and stayed 27. Partly to the experience with Aquanauts and partly to the the night life in Pattaya
Can't remember his name but i think it was Gary who was running it. British guy with LOTS of dive experience.
LOVED IT.
There were people on the boat with wayyyyyy more experience then me yet I was made to feel right in. I didn't even realize at the time that some of those guys were doing internships. When I had a question it was answered. If the guy I was talking to didn't know the answer, he called out to Gary. When Gary came over he usually answered the question in such a way that lead me to ask more questions and learn more in depth about the subject.
The diving it self was a blast. While Not Florida diving (I live in Tampa so go to the keys a lot) it was definitely a lot of fun. Even when a sea urchin got me it was still a lot of fun.
Clear visibility and days that were not the best to dive in (Windy and Rainy) he usually found an island to anchor off of that still had some good diving.
The best time I had was with the little girl of the cook on his boat. Every day of diving including a meal prepared on the boat by the cook. OMG that food was good, of course having eaten a lot of military food in iraq so i may be biased.
From what I saw and was told while in Thailand, not a lot of Thai people dive for whatever reason. This little girl was the exception. I forget her age but she was like a fish with 2 legs. I have seen some dive boats that for one reason or another were basically party boats. Because this little girl was on the boat it was almost a family atmosphere which to me made it even better.
I am currently going through surgeries and physical therapy for an injury I got in Iraq. When it is all done you bet I will be going back for more diving.
This time I will split it between Phuket and Pattaya. I want to dive with a whale shark so sometime this year or next I am headed back. Hope Gary is still there. Guy had the best dive story of them all. Involved Elephants in Africa if I remember right.
I looked into Mermaids in Pattaya as well when I decided I wanted to go back to Thailand and even looked into the ones in Phuket. Phuket mostly had you arranging and paying for your own housing. Pretty much ruled out Phuket for the training for me as when I go i want to know the exact costs as much as possible.
Diving is what you make of it both in and above the water.