First trip diving alone - looking for advice

[KristenK]

Hello everyone! I am going to Singapore later this month for work. Based on recommendations from awesome people here on SB, when I'm done I'm flying to Bali and then over to Padangbai for some diving. I signed up with Geko and will dive 3 days. I'll also go for my AOW with them.

I read several threads here about women diving alone, bad experiences with InstaBuddies, etc. and they got me thinking. I'm still a new diver so my experiences are rather limited.

I am an experienced traveler, have explored several countries alone including India, UAE, and throughout Europe. But I've never gone diving by myself.

So I'd really appreciate any advice you can give me to be safe, have fun, and make the most of this trip. My dive buddies have always been my hubby or son/daughter so I'm thinking about the best way to have that dive plan conversation with a stranger. What if I'm not comfortable/confident with them? What if they're not comfortable/confident with me? Also wondering what to expect. Will my 5 AOW dives require a buddy or just my instructor? I'm also presuming there are things I'm not thinking about that I should be thinking about.

Thanks much!

 

[fisherdvm]

Third world diving is scary for me, although I love diving exotic areas. Check your gears well and should take less than 5 min after set up. Inflate your bc to full with your mouth. Then add a few puff with the power inflator. Then squeeze and listen for leaks. After checking pressure in tank, shut the valve off. Suck your primary dry, should be about 5 breaths, then you should get a slight vacumn. Same with octo. Perhaps 3 breaths left. No vacumn? Ask for another reg! As the flapper exhaust valves are not sealing well. Bring a sausage, even if you never have deployed one. You can use it on the surface. Bring a surface signaling device - a whistle or a power one installed on your inflator. If you are on a boat, look for a buddy with alot of dives - perhaps 100 or more, who does NOT have a camera. If not, pay for a DM. Be careful of the culture. Avoid local men if you could. They often blame the women when bad things happen. Dive with a woman DM or guide if possible. If diving at night, insists on having two or more lights. I have seen mexican dm issuing only 1 light for night dives in rough sea. Groping of woman in dives and snorkel tours occurs frequently if you read tripadvisor. Liability issue is usually on the side of the dive opt. Don’t trust the dive opt, check the weather yourself and do not dive unless wind is favorable ie less than 15 knots or leeward to shore. Don’t trust the you are ok sign when the spg says 500... their standards can be different than yours. And if all is ok? Never hurts to be extra cautious. Singapore is multi culture, but can still be very anti woman.

 

[flyboy08]

I lived in India for a spell....if you can navigate that country alone as a female, you got everything else beat!

If your doing your AOW, then you’ll be with the DM the whole three days...you can always hire a DM for any other dives you do as well...I imagine it’ll be pretty cheap to do so?

 

[RyanT]

What if I'm not comfortable/confident with them?

Always remember, you can call a dive at any time for any reason. If someone gives you static about doing so, it's their problem, not yours. It's important to understand that accidents in diving often result not from a single catastrophic failure, but instead as an accumulation of small problems that develop into a large one. Having some "head trash" at the start of the dive is a good starting point for the accumulation of those small problems.

Now with that said, the reality can be a little more nuanced. Are you uncomfortable with the insta-buddy because you didn't instantly "click like old friends" or are they really acting unsafe? Sitting on the dive boat prior to your first dive with the instabuddy, it might actually not be that easy to distinguish these two ends of the spectrum.

With that said, just pay careful attention to the dive operation and your instabuddy and if red flags start popping up, thumb the dive. The ocean will always be there tomorrow.

 

[TMHeimer]

There are many threads asking these very questions and I'd post links if I knew how to do that....
I have no experience outside of Canada/US except Panama once.
Rather than go over all the pros/cons and what to do with an instabuddy (which I'm sure others will cover), I'll just say to make sure you are capable of doing the dive solo if you had to and probably the most important thing to discuss other than dive plan is how to remove each other's weights.
A side thought is my idea that everyone should take the rescue course as soon as practical with your dive skills.
I've always been alone on boats and have had no serious concerns about an instabuddy yet. Maybe just lucky.

 

[Rred]

"I signed up with Geko"
Did you book a private instructor? Or into a class?
If you're not sure, ask them. I'd expect you'll be in a group, and how attentive the instructive is, can vary with the group size and the instructor.

 

[Compressor]

Do you have your own gear?
You got nice advice above.
Just take it easy and enjoy your dive. Try to dive with someone more experienced than you. Let them know your limitations. If you get attitude then ask for a diff buddy.
Enjoy your trip.

 

[TMHeimer]

Absolutely--ideally buddy up with someone who may even have rescue certification, or pay for a private DM. But sometimes there is not the option of a different buddy, as others are already paired up.

 

[KristenK]

Thanks everyone. I like the idea of getting my own DM. I'll email Geko and see how much that will cost. I bet it will be quite affordable.

 

[charlier]

I doubt that you will any problem. My wife, single female friends, single undergraduate and graduate female students have yet to experience gender-related travel issues in Bali, Laos, Cambodia, or Indonesia. My 20 yet old daughter traveled in Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia without any problems. Plus three weeks diving in Bali, including an enriched-air and AOW class. FYI, Geko offers small classes and I doubt that you will require a private guide. Talk to James or Cedric about your concerns.