Hello from India

[Old Man Dancing]

Thanks @drrich2

Good advice, sir. I do expect to be back here. In fact, after two or three months in the USA, I'll likely come back. But next time, I will have much more freedom of movement, etc.

 

[drrich2]

I wonder what the distribution of where Scubaboard members live is? I believe that the Asian presence is not huge yet. those of us from this side of the world are mostly dive pro's. Would love to see a chart. I wonder what the years ahead has in store for India but I'm sure that at some point it will become a destination.

I don't know figures, whether they exist or whether the management wishes to publish them (@The Chairman ). My subjective impression is a strong U.S.A. presence, quite a number of Canadians, some Caribbean region and British then other European folks rounding it out, and some others in the mix here and there. A subset of these people are interested in 'new' exotic destinations. When I think of distant exotic dive destinations (relative to the U.S.A.), from the forum (haven't been out so far!) I think of Indonesia (e.g.: Raja Ampat and Komodo), Red Sea, Maldives, Palau and Fiji, maybe Australia (e.g.: Great Barrier Reef), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and South Africa. Just based on what I see dominate in forum threads.

Perhaps some of your avid regional divers could post a few dive reports on Scuba Board, with photos and videos from dives discussing distinctive species, and help people get a handle on where to stay (e.g.: dive resort, hotel, etc...), what the dive scene looks like (e.g.: land-based vs. live-aboard), what cultural hurdles there might be (e.g.: a lot of people over here only speak English), etc...

It would be good to see what India offers.

Richard.

 

[The Chairman]

%50 of our users are North American... the other half is well distributed. Not much from India, but I hope @eternaljonah changes all that.

 

[Compressor]

I've always wanted to visit India. Now if the diving opens up more, I will definitely go. A blast for sure.

 

[drrich2]

I'd like to see trip reports show-casing some of the local wildlife. There are parts of the world known for species people hope to see when there; Napoleon wrasse, titan tigger fish (from a comfortable distance, not gouging a chunk of flesh out), ocean white-tips (ditto), blue-ringed octopus, the soft corals of Fiji, etc...

When foreign dive tourists dive Israel, what do they see? Is it mostly about lush reef or animal life? Macro, mid-size, big pelagic? Is there a lot of wreck diving?

Just as Egypt has some appeal for reputable diving in the Red Sea plus historic topside attractions (e.g.: Nile River, pyramids), it seems like Israel's treasure trove of topside religiously-linked heritage would be meaningful to some dives. Spend a week diving, then go see Jerusalem, for example. Are the better diving regions far from the main cultural attractions?

Richard.