Mermaids or Aquanauts?

[penguintom]

Agreed. We do not need more bickering. SB's system does a pretty good job of checking for duplicate users under different IDs based on IP addresses, but I gotta wonder if this is a ghost userID.

yes, it does seem a little strange having been viewing my posts for the last couple of weeks? And did not even join scubaboard untill yesterday.

 

[BKKDiver]

Agreed. We do not need more bickering. SB's system does a pretty good job of checking for duplicate users under different IDs based on IP addresses, but I gotta wonder if this is a ghost userID.

I can assure you that this is not a 'ghost user ID'. I was unaware that I was not supposed to just read the posts on SB but immediately join and start spouting my opinions.
I also have no affiliation whatsoever with any DC in Pattaya. However being based in Bangkok I dive there regularly because of the convenience of location. While I am the first to admit that the diving isn't the best on offer in Thailand I do also enjoy some of the more testing conditions, i.e. a 30m wreck dive with a challenging current and low visibility. Of course this is not for everyone but why knock it? Also in the past threads Penguintom has commented on the poor quality of marine life... Again I would dispute this. Maybe Turtles, Sea Horses, Barracuda etc. are just not his thing.
I dive regularly with two of the DC's that have been slated over the past few weeks and can only tell you that in my experience the staff have been both professional and courteous to the extreme.
I didn't mean to attack anyone in my 'first post' but merely wanted to offer an alternative and what I consider to be a balanced opinion. If I have offended anyone I apologise and will go back to reading rather than posting.
For what it's worth, with the right attitude I'm sure that both Mermaids and Aquanauts offer a positive diving experience as do othe Pattaya DC's.

 

[lord khram]

How do you like that? Can anyone top that one?

LK no need to respond as we have already heard yours.

Not all of them believe me.

I have to say before I go further this one was not in Thailand.
A number of years ago I and my buddy booked on a dive trip and after the boat had left, it would appear one member of staff had a problem and was unfit to dive. As we were experienced we were asked if we minded diving alone rather than diving with a large group of less experienced divers, to which we agreed. We were given a good briefing about the wreck and away we went.
We were the first in the water and the last out having conducted the dive within safe limits I was most surprised to have a very concerned staff member meet us at the platform wanting to inspect our computers, he was quite alarmed that the time we were in the water we must have exceeded the NDL.
Our computers had actually gone into deco mode and I explained that within our training it is acceptable, when he then produced a large Padi dive table and said we could not dive again that day and indeed for (I think) the next 24 hours. Despite trying to allay his fears that what we had done was perfectly safe he was insisting that we went on oxygen immediately. My buddy even showed him the dive planner on his computer that clearly showed we were ok. Only to be told 'I dont believe that thing'.
Of course we went on the second dive, again alone. This time we were greeted at the surface by a rescue boat, waiting to take us to a medical facility. After a short discussion the rescue boat departed without us, leaving us and a very red faced instructor with the dive boat.
Just out of interest when I got home I actually checked the dive against the BSAC tables and according to those we didn't even go into deco.

 

[lord khram]

Penguintom, you just can't resist having a pop can you? I've been following your comments for the past couple of weeks and until now have held my peace. I have dived with some of the Pattaya Dive Centers that you have been rubbishing recently and have enjoyed a much more positive experience. Could it be that your lack of experience is the real reason why you have had such a hard time? Maybe the 6 meter vis is just too tricky for you! IMHO it would be better for all concerned if you simply buddied up with LK and did your diving elsewhere. Regarding the 'drunk dive pro' I would think that spending a day on the boat with you would be enough to make any sane person hit the bottle!!!

Everyone has their own requirements from diving. And expectations from the selected DC.
I have dived Pattaya numerous times simply because it is only about 10km from where I live.
Personally I find the diving neither stimulating or challenging. When I go It is simply for a day out with friends.

 

[penguintom]

Penguintom, you just can't resist having a pop can you? I've been following your comments for the past couple of weeks and until now have held my peace. I have dived with some of the Pattaya Dive Centers that you have been rubbishing recently and have enjoyed a much more positive experience. Could it be that your lack of experience is the real reason why you have had such a hard time? Maybe the 6 meter vis is just too tricky for you! IMHO it would be better for all concerned if you simply buddied up with LK and did your diving elsewhere. Regarding the 'drunk dive pro' I would think that spending a day on the boat with you would be enough to make any sane person hit the bottle!!!

You have not followed my posts too well I think.
You may well have had positive experiences, but mine have been anything but, then again we all have differing expectations.
I cant understand why you only had 6m viz, most of the shops I visited told me i could expect 20m +.

 

[h90]

You have not followed my posts too well I think.
You may well have had positive experiences, but mine have been anything but, then again we all have differing expectations.
I cant understand why you only had 6m viz, most of the shops I visited told me i could expect 20m +.

Well I somehow like the Kram wrack. I can't find anything challenging there, but when you dive after some 45 degree diver the visibility can be almost zero that give a kind of submarine-movie feeling. But to enjoy it, you need to be a bit of a masochist....
I loved to dive it with the fat Thai guy from Paradiese Diving. the ongoing joke was I can go in every hole in the wrack he can go (because of his big belly).

 

[barracudaboy]

I did my internship at Mermaids, Pattaya. If you want an honest overview, feel free to message me privately.

 

[Scubadoo360]

Older post but im new and thought id just chip in... I know people who have trained to pro levels at Aquanauts. Mermaids and Pattaya Dive Centre all are good instructors/dive masters.. Pattaya generally speaking DOES offer great training grounds and as a city offers everything you need from both traditional Thai elements to mainstream westerns amenities so as a long term option DOES have more to offer in ways of off dive time.. I love Island life as everyone should but more islands and slightly smaller more remote areas over long periods of time may not be everyones cup of tea.. i agree with surinboy...consider what is important to you.