Samui

[Red Rover]

You will love the Similian Islands! I am so jealous! I wish I was diving there with you! But alas, work, work, work always gets in the way of my fun! ;-0

Have a great trip! And watch out for the Queen Triggers hanging around Breakfast Bay!

Red Rover

 

[Asiandivergal]

....with only 60+70 dives???!!! they must be DM in training. not working professionals rite??? erm...i mean in the diving industry lah

isnt it a standard practice where you have to show your card b4 diving????!! i havent met a dive operator who doesnt check that before letting us dive (unless we're tagging along with a dive instructor/LDS who have already done the checks).

 

[monster]

Hey, ADG, long time no hear.

Just thought I'd comment on the 60-70+ dive DMs. Unfortunately, they DO exist, and again, unfortunately, you see quite a few of them on resort islands like Koh Samui and Koh Tao in Thailand, and Puerto Galera or Boracay in the Philippines.

See, minimum dive requirement for (PADI) Divemaster is 60 dives. Some instructors choose to certify Divemasters after they've met the minimum requirements, which means they've passed the written and physical exams, meet the logged dive, age, and medical requirements, and have assisted in the minimum number of classes required.

So you get a lot of green DMs. I saw a lot of them in Koh Tao, divers who went right into the Divemaster course after completing their Rescue Diver courses. Not that it can't be done, but I wish more instructors would exercise good judgment before certifying at the professional level. Not everyone is cut out for it. And for those who are, you can't get the depth of training needed after accomplishing the minimum needed for the certification.

On to less serious stuff, to those who asked, I would recommend Koh Tao as well, only a short hop away from Koh Samui. Nice diving there, and great beaches and parties.