Thanks Ringo for your inquiries. We have decided to do our OWC here in OR to get some experience w/ dry suits and also our instructors are really great. When we get to Thailand we will do some fun recreational diving and also pursue our AOW, still comparing options on that. We have been to Kata Noi before,(just vacationing, pretty beach, less crowd)and I saw from some of your other posts you have friends who run business there. For fun dives to 'get our feet wet' befor AOW, ideas?
Thailand questions
- Thread starter aqudoc
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Bill - Thanks so much for your insight, I know from reading your other posts you are a fixture here. We have been to Thailand and I agree w/ your assessment of the Thai people. I also appreciate your view of the better diving Andaman vs. gulf. I read in a previous post of your problem w/ the Cruiser...and frankly was happy to see it was a miscalculation that caused the poor experience as I am loking forward to making that dive. Any other suggestione are heartily welcomed.
Ringo
Contributor
Only a pleasure Aqudoc! For fun dives, as per my previous post there are quite a few DC's offering shore and local boat dives off Kata, Kata Noi and Karon as well as the usual daytrips. These local dives are ideal for beginner divers as they are pleasant easy relaxing dives to max 18 meters. For example yesterday at Koh Pu (crab island) apart from the usual parrtofish, wrasses, lion fish etc the divers saw a huge Hawksbill turtle. They were happy!
stevenl:
Plus of course there is no huge rush to get things done. If the dive takes more than 45 mins you have no boat boys revving the outboard over your head as they want you out the water
stevenl:
And this has exactly what bearing on the subject? Most of the DC's on Phuket use freelancers to avoid various issues. Do you only use the same full time staff members? Never called a freelancer to cover those extra course that came in? I dont see the point of your comment......
So if a "booking agent" was using your services as the "supplier" would you say the same? of course not
anyway, beach is good for day one
stevenl
Contributor
It does, because the guest may think he is going to be taught by the person he made the booking with, he could end up with Eurodivers, South Siam, Marina, West Coast, or somebody else.
And of course the instructor plays a major part in the quality of a course, but also the company that actually teaches the course plays a major part, and we all know that there is a difference in quality between the different divecompanies here.
proffumdiver
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stevenl:
with your being the best obviously
stevenl
Contributor
I know we teach good courses, as do a lot of other companies here. Thanks for the compliment, but I would not say we teach the best courses myself.
stevenl:
what a ridiculous reply
lets have a look at it then.............
you buy a ticket to fly from Phuket to Singapore - will you get less of a service because you personally did not buy the ticket from the actual pilot of the plane - of course you won't
i personally phone West Coast Divers a book a course for US$500 over 6 days or i book online with a worldwide agent the same course for US$450. Are you saying that I will not get the same level of service.
So if I go with a high quality company and they give me a crap inst that is still hung over from the pissup the night before are you saying that its ok cos the company is good?
If you a paying for instruction whether it be for diving, driving a car, skiing, flying or tiddlywinks the level of service and instruction you get is DIRECTLY attributable to the Instructor that is teaching you. Granted company A may have a nicer classroom than company B but the INSTRUCTION that you receive for flying / diving / driving etc is what makes you a safer better whatever - not how many flavours of coffee that the compnay had in their vending machine
Would your view of booking agents still be the same if for example Save Money Diving or any other online booking agent were sending you 30 bookings a week. Pretty sure you would be praising them and ordering the new pick up right now.
Or let me guess, you are the only person left in the world (plus my dad) that goes to the Airlines own office and pays full price for the tickets to go somewhere rather than logging onto the internet and paying 10 to 30% less and sometimes upto 40 or even 50% less for the same flight with the same Captain on the same plane. Ahhh but hang on a minute, you ALWAYS book with the actual person don't you - not some "booking agent"
stevenl
Contributor
If the agent does not book with west coast, you don't know where you end up.
If you book a plane ticket through an agent from New York to Bangkok, you also want to know who you're flying with? I would, because IMO it makes a big difference whether you fly with Biman Airways or with Singapore Airways. Trues, maybe the Biman pilot is better than the Singapore one, but that is not all these is to it.
stevenl
Contributor
And BTW, the fact that you don't agree with it, does not make it ridiculous.
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