The pinnacle of modern deco. Very trendy.
Can't talk about it. Only skilled practitioners can attempt a badger stop. :zen:
OW to DM (Utila/Roatan or Koh Tao)
- Thread starter scubaalp
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The pinnacle of modern deco. Very trendy.
Can't talk about it. Only skilled practitioners can attempt a badger stop. :zen:
Shasta_man
Contributor
<<There, a little more agreeable I hope.>> Actually I just ignore the other ALWAYS INCORRECT responses and just advance my own agenda. :-0
Hellier
Registered
Well mate I did my open water course in Koh Tao and then I did my advanced and DM in Phuket....then I did my Instructors course again in Phuket...from beginning to end the whole process took about two years...I lived in Phuket at the time and supported myself by teaching English in the evenings...I did my internship with the same school that I did my courses with and finally I worked as a instructor with that same school...I had dived the same sites on a daily basis for over 3 years so work out how many dives I'd got by then ( sometimes I did 5 dives in a day )...same boat same crew same set up and it eventually became second nature..but as an instructor no two students are alike and that's where the skill is...knowing people. By the way Koh Tao is an ok place to learn to dive but I reckon theres more variety on the west coast of Thailand...
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Hi scubaalp!
That’s a lot of options you’ve listed in your post, so I’m guessing you’re undecided and quite flexible with where you complete your dive training then?
I will focus on your request for others’ personal experience on their dive training.
I began my ‘dive lifestyle’ in Egypt, about a decade ago and for the last few years I have been a professional diver in Borneo teaching others diving!
My professional dive training was completed with Downbelow Marine and Wildlife Adventures’ PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo and I stayed with the company to increase my dive education and progress my career too! Now, as a full time and dedicated member of the GO PRO team, I share my instructional experiences with others’ training to become a dive educator.
Get To Know Our GoPro Staff Team | IDC Asia
It’s a bold decision for you to want to become a PADI professional after your time on the PADI Discover Scuba Diving (DSD)! My opinion is that you increase your level of experience as a recreational diver before pursuing a professional career. Work your way through the PADI system of dive education and appreciate each stage because it all links to one another and once you become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, you will see all the dive theory (even from the very first dive experience you had on the DSD program) is valuable to your dive education!
That being said, we offer Go PRO internship programs conducted at both our PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre on Gaya Island and our modern classroom facilities located in our Head Office HQ!
The Go PRO team support and counsel candidates throughout their program to develop confident professional divers with the ability to independently supervise student divers in their future dive careers. Our interns receive plenty of real dive experience as they assist our team of PADI Instructors who will always offer feedback as part of dive training.
PADI Divemaster | IDC Asia
Consider us for a high standard in quality dive training to prepare you for your dive career, scubaalp
For now, take a look at how active we are with teaching diving to all levels of dive education at our Gaya Island beach house:
Blogs:
News | Diving Sabah? Dive Downbelow!
News & Events | IDC Asia
Instructor Development Blog | Instructor Development Course IDC Malaysia, Asia
Our Blog | Gap Year Borneo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/divedownbelow
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divedownbelow
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Tumblr: http://divedownbelow.tumblr.com
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I've trained and dived on both Utila and Koh Tao. I was at UDC on Utila, and Buddha View on Koh Tao. I even ran into a BV instructor at UDC (trips were almost 3 years apart).
Both dive centers were great, but I enjoyed Koh Tao FAR more than Utila. Those trips were in 2002 and 2005, and I'm told Koh Tao is far more developed than it was (didn't even have 24 hr electricity on my side of the island back in 2002), so my thoughts may be a little dated.
The single largest difference I noted (and disliked) was that I felt the locals on Utila resented the foreign presence, despite the fact that there would be no economic activity without it. Utila was more dangerous - an owner of UDC prevented some locals from starting a brawl that would have involved me. KT was much more fun, back then, anyway.
Please understand - I have nothing but good things to say about Utila Dive Center. But stepping back and contemplating only your choice of destinations, having been to both, seems like an easy choice to me.
Both dive centers were great, but I enjoyed Koh Tao FAR more than Utila. Those trips were in 2002 and 2005, and I'm told Koh Tao is far more developed than it was (didn't even have 24 hr electricity on my side of the island back in 2002), so my thoughts may be a little dated.
The single largest difference I noted (and disliked) was that I felt the locals on Utila resented the foreign presence, despite the fact that there would be no economic activity without it. Utila was more dangerous - an owner of UDC prevented some locals from starting a brawl that would have involved me. KT was much more fun, back then, anyway.
Please understand - I have nothing but good things to say about Utila Dive Center. But stepping back and contemplating only your choice of destinations, having been to both, seems like an easy choice to me.
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