Advice needed por favor: Moving to Thailand / Asia for a couple of years...

[roydude]

Howdy all! I'm moving to Thailand at the end of this summer and I'll be spending a couple of years travelling around Asia (2-4 months in each place ... in theory ;o).

I've never been to Asia so I'm looking for some advice:
1. Aside from low wages, things to to look for regarding working in diving (I'm an MSDT) etc...
2. What to wear! :blinking:

For point 2: I was planning on travelling with a 5mm full body wetsuit plus boots + open heel fins. Seems like a silly point, but I'll be carrying all my kit quite a lot, so size and weight is an issue for me. Also and I'll not have much money to buy new kit while I'm travelling so it's a bit of a commitment. Would I be okay with just a shorty? All year? What about full foot fins (I've only used full-foot fins with classes in a pool, never in the sea with scuba kit)?

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Quero]

Olá roydude. A few observations for you:

Howdy all! I'm moving to Thailand at the end of this summer and I'll be spending a couple of years travelling around Asia (2-4 months in each place ... in theory ;o).

I've never been to Asia so I'm looking for some advice:
1. Aside from low wages, things to to look for regarding working in diving (I'm an MSDT) etc...

Work permit. In order to get one in Thailand, a business has to apply for it on your behalf. Usually instructors set up their own companies and those companies secure the Work Permit. It's not exactly cheap to do this. Some dive operators will do this for you as part of a contract, but no company would be crazy enough to invest in a WP for an instructor who will only stay a few months. You may find work without one, but it's illegal. Before you listen to the "but I know a guy who worked there for years...." consider how you would feel if your country were overrun by illegal workers who make no fiscal contribution to the country's infrastructure and yet feel free to use all the services such contributions fund.

2. What to wear! :blinking:

For point 2: I was planning on travelling with a 5mm full body wetsuit plus boots + open heel fins. Seems like a silly point, but I'll be carrying all my kit quite a lot, so size and weight is an issue for me. Also and I'll not have much money to buy new kit while I'm travelling so it's a bit of a commitment. Would I be okay with just a shorty? All year?

I wear a 3 mm full suit year round, but a huge number of my colleagues wear only a rash guard and board shorts. In your situation, I wouldn't pack the 5 mm at all.

What about full foot fins (I've only used full-foot fins with classes in a pool, never in the sea with scuba kit)?

Most rental gear offers only full foot fins. If you can wear them comfortably, it will save you some packing space.

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

Good luck.

 

[lord khram]

Many Asian countries are much more open to foreign workers than Thailand. Not easy to work here legally particularly short term. One thing that may help in your favour is the assumption that you are fluent in Spanish. There are so many dive pro's in Thailand speaking only English, any additional languages will always go in your favour.

 

[Quero]

Many Asian countries are much more open to foreign workers than Thailand. Not easy to work here legally particularly short term. One thing that may help in your favour is the assumption that you are fluent in Spanish. There are so many dive pro's in Thailand speaking only English, any additional languages will always go in your favour.

It may be true that some countries are less bureaucratic than others in regards to working legally. But I know that Indonesia is worse than Thailand (more expensive, more hoops to jump through), and I've been told that in the Philippines it's particularly hard. Malaysia may be easier. I haven't any clue about Vietnam, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Maldives, India, Taiwan, etc. (Maybe this topic belongs in General Asia where people from those different countries might weigh in).

Also, while language skills are definitely a plus, it really does depend on the language. I have native-speaker fluency in Portuguese, and I almost never get to use those language skills here. I suspect the same is true of Spanish.

 

[supergaijin]

Situations in SEA countries change pretty rapidly IME. Koh Tao for example has many, many illegal instructors who do monthly runs to the border.

The Philippines is massively corrupt and you can (or could) buy a balik-bayan visa (sp?), which meant you were married to a native Filipina. I heard this from a shady guy.

As Quero says a 3mm suit is fine with a windbreaker for rainy days. You'll end up buying T-shirts and boardshorts as you go. Pack half the clothes, twice the money.

My advice: Respect the local girls. Many have large extended families with access to guns, machetes etc. I saw a lot of bad karma happen to guys in the Philippines when I was there. Thailand is very similar. Oh... and don't forget to look at the girls' hands before you do anything stupid.

 

[roydude]

Haha - wow :shocked2:! Travelling with my girl, so not planning on doing anything naughty with the local ladies but thanks for the advice, lol!

After a reading through the replies here, we're thinking a better plan would be perhaps to work 6 months or so in each place, spend 3-4 weeks travelling and exploring, work for another 6 months etc...

Would that put me in a better position for getting work permits do you think? What's the usual length of time people sign up for? As Quero says, I really don't want to work illegally, if anything I'd like to be a benefit to the local community, not screw it over.

 

[Quero]

As I mentioned, most instructors who work legally in Thailand have set up our own companies and work as freelancers. The cost of doing this is somewhere between €500 and €1000, not counting the additional costs of traveling out of the country to get the correct visa (you can't work legally on a tourist visa, though that's the kind of visa the kids who do the monthly runs to the border hold for their illegal gigs). You may be able to purchase an already established company from somebody ready to leave, transfer it to your name/business description, and then get the WP/visa based on that. It may seem like a lot of work to do for just one season (6 months), but I've known several instructors here on Phuket who have done exactly that. There are really very few operators who hire a full staff of permanent employees (most use freelancers), so WPs for instructors provided by the operator are really hard to come by. The good news is that it's standard practice here to set up a company and work as a freelancer; the bad news is that there's a price tag attached to getting the paperwork in order.

 

[stevenl]

I would recommend a 5 mm. 3 mm is not enough if diving regularly. I can't imagine being to warm under water, and since you already have a 5 mm suit just stick to that.

 

[Bubble Junky]

Wetsuit choices will depend on your personal tolerence to the cold. You've already received conflicting advice. Personally I wear a rashie and boardies. Water temp is seldom lower than 28ºC...

And it is possible, and uncomfortable, to be too hot underwater...

 

[roydude]

Wetsuit choices will depend on your personal tolerence to the cold. You've already received conflicting advice. Personally I wear a rashie and boardies. Water temp is seldom lower than 28ºC...

And it is possible, and uncomfortable, to be too hot underwater...

Is that 28C at 'depth'? That warmest I've dived was 31C in Menorca in my 5mm (which was fine ... much rather be a bit too warm than a bit chilly to be honest), but they get amazing thermoclines there though - most of the dive was about 25C (and at 40m it was about 20C). If I can get away with not lugging my 5mm around I will.