Comparing, comparing and more comparing!

[Damselfish]

Difficulties of apples and oranges aside, I think attempting to compare is often more helpful than discussing someplace in a vacuum. If someone has been to any of the other places compared against, it's actually a great way to get an idea what a place is like. Almost like "a picture is worth a 1000 words." Much more useful than when someone describes a place as good or bad, or "lots of fish", or whatever with no context.

 

[Bowmouth]

I Diving in Koa Samui is great just not as good as PNG, IMHO. .

EXACTLY.
Both Ko Samui and PNG are very different dive sites. Divesites (in Asia) in general are so vastly different that it would be meaningless to compare them with one another. Also, many divers have different interests and different levels of "happiness" with a site than other divers. Rather discuss the aspects about a particular site that makes that site worth diving. A site not all that interesting for a hardcore experienced scuba diver may be heaven for a novice diver.

 

[Bowmouth]

Not sure what you mean by "stop comparing and focus on interesting features instead"?

@ I mean let's focus on writing about the general environmental conditions and critters of a site that make that particular site so interesting to dive.


And some places just are better, because the reefs are healthier, there are more diversity and quantity of life etc. Well, they might not be better if you preffer dead coral and little fish, but for most people they are... QUOTE

@ True, most divers like to dive on healthy reefs teeming with fish. There are plenty of exceptions though just think of wreck diving, cave diving and muck diving. I know divers who prefer to spend their entire diving vacation on rusting steel wrecks with little fish and marinelife and think they're in heaven. Try to compare Truk Lagoon (Chuuk) with Richelieu Rock.\

 

[Bowmouth]

Much more useful than when someone describes a place as good or bad, or "lots of fish", or whatever with no context.[/QUOTE

Well, I do agree that a description like "lots of fish" or "great" is pretty meaningless. I was more thinking about proper descriptions of dive sites with accurate descriptions of what the site is really like.

 

[Belushi]

Ok, here goes ...

Phuket -
Compare Shark Point to Anemone Reef.
Now, I could, but would you know what and where I was talking about?

I think that its difficult, as you have to compare somewhere with somewhere else that the reader knows.
Unfortunately each person's imagination is different.

I was told that some of the dive sites around certain islands south of Phuket were awesome, but found them boring.

I was told the dive sites around Hurghada were rubbish, but the main training site for me was loaded with life.
It is all subjective, I guess.

 

[Bowmouth]

Ok, here goes ...

Unfortunately each person's imagination is different.

I believe it's VERY fortunate that we all have a different kind of imagination. Just imagine each and every one of us on this world would fantasize about dressing up in pink and wearing lipstick. Arggghh...

 

[Traminer]

I believe it's VERY fortunate that we all have a different kind of imagination. Just imagine each and every one of us on this world would fantasize about dressing up in pink and wearing lipstick. Arggghh...

Pink is not my colour... now a mauve and burgundy wetsuit.. yummmm :07:

 

[Christian]

And some places just are better, because the reefs are healthier, there are more diversity and quantity of life etc. Well, they might not be better if you preffer dead coral and little fish, but for most people they are... QUOTE

@ True, most divers like to dive on healthy reefs teeming with fish. There are plenty of exceptions though just think of wreck diving, cave diving and muck diving. I know divers who prefer to spend their entire diving vacation on rusting steel wrecks with little fish and marinelife and think they're in heaven. Try to compare Truk Lagoon (Chuuk) with Richelieu Rock.\[/QUOTE]

Yes, but that's the apples to oranges comparison I was talking about, like comparing Mabul to Sipadan, and that is of course impossible. But we could compare Richelieu to Sipadan

/c

 

[Bowmouth]

But we could compare Richelieu to Sipadan
/c

I think the only thing they have in common is that they're both really crowded with divers and boats!

 

[mjh]

Bowmouth, without a doubt PNG and Koa Samui are very different locations but that is way you can compare and contrast them. If you are someone in the middle of Kansas, Germany or Uzbekistan, that may have never traveled outside of the country before, you may find the comparison between the two helpful.