Dive Asia Diver Blog

Erika and Leo's experience

2011-06-13T14:15:02Z

Dear Dive Asia Team,

I would like to thank you and your staff for making my daughter's, Erika and my diving in Thailand a truly wonderful experience.

Erika is 12 and after doing a lot of internet research I chose Dive Asia as the facility for her initial instruction. All the positive reviews just scratch the surface in complementing the Dive Asia operation. The positive experience started with the detailed program you offered for both of us via email, it was explicit and flexible enough to adjust to our travel parameters. It allowed her to learn independently while I had the opportunity to dive with my daughter.

When we arrived in Karon Beach we stopped into the office where we were greeted by a friendly and extremely knowledgeable staff. They treated my daughter with respect and in a way that gave her added confidence for the upcoming experience. When they realized I had not dove in more than 4 years they insisted in a refresher course for me. I truly appreciated that aspect as my re-qualification was done alongside Erika which demonstrated to her the importance of keeping one’s skills current. I enjoyed the refresher and just to let you all know Erika could “ride” the cylinder and re-don her BCD faster than Dad.

You matched my daughter and I with Vicky, she worked wonders with her gentle ways and patience, while at the same time displaying an extensive knowledge in diving skills and how to transmit that knowledge to both a 12 year old and 59 year old. Vicky is to be commended for both her water skills and teaching ability.

The last 2 dives were with Simon, he gave Erika the space she needed to boost her self confidence in the water and yet was close and surveyed her movements and technique like a hawk.

The boat crew and all dive masters worked as an efficient team, I have been on a lot of dive boats and have never seen the efficiency and teamwork that was demonstrated by all aboard Dive Asia II.

We have already recommended Dive Asia to other potential customers here in Dhaka and rest assured you will see Erika and me again in the near future. Your team have awakened the underwater world to a 12 year old and rekindled the passion for diving in her father.

Thanking all of you at Dive Asia

Leo and Erika :)

Recent Trips to Hin Daeng/H.Muang & Similans/Surin on Mermaid II

2011-02-09T06:05:53Z

from Takako Uno & Stephen Wong and Courtesy of Mermaids Liveaboards

Our recent trip to Hin Daeng & Hin Muang took place on Jan 21st to 24th 2011. We did 8 dives with Mermaid's itinerary. The visibility was nice, over 18m at the Red Rock & 12m at Purple Rock; while at the Koh Ha Chimney and Twin Cathedral, we had over fantastic 30m. Despite we didn't run into Manta or Whale Shark, the marine life was really good.

Divemaster Andrea found a pair of Harlequin Shrimps and guests found Tiger-tailed Seahorse at the Chimney. Takako found Peacock Mantis Shrimp running around, and DM Ray found its cousin, the Giant Mantis, staring out from its lair. Schooling fish, like the Bengal Snappers, Blue-striped Snappers, Hatchet (or Bullseye) and heaps of Glassfish were posing for cameras. Soft coral and hard corals were healthy and blooming in the current. The light-purplish-colored soft coral fields at the exit of Chimney simply blew our minds. We have NOT encountered such tall soft coral (some over 1.3m tall) and large soft coral fields in Asia. The Sea Whips nestled amongst the colorful soft corals and the giant submarine arches really made Stephen's trip, while the friendly fish and dozen species of Nudibranchs gave Takako chances to get good shots.

Staying on Mermaid II, we continued with the Similans/Surin Special from Jan 24th to 30th. Visibility at most Similans' sites hit over 30m. Despite seeing some dying hard corals due to the recent coral bleaching on some reefs here, we encountered schooling Goatfish, Snappers, Surgeonfish, Horse-eyed Jacks, Blue-spotted Jacks, Blue-spotted Stingrays, gazillions of Glassfish (Stephen's favorite) and lots of wonderful smaller creatures. Anita's Reef was incredible for macro.

DM Andrea again found the rare Ceratosoma magnifica Nudi and a juvenile Rock Remover Wrasse captured DM Lara's attention, while Takako located the rare nocturnal Reef Lobster, Enoplometopus occidentalis, and a juvenile Fuscus Triggerfish (both our first). At Shark-fin Reef, we located over 5 species of Shrimp-Gobies in an area less than 16 sq m, while DM Cassandra pointed to us two large Dogtooth Tunas mildly cruising at X'mas Point. Then, friendly turtles came to the back deck of the boat playing with guests near Elephant Head. Andrea discovered possibly a new species of Pygmy Pipehorse. Then, Richelieu Rock again delivered its world class magic - schools and schools of fish, including 3 species of Barracudas - the Chevron, the Yellow-tailed and the Small. We both missed the pairing Cuttlefish at the shallows, as Takako was busy with Seahorse, Pipefish, Blennies, Tiger Cowry, etc., while Stephen was having fun with a 1.3m Flowery Grouper (the giant fish was initially in a cave and blocked completely by massive clouds of Glassfish) and nearly got stabbed by the 7# resident Lionfish.

Here at Richelieu, guests also encountered a large Marbled Stingray and Ghostpipefish. Soft Corals and Sea Fans at Richelieu, Koh Boh and Koh Tachai looked superbly healthy. 2 Spotted Eagle Rays soared in front of all divers at Koh Boh Pinnacle. Despite the vis was not perfect, Boon Song Wreck gave possibly more pounds of fish than any local fish market. Cruise Director Ramon discovered a pair of Stonefish on the wreck (we missed, too busy with other creatures). Takako brought Stephen to observe the family of 1m long, oddly-looking African Pompano on the side of the wreck (another first time observation in our lives on this trip), with some individuals still have long trailing fins. Sorry, too far for fisheye, no pix of the Pompano ... sobs!

Not trying to blow sunshine up anywhere, but these two trips were awesome and full of surprises. The crew and their friendliness made the trip for everyone. Then, of course, we miss Chef Ting's delicious gourmet! In a jiffy, we want to go back, especially when the vis has been so good.

Takako Uno & Stephen Wong
Marine Wildlife Photojournalists

www.TakakoUno.com & www.StephenWong.com

Dive training with Dive Asia

2011-02-07T12:02:15Z

Dive Asia offers the complete range of PADI diving courses for beginners and previously certified divers - from PADI Open Water Diver to PADI Divemaster and PADI Instructors. Dive Asia's three PADI Course Directors and additional Master and Staff Instructors guarantee the quality of your training in our fully equipped education facility at Kata Beach. With air-conditioned classrooms and up-to-date teaching aids ,Dive Asia provides you with a comfortable and relaxed course environment - just what’s needed for stress-free and fun learning experience.

Dive site closures on Thailand's Andaman cost

2011-01-26T02:41:41Z

Right now you can read all sorts of news about various dive site closures on Thailand's West cost.

We would like to clarify the situation and let you know the truce to the best of our knowledge and experience.

There was coral bleaching that hit Malaysia and Thailand in May/June 2010. Shallow water hard corals down to about 15 meters on fringing reefs have been affected (fringing reefs are reefs around islands) but the bleaching has not much affected Soft Corals and has not significantly affected the granite boulder sites we dive at so often.

The Thai Government has decided to close some reefs and we agree with their efforts to help protecting the reefs.

They have closed 17 dive sites all along Thailand's west coast but only 2 sites in the Similans have been closed and non of our day trip dive sites.

For more details visit the special TAT - Tourism Authority of Thailand - Website.

Divers coming back from our day trips are coming back with big smiles and great reviews, having had an excellent trip and of course, great diving. Visit our Archive with our daily dive conditions where we have been recording all kinds of sightings on a daily basis in the past.

"Green" diving practices as well as information on how to protect the fragile coral reefs provided by our experienced Dive Guides and Instructors are naturally part of any of our dive briefings.

To ensure the future of one of the most wonderful diving areas in the world we support the closure of this sites. The closures are at dive sites we would not visit for this very reason and this is not affecting the conduct of our Day Trips or Liveaboard cruises conducted by our Partners.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries and we respectfully request you to not believe everything you read in the press. Some even announced wrongly that all of the Similan and Surin National Parks and in fact the whole Andaman sea area where closed.

All pictures with courtesy of Nathaporn Chotmaneepithak and Khao Lak Scuba Adventure

Discover Technical Diving

2010-11-19T10:30:44Z

Available Now!! Discover Tech!! - Every Thursday, on board our MV Dive Asia we offer you now Discover Technical Diving. Choose one, two or three dives to dive technical configuration and discuss what is involved in technical diving with one of Pro-Tech's technical instructors. Early reservation is recommended to avoid disappointment. Contact Dive Asia or Pro-Tech for more information.

The Winners are here!

2010-11-15T09:13:44Z

Dive Asia welcomes the 1st Prize and 3rd Prize Winner of our Dive Asia Quiz. Mats from Sweden and Britta from Germany enjoy their free dive trips with us this week. Mats and Britta are two of the four Lucky Winners of our all June long dive quiz. We received more than 900 answers from 200 players. Once more, congratulation from the entire Dive Asia Team.

Dive for Dogs Charity

2010-10-24T00:41:12Z

Our Charity Dive for Dogs was a success! Thanks to the idea of Melanie and the participation of 21 Divers from around the world we were able to donate 22439 Thai Baht (approx 750 USD) to Soi Dog Foundation. We all had great fun to dive for a good cause and hope to raise more funds next year!

Click here to learn more about Soi Dog

Dr. The and Fergie form Soi Dog receiving the cheque from Melanie & Juergen.

Whale Shark at Koh Doc Mai

2010-10-22T12:03:51Z

Dive Asia flood relief on the way

2010-10-21T13:05:51Z

Today Dive Asia donated lots of groceries and other supplies to the Kusoldharm Foundation here in Phuket at the Provincial Hall. This donation is now on the way to Thailand’s flood-stricken Northeaster Provinces. 21 provinces in the North, Northeast, East and Central Plains where hit by torrential rain and floods last week. Altogether 814,406 people were affected by the floodwater's and 15 people had died as a result.

Dive for Dogs

2010-09-18T09:23:17Z

Dive Asia is proud to welcome you to yet another Dive Asia Charity Event which will be held on the 23rd of October 2010. This fun filled day will bring us to Raja Yai Island where we are going to do two dives from board the MV Dive Asia II.

This Charity is dedicated to support Soi Dog Foundation. Soi Dog is a not-for-profit, legally registered charitable organization here in Phuket, Thailand. Soi Dog helps the homeless, neglected and abused dogs and cats of Thailand. During the day members of Soi Dog will introduce you to their work. Here you find more Information on Soi Dog: http://www.soidog.org/en/about-soi-dog/

All profits of this day will be donated to Soi Dog Foundation and you are welcome to donate by yourself too and or possibly adopt or sponsor a dog from the Shelter.

The event includes free transfers from Kata, Karon (Pick up about 8:30 am) & Patong Area (Pick up about 8:15 am) return about 5 pm, 2 dives, 11 liter tanks & weights, dive master service, breakfast, lunch, fruits, coffee, tea and drinking water.

The price for the event is 3200 THB for Certified Divers (plus up to 750 Baht for rental Diving Gear if needed), 1600 THB for Non-Divers and 4900 THB for two try dives (Equipment included) with an Instructor.

Please try to attend our Charity Day for Soi Dog. The number of entrants is limited to ONLY 30 Divers so please RSVP as soon as possible. For more information or to make your reservation call Juergen at 0818953320 or send an email to reservations@diveasia.com.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Awesome dive conditions!

2010-08-31T04:43:20Z

Raja Noi’s South Tip offered us on August 30th one of the best dives ever. Perfect surface conditions, an estimated 50 Meter visibility, a huge School of uncountable Barracudas and much more! What a dive! Who says the diving in Phuket’s green season is not worth getting wet?

Pro-Tech & Dive Asia

2010-08-18T12:47:34Z

Dive Asia are pleased to partner with Pro-Tech Dive College, Phuket, Thailand. Introducing a complete and professional training experience allowing divers the opportunity to train and experience new adventures here in Phuket. Pro-Tech will conduct all the Technical diver training from entry level tech right through to Trimix, Cave and Rebreather and Dive Asia will manage all the PADI Professional training at the CDC center here in Kata.

This season will see some new and exciting course introductions and daily experiences for those looking to try something new. For more information feel free to email info@protechdivers.com or reservations@diveasia.com

Ship Yard Stories

2010-08-08T13:17:26Z

Done! After almost two month in the ship yard your M/V Dive Asia II looks nicer than ever before. Besides the “normal annual maintenance” we focused on refurnishing the Lounge downstairs and on a bigger kitchen. You can enjoy now great underwater footage on a Big Screen, listen to good Music provided by a Surround Stereo System, identify with the help of our extensive Marine Life Library what you just have seen beneath the surface and study the original Royal Thai Navy Chart "308" for directions to Phuket’s best local dive sites. Come join us for some good day trips and have a look!

Shark Savers

2010-08-05T07:52:00Z

Dive Asia became a proud Supporter of Shark Savers today. Join and sign the petitions too.

Shark Savers was founded in 2007 by six long-time divers driven by a shared passion and fueled by decades of business, marketing and media expertise. As divers, we felt an emotional connection to the oceans and in particular, sharks. And, we all witnessed what we came to love begin to disappear. We realized we had to take action. Today, over 10,000 members from 99 nations share that sense of urgency.

We focus on action and results, designing our programs to result in saving the lives of sharks. By leveraging professional experience and expertise, Shark Savers brings the issue to the masses in many compelling forms, motivating people to stop consuming sharks, serving as the voice for a maligned species, and focusing their attention on locations where sharks need to be protected.

Shark Savers enables people to make a difference and take a stand in their home, their local businesses, and throughout shark hot spots all over the world.

Please visit http://www.sharksavers.org/index.php and sign today!

Photo by Chris Gawel at Shark Point!

And The Winner is:

2010-07-01T05:12:06Z

Thank you to all of you for participating in our Quiz all month long. We received more than 900 answers from close to 200 Players and I believe that all of you had some fun and maybe learned a bit about the sport we love.

Here are all daily Winners:

1   Nasser Al-Khanjara
2   Jaquelene Teo
3   Marcus Krueger
4   Lisi Pokorny
5   Steve Gibbins
6   Cris Fraga
7   Jaquelene Teo
8   Nina Ho
9   Caroline Boysen
10 Alyson Hilbourn
11 Steve O Stewart
12 Doug Heil
13 Sabine v.d.w. Schroth
14 Scian Ray
15 Aurelia Schenkl
16 Herrebaut Dimitri
17 Alyson Hilbourn
18 Alexander Kleppe
19 Jens Bo Christensen
20 Paul Harker
21 David Hilbourne
22 Mats Kaellman
23 Peter Moeck
24 Wilda Oberacker
25 Britta Dildei
26 Bernd Sannemueller
27 Peter Henfling
28 Luke J Cox
29 Christa Himmelmann
30 Neil Parson

And the Winners are:

the 4th Prize goes to David Hilbourne
the 3rd Prize goes to Britta Dildei
the 2nd Prize goes to Jens Bo Christensen
the 1st Prize goes to Mats Kaellman

Congratulations to all of you from the entire Dive Asia Team.

Enjoy your Prizes and we look forward to welcome you here in Phuket.