THE AIR bubbles dance and frolic as they rise nearly 18 metres through the clear blue water.
Other than being conscious of your own breathing, there is a sense of tranquillity as you watch the fish in schools glide by the colourful coral.
These were some of the joys of learning to scuba dive in Phuket. The course is fun, safe . . . and cheaper than in Australia.
My 16-year-old son, Hugh, and I recently got our Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) open water novice diving permit after undergoing an intensive three-day course. We can now dive to 18 metres.
By doing the course in Phuket, we saved money and I did not have the additional expense of a medical check. (Being aged 60, I have an annual medical check and along with daily exercise, regarded myself as being suitable to do the course.)
Our dream to become PADI qualified started some years ago with an introduction to scuba diving in a swimming pool at a resort in Queensland, Australia.
This was followed by occasional dives under supervision on the Great Barrier Reef and, for Hugh, one in Fiji. For many years he has had a fascination with fish and is considering being a marine biologist.
With our holiday in Phuket booked, we saw the opportunity to get PADI permits while my wife and mother-in-law shopped, did some tours and relaxed.
The first step was to find a suitable dive shop - not to hard with the Warm Water Divers premises being only a few hundred metres from our Patong hotel.
Diving instructor Michael Mengel, a German who has lived in Thailand for nine years, met us.
He told us what was involved and the cost for instruction, use of diving equipment, transfers to and from the dive boat, dives and the final written test for the permit- the equivalent of about $A450 each.
We liked the shop, the fact that it has been operating for some years, and the conviction and passion with which Michael spoke.
Having gained his diving instructor's licence in Australia, were had additional confidence in him.
Having had a taste of scuba diving and loving the sea, we had no apprehension about what lay ahead. We enrolled in a three-day course, to start two days later.
To shorten the classroom time, we were given each a copy of the PADI Open Water Diver manual, with particular sections emphasised.
We were to read these sections and complete the quizzes scattered throughout the book as well as the Knowledge Reviews in the chapters.
On a Tuesday, we were in the classroom above the dive shop. Michael told how the course was structured and prepared us for what was to follow.
The PADI course consists of classroom lectures supported by videos. At the end of each section questions would have to be answered.
Everything is about safety, following procedures, planning, diving with a buddy, and being thorough.
After lunch, it was off to a pool to start the transfer of classroom knowledge into the practicalities of scuba diving.
Many Phuket hotels will not permit scuba diving lessons in their swimming pools, so the island's dive shops have their own pool centrally located in Patong.
We first had to show that we could swim 200 metres and float for 10 minutes.
Then into our wet suits and donning the diving equipment - mask and snorkel, lead weight belt, the buoyancy control device (BCD), and fins.
The aptly named BCD is an expandable bladder that you inflate or deflate to regulate your buoyancy. The scuba unit consists of an air regulator, an alternate air source, a submersible pressure gauge, weights, and air cylinder.
We had to show that we could inflate/deflate the BCD at the surface, clear the regulator goggles underwater, swim underwater with scuba equipment while maintaining control of both director and depth, properly equalising the ears and mask to accommodate depth changes.
This last point is critical when diving.
While underwater, we had to locate and read the submersible pressure gauge and signal whether the air supply is adequate or low.
We also had to demonstrate that we could breathe from an alternate air source supplied by another diver, recognise and demonstrate standard hand signals (there are 25 common ones which are fairly intuitive), and show the techniques for a proper ascent.
Before trying to gain each skill, Michael would demonstrate, then we would try. When mastered, the next assignment would be tackled.
Having shown that we had the skills, we were told to be at the dive shop the next morning ready for a dive in the ocean.
We were taken to Chalong Bay, on the other side of the island, to board a dive boat. Some 90 minutes later, we were at Racha Yai, a very popular spot for scuba divers.
Clear water, varied fish life and hard corals make it attractive for divers.
This is where our studies were put into practice in the sea, with currents and fish. And it was magic.
We swam with all sorts of fish - parrot fish, clown fish (think of the movie Nemo), cuttlefish and even a turtle.
One rule when diving is to move away, if possible, from aggressive fish - we did this when some barracouta-type fish were in the area.
One of the amazing feats for newcomers is being able to go into a lotus-like position just above the bottom and gently rise and fall by equalising through breathing.
In each of the four dives over the two days we continued to develop and refine our skills and show them to Michael.
The last dive involved using a compass, removing the lead belt in water and refastening and doing the same with the BCD.
A number of people on our dive boat were either going for their open water permit or improving their skills. It was the same on the six or seven other boats around Racha Yai.
With our diving training finished, it was back to Patong to sit a 50-question test which would determine whether we were entitled to a PADI permit.
For me, the hardest questions were calculating dives using a planner to determine the time spent on the surface to avoid any risk of decompression.
For maths whiz Hugh, this was easy.
We passed. The paperwork was filled out to be sent to the PADI office in Sydney.
Within a month each had our plastic PADI licence card. We look forward to diving together - hopefully off Phuket.
Other than being conscious of your own breathing, there is a sense of tranquillity as you watch the fish in schools glide by the colourful coral.
These were some of the joys of learning to scuba dive in Phuket. The course is fun, safe . . . and cheaper than in Australia.
My 16-year-old son, Hugh, and I recently got our Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) open water novice diving permit after undergoing an intensive three-day course. We can now dive to 18 metres.
By doing the course in Phuket, we saved money and I did not have the additional expense of a medical check. (Being aged 60, I have an annual medical check and along with daily exercise, regarded myself as being suitable to do the course.)
Our dream to become PADI qualified started some years ago with an introduction to scuba diving in a swimming pool at a resort in Queensland, Australia.
This was followed by occasional dives under supervision on the Great Barrier Reef and, for Hugh, one in Fiji. For many years he has had a fascination with fish and is considering being a marine biologist.
With our holiday in Phuket booked, we saw the opportunity to get PADI permits while my wife and mother-in-law shopped, did some tours and relaxed.
The first step was to find a suitable dive shop - not to hard with the Warm Water Divers premises being only a few hundred metres from our Patong hotel.
Diving instructor Michael Mengel, a German who has lived in Thailand for nine years, met us.
He told us what was involved and the cost for instruction, use of diving equipment, transfers to and from the dive boat, dives and the final written test for the permit- the equivalent of about $A450 each.
We liked the shop, the fact that it has been operating for some years, and the conviction and passion with which Michael spoke.
Having gained his diving instructor's licence in Australia, were had additional confidence in him.
Having had a taste of scuba diving and loving the sea, we had no apprehension about what lay ahead. We enrolled in a three-day course, to start two days later.
To shorten the classroom time, we were given each a copy of the PADI Open Water Diver manual, with particular sections emphasised.
We were to read these sections and complete the quizzes scattered throughout the book as well as the Knowledge Reviews in the chapters.
On a Tuesday, we were in the classroom above the dive shop. Michael told how the course was structured and prepared us for what was to follow.
The PADI course consists of classroom lectures supported by videos. At the end of each section questions would have to be answered.
Everything is about safety, following procedures, planning, diving with a buddy, and being thorough.
After lunch, it was off to a pool to start the transfer of classroom knowledge into the practicalities of scuba diving.
Many Phuket hotels will not permit scuba diving lessons in their swimming pools, so the island's dive shops have their own pool centrally located in Patong.
We first had to show that we could swim 200 metres and float for 10 minutes.
Then into our wet suits and donning the diving equipment - mask and snorkel, lead weight belt, the buoyancy control device (BCD), and fins.
The aptly named BCD is an expandable bladder that you inflate or deflate to regulate your buoyancy. The scuba unit consists of an air regulator, an alternate air source, a submersible pressure gauge, weights, and air cylinder.
We had to show that we could inflate/deflate the BCD at the surface, clear the regulator goggles underwater, swim underwater with scuba equipment while maintaining control of both director and depth, properly equalising the ears and mask to accommodate depth changes.
This last point is critical when diving.
While underwater, we had to locate and read the submersible pressure gauge and signal whether the air supply is adequate or low.
We also had to demonstrate that we could breathe from an alternate air source supplied by another diver, recognise and demonstrate standard hand signals (there are 25 common ones which are fairly intuitive), and show the techniques for a proper ascent.
Before trying to gain each skill, Michael would demonstrate, then we would try. When mastered, the next assignment would be tackled.
Having shown that we had the skills, we were told to be at the dive shop the next morning ready for a dive in the ocean.
We were taken to Chalong Bay, on the other side of the island, to board a dive boat. Some 90 minutes later, we were at Racha Yai, a very popular spot for scuba divers.
Clear water, varied fish life and hard corals make it attractive for divers.
This is where our studies were put into practice in the sea, with currents and fish. And it was magic.
We swam with all sorts of fish - parrot fish, clown fish (think of the movie Nemo), cuttlefish and even a turtle.
One rule when diving is to move away, if possible, from aggressive fish - we did this when some barracouta-type fish were in the area.
One of the amazing feats for newcomers is being able to go into a lotus-like position just above the bottom and gently rise and fall by equalising through breathing.
In each of the four dives over the two days we continued to develop and refine our skills and show them to Michael.
The last dive involved using a compass, removing the lead belt in water and refastening and doing the same with the BCD.
A number of people on our dive boat were either going for their open water permit or improving their skills. It was the same on the six or seven other boats around Racha Yai.
With our diving training finished, it was back to Patong to sit a 50-question test which would determine whether we were entitled to a PADI permit.
For me, the hardest questions were calculating dives using a planner to determine the time spent on the surface to avoid any risk of decompression.
For maths whiz Hugh, this was easy.
We passed. The paperwork was filled out to be sent to the PADI office in Sydney.
Within a month each had our plastic PADI licence card. We look forward to diving together - hopefully off Phuket.
Is this an advertorial for PADI or Warm Water?
<b>Editor:</b> No. It's a genuine first-person guide to how to qualify through PADI on Phuket, written by a visitor who paid for his course. He was so pleased with the outcome that he volunteered to write the report. Phuketwan has had no dealings with Warm Water.
Posted by Expatgirl on August 24, 2008 12:27