Thailand is best known as a holiday destination for the hustle and bustle of Bangkok with its crowded streets and twenty four hour party atmosphere. If you want to escape the noise of the city and immerse yourself in the ocean, you need only travel around seventy kilometers to the coast. There you find sandy beaches and the chance to go scuba diving in Pattaya where there are many diving centers offering daily dives and packages.
You need not be extremely fit to take up this sport, but any reputable dive center should ask you to complete a medical questionnaire. If you suffer from a bad heart or lungs or have trouble with your ears you may not be allowed to dive for your own safety. Ladies should not dive during pregnancy as there is a chance it may harm the unborn child.
The majority of people have no problem passing the medical and can go with an instructor for a "try dive" or "intro". You should choose a center with a good reputation which has professional instructors. There is very little danger associated with diving as long as safety standards set down by professional bodies are adhered to.
In Pattaya you will find most centers are affiliated with PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. PADI certificates are recognized around the world and if you choose to take a course during your stay you can become a qualified Open Water Diver. This is the next step after a DSD or introductory dive. The OW course lasts for around four days so you need to make sure you have allocated enough vacation time for this.
The course syllabus will include dives on the local sites where you will be able to see the fish and corals. The Samaesan Corals Islands are very popular for the variety of flora and fauna; there is also sites at the "Far Islands". Under the water you can see up to 15 meters in good conditions. Your instructor will give you instructions for the dive which you need to heed as currents in the area can be very strong.
There are several popular shipwrecks to visit. Despite being a quite recent wreck, the HTMS Khram already has a lot of flora and fauna. Both the wrecks of the Petchburi Bremen, a freighter, and the Hardeep, a cargo ship, are popular with guests. The Hardeep was sunk intact and laying in just 28 meters of water it makes it possible to swim the whole ship inside.
Along with the pretty corals it is likely that you will spot barracuda and a host of other brightly colored fish. Divers who have previously dived in the Red Sea might find some of the sites disappointing and the visibility considerably less than in Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada, but for first time divers the experience will be quite stunning.
Scuba diving in Pattaya is a superb way to unwind and relax following a trip into the hustle into Bangkok. The world underneath the waves is calming and quiet. There is plenty of sealife to be seen and a host of tales to relate to family and friends on your return home.
You need not be extremely fit to take up this sport, but any reputable dive center should ask you to complete a medical questionnaire. If you suffer from a bad heart or lungs or have trouble with your ears you may not be allowed to dive for your own safety. Ladies should not dive during pregnancy as there is a chance it may harm the unborn child.
The majority of people have no problem passing the medical and can go with an instructor for a "try dive" or "intro". You should choose a center with a good reputation which has professional instructors. There is very little danger associated with diving as long as safety standards set down by professional bodies are adhered to.
In Pattaya you will find most centers are affiliated with PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. PADI certificates are recognized around the world and if you choose to take a course during your stay you can become a qualified Open Water Diver. This is the next step after a DSD or introductory dive. The OW course lasts for around four days so you need to make sure you have allocated enough vacation time for this.
The course syllabus will include dives on the local sites where you will be able to see the fish and corals. The Samaesan Corals Islands are very popular for the variety of flora and fauna; there is also sites at the "Far Islands". Under the water you can see up to 15 meters in good conditions. Your instructor will give you instructions for the dive which you need to heed as currents in the area can be very strong.
There are several popular shipwrecks to visit. Despite being a quite recent wreck, the HTMS Khram already has a lot of flora and fauna. Both the wrecks of the Petchburi Bremen, a freighter, and the Hardeep, a cargo ship, are popular with guests. The Hardeep was sunk intact and laying in just 28 meters of water it makes it possible to swim the whole ship inside.
Along with the pretty corals it is likely that you will spot barracuda and a host of other brightly colored fish. Divers who have previously dived in the Red Sea might find some of the sites disappointing and the visibility considerably less than in Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada, but for first time divers the experience will be quite stunning.
Scuba diving in Pattaya is a superb way to unwind and relax following a trip into the hustle into Bangkok. The world underneath the waves is calming and quiet. There is plenty of sealife to be seen and a host of tales to relate to family and friends on your return home.
About the Author:
If you would like to find out more about scuba diving in Pattaya, click www.dive-sea.com. For details on PADI certification, come to Dive S. E. A at http://www.dive-sea.com today.
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