Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Understanding Scuba Diving

Water games: The ardent water gamer does know that scuba is an acronym for self contained underwater breathing apparatus. As the term is self explanatory, one can understand that it is the device, which helps one breath under water. Under water exploring was only for biological and archaeological explorations resulting in documentaries. Lately this is done for fun and games as well. Not to forget under water policing, or rescue operations. Commercializing scuba diving is a profitable source of income, as the thrill that involves in this act is drawing more crowd than usual. Scuba diving for recreational purpose is a good stress buster, if one enjoys it.

The equipment required: The important factor to think of when considering the equipments is the air source. One must have at least two air sources, i.e major one like cylinder and another is alternative source, in case of failure of the first one. Regulators are used to breathe from the cylinders. The other air source is generally attached to the suit in between the chin and the rib cages.

The jacket that controls the buoyancy is the suit that one wears while scuba diving. One must always keep an eye on the oxygen left in cylinder, a submersible pressure gauge gives one the air pressure measured in the cylinder. If it becomes very low, divers must know it is time to retreat.

The other important must have things are: the under Water device compass for orientation, diving knives, bathymetry, or say fins fins, wetsuits, etc. does not have one, we tried to be trained for diving in this form. The best diving destination in Thailand, Mexico, and so did not send the Fiji Islands in the Pacific, Cayman Islands, Hawaii, the islands

Monday, December 20, 2010

Backpacking South East Asia - Thailand - Lesser Known Destinations For Your Thailand Itinerary

Are you planning a backpacking trip to South East Asia? Here are some lesser known destinations to consider when creating your Thailand Itinerary.

Ko Samet - A few hours from Bangkok lies this tiny island getaway. This cozy quiet island, where many Bangkok residents vacation, provides an excellent opportunity to escape the touristy feel associated with most of Thailand's Islands. Ko Samet's lack of commercialization is great for relaxing on the stunning white sand beaches and having a few drinks. If desired, you can stay just meters from the ocean's edge.

Chiang Mai - Far from the beaches of southern Thailand is Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai has plenty to do for every backpacker. Day trips to the surrounding jungle, allow opportunity to visit the native hill tribes. If Thai cooking is your thing, several companies offer day or week long Thai cooking classes. You can also visit an Elephant Camp, where the Elephants perform many tricks, from playing football to painting on a canvas. The Sunday night market, bamboo rafting, and the many stunning temples around Chiang Mai, are some other reason to visit this stunning destination.

Ko Phi-Phi - One of the most stunning islands in all of Thailand is Ko Phi-Phi. This island provided the background for the movie "The Beach" starring Leonardo Dicaprio. Aside from catching some rays on the beach, you can go snorkelling, diving, and even hiking.

Ko Tao - If you interested in learning how to dive in Thailand, then Ko Tao is the place to be. Most backpackers travel to Ko Tao strictly to scuba dive. If you are new to SCUBA diving or looking to obtain diver certification training, you will find many companies offering both of these services on the island. While there, most travellers enjoy the laid back atmosphere, especially after visiting the full moon party on the neighbouring island of Ko Pha-Ngan.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Fire Station, 3 Tables And Sharks Cove Some Of The Best Scuba Diving On Oahu Hawaii

There is a very short section of road up near Haleiwa that has some very unique shore scuba diving 3 unique scuba diving spots Sharks cove, Fire station and 3 tables are one right after the on the North shore of Oahu Hawaii by the sunset beach Food Land grocery store. This area is better known as a surfing Mecca with "pipe line"& "Sunset" two very famous surf breaks are very close by; but in the summer when the surf is not up, its time to go scuba diving.

"Sharks Cove" received its name not for the residents but because of a rock formation that looks like a shark. The neat thing about "Sharks Cove" is the lava tunnels that you can get into there, where you can spend the better part of the dive in a maze that has as its residents, pop corn shrimp, conger eels, Spanish dancers and lobsters that some estimate are over 100 yrs old,that are so large that they cannot get out of the holes any more.

"3 Tables" has 3 very large coral heads that break the surface this is a excellent snorkeling or free diving site as well as you can see a lot of reef fish like pipe fish from the sea-horse family and scorpion fish which look like rocks in relatively shallow water. The one thing that can be a problem here is the surge which can take you onto the rocks which is not a very fun thing to happen, so you need to pay attention when you are at this site.

"Fire Station" is cool as no body ever dives here so the fish are not spooked very easy. For all 3 of these sites they are no fish no take zones so the fish are calmer because of that, they seem to know that they are safe here. This site has channels running between huge rocks and you can swim between them and look at the walls on either side for shells and crabs and other small stuff, and you will see many reef fish including big ones looking for dinner and some very interesting ones like cuttlefish, which like octopus have the ability to change their colors; and a even cooler adaptation, is they can change their apparent texture as well, very beautiful to see when they are changing colors rapidly. Onetime at this site I blinked a flash light at a cuttlefish and it went from back to front dark to white dark to white almost thought I was going to hear the song from close encounters!

Why You Should Learn to Scuba Dive?

Star Trek room called the "last frontier", but estimates of the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration, that 95% of the seafloor is unexplored.

You can learn as well as fun diving holiday at all, or as a hobby to your life of adventure. You've probably seen a lot of colorful fish and brush with the sharks on the Discovery Channel, but why not convince the plunge and see for yourself?

Did you know that for less than $ 350, and in thisonly three days, you can make your scuba certification? If you love water, curiosity, an interest in biology and an end, then dip it could never be a good hobby, that the nature of peace, the sea can only be found in bottom with!

You can learn to dive in a few hours, but if you want Reef Swim ancient ruins in Egypt on the Red Sea and Australia's Great Barrier investigationyou will need diver certification.

There are a number of valid certification agencies out there (such as PADI, SSI and NADI) that all pretty much provide the same service for $350 to $450. You will experience a combination of classroom, pool and open water instruction, while learning not only about swimming and breathing techniques, but also about equipment and first aid information.

Some people visit their local scuba dive shop, while others prefer to spend vacation time to learn something new. Although initially it may seem an expensive hobby, say most of the divers, which is comparable to the ski resort and golf course prices.

Why a dive, to learn to dive, you ask? Except for a mind blowing his vacation and rewarding hobby, there are reasons for career and practice.

Commercial divers build boats and port facilities to dig, ancient ruins and wrecks, surveys plate tectonics and underwater volcanoes that buildpipelines and dams, or repair bridges and submarines.

Scientists dive all the time to study marine biology, underwater species and habitats and archaeological finds. Additionally, combatant divers have completed military assignments underwater for centuries.

Whether you plan to scuba dive just once or you would like to learn to scuba dive as a rewarding, long-term hobby, it's something definitely worth looking into.

It has been estimated by the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration that approximately 95% of the ocean floor remains unexplored. Wouldn't you love to boldly go where no man has gone before?

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Get A Haircut And Get A Real Job

Did you recognize the sage advice of the rocker George Thorogood. It is the song about how one brother goes to school, gets a degree and goes out and gets a "good job". The other is a rock and roll singer and his parents and friends tell him to clean up and get a real job.

Of course the song goes onto say how the straight brother's life sucks and the rocker makes millions. Can it happen this way? Of course it can, it just comes down to the basics of working hard at being great at what you do and keeping current to what the market wants.

In the search for a job, some people search for a life they want and it also pays. If you like to sing I would not suggest you look into singing for a living. If you LOVE to sing and that is all you think about, then maybe you can look into singing as a career.

I know people that love to SCUBA dive. That is all they think, read and talk about. They decided to search the world for places to open a dive shop and now they make a good amount of money in Thailand. They also have a fantastic life style.

There are those people that are chasing their dream job, most of them need to wake up and realize they are just dreaming. Getting a job that pays great and is something you want to do takes work. You must be truly good at what you do, not necessarily the best at it but at least you must be very good. Are you? If you're not, then either get very good at it or move on to another career choice.

The other key thing is to position yourself in a way so that the job becomes available to you. For example, my Thailand friends, they researched all over the world for places to go. At the time they found Thailand has great diving but not a lot of SCUBA diving operations. They went to Thailand and made their job happen.

It took a lot of work and they think it was worth it. They could have gone to more traditional dive locations but there are already several dive shops there. They needed to go to an area that they could make their job happen.

Remember on your search for a job, sometimes you can have a real job and keep your hair.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Shortcoming In The Healthcare System In Thailand

As Thailand is becoming a destination for medical tourism, attempts are being made to promote Thai health facilities quite actively. However, the average Thai is not deriving any benefits from the medical tourism as there are certain shortcomings in healthcare and hospital facilities which provide medical treatment to the locals.

Efforts are underway to improve the healthcare system in Thailand but a lot has to be done before we see some concrete results.

The first shortcoming in the healthcare system in Thailand is that there is no primary healthcare system. Most doctors in Thailand are generally specialists. So, it usually becomes difficult to find good general practitioner for minor ailments. If a person is suffering from common cold and cough, a visit to the general hospital means being examined by a doctor who is specialized in one of the medical fields and the doctor may not be able to handle such a small ailment.

However, critics beg to differ. They say they most private and university hospitals have general practitioners and one only needs to ask for them.

The other problem is that most doctors working in hospitals in Thailand do not do so full time. Most physicians and surgeons end up working in several hospitals across Bangkok. Besides this, these doctors also have their own private clinics. Therefore, post-operative care can be a nightmare if you doctor is communicating with the nursing staff on a mobile phone. Another grievance that a Thai patient might have is that he does not see his doctor as often as he would like during his stay in the hospital. And if he does, it is at unusual hours after the doctor finishes his clinics in various other places.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Top Ten Scuba Diving Trips

The world is full of excellent locations for scuba diving. Everyone has their own dream list. Here is one list of the top ten scuba diving trips although you'll probably have your own.

Just try to imagine that you were given the assignment of selecting the top ten scuba diving spots in the world. It would be nice if you were given an expense account and sent to try out as many as you possibly could before paring your list down to ten. If such a dream assignment ever came your way, there is a good chance that the final list might look something like this. The following list is in no particular order as it would just be too hard to make that kind of decision.

Cozumel is in Mexico. There are 19 well known reef in the area that are ideal for scuba diving and it may just have the most crystal clear water anywhere. The visibility reaches up to 200 feet along some of the reefs. Although some people prefer peace and quiet surrounding their scuba diving areas, others will be thrilled by Cozumel's wild night life. The Fiji Islands make the list also. They are called the "Soft Coral Capital of the World" and are a favorite of undersea photographers.

Grand Cayman also is known for the high visibility of its waters. It is also known for the fact that its really shallow reefs sit at the edge of a 12,000 foot abyss. The State of Florida has to be on the list because of the shear volume of scuba diving opportunities. The Gulf coast has the clearer water and the Atlantic shore has some awesome shipwrecks while the Keys offer shallow clear water teeming with aquatic life.

Belize is one of those spots totally unspoiled by tourism but with one of the world's best preserved ecosystems. Heron Island off the coast of Australia sits on top of the Great Barrier Reef which should be enough said about it, but it is also another unspoiled paradise. Vanuatu which sits in the ocean between Australia and New Zealand has the most incredible diversity of aquatic life you are likely to find anywhere.

Grand Turk Island is much like the Cayman Islands with shallow reefs forming the walls of a 7000 foot drop off. Hawaii lacks the clear calm waters of the sheltered coral reef islands, but it is Hawaii and when you are not scuba diving here there are only a million other things to do. The tenth and final destination is Koh Tao Island in Thailand. This island is a tourist friendly and scuba friendly location. It is famous for getting a chance to view some of the local sharks, if that is something you feel comfortable with doing.