Divehappy.com is a personal guide to scuba diving in South East Asia and Australia edited by me, Chris Mitchell, a freelance scuba journalist. I'm also a PADI Speciality Dive Instructor (#629614) although I don't do much instructing anymore. I'm currently based in Bangkok, Thailand.

I'm currently a Field Editor for Scuba Diver AustralAsia magazine and a regular contributor to Asian Diver magazine. I also contribute occasionally to USA dive magazines Scuba Diving and Sport Diver.

If you are a dive shop manager and interested in promoting your dive centre through a feature article in these market-leading scuba magazines and on Divehappy.com, please email me at chrismitchell [at] gmail.com

If you have a question about diving in South East Asia and can't find the answer on Divehappy, you are welcome to leave a comment below and I'll see if I can give you some useful information. There's still loads I have to learn about diving in Asia myself, but sharing info is one of the best ways of doing it.

Besides Divehappy, I also edit Travelhappy.info, a website about travel in Thailand and South East Asia and SpikeMagazine.com, a long running UK books website.

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

L. Graham Jones March 16, 2009 at 5:33 pm: Hey! I am a PADI advanced diver and did most of my dives in the Red Sea last year. I am about to graduate from college and am considering working here in Maine for the summer and then moving to Thailand to get my Rescue Diver and Divemaster and maybe even an Instructor certification. Either way, I’m highly considering working as a professional diver for a year or two. But I’m concerned about putting all my eggs in one basket and taking the risk of flying all the way to Thailand, spending the month of September getting certified, and yet not being hired in October. Though I am easy going, likable, and a good leader/teacher (if I don’t say so myself!), the state of the world economy is such that I am worried that tourism has dropped significantly in places like Thailand and that consequently the dive tours/shops will not be looking for more employees. Is this a concern that I should take seriously when considering taking the leap of faith and packing a backpack for Thailand? What are the odds that I just can’t find work after being certified in the Phuket area in September and looking for a job around October 2009?
Thanks,
Graham
Lindsay Smith March 19, 2009 at 7:23 pm: Chris,
Can you recommend an the best book(s) for identifying fish, marine life, etc. to take on a dive trip to Sulawesi. We’re traveling from the US, so it cannot be a table-top book like Sulawesi Seas: Indonesia’s Magnificent Underwater Realm.
Thanks,
Lindsay Smith
chris s March 19, 2009 at 11:30 pm: Hi Chris,
Im in thailand beginning of April. Is there any awesome diving that doesnt have to be from a boat.Last time in thailand got sea sick from rough seas. Are there any good beach dives or anything like that? Is the sea calm this time of yr? any help would be appreciated
Chris March 22, 2009 at 5:07 pm: Hi Lindsay
most dive operators will have a selection of Helmut Debelius books available – his books are the default fish ID guides for Asia Pacific. They are usually hardback tho so not the best for travelling with. Neville Coleman’s nudibranch encyclopaedia is also brilliant
Chris March 22, 2009 at 5:09 pm: Hi Chris
the sea is usually very calm in April in Thailand. Unfortunately there are very few good dive sites where you can do beach dives – the best sites are at the Similan Islands and also around Phuket/Phi Phi/Lanta and they all need a boat.
Bali, on the other hand, has some brilliant shore diving around Tulamben and Pemuteran and the prices are similar to Thailand. You can get cheap flights from Bangkok to Bali with AirAsia
Chris March 22, 2009 at 5:13 pm: Hi Graham
I wouldn’t count on getting a job directly after becoming an instructor unfortunately. Competition is fierce – there is a lot of people who want to do the same! It tends to be non-dive skills that give you the edge especially if you can speak German and Swedish, the two other main languages spoken by dive tourists in Thailand besides English.

If you can budget to come to Thailand and do the IDC anyway and be able to travel for a while afterwards whether or not you get a job, I think you’ll still have a fantastic experience. Also, once you become a Divemaster, you get access to the PADI Pro forums, where the vast majority of dive jobs are posted. You might get lucky and find something there.

As with everything, it depends how much you really want it. Opportunity is rarely convenient.

Cheers
Chris