Water purifers for the village

The first of the water purifers have now arrived at Bay Njor village on Koh Rong island where The Dive Shop have their dive operation and accommodation.

The water purifers filter water from a natural source (eg a well or stream)through a silver lined clay pot to make it clean enough to drink. The cost of one water purifer is $10. The Dive Shop have donated 5 to date with more on the way.

The idea behind the water purifers is to make a start in combating many of the illnesses the villagers suffer from by drinking unclean water. We have tested this filters before hand on our dive staff and even the owners, Rudy & Irfan, of The Dive Shop. We are glad to say we haven't lost anyone yet! With the tests are a success we have now started to use them for our daily drinking supply which in turn stops the necessity of environmentally unfriendly plastic bottles.

Welcome

We would like to welcome Eric who brings our number of instructors up to four just in time for the dry season. Eric has worked at The Dive Shop before as a Dive Master and general handyman/dogs body. He took his instructors certification earlier this year in Thailand and speaks native French and fluent English.


Welcome also to Giorgio our new Dive Master Trainee who comes from Italy. He learnt to dive with us earlier in the year and was instantly hooked on the wonders of being underwater. He didn't take much persuading to return to us to make this his new career! Was it the charismatic team we have, the beautiful island of Koh Rong, the wide array of marine life or possibly the whole package? To know that you will have to join us and ask Giorgio himself!

CONGRATUALTIONS JULIE!

Congratulations to Julie who after weeks of hard work has finally passed her Dive Master course with flying colours. We wish her much success in the future with her new career and look forward to her returning for her Instructors course.

Low Season Diving!

Wow, what a 'low season'. Yet again we have run right through the 'rainy' season and got in some tremendous diving. With visibility in August reaching a 'low' season high of 12metres and the seas pretty much to ourselves this is an awesome time to dive.

Liveaboard dates

We have now finalised the dates for our liveaboard experience and they can be found on our website. We have extended the dates this year to include every weekend of the high season starting the first weekend of November. The weekend trips will be 2 days and 1 night leaving early on Saturday morning so all you Phnom Penh city dwellers can take full advantage of this weekend getaway and explore the beautiful island of Koh Tang.

Clean up Day 26th September

Another successful clean up day on the island of Koh Rong with some of the children from Cambodian Childrens Painting Project and from the island.

Thank you to all our staff, to Uno and Nicolet and all the children that helped make this a successful day.

Building work on Koh Rong-

The building work is coming along well with the dormitory, customer common area,toilets and kitchen now finished on the pier. Come and visit this beautiful island with us, see jungle growing right down to white sand beaches or laze in a hammock in our communal area looking at the view across to Koh Koun and Koh Rong Samloem. Divers and Non-Divers welcome!

New Staff

We would like to welcome both Sothea and Kanha to our team. Both girls are from Sihanoukville and are keen to learn about the dive industry. Sothea and Kanha speak excellent English and are a great addition to our team. They are both learning how to swim with a view to one day learning how to dive themselves.

Modifications to our mainland shop

With the coming of the high season we are busy making repairs and modifications to our shop in the mainland. With a new tin roof and new wiring being the first of several modifications all the staff are excited about this 'high tech' new look!
We are also adding a new purpose built classroom and looking for ideas for utilising the upstairs space. All ideas gratefully received!

Dive Master Trainees and new Instructors

At the end of August we signed up three new 'victims' for our Dive Master Trainee course and I am glad to report they are all coming along strong.



Julie Chauvier is 25 years old and is one of our two French speaking staff. She has been with us now for 3 months having given up a career in tourism to join her boyfriend, Sebastien. Julie was a complete non-diver when she arrived in June and has powered her way through the Open water, Advanced Open Water and Rescue courses. She is our resident fish and has a wicked sense of humour as well as being a hard worker, bringing much to the team.

Daniel Martin is our ' you should never be without one' Australian Dive Master Trainee. As well as learning the ropes for a new career as a professional diver Daniel has also become our chief Tuk Tuk driver. He can be seen most days whizzing around Sihanoukville in The Dive Shop limosine tuk tuk terrorising the local moto drivers. Daniel is a self confessed adrenaline junk. In his past life he could be found hanging off the sides of buildings attached only by a thin rope (the technical term apparently is an industrial abseiler!).

Daniel Schmitt, 24 years old, from Germany is a CAD programmer who fell in love with the island of Koh Rong and never wanted to leave. The Dive Master Trainee course was the perfect choice for him to stay, work and play in paradise! He can be found at the end of most days in a hammock, unwinding from the day with a cold beer in hand watching the sun go down over the horizon.


We would also like to welcome Hannah Lusby and Sebastien Herbillon our two new instructors.


Hannah is from the UK and is a Padi MSDT who has been working for the past 2 years in Thailand. She is a keen DTEC diver and hopes to introduce this side of diving here in Cambodia. Hannah has a great sense of customer service and with her fun but no nonsense attitude is respected by both staff and customers alike. In her past life she was an advertising account manager, a fact that The Dive Shop will be making full use of!

Sebastien is newly qualified French instructor is is keen to add to his diving and teaching experience. He has tried several different careers before settling for that of a nomadic dive instructor. Although is biggest secret is his desire to one day have his own dive shop. Oooops sorry, Sebastien I hope I haven't let the cat out of the bag!

Joint project with Coral Cay

In conjunction with Coral Cay we are now building an incinerator for the village on Koh Rong to help with the rubbish problem. Although we are aware this is not necessarily the most environmentally friendly it will hopefully help the problem in the short term. At the moment all the rubbish is left on the beaches or in the jungle, ending up in the sea most of the time. With no landfills on the island or rubbish pickups there is a growing problem with rubbish.

The luxurious Independence Hotel and the 5- Star Dive Shop Cambodia offer the "Executive Dive Package" for the Summer of 2009.

We are now happy to offer a "two night Executive Dive Package" at the luxury "Independence Hotel", Sihanoukville, combined with a day of diving with The Dive Shop Cambodia, around the beautiful island of Koh Rong ,for the unbeatable price of *$180 for 1person or *$240 for 2 persons (inclusive of all taxes).

The Independence Hotel opened in 1963 and immediately became the place to be for Cambodia’s elite with the interior being designed by no other than King Sihanouk himself. This hotel is a genuine piece of Cambodian history from a time when Cambodia was one of the most advanced of the SE Asian countries. Today the Independence Hotel has been restored to its original glory and is definitely a place to be seen.

The Dive Shop Cambodia is a 5-Star Padi dive centre that has been open now for 18 months. With the 30 years experience of the owners the professional staff offer you the best personal and diving experience available in Cambodia. The Dive Shop Cambodia has many dive sites around the island of Koh Rong and we pick the best ones for the day.

The "Executive Dive Package includes a 2 night stay in a superior room at the Independence Hotel inclusive of breakfast. Also included in the price is 1 traditional Khmer or Chinese massage per person, a try dive in the hotel swimming pool and a day of diving around the island of Koh Rong.

The Independence Hotel also offers all guests (on a minimum of 2 night stay) a welcome drink, 10% discount on laundry, tea and coffee making facilities in the room, use of the swimming pool, gym and private white sand beach, and shuttle service to the downtown area of Sihanoukville as per the hotel schedule. The Dive Shop Cambodia offers all equipment rental during the dive, insurance, a light breakfast on the day of the dive, lunch on the island of Koh Rong and fresh drinking water.

Taxi transfers from and to Phnom Penh airport can also be arranged through us for a cost of *$95 both ways (max 4 persons).

Extend your stay for more than two nights with each additional night costing $65 per superior room and $60 per person per dive.

This offer is available now until October 31st 2009.

*All prices are only valid in combination with the Executive Dive Package and are subject to change at any time without notice.

*Promotional prices are not applicable on Public Holidays.

www.independencehotel.net

Welcome to Coral Cay

We would like to welcome Coral Cay Conservation to the island of Koh Rong where they are starting a 3 month pilot project with us here at the Dive Shop. The aim of the project is to research the marine life in the Cambodian waters and submit these findings to the Cambodian Ministry of Fisheries in order to show them what is needed in the way of marine conservation. Both sides have high hopes for this project and look forward to a long partnership.

Here Comes Rainy Season

This is a very important post.

The Dive Shop Cambodia will remain open for the duration of Rainy season, as we feel offering diving in Cambodia all year round is important for all divers to experience the new and exciting finds we keep experiencing in Cambodian waters and also the seasonal creatures you may miss at other times of year.

We have all spent time here diving during rainy season and have often found the visability to be as good if not better at times than in high season. Also with the lower number of divers arriving it is the perfect time to enjoy the personal experience of diving in very small groups, Sihanoukville itself is also a lovely place to visit during Low Season with everyone winding down and relaxing after the busy high season, Its easier and quieter to eat in your favorite restaurants , and you can always find a room at the nicest guest houses.

As with our experience working all over Asia, in low season everyone seems to become even friendlier , which for Cambodia already being one of the friendliest places we’ve ever worked makes for an awesome holiday.

This is why we will be offering the same amazing experience all year round.

The rainy season gives us the opportunity to realize the environmental and conservation projects which we have been planning over the past few months. We can now achieve our goals, as we, the organizations and the people involved in these projects have more time.

We will achieve our goals and still provide the best diving in Cambodia.

Gils Garden

With the pier house now complete we are putting our energies into the building of bungalow, a restaurant and a garden further along the beach. Gil, our island lifer (apparently he doesn’t have to be back in Israel for another 4 years!), is working hard on the island garden so we can be somewhat self sufficient when it comes to vegetables although looking at the view I am not sure whether it is the garden he is interested in!




We are also trying to encourage the villagers to try and grow their own vegetables rather than rely on the supply boats (us mainly!) coming from the mainland.

Our new island!

After much consideration we have made the decision to move our location to the larger (and in my personal view, prettier) island of Koh Rong. Our new accommodation will be based on the south east side of the island in a bay with beautiful white sand beaches. We will be initially building dormitory accommodation which will be followed by more private bungalows.

Dive Master Update, Congratulations Brem!!

Borat style “high five” (go on, do the voice!) from all at The Dive Shop on successfully combining superb diving skills and hard work, with excessive drinking and lots of parties!

We miss you for both reasons! :o)

Brem stayed with us for around 3 months, and was a valuable asset to the shop even before completing his DM.

He always managed to make everybody smile, had a natural rapport with our customers, and ensured every trip he worked on was a success. As a fully fledged Dive Master he’ll be a valuable addition to any Dive Shop, not to mention a bad influence! No, just kidding about that part! ;o)

Sure you don’t want to come back Brem? Sihanoukville’s not the same without you!

Dive Master Update, Congratulations Lucy

Congratulations Lucy

Well what can we say, we miss you already.

This is one of the hardest posts to write, Lucy was a pleasure to work with, always happy and calm.

Before she had even finished here Dive master, she was already taking on the role of teacher, helping the other trainees with skills and academics. She will make an amazing instructor with her natural ability to teach.

Lucy stayed with us for almost 6 months and we are hoping she will make it back in september for Cambodia’s first ever IDC.

As a guide Lucy was a joy to dive with and all the instructors enjoyed the occasions when they got to fun dive with her, her keen eyes for the crazy macro life we have here in Cambodia, she would often find the most amazing seahorse and nudibranch and always took pleasure showing divers the best of cambodian diving.

Lucy is experienced in many conditions, she can provide great dives in low viz and bad conditions providing, a great time underwater and a fun atmosphere above.

A big Thank you to Lucy , hurry back we all miss you.

Congratulations from all at The Dive Shop Cambodia.

DiveMaster Update, Congratulations Emilie & Merissa

Congratulations to our two most recently qualified Dive Masters, Emilie Aamodt and Merissa Wallace! The Dive Shop is very grateful for all the hard work and commitment they have put in and they will both be surely missed.

Emilie has returned to her homeland in Norway for a few weeks before a well-earned holiday in Greece. Hopefully she can kick her little sister out of her old room and get some quality time with her family.




Emilie our youngest Dmt so far has shown here commitment and passion for diving throughout her courses from open water all the way through to Dive master, she has become a great guide, her enthusiasm for finding the small creatures has blossomed and she has always provided sightings of seahorses for all of her divers. We hope Emilie will join us soon to complete her instructor training as she has a natural ability to teach. Emilie has always taken part in all of the dive shops projects, being involved in the first explorer tour to Koh Tang and also taking part in both of our underwater clean ups and fund raising events.

She will also be missed by the villagers on the Island of Koh Rung Samleom, even after her papaya incident with the hornbill. Congratulations Emilie.

Merissa has returned to the small town of Gwealth in Canada. She will work at home as a qualified masseuse before taking her new career in diving overseas again.

Merissa Came to us as an open water student, and after leaving for a while returned to the family atmosphere to continue with her advanced and rescue courses, before finally making the decision to join the family as a Dive master Trainee, She has had a roller coaster of a ride through her courses and has always pushed herself to achieve the best, Merissa has also taken part in All of our events and made her final decision to become a Dive Master after her Explorer trip to Koh Tang. Merissa was often called upon by the staff and other Dmt’s to fix all of our muscle problems regularly taking time to use her skills as a professional masseuse it was always great on the trip back after a hard days of work. It was always a pleasure to watch merissa on the boat, she had a natural way of making all her divers feel at ease and her passion for discovering new areas to dive was always a joy to watch. Congratulations Merissa.

It’s not all tears on departure though, as both will hopefully return to the pearly shores of Sihanoukville for Cambodia’s first IDC course.

A big thanks for all of us here for the hard work and effort you both put in to your training and also for the hard work you put in to helping build up the dive center

Also A Big Welcome To Kate And Chantel who after a few great days diving and the clean up on World Ocean Day will be joining us our new Dive Master Trainees

DiveMaster Trainees Update

Congratulations


John, Simmo and Ash

After a couple of months of hard work John, Simmo and Ash have completed their Divemaster internships,

and are now ready to fly the nest.

John

John has been with us the longest starting out with the shop from the very first day. John played a huge part in the setting up of the Dive Shop Cambodia. In the early months John could be found on the beach every day talking to people and talking people into diving, snorkelling and taking dive courses with the dive shop. He has seen many changes to the dive shop in the 5 months that he has been with us.

John has taken to his role as a divemaster very naturally and it has been a pleasure to have taken part in his training. Hopefully John will be returning to join, Shawn, Simmo, Shina, Tyler and hopefully Ash to continue his Dive training up to Instructor Level.

A big Thanks to John from the Dive shop for all the hard work he has put in. There is a place on the next explorer tour for you John.

Simmo

Simmo started out as one of Regis’s openwater students. It was one of the first courses for regis on his return to cambodia. Simmo even as a freshly trained openwater diver showed all the characteristics of a great divemaster. Simmo quickly followed up his openwater course with his Advanced and Rescue courses, even before he had started his divemaster he was helping to show the other divemaster trainees how to run the boat, tie the ropes, organise the trips.

It was always a pleasure to have Simmo on the boat, especially because you knew even if you were really busy simmo had it covered, He would be on the back deck helping divers in and out of the water, helping the captain moor the boat. Simmo has a natural talent to be in the right place and the right time and know what he,s doing.

Thanks Simmo for all the hard work you put in. We all know that you will achieve the best in whatever you put your mind to. We look forward to seeing you again, either as an instructor or as a instructor candidate.

Ash

Ash what can we say, Its always a pleasure to have you around in the shop or on the boat. As me and BiBi know you have worked extra extra hard to earn your DiveMaster.

We will be counting the days till you return to help get the conservation projects started that you are so passionate about. Ash has played a huge role in the organising and fundraising for the project for helping to reopen the school on Koh Rung Samleom.

Everybody has enjoyed diving with you, and I,m sure the seahorses will miss you too.

Here are a few Pictures of the guys at work and play

Congratulations Guys

The Dive Shop Cambodia