THE DIVE SHOP CAMBODIA

Staff diving days

2011-06-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

As we are not too busy during the low season, we startet to teach all our staff in diving!

Most of the Diveshops members are already qualified divers but to make sure all our team knows how it feels to be underwater, we did some days of staff diving lately.

Nelly passed her divemaster training!

2011-06-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Nelly,

we are very proud to have one more Divemaster working in our team.

You can see the spirit of cambodian diving in Nellys eyes when surfacing. She did more than 100 dives with us and gained confidence in spotting the small things like seahorses on one of our muckdives as well as exploring the outer islands.

Thank you for always having a smile for our team members, in the office as well as on the island.

a new star @ divemaster heaven

2011-05-25T00:57:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Andreas who after years of fun diving finally stepped now into the PADI professional level as a divemaster. The team of the Diveshop Cambodia wishes him lots of success in his professional career and is looking forward to meet him in one of our next PADI Instructor Developement Courses. Here is Andi while doing his final test - the snorkel test!

Weired things to see in Cambodian waters!

2011-05-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

Diving in Cambodia is somehow special! There are not many people diving here and the country gives us dives a great opportunity to see things you would not find in other parts of the world says Dennis Funke, the General Manager of the divecenter.

"I have had two really exciting experiences in the last couple of weeks diving here. On one of our liveaboard trips we had a vietnamese commercial diving boat passing by when we did our surface interval. I saw the compressor running on the boat as well as the hose going down. On the first try I did not manage to gear up fast enough to meet the diver underwater. Luckily they came back and I had the opportunity to meet the diver at a depth of 23m!!!"

"When I have been at Koh Rong island last week there was a lady from the local fishing village with her waterbuffalo walking by at the beach and I asked her if I can take some pictures in the shallow water off the beach. This was a very weired feeling to dive next to that huge animal!"

Welcome to the Diveshop Team

2011-05-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

We have another new Instructor who has joined our team around two weeks ago. Its Damion from South Africa who has worked in Vietnam before. He is speaking English and Afrikaans. Damion is very experienced diver who did around 1000 dives as well as 100 certifications. Welcome to the team!

Welcome to the Diveshop Team

2011-05-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

We all have been waiting for you to come to Cambodia!

Elliot, a marine engineer has joined our team to upgrade, tune and pimp up all our boats and machines. Apart from his overwhelming skills he is a passionate diver and certified divegear technician.

"What I like in Cambodia is the attitude of the people. No matter where you look its beauty everywhere - the people, the islands and the diving."

Liveaboard Trip together with Action Cambodia

2011-05-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

We did a very nice liveaboard trip to the islands Koh Tang and Koh Prins together with the cambodian orphans organisation Action Cambodia.

We reached a new record of guests on our overnight trips. We were with 9 cambodian orphans, 4 adults and 5 diveshop staff members on the boat. 18 people on the boat might sound a bit full but we have had a very good fun time.

As we were lucky, we had brilliant weather conditions on our trip. On some of the dives we found more than 30m of visibility and beautiful marine life.

Thank you wonderful people for that exciting trip! We are already looking forward to next years trip.

Welcome to the Diveshop Team

2011-04-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

We have a new Instructor who has joined our team. His name is Gaz Morris from Wales (UK). Speaking English and basic Welsh and Spanish. He is an IDC Staff instructor but will be Master Instructor very soon. He holds 17 specialities including Deep, Photography, Underwater Navigation, Nitrox, Emergency O2 and Gas Blender and is also an EFR Instructor Trainer as well as BSAC Compressor Operator. Welcome to the team!

Awesome Liveaboard Trips

2011-03-14T04:54:00.000-07:00

We have been out doing the first two liveaboard trips with our newly rebuilt boat!

We had a great time diving around Koh Tang and Koh Prins. The conditions were spectacular and everything worked as planned.

We like to thank our guests for that awesome time diving!

Liveaboard lauching soon!

2011-02-26T04:04:00.000-08:00

We are almost finished rebuilding of our new liveboard boat!

We will soon dive the outer islands and bring you to the best, unspoiled and almost undived sites in Cambodia.

We will start with a private trip to the far far out islands at the first of March and run around 10 trips per month.

Be part of the trip by joining us to discover to the islands of Koh Tang, Koh Prins and Koh Pulawei.

For further informations please visit our hopmepage (www.diveshopcambodia.com) or just come into our office and speak to one of our staff.

Water purifers for the village

2009-11-19T21:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-10-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-27T03:01:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-27T02:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

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-

2009-09-27T01:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-18T02:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-25T02:14:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-08-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T01:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-04-02T01:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-02T00:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-01T04:18:00.000-07:00

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

DiveMaster Trainees Cambodia

2009-04-01T04:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Shawn

Our First Divemaster Trainee to complete his Training.

After a couple of months of study and hard work Shawn has completed his advanced, efr,rescue and divemaster courses and has now been certified as a fully trained divemaster.

We hope to see Shawn back after a few months to complete his Instructor training.

Congratulations to Tyler who has also completed his training and will stay with us to take on the responsibilities of a fully trained divemaster, Tyler will become the full time tour leader of our Dive Boat.

Tyler who started his openwater course with us only a few months ago has proved himself to be a great guide and leader and has acquired all the skills he needs to take himself through to instructor level.

A big Thanks to both Tyler and Shawn for all their hard work and enthusiasm.

Shawn and Tyler at the last fund raising fancy dress party.

We also have two new Divemaster trainees starting this week.

A big welcome to Lee and merissa our new Divemaster Trainees.

And Also Laura our soon to be resident Marine Biologist who’s first dive included 13 seahorses, 5 pipefish, 1 octopus, 1 cuttlefish and many strange and beautiful nudibranchs, we hope this entices her to stay for many months to come.

Thanks

The Dive Shop Cambodia

Diving In Cambodia

2009-04-01T03:48:00.000-07:00

Its about time I caught up and wrote down some more news on the dive shop.

Its been crazy busy for the past few weeks,

Updates on the Dive shop

We now have 10 divemaster trainees, this means we can put together the first ever reef watch team in cambodia.

We will be cataloging species, numbers and overrall health of the reefs in Cambodia.

Working together with various agencies we should be able to compile enough data to start some real conservation projects to protect one of the last untouched marine areas in Se Asia.

Thanks to our team of dedicated Divemaster Trainees.

Tyler, John, Ash, Lucy, Joe, Laura, Simon, Emilie, Shawn and our not so dedicated Trainee Jacob

We have now on the boat a shiny brand new bauer compressor and 30 brand new shiny 12lt aluminum cylinders, this allows us to start running the long awaited explorer tours.

I want to give a Special Thanks to Steve and Kerry, who have put in so much work on the Koh Rung Samleom School Project, We are lucky to have you guys around.

Big Thanks to Regis, Bibi and Danny our wonderful Instructors who have trained and certified over 150 divers in the past two months, keep up the great teaching, They have created a passion for diving in all the divers and students coming through the dive shop. Reminder to all new students the Instructors love it if you go diving with them after the course is finished as it gives them a chance to go fun diving, which is why we are all here. Feel free to request them as your guide.

Big Thanks to Shina, the hardest working Dm I,ve ever had the pleasure to work with, When she’s not showing you Seahorse’s and Nudi Branches she’s hard at work behind the scenes making sure everything is perfect.

Congratulations to all the newly certified open water divers and those that took continuing education courses.

A Big Thanks to all those that have supported us over the past few months

Keep checking this blog to see up and coming events, organised by the Dive Shop Cambodia

Thanks Paul

Live Aboard Trip to Koh Tang

2009-03-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

For any of you wanting to explore some of the untouched islands further off the Cambodian coast, here’s your chance to do it in style! We’re running a two day trip with 6 dives for $275 per person on a luxury boat (check out the pics!). Further details to be confirmed, but give us a shout if you feel like spoiling yourself and we’ll update you! :o)

The Liveaboard Boat

Bar AreaTasty Food

Koh Tang trips galore!

2009-03-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Apologies for the lack of communication but it’s been rather busy organising the Safari Boat trips.

We’ve done two trips so far. The first was on the 3/4th of November. Everything went off without a hitch. The staff, Bibi and Shina, worked hard and kept all the customers very happy. The boat owner, Robert and all his staff, were very hospitable. The atmostphere on board was very relaxed. Helped by the yummy food coming out of the kitchen. By all accounts the diving was incredible. Cobia’s were seen as well as a Spotted Eagle Ray. Those that weren’t diving found many ways to pass the time. The snorkeling was great and the huge sun deck saw lots of use. Everyone came back full of praise for our first attempt with the new boat!

The second was on the 8/9th of Nov. This time Rudy went with Bibi. Good to see the old guy doing some real hard work Again everything ran very smoothly. Most people mentioned that the evening bbq’s were one of their favourite meals. We had fewer divers this time but still a full boat of customers. Rudy completed an Open Water Course while on the trip. Congrats to Jilian Loewen on being the first diver to certify on board our new Safari boat!

As soon as Bibi stops having fun on the Koh Tang trips I’ll get some photos to post on the blog for all to see.

Our next trip departs tomorrow. This time it’s going to Koh Tang and Koh Prins for three days, so much diving! Shina has three Open Water Students. Bibi and Brem will be leading the dives for the already certified divers.

Am so jealous I’m finding it hard to type right now…

PADI Awards The Dive Shop Cambodia with the Prestigious Award of National Geographic Dive Center

2009-03-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

The Dive Shop Cambodia is very proud to announce that PADI awarded our dive centre the prestigious award of PADI National Geographic Dive Centre.

We recieved an email directly from padi this morning commending us on our efforts here in Cambodia.This is what they wrote. PADI recognizes your business as a progressive dive operation that offers the best customer service, education, equipment selection and dive experiences. Your commitment to advancing a premium-level of adventure and environmental awareness in your education programs is exciting and commendable. You are cultivating an elite class of people who understand the importance and the impact they have on the ocean realm and what they can do to preserve it for future generations. In essence, you are creating ambassadors for the underwater world.

We are very proud that over the past year we have put Cambodia on the map as a diving destination, after 5 years of reports on how there is not much to see here in Cambodia, our team has worked hard to show the world that there is more to Cambodian diving than first meets the eye. We have discovered more than 20 new sites and brought international attention to the area as a destination for macro lovers and U/W Photographers.

Our Team is currently working on marine conservation projects here in Cambodia aimed at providing the Cambodian ministry for fisheries with vital information on the health of the reefs and collecting data on species and diversity of marine life. We are also working with the villagers on Koh Rung Samleom to create a community conservation area to protect the marine environment so local community’s and divers can enjoy the area for many years to come.

We would like to thank everybody who has joined us in experiencing the pleasure of diving in Cambodia, and The Dive Shop Cambodia would also like to thank all of the members of its team for the hard work and commitment they have put in to make all this possible.

The Dive Shop Cambodia

Next Reef Cleanup - 20th September

2009-03-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

There is another Project AWARE International Reef Cleanup Day on the 20^th September - The Dive Shop Cambodia and M’Lop Tapang Centre for Street Children will be taking part and we need your support again please!

If it’s anywhere near as much fun as last time you’ll have an amazing day as well as helping to protect our beautiful and diverse marine life. There’s got to be good karma in that! :o)

Both divers and non-divers are needed, so bring your friends/family along and help us do something important for the environment. If you can make it please get in touch and volunteer, your help really does make a difference and will be very much appreciated!

Alternatively help us spread the word and let all your friends know – if they can’t attend they may know someone who can!

Cambodia may be a bit far away for some of you, but if you’d still like to take part check the Project AWARE website for a location nearby - www.projectaware.org

It’s time to put something back after all the diving you’ve enjoyed! :o)

Asian Diver Magazine

2009-03-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

The Dive Shop Cambodia was thrilled to have Sol Foo, Editor of Asian Diver Magazine, visit us to check out the diving in Cambodia. Sol dived with our most experienced guide Paul Ferber experiencing some of his favorite sites and even discovering a few new areas, While Kua Kay Yaw Dived with BiBi managing to find some great subjects for his photos. Her article (accessible via our home page) has done a lot to increase the profile of diving in Cambodia, and emphasizes the need to help conserve our rare and beautiful sites.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank-you to Sol - her considerable knowledge of, and passion for diving is infectious, and we all enjoyed her stay with us.We would particularly like to thank her for helping draw attention to the issue of marine conservation in the area.

Diving in Cambodia is a unique and amazing experience, but we still need your help to protect the rare and unusual species here. Contact us to find out how to take part in one of our Project AWARE Reef Cleanup’s, and give something back to the marine environment.

Marine Conservation/Reef Check Update

2009-03-08T04:21:00.000-07:00

We are very proud to announce, that the Dive Shop Cambodia provided logistical support helping to create a Reef Check team in Cambodia. After the training weekend, held in early July in Sihanoukville, a solid team has been established that is able to conduct marine species abundance surveys. The training was facilitated by Kim Sour a tropical marine ecologist from the Cambodian Ministry of Fisheries (FiA), who was very happy to see the support and interest from the team in conserving a marine environment.

The team decided not only to use this expertise to support Reef Check, but also to establish a research team, that is willing to support the local government to maintain Cambodia’s natural marine resources. Officials from the Ministry of Fisheries (FiA) have let us know they are very pleased to hear we are supporting the reef watch team.

At the moment the research team is aiming for a long lasting relationship with FiA, to perform data collection in support of the FiA’s objectives for the future conservation of several sites, in order to protect rare and endangered species such as seahorse and colorful nudibranchs. With the training complete the group of scientists has further received support from The Dive Shop Cambodia, whom is giving logistical support to collect as much data as possible from a number of sites around the islands off Sihanoukville. Both the marine research team and the FiA are looking forward to a productive working relationship to conserve the marine environment of Cambodia.

Besides providing support to the Marine research team and Reef Check activities, The Dive Shop will continue their project on building relationships with local communities on the island Koh Rung Samleom, We are glad that all our efforts so far are bearing fruits.

In regards to the training, it has been one of the most positive experiences so far. This is a great step toward marine protection and all participants felt it was an incredibly positive day.

A very big THANK YOU to everyone who is, or has been involved in making this all possible.

If you are interested in becoming involved in one of these activities after reading our message, please feel free to contact us at scubadiving@diveshopcambodia.com

The Dive Shop Cambodia, Go’s 5 Star

2009-03-08T03:46:00.000-07:00

The Dive Shop Cambodia

We would like to thank everyone that supported us during our first high season. With out the support of our Dive master trainees many of which are now fully qualified and working as Dive masters around the world, our wonderful instructors and lll the divers and student divers that have joined us, we would not have been able to achieve so much in such a short time.

Our hard work and passion have paid off wiht our acknowledgement and upgrade form PADI from PADI Dive Center to the prestigious Award of PADI Five Star Dive Center. We are applying also for the awards of National Geographic Dive Center, to help support our conservation efforts which have achieved so much in the last few months and also IDC Center so we can continue the education of our Dive masters all the way through to Instructor Level, making sure they get the best training available.

We received confirmation of our Five Star Status from PADI a few days ago, we will be the only 5 Star Dive Center in Cambodia to open all year round.

Big Thanks to All

World Ocean Day Beach & Underwater Clean Up

2009-03-08T03:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Divers,

Its been a while since the last post as things have been very busy. We have just done our second underwater & beach cleanup, and it went as well as the first, another great success.

We left Sihanoukville with 16 divers and 4 snorklers and arrived at the island of Koh Rung Samleom around 9:30 am after a quick run a round the village Bora found gathered the kids for the second clean up. Bora, Maaike, Lee and Clair headed off to the beach with the kids to check out the area we cleaned last time, it was pretty clean and they only managed to fill 4 large sacks with rubbish which is great as the first time they collected over 20 sacks of rubbish. Looks like a clean up every two months might really make a difference and keep it clean.

"While they cleaned up the beach, we headed off to clean up the ocean"

We started by cleaning the shallow areas around the village pier as we decided this may well stop alot of the rubbish reaching the reefs. In two or three short dives we managed to fill the back deck of the boat, bringing up lots of nets, lines, plastic bags, and bottles, and some strange asorted items of clothing, strangely enough, a lot of pairs of underpants everyone was glad they had gloves, we even found the remains of a happy simley umbrella and an old wellie.

Its been another great success not only for the cleaning but once again helping the kids on the Island to understand the importance of looking after their environment. We also took the opportunity to introduce the Kids to project aware. We are now waiting on Project aware to supply us with enough materials to run full project aware lessons at the island School.

Project Aware

The Dive Shop would Like to Thank:

Bora, Maaike, Lee, Bianca, Matthias, Sol, Kate, Chantel, Danny, Regis, BiBi, Merrisa, Emelie, The Captain, Lucy, Brem, Clair, Yoshimi, Shina and all the kids from the Island.

Another truly international day with people coming from, Japan, Cambodia, Australia, England, Norway, Holland, Germany, France and Turkey.

More photos: www.diveshopcambodia.com/photo%20galleries/cleanup2/cleanup2.htm

Seahorses in Cambodia

2009-03-08T03:08:00.000-07:00

This is a very short post with a couple of pictures from the latest set of Cambodian Seahorse Photos. These were taken yesterday in a very strong current.

The final section of photos will soon be on the website gallerys.

Thank you

They Catch We Release

2009-03-08T01:46:00.000-08:00

This Post is a little Late as it happened a few weeks ago, but it took a while to gather all the pics.

On a regular trip to Koh Rung Samleom we moored up next to a Khmer Fishing Boat, We noticed in amongst there catch, 4 juvenile Cobia and a rare horseshoe crab which is on the endangered species list here in Cambodia and should have already been release.

After a few minutes of haggling we asked our captain to help and he managed to negotiate a price of $10 for us to buy the 4 Cobia and horse shoe crab. We then took them to another less fished area and released them.

Every little bit helps.

The only down side was the dead Seahorses drying on the front of the fishing boat, it is also illegal by Cambodian law to catch seahorses but these laws are rarely enforced, which is why the seahorse classed as an endangered species are still in grave danger in Cambodia.

Catch and Release, Conservation in Cambodia transfer to our boat.

Net Damage

The First Horse shoe crab we have seen in Cambodia, back in the Ocean

The first of 4 Juvinile Cobia returned to the sea

This was the only sad part of the day, there where at least 2 pregnant makes hanging here and this is just 1 of hundreds of boats destroying the eco system in Cambodian Waters.

The Seahorses in Cambodia need help, if you feel you ca contribute to their protection please visit our Seahorse gallerys at www.diveshopcambodia.com/photo%20galleries/newseahorse/latestseahorse.htm and send us an email.

Thank you!

The Dive Shop Cambodia

World Earth Day Cambodia, Beach & Underwater Cleanup

2009-03-08T00:44:00.000-08:00

We went out to Koh Rung Samleom today with 15 divers 6 non divers and 12 kids from M’Lop Tapang. We were greeted by many little local volunteers. We arrived at the Isalnd around 9:30 and got straight into it with support from the kids from the fishing village all the non divers headed for the beach to start collecting rubbish, and the divers headed for the first dive site. The First Dive came back with not to much Rubbish but alot of the nets and fishing lines all carefully cut from the surrounding coral. We made sure to leave the nets that had already developed marine life growth on them.

We reunited for lunch at the pier by the fishing village. Lots of rubbish already collected. It was great to see the kids from M’lop Tapang enjoying the ocean and playing with the village kids. After a leisurely lunch the divers headed for a site which we knew was strewn with rubbish. We collected, tons bottles, cans, plastic, nets and lines.

The beach cleanup group was back at the pier waiting for us when we finished our dive and we headed over to collect the rubbish they had found, it took us over an hour to transfer it all to the boat to bring back to the mainland for disposal.

It was a great day all a round not only collecting rubbish and cleaning the beaches and dive sites, but wonderful to involve the island kids and teach them how to care for their surroundings, and a great day out for the Kids from M’lop Tapang who had never taken a trip on a boat before. One girl even took a turn at the wheel of the boat.

It was a truly international event, with participants from, Cambodia, Australia, UK, Holland, Canada, Norway, France and Turkey.

Thanks to all involved for making it a great and successful day!

Re-Opening the school on Koh Rong Samloem

2009-03-08T00:25:00.000-08:00

Hello to everyone. A new face on the blog today - my name is Stephen and I recently did my open water qualification with the Dive Shop.

As part of the course I spent 3days on the island of Koh Rong Samloem, and felt compelled to help this poor but incredibly friendly community. The only school, a 3sided wooden shack, had been closed for over 6months because they couldn’t afford to pay the salary of a teacher. All the children from the 76 families were without education. With 2 other open water students we organised a beach party on Otres beach, Sihanoukville. Thanks to the 60 or so people who came and drank the bar dry, $190 was raised and given to the village chief yesterday. The money will pay a teachers salary for 3months and concrete the walkway to the school which is completely washed out during the wet season.

We are currently planning a second party to be held in the Dive Shop 2 weeks from now. As well as people getting drunk, there will be a huge raffle with over $400 of prizes including free days out diving. Hopefully we can raise enough cash to pay the teacher for a whole 12months and expand the school.

In the meantime I have been staying on the island every few days and teaching the children very basic English. When you come diving be sure to stay on the island amongst this wonderful community - the children would love a chance to practice!

The First Dive Shop Cambodia Explorer Tour

2009-03-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

We fianlly ran our much awaited first Explorer tour. After a crazy week of trying to organize the boat and the trip, while at the same time teaching openwater and advanced courses and running full day trips, we all met to depart at 10pm on Saturday at the dive shop. After a calm sleep journey we all awoke to a beautiful sunrise over Koh Tang and crystal clear water.

Before you could blink divers where gearing up and jumping in…our first dive was a shallow site covered in sea grass, here are a few of the critters we saw.

Octopus
Mantis Shrimp
Flasher Scorpion

We then headed across to Explore a new site. With visibility of 25m we decided to have a snorkel around first, within minutes of jumping in BiBi spotted a large Eagle Ray and everyone headed over to take a look.

After a good 20 minutes watching the eagle rays from the surface we all headed back to the boat to grab our scuba gear and go exploring. Here are some more pictures from the next two dives.

Big Vis
Scorpion Fish
Simon Checking out the fish

On the way to our next dive we noticed some submerged rocks and stopped the boat to explore, just the two instructors jumped in and within minutes I was surrounded by around 15 cobia with the biggest being around 2m in length, after waiting over a year to see my first cobia in Cambodia, and now I was surrounded by 15 it was awesome.

On the way back to the boat we came across a large anchor and now our boat as a shiny new anchor on board, always a good find. We then visited a large reef already named explosion reef, and all the divers enjoyed a good long dive as the max depth is around 10m.

We then moored up for the night dive, Tyler our most experienced divemaster then lead two night dives one after the other, showing the divers octopus, stingrays, cuttlefish and many other strange night creatures.

After a great dinner everyone headed to bed after a wonderful but exhausting day. Next morning we where greeted by another beautiful sunrise and headed over to two islands athat we have never visited to explore.

So a Big thanks to all the divers, Kerry, Steve, Emelie, Bart, Nev, Simon, and Merissa for making it a great first trip, also thanks to our divemaster trainees who all worked hard to make it happen, Simon, Shawn, John, Ash, Tyler, and BiBi who’s enthusiasm and passion for diving is inspiring.

We will be organzing another trip soon, hopefully the next trip will take us all the way to Koh Prins one of the even further islands.

Happy Exploring

The Dive Shop Cambodia

Second Fundraising Party

2009-02-26T01:54:00.000-08:00

The second party was a great success. We raised over $400.00. Again, I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Enjoying The Dive Shop night life

A big thanks to Kerry, Steve and Ash who put the whole thing together. Extra special thanks to Ash who raised over $400 dollars worth of prizes for the party.

We wish Kerry and Steve all the best in their future travels, it is sad to see them go after an extra long extended holiday, which they used to support the School Project. A big hug from all those at The Dive Shop.

We will all miss you!!

Thanks to all involved.

The Dive Shop Cambodia

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Welcome to the Dive Shop Cambodia

2009-02-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

Hello all!!

This is where the daily antics, finds and info will be disscussed by all the divers and staff from the Dive Shop Cambodia.

So Whats Happening?!?

Firstly we will be organising a huge underwater and beach clean up on the 22nd of April, all those interested should contact us at scubadiving@diveshopcambodia.com.

Next week we will be having a fund raising event to raise money for the school on Koh Rung Samleom, we hope to raise enough to pay a full time teacher, as currently the teacher is off logging trees as it pays more, also the money will go towards preparing the school for the rainy season so the kids can stay dry while learning.

To The Diving:

Koh Rung Samleom has cleared up over the past few days and the viz is the best this season. We are still garenteeing seahorse and octopus. Two new mating pairs of zebra snout seahorse were observed the other day during their mating dance. We are starting to find mimic more often and with the good viz the reefs are looking healthy. There has been a big influx of new nudibranch which is keeping the guides excited.

Our new compressor is now happily installed on the boat allowing us to launch the long awaited explorer trips, which our 6 Dive Master trainees have been waiting excitedly for. On this our first post, I’d like to pass on the thanks from all the students who think BiBi is the best instructor in the world ever.

Keep enthusing people with the wonderful passion you have for diving, and a big Welcome to Regis who returns to Cambodia to do what he loves most, Teach us guys to dive.

Keep watching this space for all the latest gossip and info on up coming conservation projects and local issues. Keep Diving!!

Another big thanks to all the divers and students that have supported us over the past few months.

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