waste o time place

(part 1 here. copy/pasted from scubaboard thread).



So here's another update!
Ended up diving for 3 days in the end. There were some great and good experiences and some hiccups too but in the end it all came through. (However it's not rocket science, it's a holiday and really it shouldn't be that much trouble!)

But before I recount my experiences, I should clarify again, that I am staying at the Six Senses resort. It's not actually near the city and accessing the resort requires a boat. The guests arriving and departing the resort are transported to/from the mainland via speedboat. Other than private hires and booked excursions, guests are pretty much "trapped." (Can one say "trapped" when you're talking about some super fancy luxury resort? I've got a freaking butler assigned to me here!). Anyway, four times a day staff is shuttled back and forth as well but on a wooden boat that takes just over 35 minutes. The dock it stops at is called Pearl Farm and almost 30 minutes' drive north of the city. In my post above, I thought that the Rainbow Divers' boat would be able to pick me up directly from the resort however I learned that no boats are allowed here without prior permission from the resort manager - so it's definitely something that needs to be sorted out in advance.

So to start, my first day of diving was with Rainbow Divers. It was Kerry P. that I communicated with for the majority of the time. It was Kerry that was most pro-active about responding to my e-mails and getting my questions answered. And it was Kerry that finally got an answer out of the resort about my transfer over to the mainland: instead of hiring a private speedboat at $120 (the price quote I received was $150), I would take the am staff boat at 0645 which would get me to the mainland (approx 0715). From there a car would take me to the dive shop and then to the main harbor. Luckily, since I was hiring a speedboat for my dives, I wasn't under the same time constraints as those that were diving via the main boat! Things seemed to be getting later and later as departures got slightly delayed. FYI, this whole time I had Kerry's mobile number in case things didn't go smoothly. (She did call the driver to find out where he was after I waited at the Pearl Farm dock for almost 15 minutes).

I didn't bring any gear besides my mask, computer, warm water gloves, and an SMB. So I used the shop's gear. I also paid for a Rainbow photographer come along (Iain Wood).
My dive companion for this day was Mr. Anh and he was a great buddy and quite skilled at spotting all the little things.
When I asked other companies about this dive site - Electric Nose - most of them didn't go out there and/or said the diving there wasn't that great. They also mentioned that it was not in the Marine Park and that a lot of dynamite fishing occurs there. I found one review online that raved about the dive site with details and explanations and a few one-liners that said that it wasn't worth the trip. My opinion: it was well worth the trip! Also, best to get 3 tanks and make the most out of the journey!

We primarily swam around rock walls that went down to about 45 meters /147 feet (that's what people say). There's no need to go that far down however. Actually, there's not really any need to do much swimming because there's simply a lot of life hanging out in various outcroppings of a single wall. From coral to stars, clams to sponges!  Lots of little and not so little hermit crabs hanging out, and of course the nudies! So many different kinds in more easier to see sizes (about 2-4 inches) to the ones that could comfortably fit on the top of a pencil. And in such a variety of colours! Saw a few flatworms too. If you're looking for big fish, there are some here but they're not *that* abundant (We did spot a barracuda swimming along). Come here to check out the super small things!

I wore a 3mm full. The water temp in this location changes constantly as you swim between rock faces and it does so at various depths.  The dives here are deeper than at the Hon Mun Marine Park and even there I wore a 3mm full - granted they were rental suits had quite a bit of stretch in them so I had a decent amount of water flow. But then I'm used to the cooler Monterey water so maybe that helped me out a little bit.
On this day there was a small amount of current but nothing to write home about. As most of the online sources say, it is not a site for new divers.

The nitty gritty: Rainbow Divers charges $95 (US) for a 3-tank dive. The private speedboat out to Electric Nose ran me $150 (US). There was a fee for the photographer and yes, I did tip out as well. All in all, slightly a bit on the pricey side for 3 tanks but then running a boat out for a single person isn't the most cost efficient practice (there was the capt, and 2 DMs (one in the water with, and one out). In addition, I knew I wasn't going to be on a boat with a ton of other divers/snorkelers. I know that's a prime selling point for a lot of divers. I read on some other site that another company charged a couple around $65 for 3-tanks - but then that just seems a bit crazy low for me. In any case, if I had time to go out again, I'd go out to this dive site and I'd book with Rainbow Divers to take me there.

(thanks for reading! more on days 2/3 later)

Also Iain posted with some photos from our dive at Electric Nose.
I'm the white q-tip head so just disregard the human in those shots.
Also, I hate weight belts. And those fins. The tops of my toes aren't happy.

http://soulflyer.com/gallery/electric-nose.html

Wow. This has been a little difficult.

I'm sure the time difference hasn't helped but initially it seemed like I really had to press people and send multiple e-mails in order to get my questions answered!
Unlike my previous experiences with EdRobinsonsDiveAdventures or Extended Horizons in Maui where I was able to book almost immediately, this has taken a couple of weeks. Actually, one place took over 2 weeks to respond to my e-mails!


Vietnam has not been known as a dive destination in the past but the industry seems to be steadily growing in Nha Trang.
With the initiation of the Hon Mun Marine Protected Area in 2001, diving seems to have become more attractive to locals and tourists alike.
As with many other countries in SE Asia, uncontrolled fishing practices have destroyed a lot of the sea life but in the MPA, coral and other flora/fauna have been able to grow and develop.

"The Nha Trang Bay MPA is about 13,000 hectares and comprises many important habitats including coral reefs, seagrass and mangrove areas. Nha Trang Bay houses the highest coral reef diversity of any surveyed location in Vietnam. Due to its biodiversity values, Nha Trang Bay is an “area of highest national priority” for marine conservation and coastal tourism."


So I have to do a little bit of research to figure out where I'm going and even though Nha Trang is the major city, it's not actually where I'm staying. The map I posted here I found online on some resort's website however it's just about where I'm staying (Ninh Van). Mun Island is where most of the divers go.

After hitting some online forums to get some information on the local diving, I wrote to a handful of dive operators - the ones that had the best reviews on Tripadvisor. I also contacted the Six Senses Resort about their offerings and they explained that they do work with a local dive operator (that maintains a "shop" at the resort) and sent me a pricelist. I immediately balked at the $200 2-tank dive price.

I eventually contacted Sailing Club divers and learned that they're the operator that the resort works with and instead of sending me a pricelist for dives leaving out of Nha Trang, I once again got the price-list featuring the 4,000,000 VND 2-tank dives ($200 US approx). I was also told that 3-tank dives aren't offered because of the hours of the Marine Protected Area - apparently the boat at the resort leaves later than boats from the city. They meet up with regular boat operations already in progress. I'd rather get up early and get in 3 tanks!  Oh and I was also told that I could just pop over to get these dives scheduled. (There's a dedicated staff at the resort). I guess I'm used to planning things in advance because there's just less disappointment that way.

Also, in my initial e-mails to operators I do explain that I am a certified diver that isn't interested in taking an open water PADI course. They keep trying to push the courses! My buddy is certified as well (however still a novice) but he had taken a refresher a couple of weeks ago.
I've been asking which areas are suitable for a new diver and current water temps and suggestions about gear, etc. I also mention that getting 3-tank dive days is important for me because I want to take advantage of my time there!
Each time it's like pulling teeth. For ever 10 questions, I might get answers to 2 or 3. I seriously started to wonder if these places really want my business.

I learned about a place up north about 2.5 hours called Whale Island from the Rainbow Divers website which is a remote and nice area as well but according to one person I contacted the whale sharks that used to be in the area aren't really out there any more. My initial excitement about planning that excursion has passed. This might be a good thing because it'd be $100 for the journey up there via road, otherwise a $600 speedboat ride - either way it also required a super early AM wake up time. It's not totally out though, there are afternoon/evening shore dives offered.

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So far I've primarily been in contact with Rainbow Divers and it looks like they're the company that's going to be taking my money.
Finally getting dives sorted out. I wanted to try out a couple of operators but I guess it's going to be RD since they're are the only ones that seem to be actively responding in the most timely manner. The time difference also makes things a bit more of a hassle.



Apparently Whale Island no longer lives up to the hype so the 26th I'm going to take a private speedboat to the Electric Nose dive sites even though another operator told me that I'd probably not enjoy it due to the dynamite fishing. Yeah, I suppose whale song is a better soundtrack to dive to but I'll just have to live with the fact that it's not going to happen EVERY time I get underwater... Speedboat is gonna cost me $300. 3-tanks is going to be just under $100. I get picked up at the resort.



The 27th I'll be diving with Richard at the Hon Mun Marine Protected Area - a variety of nice and easier sites for 3 more relaxing dives! Thought it'll most likely be on one of those nice n full boats with a bunch of other people. We'll get a $30 transfer into the city to get our paperwork and gear sorted out, and then we head out! Afterwords, there's a bar attached to the dive shop. I think that's where we'll be!

There are other activities in Nha Trang but I'm so very tempted to book a third day of diving... !!!
We'll just have to see how things progress!