Scuba Madness on Koh Tao!

 

The Divemaster's, Instructors and Managers who run the dive shops and dive schools on Koh Tao are fiercely competitive. There were two methods dive shops and schools would pay their DMs and Instructors: A flat-rate monthly wage or a percentage based wage (based on how many paying customers there were). Potentially the latter would be more lucrative, but only with a good flow of customers. Without a steady stream of business the bills would just mount up steadily.

At first all went well, the relaxed, stress-free atmosphere and Will's hands-off 'Reagan Approach' to being the boss seemed to be paying off. I got a phone call from Planet Scuba on the second day of work, they wanted me to start work immediately. I turned them down and committed to SSDC. Koh Tao is a party-island and after the diving was finished for the day the crazy drinking and partying would begin. Almost every dive shop or school has a bar or restaurant (often both!). There was/is a party almost every night on Koh Tao.

The dive establishments almost always are owned by the original Thai Restaurant owners. After almost a month of working non-stop the rosy facade of diving began to crack under the hard truths and facts to working on Koh Tao.

 

Part 1 | Part 2