My Journey to become a PADI Divemaster in Bali

My journey to become a PADI Divemaster in Bali.

I love the Bali Island and ocean so much that I have decided to live and work here. I want to explore the other 70%. I have enrolled the PADI Divemaster course with Alpha World Diving Bali.

The process to becoming a diver was fun. I have always loved the water despite being a good swimmer and almost drowned in the river when I was a kid. It never deterred me to be near the water. My first dive was in the Bali Tulamben. The current made the water choppy, but it only fueled my excitement through adrenaline. My instructor was extremely professional, always making sure we were safe while we perform our skills. It was such a wonderful feeling to be underwater for the first time and see all those beautiful marine life and corals.

The course not only certified me as a diver but also taught me many things like being environmentally responsible by not touching or disturbing marine life. It also taught be about various species and their attributes; for example, the lion fish while pretty is also poisonous. We went to Nusa Penida on our second day. The dives were more challenging, but I handled it well. I remembered we did out underwater navigation and controlled emergency swimming ascent (CESA) and I got distracted by the majestic manta rays while performing navigation skills! I did eventually complete it.

The PADI Open Water Diver course was the door opener for me and after completing it, I knew I wanted more. I continued my education with the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver where I was taught to apply my diving skills in a variety of environment which included going deeper, diving at night and performing more complex navigation.

The night dive was a totally amazing experience as I saw creatures that I would not normally see in the day. The wreck dive made me feel like a child again because I felt like I was playing hide and seek all over! The dive I found useful was the Peak Performance Buoyancy as it really fine-tuned my diving skills so I can dive with minimal movements, become streamlined and have good neutral buoyancy. Not only were my dives more enjoyable but also doing my part for the environment when I was able to control myself and not crashing all over the place.

The more I learnt about diving the more I enjoy it. I also started thinking that I want to be a safer diver and be able to help other divers in need. I started thinking that despite the best practices, accidents can happen. I started to think about “what if?” These led me to decide to advance my education further and took the Rescue Diver course with Emergency First Response. I also learnt how to properly administer oxygen in the event of an emergency.

Throughout my diving, I have picked up other hobbies like underwater photography or taking footages. The adventurer in me is always pushing me to try more experience. With enough dives under my belt, I am now doing my Divemaster internship in Alpha World Diving Bali where I learnt to assist instructors in classes, organizing drives and taking care of students and customers. Recently I have also participated in the Project Aware Dive Against Debris in Tulamben Bali where the instructors at the dive center will led by example to be environmentally responsible.

Right now, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that affected the whole world, I am still active by practicing my skills under the supervision of PADI Course Director Randy Tay and Master Scuba Diver Trainer Jefry Isahak. I cannot wait till I graduate from Divemaster program and start applying all that.

“Do everything that I believe in, going by the rules that I’ve taught” ~ Born to Try by Delta Goodrem

Ani #PADI Divemaster

Alpha World Diving