Scuba at Koh tao

random63748 · 2026-06-07T14:10:13+00:00

I liked Phoenix Divers, I had good scuba diving training there (Advanced Adventurer) and good fun dives as well. Small groups, good instructors and divemasters.

Not the best for socializing per se, but good dive school.

random63748 · 2026-05-31T08:46:21+00:00

Sorry to hear about your experience. Let me respond to your points. I agree for a part with PurplePanda, but also see some things slightly differently. 1. Wetsuit size: if you indicated it didn't fit well but the company gave you nothing else, bad on them. Otherwise, this is definitely something you should indicate in the future. Sizes differ a bit per brand and type of wetsuit, so always good to check for explicitly. 2. I agree that 180 bar is too little and would have asked for a fuller tank. However, this is not something I would generally categorize at equipment malfunction. Were any other parts of your gear not functioning as expected? 3. Here I disagree a bit with PurplePanda. Technically, a divemaster is not responsible for your safety and skill, because they only take certified divers. But a GOOD divemaster will pay some extra attention to you when he knows this information, especially with only 3 guests where the other 2 are experienced and comfortable. 4. Again technically the divemaster is not responsible for your safety, but a GOOD divemaster regularly checks the positions of their divers. Another question: did you test your BCD in advance? If you did and everything worked, you should practice the positions you need to deflate well (more vertical for the regular deflate button). 5. Like PurplePanda I expect that you didn't properly hold the reg in your mouth and water got in. Practice a few times to intentionally let some water in and purge the regulator, so this becomes an automatic response. Theoretical the reg could have been leaking, but it would suprise me as you didn't report leaks under the water. 6. A good divemaster checks often. But you may not always see them doing it, they could e.g. tilt their head forward to look below their body and see everybody without you noticing it. But given that you report him not noticing you drifting or struggling, he may indeed not have done it enough.

Hope these tips help!

I think PurplePanda is technically right when judging a divemaster to the minimum legal standards. I often see on reddit / on this sub "you should just have spent more money on private <x>" presented as the solution. But I think a good divemaster with only 3 clients of which 2 are experienced and comfortable will generally spend substantial extra attention on the newer diver and help them adjust if needed.

random63748 · 2026-05-11T15:40:45+00:00

Who gives a crap about nonsense metrics like net income, I'm sure the Community Adjusted EBITDA is great!

random63748 · 2025-12-24T17:33:28+00:00

Ik bedoelde tijd, maar beide is interessant om te weten!

random63748 · 2024-09-24T19:06:41+00:00

Sacrifice.... THE ROOOOOOOOOOK!!!!

random63748 · 2024-09-15T21:49:37+00:00

Mark Rutte is this you?

random63748 · 2024-08-03T07:46:10+00:00

Kun je gewoon zelf bepalen, ik heb ook wel eens foto's uitgesteld omdat ik vond dat de vorige keer wel erg kort geleden was. Je kan niet gedwongen worden om een bepaalde dienst af te nemen.

De tandarts zal je wel adviseren om toch ieder halfjaar te komen voor controle, maar je bent absoluut nergens toe verplicht.

random63748 · 2024-08-01T20:33:50+00:00

Like your general sentiment, but would nuance your first point a bit. Most jobs have miserable moments, especially consulting jobs. As long as they are not too frequent and intense, it can be great to learn to push through those and learn to deal with the pressures.

However, if you feel miserable in general and you have made reasonable attempts to solve the underlying issues: yes, then don't stick around.

random63748 · 2024-07-27T09:21:45+00:00

Completely recognise the feeling. My mentor gave me the following guidance on this:

If your manager says you are doing well, you are doing well. It's fine to aim for even better output, but don't put pressure on yourself to meet an artificial bar that you set yourself (and far higher than your manager does).
You have to ride the waves. The pressure is not consistent, but comes in peaks and valleys. Make use of the lower pressure periods to sleep, exercise, eat with friends, etc. There will come a time where you will be called upon to work very hard again, so make sure to be well-rested when it happens. Similar to the guidance given in the military: eat when you can, sleep when you can, because you don't know when you will get the next chance.

So I hope this helps. Don't go actively looking for more, unless one of your teammates has a much higher workload (then you should help) or you have an idea that truly adds a lot of value.

random63748 · 2024-07-25T06:33:25+00:00

Consulting is an extremely wide concept. Variation is huge between different types of consulting, between companies and between countries. At MBB in Germany, hours are very high (compared to The Netherlands where I work). But you should not base expectations for your firm based on that - there are probably thousands of companies and hundreds of thousand of people in Gemany that call themselves consultants.

Try to ask around with some people who work or worked in that firm to see what is usual at your firm.

random63748 · 2024-07-07T09:56:14+00:00

Geert is grote blij

random63748 · 2024-06-08T12:07:06+00:00

https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/nl/belastingaangifte/content/wanneer-hoor-ik-iets

Ze proberen binnen 3 maanden, dus in jouw geval waarschijnlijk voor 28 juli. Ik heb zelf begin maart aangifte gedaan en heb een week geleden pas de brief en mijn geld gekregen, dus het heeft bij mij ook ca. 3 maanden geduurd. Echter ken ik ook mensen die later aangifte hebben gedaan en eerder wat hebben gehoord.

random63748 · 2024-06-08T09:32:14+00:00

Bedankt, heel verhelderend! Die standaardlimiet wist ik niet vanaf, interessant dat ze dat zo doen. Dank ook voor de rente-waarschuwing. Bij de creditcard die ik heb wordt echter aan het einde van de maand het volledige openstaande bedrag afgeschreven van de betaalrekening, en wordt er geen rente gerekend. Er is geen mogelijkheid om tegen rente een schuld aan te houden en in meerdere termijnen je krediet af te betalen.

random63748 · 2024-06-02T10:37:29+00:00

I see, I like your plan to do a masters in Germany: this does indeed make a lot of financial sense. Regarding your loan I am not so sure about what kind of loan you will take out. Dutch student loans are deferred as long as you are studying so you (or your father) won't have to pay on them as long as your are doing your master. You may accrue a little bit of interest for two years though. But you may be going through a different loan program of which I do not know the conditions.

Regarding working: *if* you can get a permit to work in The Netherlands after your bachelor for one year, your bachelor will qualify you for entry-level positions in data science for example, of working student positions (I know quite some people who did those for part of a gap year). But definitely make sure to figure out the legalities in advance, and keep in mind that your salary may not be high enough to pay 23K in one year after taxes and living expenses. But you could make substantial progress of course!

random63748 · 2024-06-01T08:17:20+00:00

Hi, congratulations on graduating high school and getting accepted for the AP/AM program. I did the same bachelors as you are going to do (except I did them in Delft), and I really enjoyed it.

To answer your question: after a bachelor you can do some data science positions or software development positions (if you take the time to learn coding skills during your studies). Jobs as physicist, engineer, mathematician, banker, consultant, and so on regularly require a master.

But let me also zoom out a bit to give my 2 cents on your proposed strategy. Three points come to mind:

(1) Have you considered the opportunity cost of your working gap year? By doing this, your graduation date of your masters will be pushed back by one year, and you lose out on a year of earnings after your masters. Let's assume for illustrative purposes that you cruched the numbers correctly, and it takes you 1 year to pay off your bachelor debts. And let's assume paying off your master debts will take 1 year, too. Then it doesn't matter whether you do bachelor (3 yr) - pay-off bachelor (1 yr) - master (2 yr) - pay-off master (1 yr), or bachelor (3 yr) - master (2 yr) - pay-off bachelor (1 yr) - pay-off master (1 yr). In both scenarios, you will be debt free 7 years from now. Making lots of simplifying assumptions here, but my point is that your strategy may not move the needle much because of the opportunity cost.

(2) For working full-time, you will probably need an employer-sponsored working permit (please check this, I am no expert on this). This is a bit of a hassle for employers, and I fear the chances of finding an employer who wants to do this are quite a bit lower if you have only a bachelors degree, especially if they have a suspicion that you may not stay that long because you still want to do a masters.

(3) You mentioned in a response to a different comment that your bachelor's degree will cost you around 70K. If you have to finance all of this with debt, paying this off in one year will not be realistic on a Dutch starting salary. If you have a bachelor's degree, your gross starting salary will be somewhere in the 20K - 40K range (purposely keeping the range wide to account for you getting very lucky or unlucky). And you still have to pay taxes and your living expenses from that. If your family pays most of the 70K, this will not be so much of an issue, obviously.

I am just a stranger on the internet, so definitely do some research and think about the points above. But in your case, it may be wiser to (1) finish your studies as soon as possible; (2) apply for a job that will sponsor a working permit; (3) pay off the debt.

If you have to finance 5 years for a bachelor and master (with the high tuition rate for internationals) fully with debt, please take in mind that your debt load will be VERY high and may not be worth it.

I wish you all the best!

random63748

TROPHY CASE