I’ll never forget the first time I saw divers in a resort on a family vacation when I was a kid. They looked so cool! They could breathe underwater and knew a whole world I knew nothing about. I wanted to be like them!
When I was 25 I finally booked a diving holiday and got my Open Water Certification in Hurghada Egypt. It was all that I had hoped it to be and more! On my first dive, I saw a huge Napoleon fish, he was so big and so different, I always described it like it looked like as if he was a cartoon. I also saw a couple of really big tunas coming past. Their silver strong bodies made a big impression on me.
From that time on I have always chosen my vacations based on diving locations. Every time I got to be in, near or on the ocean I realized it was my happy place. But I always went back to my amazing hometown Amsterdam and kinda got stuck in the rat race of life and forgot about my wish to be near the ocean.
I obtained my Advanced quite soon after, in Koh Tao Thailand. I had so much fun underwater and I will never forget the day that I saw a turtle for the first time. I will always remember where we saw him and how it was.
Since then I’ve been lucky enough to go on a liveaboard in Komodo, Indonesia, and see more manta’s than I could count. And on a dive in Maui, Hawaii when I heard the whales sing or diving with dolphins in Kauai, Hawaii.
Following my passion at Scuba Center Asia
Being underwater with just my breathing and the vast colors of the reef and the wild mix of small and big oceanic creatures has always been so special to me, it’s kind of like meditation, nowhere else I can find that kind of peace all my worries and thoughts leave me as soon as I get on the boat.
When I was 35 and in Hawaii I bought a sunrise shell and a pearl necklace, to remind me that I need to be around water, that that’s where I am happy. The same year whilst working all kinds of amazing jobs in The Netherlands with the business I set up myself, I decided that yes, I was doing cool stuff but I needed more. I need to be near the ocean.
So I got back in touch with my best friend from the Netherlands Bastiaan. He had set up a 5 star IDC PADI dive resort on the beautiful island of Lembongan near Bali. And within a month I was on my way to that magical place to start the PADI Dive Master course.
Becoming a Dive Pro at Scuba Center Asia
The course is challenging, hard and exhilarating. The team at Scuba Center Asia are all so kind and professional, although they’re busy there’s always plenty of time to joke around. Quickly I started with the Rescue Course. It was hard work there’s so much to learn and do, but I was so proud when I completed the course in a few days and got to be a Dive Master Candidate. That means you start the Divemaster program.
The IDCwithKim at Scuba Center Asia Lembongan
After this, I was hooked on the professional diving lifestyle. I had a quick holiday around Indonesia and came back to my forever home-away-from-home at Scuba Center Asia to start the next chapter. The IDCwithKim. This is just another epic journey.
Why do I choose to do it here? Well, because! 😉 It’s my second home and the Pro Team made me feel so good during my Divemaster program, that it was very clear to do the Dive Instructor course at Scuba Center Asia.
If you are doubting or not sure, DON’T BE. Just go to Scuba Center Asia Lembongan, they are the best.
At Scuba Center Asia they make sure that as a candidate you’re comfortable in the housing behind the shop, you instantly have a whole group of friends to hang out around the diveshop and you can do more diving than you could have dreamed of.
