Poe Lim <[log in to unmask]> queried:
>Is it my imagination, but there seems to be more Japanese women who
>dive (I see a lot pairs of Japanese women divers up in Cairns,
>Sipadan, Sydney), and who get to instructor level...

No, you havent lost your mind Poe :-))  I've noticed the surge in female
Japanese divers here in Western Oz & also other places Ive dived in the
Indo-Pacific regions. I guess with the womenfolk leaving the baby-making
days to their later years more females are getting out & about travelling.
Look at the huge amount of females nowdays who backpack worldwide.

Most of the Japanese DMs we have here are on working holidays. When they
get sick of one spot they just move on. Others who like the country take up
permanent residence and usually stay in the dive industry one way or
another. Having DMs of different nationalities is quite important nowdays
with the huge influx of tourist divers to English speaking countries as
they require translators for the dive briefs, etc.

While holidaying at Layang-Layang Island a couple of years back most of the
DMs there were of asian descent. They were on a roster system & were
rotated between Sipadan, Mabul & Layang-Layang Island. They had the best of
both worlds in my books as I would love to have the opportunity to dive all
those places again & again... and again & again. I would be in macro heaven
at Mabul & the huge schools of fish & monsterous turtles at Sipadan
fascinate me :-)
Viv