We would like to feature this review of Tucker’s on our Trip Advisor page. He first joined us on our Pirate Surviboard and he has probably not skipped one weekend after that. We were almost successful in making him a DMT!! An amazing diver, a good anchor puller, an even better gear-washer and definitely one of the top wakeboarders we had in Pondicherry, he is always a very welcome sight at the DC on weekends. We hope he has a great time back in the States and returns back real soon to India to explore the mythical blue hole!!!
Worst. Dive Shop. Ever. Would definitely visit again. [TL;DR (aka: serious) version at the end] What to say about Temple? Do you like cats? Dogs? Kittens? Ice cream? Chocolate? They have all these things! Well... some of them you have to bring, as a bribe (this is India, after all). I started diving with "The Best Dive Shop In Pondicherry" (check a map) because I'm in Chennai on business. After what reads more like an attempt to dissuade me from joining what can only be described as a "survivaboard," I was pretty sure I was either going to love or loathe Temple... assuming I survived. To the chagrin of some, we all made it back with most of our limbs intact and only major burns on relatively inconsequential parts of our anatomy. After exploring a couple new sites (Cabbage Patch, FTW!) and "wakeboarding" for a couple days, I was hooked... I'd also learned a new skill that we will never discuss again. During the rest of my month and a half of hard labor (seriously everyone, I don't work here. how come no one believes me??), I learned not just a lot about diving but also carrying heavy things, cleaning equipment, putting things back where they belong, not giving Luke the keys to your bike and keeping your hands out of Australian territory. Have I mentioned the new hand signals Julian taught me? No? Good, we'll keep it that way. Temple is a great shop. They take safety very seriously. Their equipment is well maintained. They've done an amazing job of reef building. They're hard core divers. If you're looking for a place to come and try diving, they're great for that. If you're wanting to become a better diver, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to not work with them. I don't know when I'll be back in the India but I know that, when I do, I'll absolutely be visiting again. Thanks for everything guys (and girls). Let me know how that hole ends up. See you as soon as I can. TL;DR version I went for a weekend and went back for another five or six. Highly technical dive staff. Great sense of humor. Happy to compare and PADI vs personal philosophies without a bunch of BS. Everyone at the shop is good at what they're doing and I'm really going to miss them when I head back to the states. I took two class with them (Nitrox and Sidemount) and would absolutely be taking more, if I had the time. I've gone diving with quite a few shops and I trust this crew as much as my home LDS (maybe more...).