I could hear the rhythmic hissing of packaged air being sucked into my compressed lungs and then expelled — a derby of bubbles racing to the surface, tickling my face on their way.

There was a sense of weightlessness — not like when I run, and can feel the shifting tonnage of my lagging back end. I was complete, self-contained, underwater, and breathing, while in an apparatus — I was SCUBA,"SCUBA-DOO," to be exact as my diving instructor referred to me because for a beginner, he said, I wasn't afraid of snooping around.

Diver and fish sizing each other up along reef

Funny, since I am not a good swimmer and afraid of water, and sharks for that matter. Who isn't? But despite that fear, after passing my exam only a few years ago, I have been eager to display my offical passport to the underwater world and get in as much diving as possible. I have since realized that the only danger in diving is missing out on it all.

Our planet is 70 percent water and with such a vast coverage, the possibilities of exploring these underwater living rooms are endless.

Come face-to-face with whale sharks or the other kind — meat-eating sharks off the shores of Micronesia. Dive the barrier reef, where the term"great" is an understatement. Leave the dry suit at home for the crystalline warm waters off the Caribbean, and open your eyes to the unique blueness of the red sea.

GORP has tried to make it easy for you by narrowing down the endless amount of dives. We've selected the best of the East consisting of the Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans and surrounding waters, as well as the West, including the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the surrounding waters.

So grab that BCD and tank and with GORP's top ten not-to-be-missed dives, do a back roll off the boat and see for yourself!

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