Hi , great board !!

[Fivetide]

Need a bit of advice, I friend of mine has convinced me to kick the 9-5 and go to Perhentian Island… he reckons I’m having a mid life crisis. I reckon I’m just looking for a complete change of lifestyle for a while !! (Could be both right). Anyway like I mentioned I need some advice , my friend spent 6 months on the island a couple of years ago thought its was fantatic..hes given me lots of advice but as it been over 2 years since he was there I’d like to get some up to date info.

The aim is first to do my dive master (again) its nearly 4 years since I last dived. Then if funds are ok and I’m still feeling in the mood.. do the instructors course. I don’t have any equipment at all so the first thing is

Where would you recommend I buy all my gear ( I’m in the UK and prices are stupid to say the least) Bangkok, Singapore ? And can anyone recommend a shop in the place that’s not a ripoff!
What gear will I need?
Whats the best Airline?

I will be going in about 3 weeks.

And as I’m on my own need to know the pro’s and the con’s what to avoid etc ?

Thanks

 

[Bayou Platypus]

Welcome aboard...enjoy your time here on ScubaBoard.

I'm not familiar with the island or dive shops in the UK...but am sure many folks on this board are--you came to the right place.

Again, welcome.

 

[anemone]

Welcome to SB!

I would reckon to buy your gears in Singapore. I travel quite a lot there and they have pretty good stuff. Far East Plaza to be exact. Another one is The Concourse Shopping Mall on Beach Road..Shop name is Richmond Supplies & Service Pte. Ltd. I'm not Singaporean, so you might want to ask people there. Or else KL have one shop that i know. Its called Hobi-Sports located in Bandar Sunway,Phone: 00(603) 5638 8737.
Airline how about Emirates? you can travel from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and of course Heathrow. More than 4 flights a day from these point. Transit in Dubai and to KL directly.Price not sure. I think its cheaper by Singapore Airlines. But Frequency Emirates is the best!
Hope the above helps.

Cheers!

 

[Fivetide]

Welcome to SB!

I would reckon to buy your gears in Singapore. I travel quite a lot there and they have pretty good stuff. Far East Plaza to be exact. Another one is The Concourse Shopping Mall on Beach Road..Shop name is Richmond Supplies & Service Pte. Ltd. I'm not Singaporean, so you might want to ask people there. Or else KL have one shop that i know. Its called Hobi-Sports located in Bandar Sunway,Phone: 00(603) 5638 8737.
Airline how about Emirates? you can travel from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and of course Heathrow. More than 4 flights a day from these point. Transit in Dubai and to KL directly.Price not sure. I think its cheaper by Singapore Airlines. But Frequency Emirates is the best!
Hope the above helps.

Cheers!

Thanks anemone !

As I trawl the internet for answers Ill post what I find in this forum ..self help plus the help of people on this board should make my life far easier ..and hopefully anyone else doing the same trip will have some good tips.

http://www.perhentianisland.info/



Got this of another thread.

"If you want to buy equipment in Singapore, go to Paris Dept Store at the basement of Lucky Plaza. Best prices in town. Look for Charlie. In HK, try Pro-dive on Lockhart Road (above a pub called San Francisco). Very competitive pricing and very wide range. Think prices at Paris is slightly cheaper than Pro-dive."

"BTW, Lucky Plaza is in Orchard Road, beside Marriot Hotel".

I have decided to buy a Suunto stinger and the price in Singapore seems very good compared to Uk/Europe. So far looking at the exchange rate and the online shop prices it looks like a standard Stinger is around £230-260.. but I'm told you should haggle on those prices anyway.

Some good review and information on Scubaboard I also found this thread to look at

http://www.sportextreme.com/se_shop....SubkategoriID.209_ProductID.20240_index.html
Will post more as I find it