Malaysia! Everyone there post here

[rotipisang]

Here is another excellent web site on Redang. Probably the most comprehensive web site on Redang island that I have come across. Have a good trip .

Thanks for pointing to the website, I couldn't agree more - it's the most comprehensive website about Redang I've ever seen. Hope to see more websites like it, about other islands in Malaysia.

 

[tzeyap]

Hi, I noticed my favorite dive opp Smart Divers decreased (20$ less for a package) prices for divers since january. But increases for non-divers ;-)

Actually there are 4 (if not more) resorts on Mabul.

Borneo Divers Mabul Islands Resort
Sipadan-Mabul Resort (SMART)
Sipadan Water Villages
Mabul Waterbungalows

Actually there is another dive operator - Sea ventures who operate out a a converted oil-rig just off Mabul.

I have just returned from Smart last night and am thoroughly satisfied with the dive services, accomodation, food and also tranfer/greeting at Tawau airport.

I booked thru an operator based in Kuala Lumpur and got a very good discount off the published rates. In addition, we had the additional benefit of being escorted from Kuala Lumpur to Mabul by a very experienced and knowledgeable instructor who was able to lead us to and show us lots of stuff which we would most certainly have missed. The instructor leading together with the divemaster from Smart added to safety and enjoyment of the dives.

We had excellent visibility. On one dive at Sipadan, the instructor lead a couple of the experienced divers 150 meters into the blue ( depth 100 ft.) and all the time the other divers and the wall was clearly visible !!!!

I would not complain about the cost. For less than $150 per day we had 3 boat dives, unlimited shore dives, twin-share accomodation, 3 full meals ( very good ) and free flow of beverages and snacks throughout the day.

I would highly recommend Smart to anyone. I would also highly recommend the operator I went with. If anyone is interested in contacting the Kuala Lumpur based operator pm me and i will forward his email contact.

 

[ScubaJoel]

Actually there is another dive operator - Sea ventures who operate out a a converted oil-rig just off Mabul.

Yepp - I had five resorts in mind, but I couldn't remember the oil rig at time writing ... ;-)

I have just returned from Smart last night and am thoroughly satisfied with the dive services, accomodation, food and also tranfer/greeting at Tawau airport.

I'm glad to hear you had a great time and nothing has changed to the bad with Smart.

 

[mleong]

For more info of Malaysia diving, welcome to visit http://www.malaysiadivingcommunity.com/forum/

 

[penyelam]

So, who's there...?

penyelam is here.

what's happening ?

Nothing much, really, waiting for my great escape to Redang island like.. 2 days from now (GMT),

how's yours?

where'd you dive last...?

last month to tioman island (Salang beach - Tiger Reef, Magicienne Rock/reef/boulder, Salang Jetty (night dive), Soyah wrecks, and Labas Island (swimthrough) )

where did you last dive?

 

[Ushen]

hey... does anyone knows if Pulau Rawa in Johor, Malaysia has a dive center?? If there is, is there a contact number that I can call directly without going through the resort or agents??

 

[tzeyap]

hey... does anyone knows if Pulau Rawa in Johor, Malaysia has a dive center?? If there is, is there a contact number that I can call directly without going through the resort or agents??

Unless one has been established recently, to the best of my knowledge, there isn't a dive centre on Pulau Rawa.

A friend of mine who likes Rawa brings his own tanks and equipment to the Island. It is possible to rent tanks from Mersing before boarding the boat to Rawa. The resort is operated by Rawa Safaris and they have their office at the Jetty complex in Mersing. Rawa is a very small island and is privately owned. I suggest you lookup their number through directory assistance and check if they can help with renting of tanks. I'm quite sure they will be prepared to assist.

Diving is off the beach on the small but nice house reef. That is, unless you can get a boat to take you out to nearby islands. Mensirip and Harimau are quite nice for diving.

 

[sipidanbg]

well actually they're planning to build this huge marina and a big airport. luckily plans have been put on ice due to the protest of locals and the large amound of mails, letters etc that were sent in. they've decided to reevaluate the environmental impact.

otherwise tioman is doing fine. we were unaffected by the tsunami and as mentioned works are on hold. hopefully it will stay that way.

i'll be moving back to malaysia in february and spending most of my time on pulau tioman. yay! i'm really looking forward to that.

Just an additional comment - there are a number of place to dive Tioman - I'd avoid the area around the Berjaya resort - the construction did the reefs in. However, I dove around Salang Indah (I think that's the right spelling). My wife and I were lucky to find a couple of knowledgable DMs in K.L. and they really helped us pick our spots. Hope you enjoy diving Malaysia as much as we did - we were there for just under 2 years and are really missing it.

 

[sipidanbg]

Hey Aaron!

You might wanna reconsider moving to Bangkok before you dive in Tenggol! I was in Tenggol for almost every other week, the past 2 years. It's my favorite destination and the best diving on the Peninsular Of Malaysia. It was even voted by Asian Divers, "The Best Diving On The Peninsular Malaysia" in 2002.

It's a fantastic place, but some will tell you that it's too much to handle because of the constant strong current. Tenggol has a reputation of being, a demanding dive destination, but if you can overcome that, I'm sure you're gonna love it!

Tenggol is really quiet and unspoiled. Not many people (even Malaysians) know or dare to dive in Tenggol due top the strong currents. I just simply enjoy it! The only setback would be, the sand flies & limited facilities! Other than that, it's fantastic! I even get the pleasure of watching a turtle lay eggs & the hatching of baby turtles. Now, that's not something that you get to see everyday!

I hope you'll get to go before moving to Bangkok!

Happy Diving & Keep Those Bubbles Flowing!

Ed. :scubadive:

Been there done that - and, yes, there are some times when some of the sites at Tenggol have really ripping currents. With that said - Tenggol was my wife's 3rd dive trip after trips to Tioman and Terranganeau (spelling?). She loved the trip to Tenggol. Interestingly, the dive with the worst current resulted in some of the most spectacular vis, ocean life and reefs (sorry, don't have my log in front of me - will look it up and give the dive site name when I'm back home). The sand fleas are tough and the resort is (to be polite) rustic. With all that said, we really enjoyed the dives and the short trip through the jungle to the overlook over the water was a nice bonus.

 

[sipidanbg]

Hi Fellow Divers & Future Divers!

Once again, the East Coast (Peninsular Malaysia) diving season will be opening soon! It's another whole new year of diving.

For those of you, who haven't been to Tenggol and planned to go, this is the year! We have some scheduled trips for Tenggol. Check out our website for those schedules.

www.oceanxplorer.com.my

Happy Diving & Keep Those Bubbles Flowing!

Ocean Xplorer

Edvin - funny to bump into you here - Gwen and I are back in the US and (finally) making our first dive trip since returning from K.L. - wish we were still there to take one of your trips....