Photos from dive in Langkawi

[malaysia-islands]

http://www.malaysia-islands.com/payar-coralgarden.htm

As promised, here are some photos of this dive site they called "Coral Garden". Quite an amazing place considering the Straits of Malacca is usually not known for healthy corals due to the busy shipping lanes.

Saw tonnes of Dendronephthya sp., huge groupers, a lot of angelfish and a few bannerfish + moorish idols.

Went diving with East Marine Dive Centre, which I must say very professional in handling us, the divers.

Comments and questions are welcome. I stayed at Mutiara Burau Bay Resort , quite a decent resort to stay.

 

[Blobby]

Hi M-I,

We have a three day stopover in Penang - and hope to get up to Pulau Payer Marine Park for a day's diving - any comments as to how accesible this is? Also, the pics I've seen on the web make me shudder a little bit - a glass bottomed platform that seems to be teeming with people. Is the park overcrowded - how responsible were the dive groups?

Cheers

phil

 

[malaysia-islands]

Hi M-I,

We have a three day stopover in Penang - and hope to get up to Pulau Payer Marine Park for a day's diving - any comments as to how accesible this is? Also, the pics I've seen on the web make me shudder a little bit - a glass bottomed platform that seems to be teeming with people. Is the park overcrowded - how responsible were the dive groups?

Cheers

phil

Hi Phil!

Glad you're thinking about diving in Payar. Prior to me getting my PADI, I've done the day-trip snorkeling trip from PENANG, so it is not impossible to do it.

Don't get turned off by the "pontoon with glass bottom" thingy! If you're going for diving, you will avoid all those crowd! I myself find it silly that tourists went to payar with their Manolo Blahnik and evening gowns, I'm serious, what the heck she was thinking?

For you, the option is to sign up for 2-dive package. The boat departs from Port Swettenham in downtown Penang around 9am, journey takes about 1.5 hours to Payar. The boat is big and has a/c. As soon as you arrive in Payar, identify yourself as a diver and you'll be diving on a smaller dive boat, WITHOUT those silly crowds. To me, divers are much more responsible that those orange-jackets who know nothing about marine life. And you won't be diving among them, thank god.

Book your trip from East Marine. EXTREMELY professional service. The owner's name is Danny. East Marine also runs dive shop in Lang Tengah and Perhentian. Since it's monsoon time in South China Sea, there'll be more DiveMasters going to Payar.

East Marine Holidays
Penang Office
+60-4-226-3032
+60-19-448-3650 (Danny)

Do let me know if you have any question.