Thailand or Borneo in March?

[pigletfish]

My husband and I are starting to plan a vacation of ~15 days for the last half of March 2005 and are considering two Asian locations: Thailand and Malaysian Borneo.

Here are some of the things we're looking for:

1. Good intermediate-level diving in warm water (preferably >80 F). We are both underwater photographers. Looking for good visability, nice corals, and abundant marine life, with pelagics a big plus.
2. Little to no rain.
3. A good variety of topside activities such as hiking, kayaking, local culture, etc. Animals that you can interact with (ex: primates, elephants) preferred as well. And good snorkeling would also be a plus.
4. Decent food for a vegetarian who eats dairy but no fish.
5. Accommodation in the 3 to 4 star range

Our previous experince in the region was in August 2003, when we did one week on Bali (topside activities only) and one week on a Komodo liveaboard. We loved this trip!! The only part that wasn't completely ideal was being on the boat for a week -- we had very few land excursions, and although we loved the diving we started to go a wee bit stir crazy.

We know we need to do a lot more research, but any recommendations, tips, and opinions other ScubaBoarders could provide would be greatly appreciated! Cheers!

:bfish:

PS: we are also considering some Pacific locations, which are described in a post on that board. I was not allowed to put the same post (with all 5 places we are considering) on both the Asia and the Pacific boards; to do so is considered spamming by ScubaBoard. But we are trying to decide between the 5 locations, not just Thailand and Borneo. Thanks!

 

[scubashooter]

You can do Sipadan for the pelagics and the macro stuff from Mabul/Kapalai. Layang Layang is also quite nice. All of which are resort diving. Then you can head to do a tour of Sabah with primates and hike up Kinabalu.
Another alternative is farther south in Sangalaki area, where you can do similar diving at Derawan/Nabucco/Sangalaki and head to Tanjung Puting for the orangutans and the rainforests.
In thailand you can do shorter 4/5 day liveboards, head up to Chiangrai or mai to hike and do the temples and local culture as well as elephants.
If you're really adventurous, PNG is very nice and interesting. Do the coast at Port Moresby, Kimbe Bay, Tufi or Madang then head up to the highlands for bird watching and very interesting local culture and hiking. The hike from Goroka to Madang is very nice.

 

[wenghaidong]

I had been to sangalaki/sipadan/mabul in this oct. and just back from thailand for 4 days similan-surin liveaboard trip.

since you are both underwater photographers, I recommend borneo, the same reason that scubashooter mentioned. their are more pelagics and the macro stuff in almost every divesite of sipadan/east kalimantan. you can visit sangalaki and sipadan in the 15 days trip.

in next feb. our divetrip is to the andaman islands. the first time there are international flight to these paradise islands in indian ocean. you can also consider it as a destination choice.

 

[Mark Goodchild]

Some general Sabah information can be read here:

http://www.zerovisibility.co.uk/Sabah feature.htm

Manado, Indonesia might also be of some interest....

http://www.zerovisibility.co.uk/Manado_feature.htm