Diving near Asian capitals... please help!

[Dea]

I'm going on a great Asian trip for a semester, however the stops will be not in resorts but in big cities. It is hard for me to accept that I will not get to dive, so maybe someone knows of a descent spot within range of any of those cities (so that it can be a day trip)

Beijing,
Shanghai,
Seoul,
Tokyo,
Kyoto,
Taipei,
Manila,
Hanoi,
Ho Chi Min city,
Phom Penn,
Bankok,
Manila
Hong Kong

 

[The Hamburger]

Pattaya is just 1 1/2 hrs drive from Bangkok and has reasonable diving , nothing great , but I go every fortnight just to get wet.

You could talk to a friend of mine about it he is an instructor in Pattaya.

Peter@pjscuba.com

If you look at his website www.pjscuba.com all the photo's of diving in Pattaya are taken by my buddy. As I was there I can guarentee that they are all taken in Pattaya.

Cheers

 

[Dea]

Thanks Hamburger,
Could you tell me more about the diving conditions?
why is it not great? because it is shallow?
the water on the photo with the lionfish seems clear.

 

[travelem]

In Hong Kong, contact Pro-Dive, they do day trips to outlying islands in HK.
http://www.prodive.com.hk/pd/

Other dive shops in HK:
http://www.hkdivephoto.com/links/hkbased.shtml

The conditions won't be great but OK.

 

[Jonathan]

Can certainly sort you out in Tokyo - plenty of diving near by but it won't be as cheap as some of your other destinations

For example I'm going to Atami on Saturday. I'm going by Shinkansen (Bullet train so I can get up later!) and it is $63 for the train fare - local line is about $15 but it takes 2 hours as opposed to 45 minutes....

Day of diving: 2 X boat dives package inc air $195 ($25 extra for nitrox)
Lunch: About $9

There is another guy available for similar diving which is $130 but he is strictly PADI where as the guy I use is more into the tecnical stuff and can get twins and nitrox.

It's good to be an expat!

If that hasn't put you off drop me a PM and we can sort something out.

Jonathan

 

[Dea]

Travelem, again, what do you mean by "not great conditions"
Polluted water? strong currents? bad vis? cold?

Jonathan, wow. with a gear and drysuit rental one day of diving would be about $400? that's the most expensive I've seen. Hard to balance that with the wish to add another country to the log book. Also, am I right in assuming the conditions in that area are similar to US northeast?

You are right, it is great to be expat! It is my dream..

 

[Jonathan]

There's no two ways about it Japan is an expensive country but well worth a visit. On the face of it Tokyo looks like any big city, look a little closer and it's completely different. I wouldn't say worth it just to add to your log book, but worth it for so many other reasons.

Never dived in the US NE but I don't think so. Water temp now is in the low 20's but will get up to 26/27 later in the year. In the winter it gets down to around 12/13. I'm talking about the Tokyo area here - Japan is a big country (well long!). I never had to get my thinsulate out this winter and I was diving on Christmas Eve...

The best visibility I have ever seen was an off an Island near Tokyo. Realistically though I usually experience 5-15m. Plenty of soft coral, fish etc. Low on wrecks. And you can get some spectacular views on your SI - one of the most popular spots has a great view of Fuji.

If you need a guide in Tokyo, dive or otherwise let me know.

Jonathan

 

[AliKat]

I can't tell you much about it, but I've heard Vietnam has some good diving.

Either way, sounds like a great trip!

 

[voln]

Dea - sounds great although hectic - a lot of travelling within a short period of time. I've not been to the Philippines but I met a Philippino diver once who told me Boracay is amazing and also has a great white sand beach. Downside is it is cold (I think that is relative for Asia and I imagine with a 5 mm wetsuit you'll be fine) - worth looking into.

V.

 

[Dea]

Jonathan, I did not mean if it is worth to visit (that it definitely is) what I was talking about is it worth to pay so much extra to dive there. Since I'll be traveling 4 months straight I can't have everything and will have to make some money-wise choises.
Thank you very much for the guide offer but they have taken care of that end for us.
However if your company needs another expat... LOL

So far I am leaning toward diving in Nha Trang and Hong Kong. They seem to be more reasonable choises (even though they are not highly rated either)

Alicat, Voln, I know that those countries have great diving. The issue is diving near the places I'll be visiting. I have a very jampacked program and will only be able to get away for a day trip dive.

Voln, it is a 4 month trip. But they have every day planned and so far we only have 3 confirmed leisure days.