Malaysia - Diving, good or bad idea?

[jlevine]

Hello,

I may have to go to Malaysia for a month in the near future. I would like to find out if diving in that area is viable given the recent tragedy. I certainly do not want to interfere with any recovery operations or appear insensitive to what people may be going through. If it's better to avoid the coast completely due to health and safety reasons, I understand. My friend in Kuala Lumpur said the city itself is fine but he was not familiar with the state of diving.

I appreciate any feedback that you can provide.

With thanks,

jsl

 

[ssra30]

Malaysia was affected very little from what I heard. Some of the best diving in Malaysian peninsula is on the other side of the coast so they are fine. Sipadan which is on Borneo rather than the mainland is no where near the tsunami area at all.

 

[pilot81]

Langkawi and the west side of malaysia (except for Penang) was mainly unaffected by the tsunami. The east side of malaysia is going through the monsoon season right now, so conditions may not be the best.

 

[fdog]

We dove off Langkawi a month ago, mostly at Pulau Payar Marine Park.

Water temps about 82 degrees F, vis was 60-80' and green. Plenty of life, although not as dense as you might expect.

I included some photos, I appoligize as they're from a disposable camera (I was there on business and didn't bring a real camera).

While there we dove with the Bomba (Malaysian National Fire Department), so we didn't dive with the local dive operation, East Marine Divers. After watching them in action we're glad we didn't; on one photo you can see the large boat they shuttle you from the harbor to the dive site, and in the foreground, their skiff they actually dive from. When we asked about diving, they told us that it was required that everyone dive with a divemaster who would manage the dive. Sheesh. Cost was $90 US for 2 dives including lunch.

Because our hosts, the Bomba, had a cylinder shortage, I asked East Marine about renting tanks. They did not, and actually seemed bewildered that anyone would do so, although they would cheerfully rent us regulators, BCs, wetsuits etc. No gas, only air, and that was questionable as I saw them one afternoon taking the valves off of tanks, upending the tanks to pour out water, and screwing the valves back in and filling them. I'm not kidding, we just stared with a kind of frozen horror. Then they filled them from their compressor with a woefully inadequate, single stack filter ( I asked, the dive shop owner wasn't sure how long it had been since the filter stack was changed).

Our hosts were fantastic, and did backflips to make sure we had a great time. Langkawi is a beautiful island, the folks are incredibally friendly, the food is cheap and far better than the mainland. It is worth going to the island even if you do not stick a flipper in the water.

I have heard from an email from the Bomba on the island that the tsunami damage is location dependent. Some areas are untouched, and others were hammered. No report on the effect on the diving, although we wern't that impressed with the pre-tsunami conditions, anyway.

All the best, James

 

[Zippsy]

The best diving in Malaysia is off off Borneo. You can dive most of those sites (Sipadan, Layang Layang, Sangalaki, etc.) year round although the better times are March - November because of the monsoon. They are well worth the trip for a around a week if you can get that much time.

Around peninsular Malaysia (west), the best diving is off the east coast around Tioman, Aur, Redang, Perhentian, Tenggol, etc. Those paces are closed until at least mid-February. Weekend trips to these places, after that time, are easy to do from the mainland. You can also do longer trips. There will be plenty of LOB's available for the weekend trips and resort for both short-term and longer. Please note that "resorts" are cheaper and more basic than what you may be used to.

 

[Ed_Dman]

Hello,

I may have to go to Malaysia for a month in the near future. I would like to find out if diving in that area is viable given the recent tragedy. I certainly do not want to interfere with any recovery operations or appear insensitive to what people may be going through. If it's better to avoid the coast completely due to health and safety reasons, I understand. My friend in Kuala Lumpur said the city itself is fine but he was not familiar with the state of diving.

I appreciate any feedback that you can provide.

With thanks,

jsl

Hello!

Malaysia is not much affected by the tsunamis, but our hearts & prayers goes out to those affected by it!

If you are planning to dive here in Malaysia, I would suggest the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia or East Malaysia (Sipadan, Mabul, Mataking & etc). As for the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the season will only reopen mid of February, but east Malaysia is open all year round.

As a Malaysian, I would say that Malaysian are pretty much friendly and considerate people, the insensitive part is not an issue. You are not the cause of the tsunamis, it just happened so we would welcome anyone, who would like to dive in Malaysia.

Don't let such devastating event stop anyone from diving because the industry and locals need all our support to rebuild their lives (in Thailand, Indonesia, Maldive, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia & etc). Donation is a great way to show our support, but it's not gonna help if we stop diving in this region. We can help them to rebuild their lives again by supporting them through diving in this region because their livelihood depends on tourism and in the long run, this will benefit them & us more. "Let us not enjoy, what others built, but enjoy building it! - Ed_Dman".

Happy Diving & Keep Those Bubbles Flowing! :scubadive

 

[underwater daphne]

Hello!

Malaysia is not much affected by the tsunamis, but our hearts & prayers goes out to those affected by it!

If you are planning to dive here in Malaysia, I would suggest the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia or East Malaysia (Sipadan, Mabul, Mataking & etc). As for the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the season will only reopen mid of February, but east Malaysia is open all year round.

As a Malaysian, I would say that Malaysian are pretty much friendly and considerate people, the insensitive part is not an issue. You are not the cause of the tsunamis, it just happened so we would welcome anyone, who would like to dive in Malaysia.

Don't let such devastating event stop anyone from diving because the industry and locals need all our support to rebuild their lives (in Thailand, Indonesia, Maldive, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia & etc). Donation is a great way to show our support, but it's not gonna help if we stop diving in this region. We can help them to rebuild their lives again by supporting them through diving in this region because their livelihood depends on tourism and in the long run, this will benefit them & us more. "Let us not enjoy, what others built, but enjoy building it! - Ed_Dman".

Happy Diving & Keep Those Bubbles Flowing! :scubadive

i very much agree with what Ed says.

also apart from Penang, Malaysia was practically unharmed by the Tsunami.

 

[Quero]

Hello,

I may have to go to Malaysia for a month in the near future. I would like to find out if diving in that area is viable given the recent tragedy. I certainly do not want to interfere with any recovery operations or appear insensitive to what people may be going through. If it's better to avoid the coast completely due to health and safety reasons, I understand. My friend in Kuala Lumpur said the city itself is fine but he was not familiar with the state of diving.

I appreciate any feedback that you can provide.

With thanks,

jsl

Diving in Malaysia is excellent and a very good idea indeed. And as others have said, no need to worry at all about quake/tsunami effects.

Having dived east coast, west coast and Boreo, I can confirm that west coast diving (Langkawi) is nothing to make a special trip for. If you're already there (it is a very lovely place), and want to take a stroll underwater, you might see some stuff, but otherwise, plan on going to the east coast of the peninsula or to layang-layang, or to the nearer islands off boneo.

The east coast sites are mainly part of the Terengganu Marine Park. The more northerly islands offer easy, leisurely dives in relatively shallow water. As a general rule, the further south you go in the park, the more dramatic the underwater scenery and the more challenging the dives. My favorite area is without a doubt Pulau Tenggol and environs. I routinely drive from KL to Dungun (east coast) in order to dive at Pulau Tenggol on regular weekends during work weeks (out on Friday night and back Sunday evening; Tonjung Jara Resort offers special weekend dive packages). There is also Tioman with its easy access (Berjaya Air flies directly from KL to the island); but that also means somewhat overdived conditions and the general damage that development inflicts on reefs.

Layang-Layang is all by itself in the South China Sea--an atoll with spectacular wall dives. Sipadan et. al. need no introduction, of course. There are a few others, but these are the major areas.

 

[lanun]

and that was questionable as I saw them one afternoon taking the valves off of tanks, upending the tanks to pour out water, and screwing the valves back in and filling them. I'm not kidding, we just stared with a kind of frozen horror. Then they filled them from their compressor with a woefully inadequate, single stack filter ( I asked, the dive shop owner wasn't sure how long it had been since the filter stack was changed).

:11: dang ! i use their tanks ! there goes my quick day trips

 

[diver-greg]

I'll be in Kuala Lampur 23-28 January and will have some time to dive. Any suggestions on where I should go on the Penninsula? Everything I've seen says that the diving on the East side won't open up until mid-February, and I won't be able to go to East Malaysia. What are my options for the end of December?

Greg