I spent most of the day yesterday at the Malaysia International Dive Expo (MIDE). It’s probably the best of the three Southeast Asia dive shows, at least this year. There were dive operators from the Red Sea to Raja Ampat, as well as a number of booths offering lots of name brand gear at good prices.

Many of the dive resorts and operators at the show were offering very good deals, but all of them were for show attendees only, so I can’t share them with you! If you’re in the region, I highly recommend attending next year’s show.

This just in: Malaysia has closed several popular dive sites around Redang and Tioman islands. The reefs of the closed sites are suffering from coral bleaching, caused by global warming. It’s hoped that by keeping divers and snorkelers away from the reefs, they will recover faster.

The closure is in effect until October, which is basically the end of the season for the east coast islands.

The out Malaysia’s The Star newspaper for full story.

I’ve got another entry on my long list of dive destinations to check out: Indonesian Borneo. My friend Dive Happy recently dived there and came back with some great pictures.

In celebration of the Thailand Dive Expo (TDEX) luxury live-aboard Panunee is offering a special price on their own Derawan – Sangalaki trip to East Kalimantan. Normally priced at 55,000 Baht, the show price is just 27,000 Bhat for a six night cruise. The TDEX special is not shown on their web site, so you need to either contact sales directly or see them from July 8 to 11 at the show (Booth P23,25) to get this special price.