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.

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.

The reef scenery at Bunaken – why most people want to learn to dive.

Before we get to the topic of where to learn to dive, it might be a good idea to first discuss whether or not this is really a good idea, for you. Learning to dive from any reputable dive shop will take four or five days, and involves a fair bit of reading, written tests and other activities that might be a little too much like being back in school. If you only have a two or three week holiday, do you really want to spend a good chunk of it leaning to dive? It all depends on you. Some people like learning new things while on vacation, others prefer to maximize their down-time in the sun. If the amount of time it takes to learn to dive is going to make a big dent in your plans, it might be better to learn at home before arriving in the region.

The other general factor in your decision regarding where to learn to dive, is when you’ll be doing it. Most of the major dive destinations in the region like to advertise that they can be enjoyed year round, but the truth is that there are times when conditions are not ideal. You want to learn to dive in the best weather, both to ensure you have an easy time, as well as to have an enjoyable experience that you’ll want to continue with. Therefore, I’ve highlighted below when the best times for each destination is.

Koh Tao, Thailand

Koh Tao is perhaps the most obvious choice. I’ve heard that Thailand accounts for something like 25% of all the Dive Master and Dive Instructor certifications in the world, and it seems that Koh Tao contributes a major proportion to that number. For people just learning to dive, this means there are lots of dive shops to choose from, and a wide range of accommodations as well as restaurants, bars and other services. The downside is that Koh Tao can be a little too popular. Some wags suggest that the only creatures you’ll see in the waters around the island are other divers. That may be a little too harsh, but I would rate the diving at the other two options as ‘better’ than what you’ll experience immediately around Koh Tao. There are some really great dive sites in the sea some distance from Koh Tao, but these are generally for experienced divers.

When to go: The season for Koh Tao is fairly long, which is one of the reasons for its popularity. The months to avoid are October to January.

Tioman Island, Malaysia

Tioman is my "dark horse" candidate for a good place to learn scuba diving. It is very popular as a weekend diving destination for people from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, with direct flights there from both cities. But it isn’t quite as popular as Koh Tao, and instead has a very relaxed atmosphere. Many of the dive resorts have their own "house reefs" where they take beginning divers, which makes things very easy by eliminating external issues like dealing with boats from the learning experience. Once you’ve got the basics down, there are a lot of easy and very enjoyable dives within a 10 to 20 minute boat ride. There’s a nice variety of sea life, such as turtles, sharks, squids and many kinds of fish, although not in great abundance. The downside to Tioman – which some might consider an upside – is that there aren’t a huge variety of restaurants or nightlife on offer. Depending on which resort you’re staying at, you may be stuck there for most of your stay.

When to go: Tioman is at its best from March to October.

Bunaken, Indonesia

If the time of year weren’t an issue, Bunaken would probably be my top choice for a destination to learn to dive. The tiny island just off the northern tip of Sulawesi in Indonesia has some of the best diving you can find, with a huge abundance of sea life on view. Conditions are generally calm, although currents can be strong on some sites. Your dive instructors will take you to the easier sites to start with. You’re almost assured to have experiences on your first few dive that will get you hooked on the sport. The downside, if there is one, is that most of the dive resorts around Bunaken are more or less self-contained. You won’t find much in the way of independent restaurants or night life outside of the resorts.

When to go: Bunaken is best from May to October, with the summer months of July and August being ideal.

Next up: Komodo!

Admittedly I’m still a “newbie” diver, but to me this place easily matches or betters Koh Tao, and comes very close to the Similans for the quality and number of dive sites. But you be the judge. Here’s a brief overview of my dives and what I saw. The site will be updated with detailed dive site descriptions shortly.

A clownfish peeps out from its anemone.

Firstly, I had to resist calling this post “Finding Nemo” or “Nemo Found” because the first thing that struck me was the number and variety of anemone fish to be seen here. They’re everywhere, in every stripe and color, and some can be coaxed out of the anemone – by our clever dive master, at least.

Almost all of the dive sites around Tioman are within about a 30 minute boat ride of the west coast resorts, so the typical regime is to go out for two dives in the morning, around 9:00 am, come back for a late lunch, then go out again for two dives in the afternoon. You’re of course free to skip one session or the other, and depending on which two dive sites are scheduled, you may even be able to join one dive and not the other, if the boat is passing it’s pier on the way from the first dive to the second.

A large sea turtle ‘beds down’ in some staghorn coral at Renggis

The variety of corals here also seems to be much wider than I’ve seen before, including many varieties I’ve never seen and will have to look up when I get home. The fish numbers aren’t quite what I’ve seen in other dives, but the variety is very broad. Just about everybody’s favorite dive site is Renggis, a boulder islet just 100 meters or so offshore from Tioman. I dived it twice during my stay, since just about everyone else I was diving with wanted to go back and see it again. On the first dive here, I saw a sea snake, white-tipped sharks, many turtles, a moray eel, the biggest box pufferfish I’ve ever seen, and much more. On the second dive, we spotted a very large cuttlefish, more sharks, morays, giant triggerfish, and more again.

There are also a few wreck dives around the island. We did the Sawasdee wreck this morning, which is an interesting dive. It’s deep, at almost 30 meters, so compared to the other generally shallow dive sites, I enjoyed it more for the challenge than the scenery.

Some sites have occasionally strong currents, but with the small boats, most of them can be done as drift dives. I particularly enjoyed a site called Soryak for this.

As for Tioman itself, it is not a very developed place. It is part of a marine park, and the Malaysians seem to take this a bit more seriously than Thais do. The level of development is probably comparable to Koh Tao in Thailand, although Tioman is bigger and has an airport. Also, Tioman is not as dive-centered as Koh Tao. There are a lot of dive shops on the island, but there are a lot of people (probably more than half) who don’t come here for diving. There are a couple of high-end resorts, but most of the accommodations are fairly basic bungalows. I’m staying at Panuba Inn, which sits in its own small bay with its own house reef, and I’m diving with Bali Hai divers, which is based at the Panuba Inn.

However, I have been busy adding more and more content to the site, and the coverage of the islands off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia is now almost complete. I just have the southern islands to do, the biggest of which is Tioman.  To that end, I’m off to Tioman tonight to gather some on-the-ground – and under the waves – information. I’ll try to post some updates from the field.  Otherwise I’ll update the site when I get back.

It’s going to be a busy few months. In May, I’ve booked a live-aboard to Komodo Island in Indonesia, so I’ll be adding that as soon as I get back. Stay tuned!