Going to Bali this June with family
Should have gotten my OWD before that if things goes accordingly to plan
planning to take a few dives there

any recommendation there? dive shop & spots?
I read Nusa Lembongan & Penida is the most famous one, but not recommended for beginners like me due to strong current?

Was thinking Lovina, as kids can go watch dolphins also, but Lovina dive spot is around Menjangan, also not really suitable for beginners as it's deep

Amed would be another popular choice, but nothing much to do for wifey & kids while daddy go diving

Just came back from Bali

Did 2 wreck dive at Tulamben

my first shore & wreck dive, which is super awesome

was struggling at the beach to put on my fins, slippery pebble beach + waves doesn't help
but after a minute swimming thru a barren pebble sea bed, seeing the towering shadows of the bow is absolutely breathtaking for me

first dive is swim around the wreck, seen my first family of garden eels as well
went back to shore after 30 mins, as I wasn't certified, DM wanna let me get used to it first, he gave me 8 weights, which is a bit too much for the dive, I had a harder time to control my buoyancy

lunch at beach, rest a while, back to the wreck again, this time he reduced the weight to 6, and I had a better control this time round, but I did a noob mistake as I loose my fin at one point, cause I didn't secure it enough at the beach due to the wave.
second dive we managed to see more fishes & corals, and even swam thru the broken hull, which is big enough for a beginner like me. A we found a sea turtle in the hull as well
this time we dived for 40mins with max depth of 19.5M
did a short brief decomp stop otw back, my first as well

Overall, a very good unforgettable experience, total damage = RM450 all inclusive, with return private transportation from Sanur, lunch, mineral water, & equipment.

Very good DM with extensive experience as well, Pak Asa, he's one of the first few pioneer DM on the island since 1996

Bali Marine Diving (BMD) in Sanur, small little dive shop at the beach front, which I'll highly recommend if you're looking for dive package there.

Actually I had some diving experience before hand, took the classes, confined water etc... just haven't done the open water test
had a dive or two previously

He also stated 1st dive is to see my skill & confidence first, if he's satisfied with my skill, only then he'll bring me slightly deeper
I know it's against the B&W ruling, but the way I see it, the dive situation there is pretty safe for beginners like me, no strong current, very good visibility, and didn't go into confined space
I didn't realized we went to 19.5M as well, until he show me the dive comp

IMO, that wreck diving at Tulamben is pretty beginners friendly, nothing to scare about

condition doesn't looks good at the cave, the diver who died is an ex-navy seal, and oxygen level in the cave is depleting fast.
Seems they gonna scrap plan A & B which is wait for water level to decrease, or guide each of the kids to dive out from the cave. Current plan C might be drilling a hole from above to get them out

anyone taken OWD course + dorm accommodation at Mamutik Island with Borneo Divers in KK?
Mind to share the experience there?

Hunting for a package in either KK or Mabul at year end
It's a bit difficult for solo traveler like me, as most packaged rooms are for twin sharing, hard to find single room unless you're willing to pay extra surcharge

thanks, you stayed & dived with them before?

how's your review?

RIP to the 3 divers in Semporna

I know, shits happens

But IMO beside blaming the fish bomber, other parties like the local enforcer and the dive shops need to take responsibility also

Poor enforcement is the main reason that fish bombing is still rampart in that area, they are having this tidak apa, no body died attitude all this while, I know as I had worked together with EPD Sabah previously, they're just some toothless tiger

also from my observation, it's uncommon for our local divers to use surface marker buoy, a simple cheap device that can really makes a situation like this preventable.

I actually was in the midst of planning a trip there end of this year, but it seems this incident has really put a serious dent in my plan, not the mention heavy objections from family members.

This post has been edited by greyshadow: Jul 8 2019, 12:03 PM

can't get past the family members, first they already worried about the kidnapping, now fish bombing pula
the chances of this trip happening is almost zero now...
I'll just skip it for the time being then...

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/04/19/bo...l-park-in-miri/

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/04/19/fa...out-her-safety/

2 separate dive incidents over one weekend in Sarawak, one dead and one still MIA, SARS operation are still on going as of now...

2nd incident is in Kuching, she broke the cardinal rules of diving by going down alone...

yeah, as of now, she's missing more than 60 hours already, her survival chance are pretty slim

police are investigating the cause also, especially on why was she allowed to go for her 2nd dive alone

there were some speculations, but nothing concrete yet

Initial "speculation" was that there weren't enough tank reserves for everyone for a 2nd dive, only left one tank, so she went in solo

another "speculation" was that she wasn't going down for receational diving, but spear fishing, hence the buddy system wasn't strictly enforced

last "speculation" was there wasn't a DM with them during the trip.


Anyway, whatever the speculation or the real cause are, a precious life is lost, dive safe everyone

aparently the boat they hired also are unlicensed, the boat operator kena saman already

Norwegian DM has been found, while other 3 still missing ATM

and the captain of the boat are arrested, meth detected in his urine test

M'sia version of Open Water?