I do live in Klang Valley. Any recommendations?

My instructor is based in Klang. Klang may be consider far for most people living in KL but I'd recommend him anytime.

There is one dive center in One Utama, also another dive shop in Mid Valley. There are a few dive shops in Subang itself, Scubatex is one of the more famous ones. Taipan has one Scuba Olympia which have their confine water courses done in Shah Alam Club. Cheras have a few as well.

as per the instructor from my scuba diving, she mentioned that dont need to know how to swim in order to dive..lol..i can swim a little..only in the pool...


im ok to be in the water (swimming pool) .. if in the middle of the sea, im only ok if im with life jacket coz i can only swim in the pool (know a bit only)....last time during my scuba diving, i enjoy it so much eventhough at first i dont want to go for it...thats why im thinking to take the course now (coz i enjoyed it last time)...at the same time im just afraid to go alone, wanna find kaki to go along...


wow..in 1 year 20 dives, thats more than 1 dive per month...no no im taking the course just becoz i wanna learn...not becoz of anyone...in fact none of my friendsss wanna teman me for the course...now finding other gang of frens to teman coz i dont want to go alone

i can swim but very limited..only able to swim in the pool...beginner swimmer..so u think is better to go for swimming class first?

now im only ok to be in the sea (for snorkelling) with life jacket...so now u can swim like a fish in the sea even when snorkelling?

where do u take ur course?

You don't have to be a great swimmer to take up diving, you just have to be comfortable in water. Of course knowing how to swim will be much safer and better.

If you have the interest then go ahead and take up OWC. You'll learn a lot when you go thru the course.

mean if i do the confine dive course here in klang valley , where usually there go for the dive?
so this will shorten the course time at dive location right?

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Added on July 22, 2012, 8:20 pmsame goes to me men , im looking for friend to go with me this november , but if non of my friend is going , im going to take the course alone , but im sure we can make friends there!

This post has been edited by zizdnyll: Jul 22 2012, 08:20 PM

from what you said here.. you are already know how to swim, just no confident swimming in the sea. No big deal then, you will learn naturally..

I think you're ready to take the course.

They will not ask you to swim 200m in the big waves... apply the same techniques, take it easy & don't rush. I am sure you're able to float yourself without life jacket right..?

No need swimming class. Just need more practice to build up your water confident. I am also beginner swimmer, I don't have a lot of stamina..

Don't afraid to go alone, I also took my OWC alone too (bcoz, none of my friends interested in diving)@ Mabul Island... Dont worry you will find friend there.. ask your instructor to combine you with another students.. so you can make new friends too...

haha.. I dont go every month... usually one dive trip in every 3-4 month.. I did minimum 2 dives per trip.. and most I did 6 dives per trip..

This post has been edited by zaff1984: Jul 22 2012, 11:20 PM

November is kinda like off peak time for OW students cause as we all know, most of the islands are close. Some dive centers will tell you to do the theory and confine water then go to island only in march or so when the islands open for business again. Where you go will depend on the instructor and also how big your group is. Usually it's perhentian, redang, Tioman and Lang tengah. Check with the dive center to be sure. Some will let you choose where you wanna go.

Yes it will definitely shorten the trip. 3D2N will be enough for your certification dive with an additional leisure dive. You will also get to laze around the beach and enjoy the seaside instead of staring at books and videos all day long trying to get everything stuffed into your brain for the OW theory exam.

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Added on July 22, 2012, 11:31 pmBtw, you can check out langkawi as well. They are open all year long.

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Added on July 22, 2012, 11:34 pmCan do over 20 dives in a 5D4N trip to Mabul/Sipadan with unlimited house reef dives.

This post has been edited by munkeyflo: Jul 22 2012, 11:34 PM

yea i think to know how to swim in the sea before taking OWC will be better..or else i might freak out in the water..

when u took ur OWC last time, u r already a good swimmer?

where do u plan to go this november? u can swim well?


hmmm i know how to swim only in the swimming pool whereby i can step the pool ground ... thats why im not afraid..i have not been to any swimming pool which is deeper than my height...the pool at my condo is only 1.4m deep...

in the sea, i have never tried floating without a life jacket...with a life jacket also i feel scared to go too far / deep...LOL... chicken..hahaha

water confident in terms of sea water? coz i find that sea water is so much harder to swim compare to pool...right...and yea i dont have stamina too..cant even swim a full lap in the pool...haha...

u went alone last time? Mabul island must be a really nice place hmmm..u did both your theory and water practise there? or theory in kl then only go there?

[quote=munkeyflo,Jul 22 2012, 11:30 PM]
November is kinda like off peak time for OW students cause as we all know, most of the islands are close. Some dive centers will tell you to do the theory and confine water then go to island only in march or so when the islands open for business again. Where you go will depend on the instructor and also how big your group is. Usually it's perhentian, redang, Tioman and Lang tengah. Check with the dive center to be sure. Some will let you choose where you wanna go.

Yes it will definitely shorten the trip. 3D2N will be enough for your certification dive with an additional leisure dive. You will also get to laze around the beach and enjoy the seaside instead of staring at books and videos all day long trying to get everything stuffed into your brain for the OW theory exam.

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Added on July 22, 2012, 11:31 pmBtw, you can check out langkawi as well. They are open all year long.

thanks for the info. im kinda rush ,i only have november and december .
yearp will consider langkawi .currently my option is kk or sipadan.
any dive centre here provide confine here and then go to kk or sipadan for the dive?

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Added on July 23, 2012, 12:36 am[quote=cynnz,Jul 23 2012, 12:28 AM]
yea i think to know how to swim in the sea before taking OWC will be better..or else i might freak out in the water..

when u took ur OWC last time, u r already a good swimmer?
where do u plan to go this november? u can swim well?
hmmm i know how to swim only in the swimming pool whereby i can step the pool ground ... thats why im not afraid..i have not been to any swimming pool which is deeper than my height...the pool at my condo is only 1.4m deep...

in the sea, i have never tried floating without a life jacket...with a life jacket also i feel scared to go too far / deep...LOL... chicken..hahaha

water confident in terms of sea water? coz i find that sea water is so much harder to swim compare to pool...right...and yea i dont have stamina too..cant even swim a full lap in the pool...haha...

u went alone last time? Mabul island must be a really nice place hmmm..u did both your theory and water practise there? or theory in kl then only go there?

[/quote]


planning to do in kk or sipadan ..im a seaman , its compulsory for seaman to know how to swim . marine department requirement

This post has been edited by zizdnyll: Jul 23 2012, 12:36 AM

ooh ic..my discover scuba diving i did in sipadan...but that time still super chicken (even now also)...but anyway i enjoy it oh u r seaman..hehe i always envy u guys who can swim really good in the sea

lol.. 3 dives per day already tiring enough for me... haaha... yup the water bungalow house reef is nice too..

if you can swim, you can swim at any depth... it just a matter how you telling your mind. you can try at deeper pool at public pool..

try to float at your 1.4m pool too.. if you can float, you can float at any depth too.. haha..

yup, I went alone to Mabul and yes I did both theory & practical on the island... our 1st dive is already 5m deep at sea.. no pool.. haha.. I got panic few times. haaha

cynnz.. if you did your discovery scuba in Sipadan.. I am sure you stay at Mabul right..? because no resort operated in Sipadan.. unless long2 time ago before the gov ask resort operator to evacuate the island and relocate to Mabul. Yup, its a nice island.

This post has been edited by zaff1984: Jul 23 2012, 01:10 AM

I was comfortable in water since I was a baby, my parents take me to the seaside quite often. I grew up loving the sea, sand and sun and was never really afraid of the sea. I did go for some swimming classes when I was really young but I'm not exactly a good swimmer, enough to survive if I get thrown into the water or sea.

Actually, it's easier to float in the sea than in the pool. It's all a matter of being comfortable in the sea and having confidence in yourself.

I've heard of people who did confine and theory here then went to Mabul/Sipadan for their certification dives. My instructor was the one who did it for them, so I'm pretty sure they are other instructors out there who does the same.

I did maximum 6 dives per day for my recent trip to Mabul! Very tiring. Haha.

u do in sipadan?where do u stay?semporna or mabul? or on sipadan itself? ..lol dont envy us , we learn to swim for survival

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Added on July 23, 2012, 12:25 pmthanks for the info , hope u can provide me information of ur instructor ..where's ur instructor centre?

This post has been edited by zizdnyll: Jul 23 2012, 12:25 PM

Hi everyone..sorry i need to admit im too lazy to read through all the previous post to get info.. =/

me and my friends are interested in taking diving course in penang. i saw from few of the previous post that we can do the theory etc in the pool first.. but we totally have no idea where to do it in penang. So, thought of seeking some help from this thread.. any idea guys? is it better to do it separately or like take the 4 days course?

hahaha u r right..if i can swim then i surely can swim at any depth but so far never tried anything deeper than 1.4m thats why i have no guts LOL...yea perhaps i should try at a deeper pool...does diving need lots of stamina? im very lemah one..haha..a bit a bit then tired...how long was your theory and practical at mabul? is it whole day theory and practical? stress?

nope i didnt stay at mabul..i stayed at kapalai last time..got a good rate for the chalet at kapalai that time coz 1 of my fren's dad knows the person in charge there hence we get a good rate...that was like in year 2002 if i dont remember wrongly...and my discover scuba diving cert already misplaced coz moved house few times


wow im totally opposite with u..from young i didnt get along with water...my first time getting into pool was like college time...hahaha *SHY SHY*...and i dont dare to move around in the pool, only stand and hold at the side...i did went for 2 swimming classes and thats how i know to swim (only a bit, at least not afraid of water in the pool)...then after that due to busy work schedule, i stopped the swimming class...

easier to float in the sea than in the pool? hmmmmm...and wow u did 6 dives per day? thats really a lot...not tiring? u have a really good stamina..may i know how long is it per dive? u go alone?

in ur opinion, do u think its better to do theory here first, then go there for practical..or do both there?

yea at sipadan for only the discover scuba diving...it was back in year 2002...i stayed at kapalai resort...i hope i can swim well like u guys...haha,,

Haha. Nothing to be shy of. We all grew up differently. I know some parents don't let their child go near water at all, so can't blame them if they grow up being afraid of the sea. From what I understand, sea contains salt and so somehow it'll make things float easier compared to in the pool. It's just that some people find the sea so big, open and deep so they are afraid of it. If you ask me, just relax and you'll find it so easy to float in the sea.

Yea 6 dives very tiring. Lol. You don't really have to have lots of stamina to be an OW diver. You need to if you're gonna be a rescue diver or dive master though. I myself quite small size, thin and hardly exercise. In fact, I don't have much stamina at all. I do often need help from others to carry my tank. But other than that, you'll be in the water so weight is not a problem at all. How heavy also doesn't matter already. Usually it's 3-4 dives a day when you go diving next time. Each dive is roughly 40 min bottom time and 20 min setup/briefing/travelling time, this will depend on where you go and where you dive also. But basically it's around that. Then there'll be about an hour or two surface interval andden go for next dive. You'll learn all this when you take your theory classes. I go with my bf, we took up diving together, you'll definitely get more friends on the way. Now we often join our friends or my sister (also long time diver) or go on our own.

If you'd read my earlier post, I've always recommend doing theory and confine water (practical in the pool) on mainland then going to island for certification dives. Reason being I did my OWC and Advance on the island itself and it was very tiring for me. To be honest, I didn't learn much and didn't have any free time to laze around or enjoy the island. It's just theory and lessons everyday (other than eat and sleep). I did my Rescue course on mainland first then went to Redang for certification with a whole bunch of other OW students, and that's when I really notice the difference. It was only a 3D2N trip but it was very much more enjoyable since we didn't have to worry about theory or exams at all, just diving and some practical skills only, still got time for more leisure dives.

monkeyflo explained it all..

(base on my experience) When I took my OWC in Mabul both theory & practical on the island I don't really find it stressful and it's not too hard. I just read the important note, understand it, why it happen and answer the quick quiz (self assessment) in every chapter . If I don't understand then I will read in detail.

(Practical) My problem is my instructor bring us down at 3-5m at first dive... not really a confined water, he should bring us at 1.5m first... I was panic but i tried to control it.. mask clearing skill is a nightmare for me... I panic and stupidly breath through nose.. haha.. so I surfaced and relax and go down again. My mask leaking also I scared. Coz I don't know that mask leaking is normal in diving...

so please expect your mask will leak and your will ear hurt (if you don't equalize often).. its normal in diving.

@zizdnyll: I will choose Mabul instead of KK. My advise stay on the island.

This post has been edited by zaff1984: Jul 23 2012, 10:54 PM

thanks for the advice ..
currently i get rm1380 for mabul budget + the dive course including all the transport and meal!
except the flight and transport from airport to the jetty and 1 day stay at hotel nearby the jetty!

pretty good deal.. which dive center is that..? I share with other tourist from Tawau Airport to Semporna.. if I am alone cost me RM90... so we slit the cost in to 3.. RM30 per person... Semporna to Tawau Airport I took a bus RM25. Please note that you need to give at least 18 hours surface time after your last dive before flying.

I suggest in Semporna you stay at Dragon Inn.. RM60 per night double room or RM20 per night dorm. It is nice budget wooden floating resort. don't expect luxury. I like it, but some hate it.. haha..

hehe yea..different grow up environment hehe normally when u go to diving, each diving session how much does it costs? depends on the location is it? wow so nice, have gang to join u everytime u go diving..im asking around see if any of my friends are interested so can go together or else maybe alone? LOL...

i will go through page by page to get more details...just to know more, when u did your OWC on the island itself, hows the schedule? morning wake up dive theory lunch dive theory dinner dive theory sleep this kinda lifestyle? wow u have rescue course too..so you are really a good diver, super advance ya?


May i know hows the schedule like when u did both theory and practical on the island itself? no time for leisure? is there a lot of important notes etc?

mask clearing etc i think im gonna panic too..even now snorkelling, i m so not use to the "breathing thingy" - the pipe.. (Sorry i dont know what it called)...so i just snorkel while holding my breathe...or like how i breathe when im swimming LOL