divehappy

Hi Carol - sorry for the name confusion! The only other thing I can suggest is to try and fit a few days in Thailand - diving there is excellent during Xmas period.

However, if Cambodia is the only option then you might find inspiration in this Asian Diver article written by my friend Sol Foo (former editor of the mag)
- the link goes direct to a PDF.
http://diveshopcambodia.com/images/asiandivers.pdf

Check out http://diveshopcambodia.com -- they seem to be the most knowledgable dive shop there so if you're going to dive in Cambodia, probably best to do it with them.

Hi Phillip, thanks for the kind words. You're right, there's no info on Cambodia on Divehappy.com as I haven't dived there - and I've not heard much to make me want to do so. If you're passing through Sihanoukville en route to somewhere else, then a few dives with a knowledgable guide could be fun - but the general opinion is that the reefs are largely overfished, damaged and silted out .

Malaysia on the other hand has an embarassment of riches. Malaysian Borneo in particular has Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai and further north, Lankayan.
It's monsoon season during Xmas so conditions on the surface can be quite rough, but underwater viz etc is not affected that much.

On peninsular Malaysia there's Palau Tioman, the Perhentians and my favourite, Palau Radang. I think all of these will be closed down due to the monsoon during Xmas Malaysian Borneo is awesome, but can be quite expensive.

Hi Badger
Manado is actually quite far away from Lembeh and Bunaken. It's an hour and a half drive to Lembeh, probably the same for Bunaken. Definitely best to spend a few nights at each place rather than daytrips.

I have been to NAD Lembeh resort - http://www.nad-lembeh.com - twice in the last 12 months and found it a good budget option. It's under new management with Mike and Simon and they are good guys. I wrote a full report here
http://divehappy.com/indonesia/nad-lembeh-trip-report-lembeh-strait-indonesia-august-2008/

I've only dived Bunaken from a liveaboard (the Ocean Rover) so I can't really comment on the best resorts etc

Please let me know how you get on and your thoughts on resorts etc when you get back. Happy diving!

@ally007 if you're interested, here's a link to a story I wrote about the Koh Phi Phi cleanup for Asian Diver magazine
http://divehappy.com/uncategorized/koh-phi-phi-reborn/

@ally007 I'd recommend The Adventure Club on Koh Phi Phi, run by an English guy Andrew Hewett who has been living on the island for years. He helped organise the massive job of cleaning up the island's reefs after the tsunami.

@jergensaddict - I haven't dived with Scuba Junkies or Sipadan Scuba - I'd suggest you check on Scubaboard.com for other people's recommendations for Sipadan schools. I dived with Borneo Divers, Sipadan Water Village and Kapalai resort

Hi Genevieve, no problem. Sabah has the best diving in Malaysian Borneo - Sipadan is the holy grail, with Mabul and Kapalai nearby. Make sure whichever operator you go with definitely has permits for you to dive at Sipadan - there is a strict quota system for the number of divers there each day, and there have been quite a few occasions where operators have failed to get the necessary permits, meaning their divers can't actually dive Sipadan.

Also further up the coast is Lankayan off Sandakan - this is easier, shallower diving, some impressive reefs and marine life

Kota Kinabalu has a marine park right in front of it which is fun to explore too, and the island of Mantanani a couple hours away has some nice diving too

On peninsular Malaysia, Redang, Tioman and the Perhentians are all diver hotspots - Borneo is definitely better though - more expensive as well sadly

Have fun
Chris

Hi Genevieve
depends what you want besides diving at your destination. Lumba Lumba (at Palau Weh, yes?) will be quite quiet, as will Lembeh Strait -- if that's what you want, cool. If you want to meet other people and have a bit of nightlife and other daytime activities, Koh Tao in Thailand is the place to go - probably also the cheapest place to go too.

It also depends what time of year you come - Koh Tao has monsoon season during Oct to December so not a good time to go - I forget the monsoon seasons for Palau Weh and Lembeh, but if you google it you'll find it easily.

Bali is also a very good choice for doing your OW - cheap, very easy diving at Tulamben, and a beautiul island to explore too.

Hope this helps
Chris

Scuba Diving In Asia - Let's Go Diving

Hi, my name's Chris - I'm a British scuba journalist based in Bangkok, Thailand. Over the last 5 years I've been diving throughout Asia on assignment for Scuba Diver Australasia, Asian Diver and Sport Diver magazines. I've been to a lot of places in Asia but there are still more I want to explore - so I thought I'd set up this group to share info and tips. If you have any questions about diving in Asia, please post here and I'll do my best to help.

Cheers
Chris