Moving To Singapore

Burrendive

G'day all,

Just thought I'd pop a quick question out there. At the end of July I'm moving from Ireland to Singapore (wee bit of a change) for a few years. Will of course be bringing my KISS with me. Was wondering is it worth bringing tanks (at least 2 x 3ltrs) and what is the possibility / regulations on getting O2 fills etc out that side of the world. My main diving intreset is cave diving but know this will be seriously limited . Other then heading up to Malaysia is anyone diving Rebreather's locally, just for the option of a Sat/Sun morning dip.

Slan
John Sherry

decoweenie

Definitely bring your tanks since you will ship a container anyway. Rebreather tanks were still difficult to get in Singapore - especially SS tanks.

If there is room, throw sorbs in the container as well.

O2 won't be a problem. DrMike could help with leads, or I could pass some contacts once you are there.

Diving around Singapore is crap since it is the 2nd busiest port in the world, and it is shallow so the viz is "limited". But easy enough to catch the local live-aboard for a week-end trip to East side of Malaysia for really nice diving.

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Drmike

45min, very cheap flight to a lifetimes worth of caves (many undived)


1 nights sail to some of the worlds best wreck diving still many virgins (maybe over a dozen last year)

Youll be glad you brought your gear

drop me a line when your intown and ill introduce you to the local players and operators. Weekend diving in singapore is on 2 day liveaboards as need to sail overnight to get away from bad viz as Phi mentioned.

We run our own charters (bit more hard core wrecking/salvage) fairly regularly and every weekend theres a recreational LOB that does the normal stuff (but still great wrecks) All local LOB have O2 and Helium, buy own sorb locally.


my site under local wrecks you can see some stuff thats a nights sail from singapore, caves like I said 45min flight away

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Get a girlfriend you sad twat - a Rebreather is an unfaithful mistress - dont blind yourself to her faults just because she goes down on you

jkaterenchuk

Search the threads and you will find that cave diving in Thailand is on the upswing.

John

Drmike

as is malaysia and indonesia

Philipines also looks promising...

__________________
Get a girlfriend you sad twat - a Rebreather is an unfaithful mistress - dont blind yourself to her faults just because she goes down on you

Dave1w

I just got back form a weekend LOB from Singapore with White Manta. Nice and easy, took the Rebreather in a small bag and hired everything else. They have O2 to 150 bar max, but happy to fill after each dive. And you can get on a plane to most places in Asia from there.

Dave

Abbo

I was tempted to tell you to leave your kit behind because the fewer that know how good it is the better.

I've done my time freezing my nuts off to go Braille diving off the UK, I've dived the Red Sea and couldn't understand what's to be so excited about and splashed in the Carribean. For me, and I can only talk from my own experience, my best dive in the Atlantic hasn't come within a mile of my worst dive in the Pacific. I'm not a pretty fish diver, but the biodiversity in the Pacific leaves the Atlantic standing. I've seen the numbers, and the difference is huge but, as always, the most important things can't be measured in numbers: the fishes in the Pacific are just..somehow..more exciting. Your mileage may vary. I can't think how many times I've been sitting with a long deco ahead, and the time shot by as I was mesmerized by sharks and tuna and parade of characters that seem to have rehearsed to make my hang time as amusing as possible.

Fifty nautical miles North of Singapore are the Prince of Wales and Repulse wrecks. I've done Truk; I've done Bikini, but somehow I liked PoW, Repulse and the other wrecks in the vicinity better. Maybe it was the history; maybe it was the company, but we had a ball. On a clear day you can see forever. And it feels almost wrong to get out of 30 degree water, peel off a 3 mill suit and sit on the deck sunbathing wiith an ice-cold beer. It does Singapore a disservice to say that one of its most attractive features is that it is quick to get out of, but it is really efficient getting from there to the best diving in the world.

I've never gone anywhere without my diving kit, and I've found gems where I least expected them. If I were based in Singapore I would focus on modifying my kit to make sure it travels well. Every dive you do will involve getting out of Singapore, so it needs to fit in an aircraft overhead bin with your save-a-dive kit. You need to have the materials and skills for field service. And you could certainly do yourself a favour by using your freight allowance to cart heavy consumables like sorb at somebody else's expense.

Gilles

I agree with most all said, but maybe if there were more Rebreather's around, I wouldn't need to pay so much for sorb. In that respect, your better off in Singapore than I am (across the SCS in Borneo where RB's are nearly non-existent).

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Gilles
http://www.dirrebreather.com

decoweenie

Having lived in Singapore for a couple of years back in the late 90's, the LOB scene improved a bit but the tech community is still very small.

At the time, I was the only person with a CCR besides the local IANTD franchise holder, there were a few on Dolphins. Nowadays, we have DrMike and a couple of Meg (John, Derek) and CK (Davy, Roswetha) owners there.

I feel for you in Borneo though...

__________________
"...after a while you get bored offering advice to a bull that like to keep butting the fence with its head rather than walking through the open gate..."

- Rebreather World PM

kieranu

As long as you're on nice ex-pat dollars and you're not working 12-18 hour days and weekends like the local slaves Singapore will be a good spot to be based. Just as well since you'll be paying upwards of 10 Euro for a pint of Guinness.

Cheap as chips to fly anywhere in the area and reasonable, inexpensive diving off liveaboards and bus/boat trips originating from Singapore to "resorts" in Malaysia and Indonesia which cuts down on transport costs.

I lived there from 2000 to 2004 and was probably just plain ignorant of the tech scene outside the wreck trips run by the likes of White Manta since I was working as a poor local and didn't have the dosh for those toys. The only way I could afford to dive at all was by diving for free while working as a DM for the local operators - poor diddums The only other brushes I had with the tech community was when drooling over the various gadgets when not manning a booth at ADEX. Point being the tech community there isn't entirely conspicuous so its good that we have this forum to discover the existence of the likes of Dr Mike.

Now I'm all Meg'd up, I'll have to get back over there some time soon and finally check out some of these wrecks with you guys.