I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go diving on Christmas Day. I guess being in a foreign country can excuse you from visiting relatives. Although I must confess, I did miss seeing everyone and the afternoon Skype call to Australia, just wasn’t the same. I joined GS-Diving at Hantu, a local dive … Read more
With only 5 divers, due to the up and coming Christmas break, we headed off to Hantu to complete two dives. For those reading my blog and who are unfamiliar with Hantu (aptly named “Ghost Island”), it is located near the southern islands of Singapore. Easily accessible and you don’t need passports. The two leisure … Read more
As you all know and as I keep saying on some trips to Hantu, “We need a bigger boat . . . ” Well, it’s coming around October 2015. She is being built right now in Batam, Indonesia. She was originally an unfinished fibre glass ferry. But as scuba divers, the obvious conclusion was to … Read more
With Christmas bearing down, everyone decided this weekend would be their last dives for 2014. I had a total of 60 divers booked over the 4 trips, Saturday and Sunday, morning and afternoon sessions. There were other boats around too. I estimated over 100 divers at Hantu that weekend. And with good management the dive … Read more
Whilst Karen and I were away with 17 customers diving in Tulamben, Bali the local diving was still happening, with 50 divers spread over the four trips Saturday and Sunday. As you can imagine, GS-Diving PADI Instructor Julius and GS-Diving PADI Trainee Dive Master, Julian were busy getting everyone in and out of the water, … Read more
Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia Trip Report by Julius Leung and Chloe Pupaiboon The week started of with a bang as a group of divers with GS-Diving consisting mainly of students from an International School, headed for Tulamben, Bali. The travelling time was rather lengthy as we had to take a plane for 3 to … Read more
The local diving in Singapore never seems to not surprise me. Hantu, a local island off Singapore, has been revealing her secrets for some time now, however this weekend, she really outdid herself. Sara and Carsten made an amazing discovery by spotting a mimic octopus. These creatures impersonate other sea creatures and are the chameleon … Read more
What a busy weekend of diving we had over this weekend. The local diving in Singapore is getting better, with so many unique sightings. The macro life is amazing and we keep finding new stuff to see. Spider crabs, toad fish, baby seahorses and a massive variety of nudibranchs. We are seeing things that you … Read more
We had a quieter weekend than normal with only two trips, Saturday and Sunday morning diving our local waters off Hantu, Singapore. During these trips I certified Calvin as a PADI Open Water Diver. I also certified Lucy and Kelvin as PADI Rescue Divers. Kelvin has signed up for PADI Dive Master Course too. We used … Read more
This weekend I was diving in Tioman, Malaysia on the live-on-board boat called “The Ark” and GS-Diving PADI Instuctor, Julius was running the local diving from Singapore. My trip to Tioman was good, but missing two people due to a family emergency. I was planning on conducting the PADI Deep Specialty Course and the PADI … Read more
I took a weekend off and went to Sydney for my Dad’s 80th birthday. Short trip. I flew to Sydney Friday night and returned Monday night. It was good catching up with the family. Dad had a great party. Although I must say, it seemed like I didn’t sleep over the weekend. I endured sleeplessness … Read more
Another great weekend with great visibility in Singapore’s backyard. GS-Diving PADI Instructor Julius was onboard Saturday afternoon with eleven recreational divers and one student. Instructor Julius completed the first two dives of the PADI Open Water Course with Dionne at the World Famous Hantu. I was only on the boat for the second trip on … Read more
Wednesday the 22nd October was a Public Holiday in Singapore. GS-Diving completed two trips in local Singapore waters, one in the morning with 2 dives and another in the afternoon with 3 dives and an early dinner. We had 24 recreational divers and 1 snorkeller celebrating Deepavali on this mid week scuba diving trip. As … Read more
Another great weekend of local diving in Singapore’s backyard, with turtles, cuttlefish and loads of nudi’s. We dived Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday, we dived both in the morning and in the afternoon. I decided that the best places at Hantu over the weekend were the dive sites located at The Outer Reef and … Read more
When Gary Savins arrived at Changi Airport and handed in his wife’s passport to the check in counter staff, the man smiled and politely asked, “Excuse me sir, what name is this person booked under?” Well, it helped set the weekend’s tone for mayhem, muck diving and mischief. Several Facebook jokes later, Karen had luckily … Read more
With 64 scuba divers, 3 PADI Instructors and 1 PADI Dive Master spread over 5 trips, it sure was a busy weekend of local diving in Singapore. All whilst I was in the Philippines diving with some regular customers. GS-Diving did morning and afternoon trips over the long weekend at a local dive spot called … Read more
Another weekend with amazing visibility at our local Singapore hangout, Hantu. It’s a small island in the southern waters just 40 minutes from the local yacht club at West Coast Ferry Road. The best part is, you don’t need passports and you can be home within an hour or so after your last dive. … Read more
With the Formula 1® in Singapore on Sunday 21st September, I decided just to dive on Saturday the 20th. GS-Diving did a morning and afternoon session at Hantu, a local island located in the southern waters of Singapore. We had Elaine, KC, Hwee Kin, Li, Andrea, Michael, Ramon, Hui Min, Kelvin, Wei Li, Alvin, Hock … Read more
Another weekend of excellent local diving in Singapore and the visibility was still good at 4-6 metres. I managed to get Dave through the PADI Open Water Diver Course. He had a few issues with buoyancy, but got there in the end. Congratulations Dave! Lucy completed two more dives towards her PADI Advanced Open Water … Read more
What a great start to September with another 24 divers enjoying the local diving in Singapore southern waters. The wind on Saturday forced us to dive the northern side of Hantu for both dives. I was conducting PADI Rescue Diver with Nicolas and PADI Open Water Diver Course with Julia and Ashley. Nicolas did a … Read more
GS-Diving and 24 divers experienced some of the best visibility in local waters to date at Hantu, Singapore. Saturday was good at about 6 metres and Sunday was even better with up to 8 metres. 8 Metres was better than Tioman, Malaysia about 3 weeks ago when I was there. An amazing weekend and everyone … Read more
I opted for an easy weekend and only did a two dive local trip on Saturday morning. The viz was good at around 4-5 metres. Best its been for a while. GS-Diving Instructor Julius was completing the last two dives of the PADI Open Water Course with Bryan. Bryan did very well and passed the … Read more
Whilst I was away at Tioman, Malaysia on a Live on Board Boat for the weekend, I enlisted the help of GS-Diving PADI Instructor Phil and PADI Instructor Julius to help run 2 half day dive trips, Saturday and Sunday to Hantu. Pulau Hantu is located to the south of the main island of Singapore and is just … Read more
Another fun weekend with a group of kids from an international school, this weekend we were on The Ark diving around Tioman, Malaysia. Travis and his better half Regan also joined me this weekend. The seas were flat all weekend which made it a pleasant ride there and back. The visibility was bad at around … Read more
Phil and I were both excited to be heading off to the remote destination of Pulau Weh, a volcanic island to the northwest of Sumatra in Indonesia. This GS-Diving trip also included Jo, Lydia, Marla, Hongbo, Mo and Wong, with Gary Savins in charge. After 2 flights; Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, then onwards to Banda … Read more
Although I usually work on Saturday’s, I didn’t say no to the opportunity to go diving on Singapore’s Birthday, National Day. A group of ten divers, keen to search for sea-horses and nudi branches dived Singapore’s southern island, Pulau Hantu on a beautiful sunny morning. We all buddied up in pairs; Danny … Read more
What a great weekend of diving. We did two local dives on Saturday and two local dives on Sunday morning with 18 people each day spread over two boats. It was a busy couple of days. I decided to try this weekend without dive guides. When I use dive … Read more
Another great day diving around Singapore, the conditions were amazing with no current on all three dives. Monday was a Public Holiday celebrating Hari Raya Puasa and a few people were still in Singapore to enjoy their day off. We headed out later than normal at 10am and completed three dives around Pulau Hantu. … Read more
Driving to the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club (RSYC) at 7am in pouring rain started to make me think we were going to experience bad visibility. The rain was so strong, some customers even messaged me asking if we were still diving. “Of course!” I said with fingers and toes crossed. With everyone onboard the Dolphin … Read more
Teacher Vicky from an International School was desperate to get in some diving in before school resumed. She insisted that Favian, a student at her school who is also a GS-Diving PADI Dive Master trainee, and I join her a couple of days diving at Miri, Sarawak. Miri is in Sarawak, Borneo and it is … Read more
With 19 divers spread across the MV Dolphin Explorer and the MV Southern Comfort we headed out from Republic Of Singapore Yacht Club at 8.15am Saturday morning. We had high hopes for the 3 dives BBQ trip. Some divers returned after the amazing Vesak Day trip on 13 May. PADI Dive Master, Karen was … Read more
Another fantastic weekend diving onboard MV The Ark. This live onboard boat (LOB) departed from Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal Friday night and returned early Sunday night at 6.30pm. This weekend was some exploratory diving off East Bintan around the Mapur area, Indonesia. Well exploring for MV The Ark, because I took the MV Giamani … Read more
I had a great time in Bali teaching a family of four the PADI Open Water Diver Course. They had planned to complete this back in December 2013 but Iffa had an ear infection and was unable to dive. So we postponed it to their next school break in June 2014. We completed the theory … Read more
Another great two dives around Singapore’s World Famous Pulau Hantu. This trip was interesting because of the mix of students I had onboard. I had two students completing their PADI Open Water Course and I was their PADI Instructor. Assisting me was Favian, a GS-Diving PADI Dive Master Trainee and GS-Diving PADI Assistant Instructor Trainee, … Read more
Enjoy reading Julius’ recount of his first experience onboard the MV White Manta: On Friday, the 30th of May, a total of 18 divers including myself met our PADI Dive Instructor Gary, PADI Dive Master Andy and Head Teacher (who is also a PADI Dive Instructor) Ms Juett at Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal at … Read more
We headed out from the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club at 8am Saturday morning, GS-Diving had both boats – the Dolphin Explorer and the Southern Comfort. The plan for the day was two dives at Hantu Jetty with an underwater cleanup. We managed to collect 45 kilos of bottles and I am sure there is … Read more
What an amazing Public Holiday with 3 awesome dives and an all day BBQ. This Vesak Day Trip even filled in less than an hour, when I promoted it a few days before. The Dolphin Explorer has expanded its operation with the addition of a larger boat called the “Southern Comfort”. It is not really … Read more
Only 2 dives Saturday morning to report on this week, everyone was away enjoying the extra long weekend. We dived Singapore’s Hantu Jetty and the Inner Reef. It was a super low tide when we arrived at 8.45am after departing from our berth at the Royal Singapore Yacht Club (West Coast Ferry Road) at 8am. … Read more
Another fantastic weekend with great visibility at the “World Famous” Pulau Hantu, Singapore. On Saturday, we were on the Dolphin Explorer where we dived The Jetty and the reef behind The Jetty. The viz at both locations was over 5 metres. The puffer fish was still at the same place at The Jetty as last … Read more
The start of another Easter long weekend diving and long journeys to and from the Dive Resort started with me having to drop Bruno and Halle, my two chocolate Labradors, at the Pet Hotel. Karen was joining this trip as a PADI Dive Guide, so the dogs needed somewhere to stay. They have a like … Read more
This weekend GS-Diving went to Sibu, Malaysia to conduct the PADI Open Water Course with students from an international school. Sibu is only 3 hours away from Singapore by bus and boat. Getting there and back was really easy, much easier than going overland to Tioman. We had some visa immigration issues and unfortunately had … Read more
Another great 4 dives at Singapore’s Hantu this weekend, with awesome viz up to 5-7 metres. Thankfully my ear was better and I was able to dive and it did not give me any trouble at all, in actual fact it is better than is has been before. Love those antibiotics. This weekend I was … Read more
Another weekend not diving, due to an ear infection. Fortunately it cleared over the weekend and things are looking up for me. I can start diving soon. This weekend I chartered The Ark, a Live Onboard Boat (LOB) and travelled to Tioman, Malaysia. We departed from Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal Friday night and returned … Read more
Another nice morning at Hantu, Singapore doing two dives. But I did not dive due to an ear infection I got earlier in the week. Thankfully GS-Diving PADI Instructor Glenn was onboard to look after the two PADI Open Water students. Kenza and Tai successfully completed Dives 1 and 2 of their course. … Read more
I decided to try Sibu, Malaysia for a weekend of diving and was happy with the outcome. This trip was for an international school and I also had three other customers, who also joined. We all left the school Friday at 3.30pm and were in the resort lobby by 6.30pm after a bus ride through … Read more
While I was away diving at Sibu, Malaysia I had two trips to Hantu, a local island off Singapore, over the same weekend. On Saturday, GS-Diving PADI Divemasters George and Joel looked after a total of 8 divers and they report back great viz with good sightings. Feedback from one diver – Hi thanks! I had … Read more
We only dived Saturday morning this weekend and it turned out to be some of the best diving at Hantu, Singapore’s local diving mecca, since November 2013. No other boats were around, which meant we had at least 6-7 metres viz during the second dive under the jetty. As I was leaving home, Karen said, … Read more
GS-Diving visited a local island off Singapore this weekend. They had another 4 morning dives at Hantu in good conditions. Gary Savins was conducting PADI Advanced Open Water Course with Lisa. Lisa did very well, even during the deep dive down the anchor line in a strong current. Viz was around 5 metres, which is … Read more
A great weekend at Hantu (Singapore local diving, departing from Republic of Singapore Yacht Club at West Coast Ferry Road) with excellent viz. We saw a lot of cool stuff including a sea snake on our safety stop during the last dive on Sunday. The viz was so nice and there was no current that … Read more
I have to start by saying, “WOW!” Puerto Galera (PG) in the Philippines was fantastic, not just the diving, but Sabang Beach is a great place to stay, as well. It is busy little town, all about diving. The narrow walkways wind past the locals houses, dive shops, pubs, hotels and restaurants. There are divers … Read more
