Scubaroo

Ok folks, finally after settling into sunny Bahrain it's well time for a dive -- time to set up a happy little corner to discuss and share experiences & photos. The happy place where fish are friends, they don't talk back, and where the fones don't work.

Grateful for tips on diving in the region or more exotic places when on leave. Please keep in mind the site rules and please codify business names or PM.

Bahrain is the focus and others welcome to contribute/hi-jack as need. Dives planned for the weekend so happy to put folks in touch with those with the urge to submerge (this is not a dating service and we don't loan our pets)!

Go!

/S

Scubaroo

For those heading to Oz, a heads up.

Eva

Don't work for Oz tourist board then?
More of an 'arse up' than heads up if you do...even if you don't actually.

Scubaroo

Yes, and the Lara Bingle inflatables are on special at my stall at the weekend souk, 2 for 1. They come in handy as a safety stop marker.

Is more accurate than you think. Just following on from a discussion at the Dilli a while back about dunny spiders.

Don't make me take my thong off.

flares

Have you dived in Saudi Scubaroo? Threatening to do a dive off Jeddah. Have visa will travel!

Scubaroo

No, but the word on the street speaks highly. I need a Visa invite, but that could be arranged, is it any good? up for a mission. Hoping to report back soon on BH kwality...

Tockalosh

scooby, dear man. can you add all the bits that are all white enclaves on that map.

not bothered about sharks but dont want any brown TCN chappies

OriginalSunshine

dive "undeterred", if you dive west of Dubai. Musandam & east coast of UAE (Fujairah way) are where it's at. Or Oman - lots of whalesharks, whales, dolphins. Aqaba a shit hole. Red sea only good with a liveaboard to get to the interesting stuff. Zanzibar fab, but a bit "rustique". Maldives best done with a liveaboard. Mauritius has nasty current. Wouldn't touch east coast of Kenya, Ethiopia with a barge pole right now but heard they are awesome.

Scubaroo

Sir Tock! greetings. There's a red neck buffer zone that starts 1hour inland from the beach and stops about 3hours thereafter. Oh and and the great big triangle state to the north east, you'll be right at home! A bit like Amwaj in many respects, not so Little Britain.

Thankfully the refugee program is helping to settle many well deserving folks in need in such areas (if you can afford a plane ticket, no boats apparently), I hope the Austrayans are making them feel welcome. Stunning Ethiopian food now very available. Cassava stew still not common. And thanks to the imperialist bastards, we're a nation of tourists, good food and unrecognised 60,000yo indigenous heritage.

Meanwhile, Thai tell me even the Myanmars are now outsourcing, the cycle continues.

Betsy doing fine btw!

Scubaroo

Back to OP, thanks Sunshine! sounds like Oman is the place! is it livaboard or package preferred? Maldives is top of my wish list, apparently the only place true to brochure! East Africa I hear stunning. West was hard to convince the boat crew that you may not come back up right next to the boat and perhaps you'd appreciate them keeping an eye out, let alone the benefits of spare engine tools, oil, and radios! But do you have any regular dive spots worthy? local wrecks even?

OriginalSunshine

nah - for Oman just try any one of the local dive centres (in the infamous words of ExpatWoman - google!) and just go for long drive/dive weekends. the vis is rarely great, but the sealife is coming back after years of algal bloom (from UAE west coast sewage dumps - no-one got my under-turd joke - sob) and ripping out from Gonu & Phet.

Local wrecks here are really hard to dive as you have to get all sorts of permissions from various ministries. I dive with a private group, but as I said, there are lots of operators out here who can tell you more.

Scubaroo

Ok, BH diving, stunning! nice bit of reef off to the far north, all the cute little colourfuls, nemo and the crew, cuttles, nudibranchs, decent sized kutas at the surface, junior turtles, triggers, parrots, and the usual gang of friendlies.

Clear skies, oily smooth deep blue waters, cool breeze, bath water at 29deg and good vis upto 15+ and not a grain of dry sand in sight.

The skanky mermaids at the pool bar on return was definitely all worth it!

Tockalosh

Hey scoobs, glad aunty Betsy hasn't peed her panties again. It's really embarrassing when she does that in public. Those new incontinence pants are really working.
Say thanks to dr salman when you see him.

Watch out for those brown fish. It's Indian fisherman poo

Scubaroo

Speaking of Aunt Betsy, she popped a bladder on the weekend, damn kook, not at the hips yet, replacement on the cards tho.

Scubaroo

Salmabad's Doc Salmangood! I regularly threaten the ol' wentch with brochures of the retirement facility there.