Harry Forster, National University of Singapore

Firstly, my scuba novice journey started right at the beginning of first semester, where I found a fellow exchange student who was also down to take the plunge…

After a bit of scrolling, we came across a Singaporean dive shop that offers an integrated package: including the Open Water certification and a fully funded dive trip to Malaysia – only for £400 (Roughly the same price as what the certification costs alone in other places such as Europe)!

So if you’re another newbie who’s up for starting scuba, Southeast Asia is one of the cheapest & best regions to try it – I really can’t recommend this enough!

Not Your Normal Noel 

The same day as I finished my final exam of first semester, me and a dive buddy jetted off, spending the first three weeks of our xmas holidays in the Philippines… could have been worse!

First things first. We rented motorbikes and headed to Malapascua, small island situated off the coast of Cebu.

The main attraction to this archipelago is to go see the Thresher Shark. But first we had to get our Advanced Open Water certification (so we could dive down to 30 meters).

The sharks tail grows to the same length as its body, and they use this tail to kill their prey...

Next, we went to Moalboal to see the famous ‘Sardine Run’ – a twisting mass of billions of sardines.

Then, Oslob to see the Whale Sharks – the largest shark in the world.

Finally, Boxing Day did not hold your usual sort of festivities…

No turkey but Thai, no charades but shipwrecks!

Instead of a 3 course dinner, it was 3 dives… The main course was diving the 85m King cruiser wreck.

The wreck is a passenger transporter that sank in 1997. It hit the Anemone Reef with over 100 people onboard (all survived so no skeletons were seen).

Just to add to this once in a lifetime opportunity, we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse during our dive interval!

Semester Two Dives

In Semester two, I got in three more dives; they were in the Philippines. Shock.

This time they were off the coast of Coron. There are over 10 shipwrecks off the island…

• It is said that it takes a month to dive them all (so I will definitely be returning at some point in the future)!

Akitsushima is a 115m seaplane tender of the Imperial Japanese Navy, it was sunk during WWII in Sept 1944.

Looking Forward

I’m in no doubt that this hobby has only just started for me. It has already changed my future travel plans dramatically, rather than just looking at where the best weather is, you also start checking when and where are the best places to go diving.

I’ve set myself the goal of completing my divemaster qualification, this is the highest qualification you can achieve before being an instructor. Also, I fancy doing it soon because I want to dive before all the oceans are ruined! So I’ve set myself the ambition to complete my divemaster before I’m 30. For me, the most appealing places are:

• Gili islands – Indonesia
• Great Barrier Reef – Australia

I know I have taken up a very expensive lifelong habit, but at the same time, I really can’t thank this exchange experience enough for starting it.

5 months, 17 dives… Till next time!