Surfer, would love to meet up with you and Mrs. Surfer in Indonesia, maybe it will happen, but I need to get into the water sooner than October. Since September is typhoon season in PI, I'll consider Bunaken at that time.

I'll think about Puerto Galera for September, whether the diving is good or not, because my Filipina sweetie will be there. Photo attached (she is older, very sweet, not your typical Angeles cutie....an exceptional keeper IMHO).

FMK, thanks, I did a bit of diving in Cebu earlier this year, I would have to go further than Mactan to find high-quality diving, which might work if my sweetie goes with me, since I don't expect to find girls outside of Cebu City (see my previous report).

http://forum.myredbook.com/dcforum2/User_files2/q5t9g0l9b4b9g8u8.jpg

I wish I could go in September but Semester break is not until October 10. I could go with you a few days before she is out of school if you promise not to lead me astray LOL

Another idea is to take A to Palau, among the World's very best diving and no visa required fro Filipinas. About 2.5 hour flight from Manila. I'd LOVE to go up there to dive Ngmelis and Blue Corner. Do some research on Palau and let me know your thoughts. One drawback is that it is quite a bit more costly to dive there than in the PI, LOS or Indo.

Also, September 20 is NINERS home opener with the World Champion Saints (never thought I'd say THAT! ) and that is one game I do not want to miss live at the stick. I will have my slingbox set up by football season but watching over the internet just aint the same.

I have been to Palawan and it is incredible, but inclement weather is a possibility by late summer and fall.

Thanks, a quick look at Palau shows that it is stunningly beautiful, that my FGF will apparently need a passport (but not a visa), and that flying from Manila to Koror is very expensive. The cheapest flight I see is $593 plus taxes and fees on Continental, with a 19 hour travel time thanks to a long stop-over in Guam. Other flights are from $1300 on up.

Taking my FGF to Palau might not be a plan. Going myself might be, but I assume finding talent on Palau might not be easy.

I'll keep looking at Indonesia in September and elsewhere in PI later in the year....pending new suggestions....of course Thailand and the Andaman Sea beckons starting in October/November....after the monsoon season.

I'm thinking about diving near Indonesia's Komodo Island in August or September. I've read that the diving is spectacular. However, I believe that Komodo is only accessible via liveaboard so it may not meet your requirements. I will probably do the liveaboard at the beginning of my trip, spend a couple of days on Bali after the boat returns, and then do a side trip to Jakarta, Singapore, or Hong Kong to look for girls.

If you are interested see the Komodo reports on this page. I've been diving with the author. He is a straight shooter and a great guide.

http://www.mermaid-liveaboards.com/article-portal.htm

The diving itself was amazing but technical, for the better spots you need to get away from the regular tourist spots. I remember for one location with a lot of rays there were 40-50 divers all in a circle. Most of the guys I dived with had 200-300 dives under their belt, at 20 dives I was a lot less experienced than them but still had a good time.

You probably know the currency is the US$, food was great, tons of fresh hamachi locally caught, no night life to speak of so you want to bring your own if you want company. One fun thing to do is rent out camping gear and get one of the locals to drop you off on an island for a night or two. Tons of uninhabited islands where you can play Robinson Crusoe.

Ping me if you want more info.

The advice to date is that diving will be better in Indonesia than in PI in September, so I am following up on one of the recommendations above for Komodo plus looking further into Bunaken. I'll likely ask my TGF to come with me if she can get off work for a week.

I am waiting to see if I will have a professional reason to go to Thailand in September, in which case I'll add Chiang Mai to my list, and maybe Hat Yai again, as my TGF lives in the south of Thailand. Muslim terrorist risk there is small but not zero...I feel ok being there.

Later in the year I'll likely go diving in the Philippines again, I'll ask my FGF to go with me. She doesn't have a passport, and getting her one might be a hassle, so I'll take her somewhere in PI. Another photo of her is attached....same girl as in the blue shirt in a previous post.

Conclusion: probably Indonesia in September, maybe including Thailand, and PI later in the year.

http://forum.myredbook.com/dcforum2/User_files2/c5zqr1oyxx0zy1az.jpg

Some of the girls in the discos are very pretty, and they are generally good fun....diving is quite good as well.

I suggest El Galleon as a resort, there is a dive shop associated with the resort. Nice small pool, good bar, very good restaurant, girl friendly if you are discreet....recommended.

ps Take Sikat from Manila to Sabang.

Sabang is on my to-do list. How does it compare to Phuket in terms of both diving and girls?

The good diving out of Phuket is on live-aboard boats, to the Similan Islands and beyond. World-class diving, great fun to live on a boat and do generally four dives per day. Let me suggest that you contact my friend John Williams at Siam Dive n Sail if you are interested: http://siamdivers.com/. An American guy with a Thai wife, familiar shall we say with the charm of Thailand, fair prices, and he has dived everywhere. Disadvantage of a live-aboard is that there are no bars and no bar girls on board, unless you bring your own.

Diving in Sabang is very easy, all dives with Asia Divers at El Galleon Resort are boat dives, usually within ten minutes of the dock. Return to the resort for a shower and breakfast or lunch between dives. Diving ranges from good to very good, but not world-class like the Similan Islands. http://www.asiadivers.com/elgalleon/

Girls are everywhere at Patong Beach in Phuket, soi Bangla has seemingly hundreds of beer bars with girls ranging from very pretty to um not so attractive, take-out price is generally lower than Bangkok and higher than Pattaya. There are also go-go bars, discos, and a soapy massage. Patong is also full of fat drunk older German guys and other Euro scum, and loads of drunk young Australian guys, so the ambience is not always pretty.

Sabang has about a half dozen "discos" which are go-go bars full of girls for takeout. Easy to find as Sabang is very small and the discos are clustered. There are some very pretty girls there, some less so, and prices are low. Typical price is 2000 PHP (less than $50) for bar fine plus long-time for the girl. I always tip the girl in the morning if the service is good. However, my last three visits I have spent with the girl in the above photos....a real sweetie.

There you have it: world-class live-aboard diving in the Similan Islands (and other islands further north in the direction of Burma) and plenty of girls on soi Bangla in Phuket (Patong); very easy and convenient shore-based boat dives and a convenient cluster of bars with girls in Sabang (Puerto Gallera).

Getting there:
Easy to fly from Bangkok to Phuket in an hour, and about an hour taxi ride to Patong.
Use Sikat to get from Manila to Sabang, about a four-hour trip on bus and taxi. (much less expensive than flying from Bangkok to Phuket plus the taxi).

Photo taken by my dive buddy in the Similans....

http://forum.myredbook.com/dcforum2/User_files2/4vow53x7m490s9ww.jpg