I did three dives at Pulau Weh this visit ... one excellent, one good and one disappointing. My favourite here has to be Batee Tokong where I saw sharks last year, and plenty of good stuff this year including barracudas, octopuses and a turtle.  I'm a bit of a size-queen of the deep and don't care for the small stuff; hence the dive I found disappointing may be good for other people.  There are many good sites (including an underwater hotspring) which may more suited for people with more advanced certification (ie. not me) as the best stuff can be down around 30m.

I paid a visit to the Andaman Islands, which is the part of India that's closer to Phuket and Banda Aceh than the Indian mainland.  While over there I dived with Andaman Bubbles at Havelock Island. 

 

Being in the Indian Ocean you'd think that the diving would be amazing ... but it wasn't the best (but remember I've dived Sipadan and Bunaken).  As I only did two dives (Aquarium and The Wall), I thought my sentiments may not have been justified but a French couple who did many dives (at many sites) there shared my views.  By the way, you can dive with an elephant too, if you wish!

I stayed and dived with Lumba Lumba Diving Centre, a friendly and relaxed place.  I had the best attention from the very professional dive masters here ... to the point that I now doubt the previous outfits I've dived with!  With only one day of diving, I managed only a dive at Gapang Beach (refresher beach dive) and wonderful Batee Tokong. 

I'm so lucky to have dived here so early in my diving life.  Everything else in the future may seem like a disappointment.  Sibuan on the first day was a good start, but the second day at Sipadan (Barracuda Point, South Point and Hanging Gardens) was unbeatable.  The swirls of barracudas were amazing.  As a result, the last day at Kapalai (Sunken City) and Mabul (Oil Rig and Paradise 2) was a fizzer.  Our operator was Sipadan Scuba and underwater photos are courtesy of Christian Albert.