Lured by beauty of Malaysia's amazing dive destinations

 

Eternal summer, azure skies, coral reefs, fabulous beaches, rich culture — a paradise for tourists. And all of these are in Malaysia. And even more.

Don't forget about the colourful underwater world, too! I will never forget my feelings when, for the first time, having passed the diving exams at the insistence of my daughter, Anastasia, an avid diver, I plunged into the sea near Pulau Redang.

The seabed always beckons because it hides incredible secrets and unexpected surprises. The sight of corals and colourful fish takes your breath away. There are no words to describe their unearthly beauty.

They are worthy of universal admiration and adoration. And the beauty of Malaysia is known not only in the country itself, but also abroad, including in Russia.

That is why it was so crowded near the Malaysian booth organised by Diveheart, a non-profit organisation for the disabled community, in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia at the Moscow Dive Show (MDS) 2021 from April 8 to 11.

Held at the Gostiny Dvor Exhibition Centre, MDS 2021 was the largest exhibition of equipment, tourism and training for people interested in scuba diving and other water-based sports in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Diveheart was represented at the exhibition by Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Hassan, who is based in Kuala Lumpur. As founder and director of Kids Scuba Malaysia, Syed has been conducting Diveheart and adaptive diving programmes in Malaysia for almost 10 years and has trained more than 100 local adaptive divers and volunteers.

"Malaysia is truly blessed with so many beautiful dive destinations, including Pulau Tioman, Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Tenggol and, of course, Pulau Sipadan," said Syed, adding that Malaysian waters were known for its rich underwater biodiversity, beautiful coral reefs and suitable for divers of all levels.

And this is, of course, true. No wonder that the famous oceanologist, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who visited Pulau Sipadan in the 1970s, admired diving in Malaysia. He also made the film The Ghost of the Sea Turtle, in which he called Pulau Sipadan one of the last pearls of our planet. My daughter was lucky to visit this place and could confirm Cousteau's words.

"The natural world in Malaysia is so amazing that sometimes you can be speechless, and the mind simply refuses to admit that such beauty really exists," she said.

The Moscow office of Tourism Malaysia described Malaysia's participation in the exhibition as a success. Jeffrey Munir, the head of the office, said: "We can only hope that the pandemic will subside and the situation in Malaysia will allow the government to ease quarantine measures."

I myself could add that diving in Malaysia is suitable for divers of all levels as waters are generally calm and reefs are protected and most dive sites can be accessed by speed boats without any need for a big vessel.

And, of course, I am sure that the famous Malaysian hospitality, which I had experienced while working at Universiti Malaya for 15 years, will play an important role in attracting divers to this country.

-nst online.