Scuba Diving - Musandam, Oman 4th Oct 08

I finally go to put in a dive here. I signed up with Al Boom Diving down the road to go up to Musandam in Oman last Saturday. It was a 2 hour mini bus ride to Dibba in Oman and an hour's speedboat journey to the dive sites.

The water was unfortunately quite choppy but Musandam's rugged scenery was something to behold.

I was actually quite surprised with the dives. They exceeded my expectations and I was thoroughly pleased. They reminded me of Pulau Aur but with a lot more marine life.

Fishes generally did not seem too bothered by divers which is great for an underwater photographer. Unfortunately this chromodoris nudibranch below was the only nudibranch I saw that really excited me.

What I also love about Musandam is that there is no sign of human habitation. The desolate rugged landscape above water is in direct contrast to what lies beneath the waves. A place so abundant with marine life! And at one look you know no one is going to go build a 10 star hotel here at such an "inhospitable" place.

However on the downside, a 3 hour commute one way just for 2 dives is just too tiring, which leads me to believe that diving Musandam is best done on a liveaboard over a few days. All the other numerous dive sites are way up north anyway.

Nevertheless I am excited at the prospect of diving Musandam more in the future.

Photo info: All shots taken with Canon Powershot A620 in Ikelite housing with Inon underwater close up macro lens and Inon D2000 strobe.

Photographer: Me lah.