THE ROYAL DIVE: The King Of Malaysia Chose Layang Layang As His Dive Destination

The King of Malaysia: active scuba diver.

Layang Layang Island Resort (LLIR) has the honour to host the number one man in Malaysia. This time it is the royal visit – I call it the Royal Dive.

His Majesty, The King of Malaysia Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah chose Layang Layang as his diving destination. The King and Her Majesty, The Queen, visited LLIR from the 31^st July to the 2^nd August 2009. The royal couple arrived in the afternoon on the 31^st July together with their four children.

As soon as after checking in, the experienced diver King did one orientation dive right inside the lagoon area of Layang Layang atoll. Mr Jasper Bell, the Operation Manager (LLIR) & PADI Instructor, lead the King’s party on that very first dive that lasted for about 45 minutes.

His Majesty did two dives on the outer part of Layang Layang atoll on the next day. The slightly choppy sea did not stop the King from doing the maximum allowed of 2 dives as His Majesty was scheduled to fly within 24 hours after the last dive.

The king’s first dive was at Gorgonian Forest towards The Point – Layang Layang most famous dive site. Gorgonian Forest area starts from as shallow as 3m and a gentle slope to around 12m before dropping to the abyss. Layang Layang walls drop all the way to 2000 meters.

After taking an hour surface interval, His Majesty did the second dive at Dogtooth Lair and again this time they swam towards The Point. The sea condition was still choppy and underwater visibility was downed between 10 to 15 meters.

The usually blue waters of Layang Layang, that can reach more than 50 meters underwater visibility, has been affected by the constant windy condition that has been going on for the last few days prior to the King’s arrival.

The Point, and of course all around the atoll, is literally covered with soft and hard corals in their pristine condition. Its slope and wall is also covered with gigantic gorgonian forest, huge barrel sponge and the biggest sea fans you ever seen.

The healthy coral reef system of Layang Layang is home to thousands of tiny and colourful coral fishes that attract quite a big number of pelagic creatures like dog tooth tuna, giant trevally, sharks, manta ray and many more.

Both of the King’s dives were done before lunch break. There were no more dives in the afternoon. His Majesty and his visiting party took the afternoon and evening at leisure.

His Majesty spent the morning of the 2^nd, prior to his departure, visiting the Royal Malaysian Navy base on Layang Layang where he was given a briefing and a tour around the area.

The King left for Labuan on a Royal Malaysian Air Force airplane around 2:00 pm on the 2^nd August.

Layang Layang Island Resort should be proud as the King’s visit and specifically the diving was indeed a success. The fact that the king of Malaysia chose Layang Layang as his diving destination is something that the resort will remember and treasure for a long time.

Related posts:

1. Top 3 Diving Destinations: Dive BORNEO (Malaysia)
2. On The Road Again: I Hit It “Hard” This Time