Borneo vs. Andaman Coast vs. Ko Chang

[namabiru]

So I've got my ticket booked to Kuala Lumpur, leaving the 14th. I got it approved to switch a few more shifts so I can come back the 29th instead of the 25th. I will leave Doha at 23.30, arriving in Kuala Lumpur at 11.30 the next day (6-hour time difference), so I'd have time to take an Air Asia to get somewhere that day. Which would be better, given the time it takes to go between the airport and KL.

So I'm deciding where to go. I want to either:
1. Go to Borneo (I've been to Peninsular Malaysia, but not Borneo) and dive Sipidan.
2. Go to Andaman coast, specifically spending time in either Phuket or Phi Phi. Or both, as I can ferry it. I've not been to Phi Phi since before the tsunami. I didn't dive the last time I was there. Never been to Phuket.
3. Go east by flying to Ko Samui, then on to Ko Chang. I've been to Ko Pha Ngan (not diving), so wouldn't mind a new Thai island locale.

A 4th option I looked at was going to the Gold Coast, as you can do this with Air Asia. But with it being school holidays plus Christmas, it's obviously going to be chock-a-block. Plus I kind of need a lower budget holiday this time around. When I want to go to Aussie, I'll just book it from here.

I'm looking for beach life along with the diving, so I'm guessing perhaps Borneo, specifically Sipidan, maybe isn't the optimal choice. Besides, our scuba club is going in April, so I could go then.

I'm looking to dive for about a week or so. I want to spend a couple of days in KL as I need to go to Ikea. We've got one in Dubai, but not Doha yet. I betcha one comes in a while though. I've been to KL, so I don't need to do touristy stuff so much.

Can anyone recommend one of these over the other, given the time of year and what I want to do? Half of me says to go someplace new, but then half of me wants beach life and such, like you get in Thailand.

*shrug*

Any thoughts?

[gbrdiver]

I don't know about Ko Chang, but I have done Phuket/Phi Phi a couple of times as well as Kota Kinabalu/Sipadan. If it is purely diving you are after, Borneo has many option all of which are great. Since you mention the holiday aspect, well, I would probably use Phuket as a base...do a liveaboard, as well as an overnight trip to Phi Phi (as a minimum). I was diving off Phi Phi 2 days before the wave. When I was there earlier this year I took some pics in a familiar spot at Ko Bida Noc. Looked exactly the same...I could see no noticable damage anywhere. Borneo diving is better, but Phuket is more fun IMHO!

[namabiru]

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking about. One thing about going to Thai is you can go several places by ferry, so you don't lose diving days due to no-fly. So I was thinking of Air Asiaing myself and going this way: KL-> Phuket (or Krabi!) -> Phi Phi -> Ko Lanta -> Langkawi -> KL .

However, I've just found that with it being high season in Thailand now, and being on a bit of a budget, I might be better off going to Borneo. One advantage to this is I've not been, whereas I've been to Krabi/Phi Phi, although I wasn't diving (only snorkeling) and it was before the tsunami. So obviously I'd be visiting a totally different Krabi and Phi Phi.