The Anambas are a group of islands in the South China Sea, nestled midway between Singapore and the oil-rich Natunas Archipelago. Lying to the east of the main shipping lines, these Indonesian islands are sparingly inhabited by simple fishing folk, descendents of the once-proud seafaring Bugis and the occasional pirate. anambasmap.jpg (63048 bytes) The diving at Anambas is both challenging and varied, ranging from simple underwater reef systems of Tokong Malangbiru island and the submerged Acasta Rock, to the blue water diving of the disused Udang Oil Rigs, to the wrecks of the Seven Skies and Sara-D. To date, many minor islands of the Anambas archipelago remain unexplored and may potentially house rewarding dive sites. It is a half-day's boat ride from Singapore to reach the first dive sites of the Anambas archipelago. The Udang Oil Rig, sited at the north-east corner of the archipelago, are about one and a half days boat ride from Singapore. Because of the long distances and the sheer isolation of the dive sites, diving at Anambas is made possible only by a couple of liveaboard boats that service the area. For such long sea journeys, it is essential that travel be made on an adequately equipped vessel.