Where is the best place in Asia to learn to Scubadive?

I have no experience scuba diving and will be in South East Asia from December to March. I have a limited budget, so the cheaper the better.

Thailand is certainly the cheapest place in Asia to get your PADI Open Water certification. The Similan Islands are one of the world's best dive destinations and you can do a liveaboard boat trip there for 4 days, including your Open Water course, for around $500 - see www.phuket-diving-safaris.com as an example of a liveaboard operator

Phuket is not "tsunami-stricken" - the tsunami was nearly 2 years ago and you'll find very little evidence of it ever having happened if you come to Thailand as a tourist. Phuket tends to be one of the more expensive areas in Thailand for tourists because it's so well known - nearby islands like Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi are cheaper and much more beautiful, I think. You can do Open Water courses there too, doing daytrips over a couple of days to get your certifying dives. Check out godive-lanta.com on Lanta - they are a great bunch of guys, I've dived with them several times.

As a certified scuba instructor myself, I'd advise you don't rush your time for diving - most likely once you've done the course you'll be hooked, so schedule several more days for doing fun dives once you've qualified!

Have fun

Rendang!

thailand is your best bet. if you don't mind, the tsunami stricken Phuket has some very good deal at the moment to attract the visitors back.