Staale
As far as SE Asia is concerned the helicopters operate out of Guam. There are 3 companies in Guam -
Hansen Helicopters, Tropic helicopters and Haufman helicopters.
Hansens are the biggest and the most reliable. In that I mean for work as well as maintenance. They hire pilot, pilot/mechanics or mechanics. Contracts are for 1 year so you are away from home for a long time.
Tropic helicopters are similar to Hansens but you can do a shorter time period. I would not recommend them however in fact I would advise against them.
Haufman - Steve Haufman runs only a few machines and is a good operator. He only hires Pilot/mechanics that are FAA licenced, but pays much better than the others.
All operate MD500C. There are no other type of helicopter based out of Guam on Tuna boats. You will be on a Taiwanese or Korean Tuna boat. They can be a handful to deal with. Mechanics are mostly Fillipino and these days so are a lot of the pilots especially with Hansens. Be prepared for long periods of boredom and short periods of Port calls. You will fly around 600 - 1000 hrs/year depending on the company (boat contract). Money is around $3500US/month in first year for pilots or mechanics and $6000+ for pilot/mechanics.
With 1500 hrs you won't have any problems and it doesn't matter what time of the year it just a matter of waiting for another pilot to want to come off.
Hope this is of some help.
Grogan