RIB 7K

During our recent trip, we dived at Si Amil and Denawan islands.

Both these islands are nearby each other, but a 45 minutes boat ride from Mabul, where we were staying at.

The beautiful Denawan

Like Sipadan, these islands have a "security post" at the jetty, where the Tentara Laut DiRaja Malaysia are based to protect us, and our waters from alien invasion.
While doing our surface interval at Denawan, a military boat docked.


We soon found ourselves on it! Of course we asked Mr. Army Men for permission first lah!


It was hillarious! I mean, it's not everyday you find yourself riding on a military boat, no?


The seats, we had to straddle as though horseback riding. And there are even stirrups where we can slide our foot into!


Some people even went to try out the "driver's seat".

Alas, that wasn't allowed.

And he was gunned down.

Question - what does RIB 7K stand for?

We thought it might mean Rubber Inflatable Boat.

Coral Planting

The moment I stepped off the boat and onto the arrival jetty at the Sipadan Water Village Resort, I felt that magical giddy high of euphoria again. I remember how and why I fell in love with this place six months ago.

We were lucky to be able to have a chalet facing the open sea again, from where we were treated to pretty cool sunrises in the mornings.

In conjunction with the 12th Mabul Marine Day and 3rd Mabul Marine Week, which was held from the 18 - 25 July 2009, one of the highlights of our trip was the coral planting activity.

Broken coral pieces were collected for the purpose of the transplanting. Each participant was given a piece of coral, tagged with our name.

I was Dooren Loo. I've had many variations of my name being mis-spelled; Dorren, Dorin, Dorine... but Dooren sure beats it all.

With our coral piece identified, we were all given a data sheet to fill in with our particulars, and the details of our coral.

I had a piece of staghorn coral (scientific name Acropora), a branching coral with cylindrical branches protruding out and up. The staghorn is one of the fastest growing corals, with branches increasing in length by 10-20 centimetres a year.

After we have completed the data sheet, it was time for the actual planting at the Old House Reef II on Mabul.

Our guide, Bobby, began by helping us prepare a cement mixture of sorts which we will use as a base. This mixture will then harden over time, providing a sturdy base for the coral.

The new corals are to be transplated on surfaces which is solid and firm, like a rock.

And this is me with my staghorn.

No other corals were hurt or killed in the process of planting this one.

This is Lynette's coral after it's firmly secured.

And a compulsory group shot with Bobby after we surfaced from the dive - Top Row L-R: Colin, Bee Yong, Albert, Lynette, Matthew, Duke and unknown Caucasian, Bottom Row L-R: Shen, Doreen, Bobby

frown

On 22 July, I frowned because I had to put on a life-jacket for the boat ride from Semporna to Mabul.

On 27 July, I frown because I'm back here in KL.

But you already expected that from me, kan?

Let me sort the pics out, then will blog.

babies christened

Two weekends ago, we christened our new babies at the training pool.

When we got home, like good parents parents, diligently we rinsed everything in fresh water and put them out to dry.

It was like watching our babies on graduation day - that proud feeling, you know?

My baby, the Tusa Passage BCD.

He ain't heavy, he's my Zeagle.

Forgive us, I think our tanglungs are going to be hanging there until the next Chinese New Year.

Now, the only thing which we haven't christened...

And we're going to get to give it a good and proper christening tomorrow!

Off to Sipadan Water Village for the Mabul Marine Week, back on Sunday.

Updates when I'm back.

how it started

I met an ex-colleague over the weekend.

"So how did you get into this diving thing?" he asked.

It got me thinking about how it all started.

It was the MIDE (Malaysia International Dive Expo) weekend back in July 2007 and we decided to drive down to PWTC to check it out. We hadn't started diving then, but went just because.

We walked along the aisles, booths on our left and right. We drooled at the picture displays that were put up by exhibitors. We marveled at the dive equipments which were on sale. We asked questions and were given answers. We also collected name cards and brochures.

As we were about to make our way out, we saw this lady manning the booth on her own. She had a friendly and approachable face, unlike the guy whom we had just spoken to (I still remember the name of his Dive Centre to this very day!)

We had a quick chat and took her name card away with us.

It was end of 2007 when we finally went for our first theory class, and we've never looked back since.

Yes, her friendly and approachable face made a difference to us in the sea (no pun intended) of other dive centres at MIDE that afternoon.

But that was only the beginning.

It's been 15 months since we got our PADI Open Water Diver certification.



We could have gone for that one trip and then not dive again for another year. We could have gone for that one trip and then decided that diving isn't that great afterall. Worse - we could have gone for that one trip and then realized that diving is bullshit and regret forking out money to be certified.

But of course, nothing of that sort happened.


We are now in the midst of our PADI Divemaster course, the first step towards making scuba diving a career. From hereon, we will be moving on to do our Instructor Development Course to lead up to the Instructor Exam (IE). And if all goes well, we'll be PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors before the year ends!

Très exciting, non?

And for this, we've got Lynette to thank.

Thank you for making us book all those trips we booked. Thank you for sharing with us - your passion, your enthusiasm, your knowledge. Thank you for leading the way in showing us that we can make a career out of this, just like you did. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for believing in us.

Having said that, it's not all a fun ride. In the months leading up to the IE, there is much to be done! So much to read, so much to learn, and so much to remember. Meeting our PADI Course Director over the weekend was a wee bit daunting, but it further drove home the point that this is serious work, but one which will yield serious fun upon completion.

Well, we started our story with MIDE back in 2007. And now, MIDE 2009 is here this weekend, 3-5 July at the PWTC!

See you there?

So I told my ex-colleague, "I guess I fell in and got hooked. Don't know how to come out of it now."

(Not that I want to!)

the weekends

I sat in bed last night, admiring my very tanned legs. While applying moisturizer, I wondered if my legs will appear thinner if they were to go even darker. I mean, I definitely look skinnier in a black dress, so does the same rule apply to my legs too?

We have been spending our weekends by the pool.

And by that, I don't mean lazing by the pool with a book in hand, face behind an oversized pair of sunnies.

I mean the kind where we, as the lowest in the industry's food chain (LOL!), the divemasters in training, assist the Instructors who are doing confined water training for Open Water divers. In the midst of assisting (and getting hands-on experience!), we are also required to learn and master demonstration skills for the PADI Open Water course.

And so I've been devoting my Saturdays and Sundays to sitting for theory exams, organizing equipment for students or setting up for Discover Scuba participants, and learning from Lynette and Aaron.

By the time we leave the pool, it would be about 4 or 5pm in the afternoon. Exhausted, we set off for home. Maybe it's fatigue, maybe it's the sun, but we end up rather quiet during the drive home.

Then, he'd catch me in the act.

"Why are you smiling to yourself again?"

Same reason you smile to yourself, babe!

Manado: Part 5

I first heard Deep by Binocular from the DVD we got for the Mataking trip. The guy who made the video used the song as one of the background tracks.

And I've loved it since.

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Deep brings me to the blue. The intro (first 10-12 seconds) reminds me of bubbles. No matter where I am, or what I'm doing, when this song comes on - I can imagine myself being underwater, the blue surrounding me.

The lyrics are simple...

So this is what you mean
And this is how you feel
So this is how you see
And this is how you breathe

** Sometimes
I know
Sometimes
I go down deep
Oh...

So this is what you mean
And this is how you feel
So this is how you see
And this is how you breathe

Chorus**

Beneath the deep blue sea
Touching every breath
All a slight off hand
For everything you left

Chorus**

It's been almost 2 weeks since we returned from Manado, and things are slowly resuming normalcy. Until the next trip comes along that is!

The overall experience in Lembeh was a blast!

The wisps of clouds, like lace draped over a volcano

The many dive sites in Lembeh (click for larger view)
Half of the group with Dive Masters Michael, Mendy and Ratno.

The other half of the group with Agus and Ramli.

Dive boat

Surface interval in Indonesia

Departure day is always a sad affair. So I put on my happy dress and smiled.

Another (incomplete) group pic before we left Bastianos- from L-R (Top Row: Jesh, Darren, Joan / Middle Row: Albert, Doreen, Alan / Bottom Row: Ramli, Lynette, Bee Yong, Grace)
And because blogging about dive trips can be quite an emotional affair for me... here are two more departure shots which is just oh-so-emo.

Manado: Part 4

I am going to tell you a story.

This is a true story, a tragic (albeit funny!) one about our dear friends, Darren and Joan.

After a 3 hour 40 minutes flight, AK 432 touched down at Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado City. There were 15 of us in the group, but 2 didn't board the plane at LCCT because of immigration issues (story for another day).

After retrieving our luggage from the conveyor belt, we proceeded to exit the terminal. Many were nicotine-deprived. Some even started with cans of Bintang beer while waiting for everyone to gather.

Then, news broke that Darren and Joan were still inside because they were missing one piece of luggage. Their dive gears (2 bags) arrived, but the third, containing clothes never showed up.

A report was subsequently lodged at the AirAsia counter. They took forever, and while we waited, more cigarettes and beers were consumed.

After almost an hour of us waiting, Darren and Joan came by to tell us that Air Asia's system had hung. Oh, we weren't surprised at all. That's when we decided that the 11 of us will make our way to Bitung first, and then head off into the resort. Another representative from the resort will arrange for their transport after they have resolved the matter with AirAsia.

We finally got into Bastianos Lembeh close to 11pm that night. Darren and Joan arrived almost an hour and a half later, sans the third piece of luggage. The rep from the resort had also brought them to some shops for them to buy cheap T-shirts, shorts and grandma underwear before they boarded the boat for the resort.

The silver lining: No clothes, but at least got dive gear!

Going to sleep that night, we were all hoping that the dives tomorrow would make everything OK.

Joan lost all the bikinis she had packed for the trip (girl brought along 10 pairs! no joke!), so I loaned her one of mine since I brought 3 pairs along. If no bikini, she'd have to go bare under her BARE wetsuit!

On the first day, they dived (private joke: Dove!) without their camera, it being their first dive with brand new BCD, reg and dive computer. The dives on the first day was mind-blowing, and everyone ended the day in high spirits.



On the second day, Darren brought along an empty Fantasea housing for the dive, and left the Nikon camera back in their room.

Eager as they were to capture all the amazing stuff we saw underwater, Darren said, "Test first. See leaking or not, since we already had bad luck with our luggage!"

"Ya ya, let's just dive with empty housing and tissue paper inside first," concurred Joan.

After that first morning dive of our second day, Darren surfaced to say that he'd lost his housing during the dive.

"It was bobbing and floating in front of my face, damn annoying lah! So I just clipped it onto my BCD lah!" he said.

That was the last he saw of his housing.

The silver lining: No more housing, but at least camera is safe!

By then, we were already warning them that bad things happen in threes, and that they should be extra careful!

Some saving grace came that day itself, Monday afternoon, when a staff of the resort informed them that their missing luggage had arrived at Sam Ratulangi airport, and that it will be delivered to the resort by the end of the day.

That evening after dinner, we sat at the balcony of our room (since it faced the port) and listened out for any boats coming to the resort. Every boat engine we heard, we strained our necks and eyes to see if it was approaching the resort.



It finally did.

See the happiness on Darren's face?

So, the winds FELT like it had changed. We were all looking forward to good things to come.

The next day, after our first dive and during our surface interval, we spotted... DOLPHINS!!!!

One of the Dive Masters on our boat spotted them first, off in the distance, and we sped towards it. Another Bastianos boat was nearby, so there were two boats circling and chasing after them dolphins! Everyone was ecstatic and we acted like a bunch of sakais, cheering and screaming our heads off.

At one point, them dolphins were sooooo close! Unfortunately, they were too fast, jumping in and out of the water, and the best shot I got was this...

My first dolphin sighting! Apparently you can see them between Sipadan and Mabul too!

After the hour-long surface interval on the boat, we arrived at Nudi's Retreat for the second dive of the day. We were going to see the electric clam!

We were all busy putting on our weight belts and rinsing our masks when Darren asked no one in particular, "Eh, you saw my mask ah?"

HAHAHAHA!

Silver lining: We did see the electric clam, and at only 3 metres! It was gorgeous. Zap Zap!

So you think the story ends there right?

Wrong.

Darren and Joan forgot their passports which were left in the room after we had checked out. Housekeeping went through all the rooms, and managed to catch us while we were waiting for the boat to take us back to the mainland.

Close. Very close.

When AK 433 took off for KL at 20:05 hours, most of us were tired and slept throughout the flight.

And you'd think the drama ends has to end here right?

Wrong again.

Upon reaching home, Joan realized she lost her mobile phone.

"I think it fell out of the laptop bag lah!"

*slaps forehead*

So ladies and gentlemen, everytime you are going through a bad day, do take a moment and think about my dear friends, Darren and Joan!

Manado: Part 3

Driving out to dinner two evenings ago, we lamented about the week was passing by so slowly.

"It's only Tuesday!" I told him.

"Last Tuesday we were so happy in Manado!" he said.

It's pure torture when you think about it, going away for a dive trip and then coming back to endure the withdrawals. Why is coming back from a dive trip so painful? Why do we do this to ourselves?

I recently stumbled upon this quote from an anonymous which I can so relate to - "I dive, because to not dive is just too hard to imagine".

So I wonder, what was it like before I discovered diving?

It wasn't so long ago you know... but what was life like then?

What did I get high on?

(Yes, you have my permission to ignore the last question).

...

......

..........

So, diving in Lembeh was K.I.C.K.A.S.S.

I'm not a big fan of macro, but was looking forward to diving in Lembeh after reading up on the dive sites including the types of unique marine life which we will be seeing.

And since I was so semangat about checking out critters and macro life, two hours before we were due to leave for the airport, went out to Popular bookstore to buy me self a magnifying glass to bring along!

So, my wishlist was nice and short -

(1) Mimic octopus
(2) Flamboyant cuttlefish
(3) Hairy frogfish
(4) Banggai cardinalfish

* NOTE: All pictures featured in this entry are courtesy of Lynette, and you can check out the full set of album at her blog!

The mimic octopus was high on my wishlist, and we saw it on our first dive at Lembeh!




With a mimic sighting on the first dive, and with 10 more to go for the next couple of days, you can imagine how excited I was!

The flamboyant cuttlefish, which we saw on our second dive, is very impressive.



The changing of colours - very elegant and almost as though there is an aura of sort surrounding the cuttlefish when the bright red and yellow appears. We saw many throughout the many dives we did after that. Always fascinating!

From pictures I found online of the hairy frogfish, they look so darn cute. Like a little monster in in need of a haircut. However, the one that we saw had really short hair, but cute factor still quite high - Look at him!


We also had the opportunity to witness another species of frogfish feeding - live - before our very eyes! Dive Master Michael caught a tiny fish with his bare hands, held the tiny thing by its tail, and wagged it teasingly in front of the anxious diner. And within moments, out came the tongue (yes, like a frog!) to zap (I call it zap, but I'm sure there's a better word for this) the prey into its mouth.

After the 'show' was over, we even clapped underwater, an ovation to the DM who gave us such a treat.

And the last on my wishlist, the Banggai cardinalfish...


Aren't they just so pretty? On a few dives, we spotted the juveniles being baby-sitted by clownfish! No other adult banggais around, just one tiny banggai cardinalfish fleeting amidst the anemone, surrounded by a group of clown. Interesting.

Then of course, came a whole lot of other stuff which I've never heard of, let alone seen!

The sea moth which is - IMHO - so weird! It has these wing-like fins, and it kinda walks on the sea floor.


The coconut octopus! We saw two of them, one in a shell, and the other in a glass jar called home.



I think I have a new-found love for octopuses. We saw them soooo close, and you can really see all their features - their big bulbous eyes, the white suckers sticking onto the glass surface like a gooey, sticky piece of chewing gum!

And we also saw the peculiar looking ambon scorpionfish.

Dude, I'm sorry, but you sure do look like an alien!

Nudibranches and pygmy seahorses (7 of them on 1 sea fan in Magic Rock!!!!) a plenty. All of us believe that the nudibranch in Lembeh are injected with steroids cos they were H-U-G-E! My favourite was an orange one - the moment I saw it's plump body, it made me think of a huge piece of citrus-flavoured gummi!

Angel's Window was a notable dive site for me. We descended to about 20ish metres, and there was a little tunnel which we had to swim through. The first tunnel was narrow - but so inviting - that I swam right in after the Dive Master, leaving my buddy outside. It was a short swim-thru, but my first going through an enclosure like that. After the first little tunnel, we had to go through another shorter one, which was also much wider, and exiting that second swim-through, we were already at 29 metres.

Looking upwards from the bottom... a towering pinnacle of life and colours.. GLORIOUS!

So happy OK! Like this...

Oh, my magnifying glass?

Well, I used it a lot. I was swimming soooo close to the bottom and inspecting every darn grain of sand that moved!

Manado: Part 2

Now, I am going to say this and get it over with - it is not easy writing about other dive resorts. As much as I don't want to, I end up comparing them all to Sipadan Water Village in Mabul.

So, that's now out of my system....

For our 6D/5N in Manado, we stayed at the Bastianos Lembeh.

There are primarily two dive areas in Manado - Bunaken and Lembeh Straits. Getting from Bitung port to our resort is a mere 10-15 minutes boat ride away.

At Lembeh, don't expect white sandy beaches and blue turquoise waters. Volcanic substrate causes sand (on land and underwater) to be dark brown, almost black. It takes some getting used to, cos black sand just looks damn dirty and walking about barefoot felt icky at first.

There aren't many rooms at the Bastianos Lembeh, which makes it a small and cosy place. Majority of the rooms are along the single stretch of walkway which takes you to and from the rooms to the restaurant.

The rooms at Bastianos Lembeh were clean and comfortable.

The rooms are airconditioned (a must have unless at SWV) and there is a four-poster bed with drapes (a romanticized word for mosquito nets).

The bathrooms, I love! Plenty of natural sunlight coming through, and see that ladder? You can hang your towel there when you shower!

Here's a shot of the balcony from Lynette. I forgot to take pictures of my own balcony, but it overlooks a different view - less trees, more sea.



Because we arrived at the resort in the dark of the night, I went to sleep at 2am not knowing what the view from our balcony was like. Most of us were up by about 5:30am because the sun had already risen. I jumped out of bed and was greeted with a view like this...

The dining area (pics from Lynette) is airy and overlooks the Straits.




Food here is definitely acceptable. Buffet meals are served, and in the course of our stay, with the exception of breakfast, no dishes were repeated. Though they really need to figure out how to cook fish properly.

The end of the dining area leads to the pool.




'Twas a pity that I only got to laze by the pool on our last morning there. The pool overlooks the shore outside the Bastianos Dive Centre.



The Dive Centre at the Bastianos Lembeh is well-organized in their own ways and is of course much better than other resorts in Tioman or Perhentian. But I would like to have a 'hang out' area where we can have coffee and gather around to look at pictures after a dive. (Yes, like the SWV dive centre set-up!)



Overall, a very chilled resort to be at.