I Go Down!

RIB 7K

2009-08-04T11:15:00.000+08:00

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

2009-07-28T17:27:00.000+08:00

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

2009-07-27T17:27:00.000+08:00

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

2009-07-21T17:25:00.000+08:00

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

2009-07-01T17:25:00.000+08:00

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

2009-06-23T17:24:00.000+08:00

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

2009-06-16T16:44:00.002+08:00

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

2009-06-13T16:43:00.000+08:00

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

2009-06-12T10:31:00.000+08:00

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

2009-06-08T17:58:00.000+08:00

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.

Manado: Part 1

2009-06-06T17:57:00.001+08:00

Our euphoria of arriving at Sam Ratulangi airport was short-lived when Darren and Joan's third piece of luggage failed to appear on the conveyor belt.

"Thank god it's your clothes bag and not the dive gear!" was the general and unanimous sentiment.

It was past 10pm when we arrived at the port in Bitung.

Despite the late hour, the port was a hive of activity. Local Indonesian boys gathered near a dimly lited warung strumming on their guitars and clouds of smoke billowed above their heads; the unmistakable smell of green herbs. Older men were hanging around, lazily dragging on their kreteks.

A crew of young men starting unloading our luggage from the van and onto the boat. Some of the guys in our group had hopped over to the nearby shop to purchase some bottles of Bintang. We boarded the wooden boat, settling down on the uncovered front deck. Someone offered a swig of beer, I gladly accepted.

(No pictures were taken on the night of arrival at Bitung Port because I was too bloody tired! These were taken on the day of departure.)

A Year On

2009-05-12T09:50:00.000+08:00

I got my PADI Open Water Diver in Tioman last April... so being there a year later brought back nice memories. When I think about the very first time we entered the water from the shore of Swiss House Reef, I still shudder with excitement.

A year on after the Open Water trip, we were back there to do the PADI Rescue Diver open water over the last weekend.

My Rescue stint was a case of the rescuer also needing rescue when I collapsed onto the shore while pulling my victim out because I almost died of exhaustion. Tak larat sial!

I was given a chance to re-do it. But it bugged the hell out of me because in an actual rescue situation, there won't be a second chance.

So there, if you ever need me to rescue you in future (touch wood!) please bear in mind that I am reciting this in my head - The rescuer's safety takes priority.

:P

On this trip also, we assisted Lynette and Aaron who were there with 7 new open water students. As (soon-to-be) Dive Masters in training, for me, it was an experience like no other because this time round, it's not just about me and my buddy anymore. We had to learn how to look out for the others and to be able to quickly identify issues or problems when and if it arises.

It's not easy (and Lynette might add that it's not hard either!), but practice will make perfect, and only God knows how determined am I to perfect it.

Rescue Diver theory paper this weekend, so here's to doing it only once!

SWV: Part 4

2009-01-29T12:20:00.001+08:00

In less than a year after being certified an Open Water Diver, we got 'massaged' into taking our Advanced.

The rationale?

"Since you are already there doing the dives, might as well lah!"

Our first skill was Underwater Navigation. Unlike navigation for Open Water, where we went a straight line and U-turn back with a compass, this time round, we had to navigate in a square.

We had a go at it on land, and subtracting or adding 90 degrees didn't seem so hard. But when underwater, and after 20 kick cycles or so, I cannot see the point where I started from, coupled with a little current pushing me off course... I, uh... didn't end up where I started.

As a result, we had to repeat our navigation skill in another dive, and we cleared that thereafter. Oddly, the second time we did our navigation, the sun was setting and it was dark, but we probably were much more confident.

Deep Dive was another skill we had to complete. We did this skill at The Drop Off / Turtle Cavern @ Sipadan, and we were at a depth of 24.7 metres. To see how depth (and pressure) affects our judgement and alertness, we had to do a Math equation underwater: 1 ÷ 1 x 1 + 1

I proudly and confidently raised one index finger to indicate my answer =_=

Peak Performance Bouyancy had us repeat a skill we did during Open Water, and we were asked to hover. We giggled at Futaba's antics cos that girl is so damn light and the tank weighed more than her, and so she kept tumbling backwards.

I was looking forward to doing my very first Night Dive. On this dive, we also had to do night navigation. Because it was only a straight line and back, I confidently swam away. After reaching the required number of kick cycles, I stopped, and wanted to do my U-turn.

Jeng jeng jeng!

I got disoriented in the dark and didn't know which way was which. Panic sial. But my first night dive, despite it being quite intimidating, turned out pretty cool. Shrimps' eyes light up like rubies in the dark!

Our last skill, we had to choose from a list... and we went for something straighforward - a Boat Dive, just to get all 5 skills completed. Er, we back-rolled from theboat, and voila- boat dive done! *grins*

And my card arrived in the mail yesterday!

Whale shark, ftw! :)

SWV: Part 3

2009-01-09T18:00:00.001+08:00

As a new diver, I've got much to learn and see. As a new diver also, if you were to ask me what's my favourite marine life, I wouldn't be able to give you a definite answer.

I know I enjoy looking at big fish, the pelagics. First of all, it takes no effort (read: crowding around a particular coral, magnifying glass in hand) in spotting them. Secondly, big things are always good. Look at the Petronas Twin Towers, the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall - they are all BIG.

Sipadan was H-A-V-O-C.

Barracuda Point rocks! Upon descent, we were treated to a wondrous sight - a school of jacks and a school of bumpheads.

Crusing alongside the bumpheads is one of the most awesome feeling ever.

They make look nasty with those huge teeth of theirs, but I think they're special like that, and I love them!

Barracuda Point wouldn't make sense if we didn't see no barracudas. And that actually was the case for our very first dive there. The 2 subsequent dives - finally - a wall of barracuda - literally thousands of them!

Words cannot describe how I felt the first time we saw them. Two different schools of barracudas, then eventually merging into one huge wall. The second sighting, we had to swim, and swim and swim and swim to catch sight of them after the dive master spotted their shadows in the distant.

For both sightings, we only saw them towards the end of our dive. Thank God kan? But no, them barracudas weren't in their tornado formation. Just a wall of them.

Amazing.

Sharks were everywhere, and you don't even have to look for them.

Don't get me wrong - I like small things too. Diamonds are small, but who's ever complained of receiving them right? *grins* A nudibranch is always pretty to look at. And you don't have to swim or chase after them. They just sit there. The orang utan crab is hairy and cute!

The small stuff which made it into my highlights of the trip...

My first pygmy seahorse! These buggers are so small, but so darn cute! I now have a pygmy seahorse car sticker on my window! I love them so!

A pair of ornate ghost pipefish! Aren't they so cool? We saw them at Paradise 1, Mabul, chilling about a rope.

A nudibranch hovering above its eggs!

All the dives we did, were awesome in their own ways.

And we is happy.

-------------------------------------

(Thanks to Lynette and Bee Yong for the underwater images!)

SWV: Part 2

2009-01-06T16:08:00.000+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you...

... the awesome SWV Resort on Mabul island.

Merely saying that this is one kick-ass resort and that I had one helluva holiday does not seem to do much justice to it... but I really, really love this place!

To people who head to SWV many times in a year, you can ignore this post.

The Reception / Lounge area has a bar and a sofa area. There is also a TV and a computer (surfing from your own laptop is free, but is chargeable if you use this terminal).

When I got into the room, I actually went, "Shit, they have no aircon", then realized how stupid I must have sound.

Really, who needs aircon in a room like this? You open the doors to the verandah, you see the sea and feel the breeze. You open the windows, you see the sea too. Or your neighbour lah - depending on which window.

Do you know what it feels like going to bed every night in a room like this?

You don't fall asleep to the sounds from your stereo/mp3 player. You don't fall asleep counting sheep. You don't fall asleep to the sounds of traffic. You don't fall asleep to the rhythmic tick of your clock. You don't fall asleep the sounds of your neighbour's TV.

You are lulled to sleep by the sounds of water swishing right under your chalet, and the breeze sweeps through the room from the windows and doors left open.

I've never been to heaven, but this must be what it's like!

The entire resort itself exudes such a magical feel.

There is a watch tower, which so happens to be right outside our room...

From atop the tower, you can feel the entire structure moving (!!!) when the wind blows. The view is glorious though, as you see the sea and chalets spread out below you.

Oh, and there's a helipad too!

And then of course there's the Dive Centre.

The Dive Centre is well run, spacious and very organized.

Nothing beats 5-star service when diving- i.e. when people do everything for you and you just have to remember to take your own mask, fins and weight belt onto the boat! Me likey.

I love the sun deck at the dive centre. Watching the sun set from here is glorious.

I made myself a cup of coffee, opened my log book, and the sea spread out before me... Gosh, I wanna do this everyday.

SWV: Part 1

2008-12-26T16:07:00.000+08:00

I love the sun. I think a tanned golden complexion is way hotter than a pale end result of being Olay-ed. Mocha over vanilla I say.

But after years of worshipping the sun and sea, I have come to one deadly realization:

I think I'm allergic to the sun.

Uh huh.

After 5 days of frolicking under the sun and in the sea, I come home with some serious burns and rash. Yes, RASH. On both my arms.

They suck. And itch like a bitch. (oh hey, it rhymes!)

Not just this time round. Most, if not all, of my beach/island trips would have me coming home itching and scratching away.

Sunset viewed from Sipadan Water Village Dive Centre, 20 Dec @ 5:28pm

Sunset viewed from Sipadan Water Village Dive Centre, 20 Dec @ 5:30pm

Sunset viewed from Sipadan Water Village Dive Centre, 20 Dec @ 5:44pm

Sunset viewed from Sipadan Water Village Dive Centre, 20 Dec @ 5:56pm

It's worth it, don't you think?

All I Want...

2008-12-22T16:07:00.000+08:00

All I want for Christmas is...

... you,

and you....

and you!

Oh dearie me.

It sucks to be back.

Finally!

2008-12-16T16:06:00.000+08:00

I'm off!

Updates when I'm back.

Ohmigod. I can taste the salt in the air already!

Sabah Bliss 3

2008-07-21T15:04:00.000+08:00

On their website, their tagline is 'Mataking: One Resort with Two Islands'.

The second island is an offspring island, aptly named Mataking Kecil.

Here's looking at Mataking Kecil

Both islands are connected by a sand bar, accessible on foot only when the tide is out.

Opening up

The tide starts to goes out at about at about 9ish in the morning... and by lunch time, the sand bar becomes fully accessible to cross over to Mataking Kecil.

There isn't anything on Mataking Kecil, except trees, rocks and remnants of dead corals and whatnot.

On Mataking Kecil

Sunbathers who opt to chill on Mataking Kecil are advised to make their way back to the main island before the tide comes back up in the evening, else take a long swim back.

It's nice to take a stroll in the morning, just as the tide is starting to recede. You kinda feel like Moses.

And you can take your pick - which side of the water you want to have a dip in.

It's nice to also take a walk in the afternoon, when the tide is completely out.

You and your friends can pose randomly....

... collect pretty looking sea shells...

... make sand turtles...

... erm, pose some more...

... and indulge in your narcissistic tendencies...

Sabah Bliss 2

2008-07-16T15:02:00.000+08:00

They say divers are a happy lot.

In water like this...

... who am I to disagree?

Look at me!

See how happy I am?

This trip is the first full-on leisure trip after being certified in Tioman three months ago.

There were more than 20 divers on this trip, and so the gang was formed when we had to be divided into 3 different boats (groups).

From L-R: Shen, Noriko, Lynette, Ee Lin, Albert, me, Grace, Alan with Divemaster Hardy in the centre.

Now you see, it was cool to have Lynette in the same group. She was the one who certified us, and naturally, we felt so much more at ease that she's around. But when you are a new open water diver, and, ahem, drop to 30.1 metres, and your instructor was at 23-ish metres on that very same dive, they erm, remind you. Heh.

On arrival day itself, we all did a check-out dive at the Mataking House Reef. The moment we let go off the rope, we were swept away with the current.

I struggled for a bit, having experienced NO current at all during the last Tioman trip. I remembered thinking to myself, "Daaaamn Doreen, what did you get yourself into?"

Looked around and saw everyone moving in the same direction and therefore allowed myself to be carried by the current. To try and stop and look at something required too much effort, so for most parts, we just drifted, and drifted, and drifted.... You see this, you see that, you see everything, but all zap, zap, zap. Like a movie on fast forward.

Fun ride though.

Mataking is known for its underwater macro-life.

Nudibranch aplenty - though it IS a tad annoying when there are too many people trying to catch a glimpse of these little buggers. Then you realize, hey - these little slugs aren't gonna be moving anywhere are they?

See this one? They tell me it's called the Pikachu nudibranch, and is relatively rare. Cute kan? Like a rubber toy of sorts *squeeze*

The Ship Wreck Post dive site was pretty cool - so we dived here twice. An intentionally sunk cargo ship, a vibrant breeding ground.

The Wreck's resident pair of scorpionfish.

There is also a postbox on the wreck, and mail is actually collected once a week. Cleaner shrimps have made the postbox their home too!

Getting teeth cleaned.

Other things which we saw...

Anemone shrimps

Leaf fish

Robust ghost pipefish

School of jacks under the jetty

Crocodile fish

Stone fish

Plenty of turtles

Spider crab

OK fine, I didn't see the spider crab. Lynette did.

We saw a mandarin fish too - damn shy buggers, and we had to wait for them to come out of hiding from in between the corals. Oooh, and lobsters! Mostly babies, but we did see a big one, big enough to be on the dinner table.

There were tonnes of other creatures and fish, all unknown to me.

Need to get me a book on tropical reef fish!

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Pictures credit - Lynette and Bee Yong

Sabah Bliss 1

2008-07-09T15:01:00.000+08:00

I had a grin - T H I S size - plastered on my face the moment we stepped out of the boat onto the jetty of The Reef Dive Resort, the only resort on Mataking Island.

It was gorgeous.

Can I just say this again? I love the sea. I fucking love the sea, dammit!

Now, my usual island trips are made solely for the purpose of enjoying the sea, the sand and the sun, and choice of accomodation is usually something basic - clean, attached bathroom and airconditioner, usually about RM80 - RM100 per night. So you can pretty much figure out the kind of service (or the absence of) that I am used to.

The Reef Dive Resort (TRDR) was nothing of that. On my part, definitely a splurge, a luxury, but worth every single penny.

Like most island resorts, TRDR chalets are all wooden, kampung-style chalets.

They left the airconditioner to our chalet on. A nice touch to greet your guests I thought, but definitely a waste of resources. In the subsequent days, we found out that every time housekeeping leaves after cleaning, they have the airon on for their guests' return to the room.

Housekeeping even folded our dirty clothes which we threw into the basket provided.

My favourite part of the room?

The bathroom. I love the tiles. I wished they had a rain shower though.

There is only one dining area at TRDR, where only buffet meals are served. There is a bar and a gift shop there as well.

The dive centre was huge and spacious - a wash area, a seating area under the trees, and another shaded room with numbered lockers and racks to hang our wetsuits and gears, and a pantry area for coffee and tea. Clean and comfortable.

Divers are a pampered lot here because no one has to assemble their own gear. All we did was zip up our wetsuits, hang on to our mask, fins and weight belt, and get onto the boat where the tanks and BCDs would already be ready.

The jetty right in front of the dive centre also became a lepak area for us.

When the tide is high, you can sit on the jetty and dangle your legs into the water.

There is also an outdoor jacuzzi at the Resort, providing bubbly comfort by the sea.

More to come!

Withdrawal 102

2008-04-22T15:00:00.000+08:00

We were frolicking around in bed.

I like the sound of frolic.

I had my left arm over his chest, and we were inspecting the contrast of my skin against his. My roast chicken versus his steamed chicken I always say.

His two fingers descended upon the cute little blob on my upper left arm, and squeezed them between his 'pinchers'.

"OOoouuuu! Don't squeeze my BCD!" I shrieked.

Then we both felt into fits of laughter.

BCD - Buoyancy Control Device

BCG - Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, as in BCG vaccine.

Therefore, to alleviate these endemic withdrawals which we have been suffering from, we are going on another trip.

Hush now. Don't let my mama hear this.

Losing My Virginity: Part 5 (finale)

2008-04-20T14:58:00.000+08:00

Albert had problems with his ear. Trapped air. Everything he heard sounded echo-ey. It hurt too. Underwater, he said it felt like there were amplifiers attached to his ear as the bubbles he produced sounded real loud.

Jasmine had problems of being too buoyant, and was constantly hovering above us. Rizal had to hold on to her BCD to keep her down. But on our very last dive, she aced it and was swimming alongside us, and not above us.

Lewis dreaded the surface skills cos he got drowsy from the rocking of the waves. He hated BCD recovery on the surface too, finding it a problem to climb atop a fully-inflated BCD, position his buttocks and to slide the thing back on his back. He did it eventually, so yay! When asked to do navigation skills with use of a compass on the surface of the water, he took one look at the compass on his left wrist, and then pushed his arms aside and started swimming, breast-stroke a.k.a. frog style! We all burst out laughing.

And me - After one of our shore dives, was walking on the beach, heading back to the dive centre with all the gear still on me, felt my tank slipping out from my BCD! Guess I didn't secure it properly earlier on. Thank goodness it only came off when I was already out of the water! After that incident, for the rest of the dives, I was extremely anal about tightening the clasp that held the tank, fearing it coming lose underwater.

But, despite all the drama that ensued, we had a blast, an ABSOLUTE BLAST. Each and every one of us.

Yes, I look like a ding dong here don't I? But a happy ding dong.

On our last evening in Tioman, we proudly donned our 'Certified PADI Diver' tee shirts.

Basking in the glow of sunset, we logged our last dive, which was coincidentally, the best of the 6 dives we had.

When it came to calculation of the pressure group and the RNT and all that, we required some jogging of the memory and directions from the instructor. Heh, we conveniently let it slip from mind after passing the theory paper.

While we busied ourselves writing down our comments and noting the things we saw, Lewis, being the visual person that he is, produced sketches of the types of fish. Of course, while logging the last dive, I wondered when I will be doing this again.

To Lynette - A big, big, BIG heartfelt THANK YOU to you for being an awesome instructor, for sharing with us your passion and love for the sea and its inhabitants, for showing us a whole new world, for being YOU. Looking forward to the many dives we will be doing together :)

To my new diving buddies - Jasmine, Lewis and Albert, we had fun didn't we? Let's dive more, and don't any of you ever stop! I also look forward to the many, many dives we will be doing together in future. The sea awaits us! And oh, I think we should spread the love :)

To Rizal - Good luck with your Advanced certification and have fun in your upcoming Tenggol trip!

To you reading this - are you a diver yet?

If you are, I look forward to dive with you too. And yes, I've still got heaps to learn! But if you're not, THIS is a good place to start.

I still keep to my word - scuba diving is the best thing I've done in my 27 years, and it will probably be one of the best life experiences I've had when I lay on my deathbed doing my reflections.

God, I can be so morbid.

Full collection of photos and videos can be found HERE.

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Photo Credit - Lynette Yee

Losing My Virginity: Part 4

2008-04-19T14:57:00.000+08:00

A couple of years ago, we were on one of our Tioman getaways.

There were 6 divers and 3... erm, snorkellers.

When the divers went out for their 3 boat dives a day, we went along and snorkelled at the same sites. Them down below, us up above, on the surface, like manta rays.

Guess who spotted a hawksbill turtle at a particular site?

Me, me, me!

It was huuuuuuuuuuuuge. Seeing it swim in front of me, I too swam and swam with all my might, all the time keeping my eyes glued to its graceful movements.

I still remember how it felt. My heart was beating real quickly and I just kicked and kicked to propel myself faster. I wanted to scream, but had the snorkel in my mouth. I wanted to scream at it, "Wait! Wait for me! Don't swim so fast!"

It eventually out-swam me (duh!) and disappeared into the vast ocean.

When we were all back on-board, I proudly announced my first turtle sighting. Us snorkellers were excited because it was a first for everyone.

The divers cheh-ed us. But they didn't see no turtles at that particular site! We did!

Anyways, that's was my love-at-first-sight with turtles.

At the Renggis site on our very last dive, we spotted a turtle. He wasn't very big, but what he lacked in size, he made up by being very accepting of our presence. Yes, I decided that it's gonna be a he.

He swam, just swam. But very slowly and ever so gracefully.

We followed. In those moments, I had practically shut out the rest of the world, no sound, no nothing else - just him swimming right before my very eyes.

It was pure serenity.

And weirdly hypnotic.

Back at the dive centre, while we were logging our dives, a bunch of divers had just completed their last dive, and we exchanged 'hellos' and 'good dive?' as they walked pass us towards the rinse tub.

The Finnish dude came up to us and told us what he saw.

A bunch of divers, pulling and tugging at a turtle, trying to make it come out from under a reef. The bunch of idiots decided that they will not take no for an answer, and that they didn't come all the way here to catch sight of a camera-shy turtle.

They oughta be tear-gassed. They oughta be banned from diving. They oughta try having turtles pulling at their arms and legs. They oughta be killed.

If I ever encounter such stupid divers in future (I pray not!), I will swim up to them, pull their mask off their face and let it snap back, AND THEN cut their regulator hose, BOTH of them.

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Video Credit - Lynette Yee

Losing My Virginity: Part 3

2008-04-18T14:56:00.000+08:00

Did you know that the batfish are playful creatures and are attracted to bubbles?

At one point, we were surrounded by a group of about 6-8 batfish who were curious and at the same time playful.

To be up, close and personal with fish, and other marine life in their original and natural environment left me awe-struck.

After a good 10 minutes of playing with the batfish, we started swimming away. When we turned our heads back, much to our delight, there were 2 of them tailing us! These 2 followed us for quite a while, before deciding that we weren’t gonna play with them anymore, and then they left.

How cool was that?

Did you know that sea urchins can be eaten raw?

Inside its mean looking exterior is a yellowish gooey whatchamacalit, which the Japanese love. Nuh uh, as much as I love my sushi and sashimi, I’m not about to excite my palate with this.

Oh, and their eyes and arsehole are brightly coloured against the black.

There were plenty of sea urchins around the Swiss House Reef. Apparently, the presence of sea urchins in huge numbers indicates polluted water as these spiky creatures feed on yucky stuff.

During one of our dives, Lynette lifted a sea urchin off the ground by holding on to one of its sharp-pokey thing. What we saw after that was like watching National Geographic, but instead of watching it thru the idiot box, we were there witnessing it - LIVE. The smaller fish began crowding around the exposed sea urchin and started nibbling at the urchin from below (no sharp-pokey thing underneath!).

Our nosey tuskfish on the other hand, just opened his mouth and took a big bite off the urchin, chewed for a bit, and then spit the pokey things out. What the tuskfish did also provided the smaller fish with more access in feeding on the sea urchin.

Albert wanted to get a little bit more acquainted with this little fella here.

Because they don’t have sharp-pokey things on the underside of them, you can actually rest it on your palm and feel its little legs moving about.

Lewis on the other hand got to know the sea urchins a little bit more than he wanted to.

I don’t quite remember how or when it happened, but he basically under-estimated the distance of those creatures before putting his fin down on the sand, and his ankles grazed against the sharp-pokey things.

When they poke you, a wee bit of their sharp-pokey things snaps off under your skin and stays there. Lewis had a couple of tiny black spots on his ankle, remnants of the black spikes. We were told that their pokey things are calcium-based, and that it would dissolve eventually. Did it hurt? Just like a needle poke apparently.

Can you imagine landing on a sea urchin on your ass?

Whoopeeee.

Did you know that Nemo is not the name of the species and that this name is merely fictional? (DUH?!)

The clownfish live amidst the anemone corals, and that’s how the writers from Finding Nemo got the ‘Nemo’ name.

Albert loves them.

We thought that the clownfish was being really friendly, swimming up towards his face. Later found out that the bugger was actually being defensive, coming up and warning you to stay out of his crib.

Damn small. One bite also can swallow the fella.

Did you know that you can tell when a shark is nearby even without sighting the actual shark yet?

You look out for their friends, the cleaner wrasse. Obviously you first need to know how to ID this cleaner wrasse. (The author does not know what a cleaner wrasse looks like at time of publishing. She will need to go back and refer to the dive log as she clearly remembered noting it down).

On our first Renggis dive, Lynette spotted a cleaner wrasse and wrote on her board, ‘Shark nearby’. I guess we missed it in the course of conveying the message to one another.

But when we went back to Renggis the next day, we saw not one, but TWO black-tipped sharks!

Did you know that when barracudas need to take a dump, they usually leave the school and do it alone cos they are ashamed by the act of defecating?

Just don't quote me on that.

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Photo credit - Lynette Yee

Losing My Virginity: Part 2

2008-04-17T14:54:00.000+08:00

In the 4 days that we spent on Tioman (3 if you exclude the 4th day, i.e. travelling home day), all of us clocked in a total of 6 dives - 3 shore and 3 boat dives.

I honestly wasn't expecting much from the shore dives cos I figured the most damaged reefs would be the ones closer to shore right?

As to-be-certified Open Water Divers, we had a set of skills to complete over the course of a few dives. There were probably about 8-10 skills in total, and my only gripe is that we cannot complete it all in 1 dive. I mean, you get everything over and done with, so your next few dives can be spent ronda-ing the reef or other dive sites, instead of kneeling down on some sandy patch. Apparently PADI's regulation prohibits jamming everything into 1 dive. And Lynette was a very law-abiding instructor *grins*

Thankfully, a small group of us meant that we didn't waste too much time kneeling, instead of swimming. And because we were a smaller group, in between doing our skills, people still found time to pose and pretend that they are distant cousins of the mermaid.

That first morning itself, we had a briefing-cum-orientation prior to the dive. Lynette pointed out the spots which we will be heading to on the Swiss House Reef on the map. I looked, but know for a fact that it won't make any difference to me cos once underwater, I would have no freaking idea where we were :) I decided that my safest bet would be to stick close to her.

We geared up excitedly and I just cannot wait to make use of my new-found-technology-aided super power of breathing underwater! The sea was being very welcoming - sun up, the water was clear AND calm!

I made it sound like I very terror kan? But the truth was, in that very first shore dive, we started off with kneeling down in very shallow water (if you stand up, your head will be out of the water lah!). With the waves going back and forth from the shore, it stirred up a lot of sand. And with 4 new divers in there trying to get a grip of their buoyancy and being accustomed to water movements, heck - it was like a sandstorm in there! For a fraction of a second, I actually felt scared cos I couldn't see SHIT.

Our first shore dive was only less than 6 metres deep, but the novelty of being there for the first time was enough to get us all high.

A tuskfish swam in our direction and started poking its nose around. Literally. That bugger was quite fat and measured about 3 feet in length. He swam in and out, and in between the circle we formed, with no fear whatsoever, just coolly checking us out. If Lynette hadn't tell us how harmless he was, I'd fin hard and swim away fast cos he had nasty looking fangs sticking out of his mouth.

I constantly remind myself - I am in THEIR territory. So best not to cari pasal cos I'm just a visitor. Yes, I feel very strongly about the fact that we are merely visitors (or observers) under water, and therefore have NO right to disrupt, and yes, that means no touching, harassing or destroying anything. And watch where you put your fin!

During pool sessions, I had problems with my buoyancy and had this fear that when I go out into the open water, I'd be crashing into them corals and thereby destroying hundreds of years of formation. Nothing of that sort happened - thankfully! Somehow, things were easier in the sea *shrugs* Beats me too! Though I secretly suspect that because the fun factor was so high, it over-shadowed everything else, thus making things much, MUCH easier.

Our fourth dive was a boat dive, off Renggis, and I finally got to do a backroll - which was just super cool!

(EDIT: This video just won't seem to work. My eyes are getting tired from squinting at those HTML codes to see what's wrong! For now, the link is HERE)

Renggis was an awesome dive site, but Lynette took a giant stride into the water, went down the descent line with us, and forgot all about her camera.

Clocking a dive at Pirate Reef, we spotted a pair of cuttlefish not long after descent. As we swam closer to it, the (presumably) male one left, and we then got to witness the female cuttlefish laying eggs, and carefully depositing them in between the corals.

Seriously, how can you not love the sea?

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Photo & Video Credit - Lynette Yee

Losing My Virginity: Part 1

2008-04-14T14:46:00.000+08:00

After a restless couple of hours in bed, we woke up in the dark of the night to begin our journey down south. Trying to sleep! Right... who were we kidding?

In under 3 hours, our exit off the PLUS highway meandered into a winding, single-laned road, and we were soon enveloped by thick mist for the rest of the journey to Mersing.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. I just lost my dive-virginity, and so the next few dive-related entries are gonna be I-did-this-I-said-that kinda posts.

Tioman brings back plenty of memories. The island has been serving as my haven on earth, my getaway, claiming 5 snorkelling excursions, many a sandfly bites, hours of sunbathing on its beaches, and it just felt right to pop our dive cherry in its waters.

Kampung Tekek was quite a shocker at first, unlike the isolated-ness of Salang which we have grown to love. The marina at Tekek is a big mankind-mistake on the clear blue waters of this sleepy village. After a 90 second bumpy ride in a battered and un-numbered van, which had a blue and yellow plastic table cloth taped to where the back-window once was, we were dropped off at Swiss Cottage.

Name jer yang glamer.

Tekek is the heart of duty-free Tioman where litte duty-free shops line the solitary road, the single artery that takes you from one end of the village to the other.

Swiss Cottage sits right on the beach, at the foot of the hill that leads to Berjaya's property.

We wasted no time and clocked in our first shore dive that morning itself.

I have never felt so alive, especially when being snugly trapped in a tight piece of black rubber.

Withdrawal 101

2008-04-10T14:49:00.000+08:00

It was a cold and wet night yesterday.

So unlike the stickiness of the warm, salty air of Tioman.

We were at home, watching some tele with our usual venti latte from Starbucks. Halfway through, our hands subconsciously reached for the dive log-book which were still on the coffee table, yet to be kept away.

We read in silence for a few minutes, reminiscing I guess.

The boyfriend then got up and walked to the ironing room.I drank some coffee, and nonchalantly channel-surfed for a bit.

A few minutes went by, and still no sight of him re-appearing.

Curious, I made my way to the room, and lo and behold - found him seated on the floor amidst the already-cleaned-and-dried-diving gears.

Our wetsuits were hanging off the shelf, masks back into their respective casing, the BCDs and regulators were near the bag, to be returned to Lynette soon, and his bright yellow fins were standing up against the wall.

I smiled, and joined him on the floor. "I miss using them already," he said.

I cooed an agreement, and we just sat there, in that ironing room, for the next 15 minutes looking at those gears.

"Maybe you can put your mask and fins on when you go into the shower?" I asked him.

missing nose

2008-03-13T14:53:00.000+08:00

Divers use a mask instead of goggles because the latter does not cover the nose. We need our nose to be enclosed within the mask because it will allow us to equalize the air space inside the mask, and also for the purpose of clearing water from it.

See that pointed triangle part that is supposed to house your nose?

Well, I have a problem with that.

The first diver was probably a Mat Salleh, and they are notoriously known for their big noses with a high and defined bridge. In other words, a sharp nose. So that dude probably made a mask and that triangle part was made sharp and high - well, cos his nose is like that!

When he dons the mask on, that triangle part envelopes the nose nicely. It is shaped that way because it will then be easier for divers to pinch their nose and blowing into it to equalize the air space in our ears. I actually love equalizing my ears and hearing it go pop.

Thing is this - I am Chinese. And we aren't blessed with nose that stick up high in the air. Mine is as flat as a piece of squashed dumpling.

That is not to say that I've got a small nose. In my family, the big nose gene runs deep. But when I mean big, it's more wide than anything. And the bridge? Non-existent. Which explains why I have problems with specs and sunnies as they tend to slide off my nose.

So when you have a flat nose like mine, and a big piece of protruding triangular nose-area on the mask, your nose somehow gets lost in it.

I kid you not.

I had problems 'locating' my nose to give it a proper grip so that I can pinch and equalize my ears!

breathe: underwater

2008-02-08T15:50:00.000+08:00

"Geaaarrrgghhh!" as I surfaced from a meek 3 feet of water, gasping for air.

Which was rather ironic actually, because the mouth-piece on the regulator was supposed to provide me with the ability to breathe underwater.

"I just cannot clear my damn mask," I whined pathetically as the instructor too surfaced from the water as I wasn't showing any signs of going back in.

The pounding in my head was getting louder by the second, and as the boyfriend emerged from underwater with a glee on his face, I knew he'd done it. Clear a partially flooded mask while underwater. I felt a tinge of envy.

And that little poke of envy pushed me (yes, I'm trying to ignore headache) and I declared I'll give it another go.

I donned the mask on, stuck the regulator back in my mouth and went underwater. Using my fingers, I peeled a little bit of the mask off and water gushed in and I stopped when the level was halfway. Took a deep breath of air from the regulator, tilted my head backwards and tried to empty the water from the mask by exhaling through my nose, and almost instantaneously, surfaced from underwater again.

The pounding in my head was unbearable, my eyes grew dim (eh, which song is this from ah?) and I got out from the pool.

Sitting on the bench, I watched the boyfriend and the instructor proceed with the next set of techniques.

I refuse to believe that I was fucking up my very first confined water dive. After a coupla minutes, and proper breathing on good old land, the headache subsided.

Turns out I was hyperventilating; oxygen didn't reach my brain.

That was that.

I went into the water and tried it again, and managed to clear my mask alright.

In the second pool dive the week after, I was so into mask clearing I kept having a go at it the moment my mask showed the slightest sign of fogging up.

Scuba lessons have been WAY fun.

Fin pivot was also damn cekap. It basically is about controlling your inhale and exhale of air, enabling your body to hover upwards and downwards with the tip of the fins touching the ground.

I really do not know how else to express how awesome scuba diving is except to say that I know that when I do my first open water dive come April, that I will not look back, and picking up scuba diving will be one of the best decisions I've made in my life.