Didn't realize I have not blog for about 2 months now...and I also didn't realize the last time I blog was just before mhy last diving trip.
In the previous blog....I am wondering whether will I call a quit on my DMT programme. Well the status now is about 90% completed, I just left my 4 stamina exams then I can be certified as a PADI DM already.
Due to some unforseen circumstances, I have decided to put on hold the DM training. My plan forward in diving now is to go for some fun dives a year and enjoy each dive I make. I will still continue to update myself on dive theories, skills and developments....however for the time moment, no courses...only pure fun dives :)
Showing posts with label Diving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diving. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Is it the end.... ????
I am blogging this few hours before driving off to Lang Tengah with a mission. The mission is to complete all my practical PADI Divemaster exams. Its quite hard to do the practical exams when you are doin the course part time, as it involve goin to the island a lot. Anyway....left 2 more exams and I am gonna finish it this time.
This takes me back....think a bit, how it all begin. I must say that since day one I dive, most of my dives (80+ %) are training dives. Meaning its some sort of course....or learning. I have lost touch with the real reason I venture into diving, which is to enjoy my dives and take photos.
I am not saying I hate the training or I am regretting it. I like it a lot, it helps my skills and knowledge regarding SCUBA diving much. More importantly it helps me to promote the sport to many friends and family.
However when I look back, I do feel I need to get back into my real purpose of diving. Will this means the end for my dive training....hmmmmm....for now, I think most probably yes.
Soon I will be able to shout "FUN dive here I come" whenever I go on a dive trip :)
This takes me back....think a bit, how it all begin. I must say that since day one I dive, most of my dives (80+ %) are training dives. Meaning its some sort of course....or learning. I have lost touch with the real reason I venture into diving, which is to enjoy my dives and take photos.
I am not saying I hate the training or I am regretting it. I like it a lot, it helps my skills and knowledge regarding SCUBA diving much. More importantly it helps me to promote the sport to many friends and family.
However when I look back, I do feel I need to get back into my real purpose of diving. Will this means the end for my dive training....hmmmmm....for now, I think most probably yes.
Soon I will be able to shout "FUN dive here I come" whenever I go on a dive trip :)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Updates
Well.....in my previous posting, I found out that I have not been blogging for a long time d. Now....I realize its more than 2 months since my last posting....which is even long.
Not sure whether those who frequent my blog still do so, but my best guess is that they do not since I no longer update this blog. Anyway....guess have to start blogging n promoting my blog ones again now.
Well....some updates:
Passion
I started to climb mountains again....being Gunung Nuang is the most I frequent. The fact that its bout 40kms away from my home and its very challenging, makes it a good place for me to workout n train my stamina. I can't hide the fact that I have a passion for the mountains (its still my No 1 passion) and being busy with work makes it hard to organise long trips. So a day trip to Gunung Nuang is just perfect. I am trying to make it a monthly daytrip event....try to go at least ones a month.
Work
Normal lor....still busy lor. Being in an SI company doin projects has its benefits and disadvantages also. The no 1 best benefit is that it is never boring as u change boss (client lor) very often based on ewhat project you do. You get to see a lot on many industry such as manufacturing, financial...etc etc.
Main disadvantage is that ur time is seldom predictable. Its especially hard if u wanna plan long holidays. Sometimes due to project commitment, we have to sacrifice some of our personal engagement.
DM Course
One word sums it all "dunno-lah". I cannot see the conclusion to this as I am busy with work and instructor busy with something else. So.....dunno-lah.
Love
Getting stronger by the day :D
Friends
Hmmm....think got make some new friends....hope din make any new enemy. Anyway....most of my friends are those who share the same passion aas me, so if I don organise more activities that relate to our passion...I think our friendship is fading slowly.
Oklah...that's bout all this time. More to come in the future :)
Not sure whether those who frequent my blog still do so, but my best guess is that they do not since I no longer update this blog. Anyway....guess have to start blogging n promoting my blog ones again now.
Well....some updates:
Passion
I started to climb mountains again....being Gunung Nuang is the most I frequent. The fact that its bout 40kms away from my home and its very challenging, makes it a good place for me to workout n train my stamina. I can't hide the fact that I have a passion for the mountains (its still my No 1 passion) and being busy with work makes it hard to organise long trips. So a day trip to Gunung Nuang is just perfect. I am trying to make it a monthly daytrip event....try to go at least ones a month.
Work
Normal lor....still busy lor. Being in an SI company doin projects has its benefits and disadvantages also. The no 1 best benefit is that it is never boring as u change boss (client lor) very often based on ewhat project you do. You get to see a lot on many industry such as manufacturing, financial...etc etc.
Main disadvantage is that ur time is seldom predictable. Its especially hard if u wanna plan long holidays. Sometimes due to project commitment, we have to sacrifice some of our personal engagement.
DM Course
One word sums it all "dunno-lah". I cannot see the conclusion to this as I am busy with work and instructor busy with something else. So.....dunno-lah.
Love
Getting stronger by the day :D
Friends
Hmmm....think got make some new friends....hope din make any new enemy. Anyway....most of my friends are those who share the same passion aas me, so if I don organise more activities that relate to our passion...I think our friendship is fading slowly.
Oklah...that's bout all this time. More to come in the future :)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
LOB @ Pulau Sembilan, on board KALEEBSO part 1
It all started with an intention to do a last dive for the year 2007....and since the east coast if Peninsula Msia is still in monsson season, we have to opt for dives in the west coast.
Dives in the west coast is very seldom as nice as in the east coast as the waters here are more confined to a small strait compare to a big wide ocean in the east coast....however since we are determine to wanna breath compress air again n with the slogan "A bad dive is always better than the best day in work"....we sign up for 7 seat on board a LOB (Live On Board) trip with Kaleebso.
Due to limited seats....our trip has been delayed to 1st weekend of Jan. Our final dive for 2007 sudah become our 1st dive for 2008 pulak...hehehehe.
After weeks of waiting....finally the day has arrive. The day we all eagerly awaits has arrive.
4th Jan 2008
-8pm
After having our own dinner.....we all meet up at Richard's house. We are convoying in 2 cars with Yew Hong, Chuan and Apple in Chuan's car while Richard, Yvonne, Eric and me are in Richard's car.
Richard checking something...not sure what it is...I think its some anti-puke medicine Yvonne bought.
After resolving some logistic stuffs (shoving which dive bag to which car), we left Richard's house ard 8.15pm. Our destination is Teluk Intan where we will pick up Carrie.
Abang Eric look sleepy...despite belum makan.
-10pm
Sampai Teluk Intan at ard slightly pass 10pm. We procedded to wait for Carrie at the designated spot...the famous leaning clock tower of Teluk Intan.
After waited ard 10 minutes, Carrie join us. We are now heading to the jetty situated in Hutan Melintang.
-11.15pm
Finally we arrive at the jetty and the boat is already waiting for us. Soon all the passengers arrived and we are ready to board the boat.
Everyone ready to board Kaleebso
Ones we are on board.....start lah we all taking picture of...well almost everything. I think those who been to Kaleebso before will feel we are very jakun. Here snap pic, there snap pic....hehehe....even I feel very jakun.
Me and Eric in our small cabin. We share this cabin with Yew Hong....all 3 batang in a small cabin.
A look at our small cabin.
The tanks are ready at the dive deck.
Captain/Skipper Khay Lee at the bridge.
Ones everyone has settle into their room and the boat is on its steady way heading out of the river, Khay Lee gather all of us at the dining deck for a quick intro and also some briefing about Kaleebso, the do's and the don't....etc
After the briefing...we are expecting nasi lemak as supper....but then tarak...haihzzzz. So we went down to the diving deck and set up our gear..., ready for tomorow's morning dive.
5th Jan 2008
-6am
Didn't get much sleep at all...the boat engine is so loud :( Only after the boat was in open sea and it accelerated...then the noice is more tolarable. Woke up feeling like wanna go back to bed n just sleep n drool there.
Did a quick check on the gears and then we procceded to the dining deck for some breakfast and a cup of strong coffee for me.
Everyone pagi pagi muka blur blur.
Somehow Eric look so happy.....maybe coz he slept nicer last nite.
Its dawn....and the water gonna be cold.
Our 1st dive is a check out dive.....basically for us to get used to breathing compress air underwater since quite some time d din do so. Also its for those with new gears to "check out" their new gears.
We dive into green semi murky water with vis somewhere ard 5m. Current is ok...still managable n get to rift dive a bit also, however its a little risky giving that vis is bad. Manage to spot 2 sea horses in thie dive, a black colour one and another is orange.
On the 2nd dive, we went down following a line laid by Khay Lee. The line is suppose to lead us to the sea horse nest which he found. I lead Chuan, Apple, Carrie, Yew Hong and Yvonne on this dive.
To be continued in "LOB @ Pulau Sembilan, on board KALEEBSO part 2"
Dives in the west coast is very seldom as nice as in the east coast as the waters here are more confined to a small strait compare to a big wide ocean in the east coast....however since we are determine to wanna breath compress air again n with the slogan "A bad dive is always better than the best day in work"....we sign up for 7 seat on board a LOB (Live On Board) trip with Kaleebso.
Due to limited seats....our trip has been delayed to 1st weekend of Jan. Our final dive for 2007 sudah become our 1st dive for 2008 pulak...hehehehe.
After weeks of waiting....finally the day has arrive. The day we all eagerly awaits has arrive.
4th Jan 2008
-8pm
After having our own dinner.....we all meet up at Richard's house. We are convoying in 2 cars with Yew Hong, Chuan and Apple in Chuan's car while Richard, Yvonne, Eric and me are in Richard's car.
Richard checking something...not sure what it is...I think its some anti-puke medicine Yvonne bought.
After resolving some logistic stuffs (shoving which dive bag to which car), we left Richard's house ard 8.15pm. Our destination is Teluk Intan where we will pick up Carrie.
Abang Eric look sleepy...despite belum makan.
-10pm
Sampai Teluk Intan at ard slightly pass 10pm. We procedded to wait for Carrie at the designated spot...the famous leaning clock tower of Teluk Intan.
After waited ard 10 minutes, Carrie join us. We are now heading to the jetty situated in Hutan Melintang.
-11.15pm
Finally we arrive at the jetty and the boat is already waiting for us. Soon all the passengers arrived and we are ready to board the boat.
Everyone ready to board Kaleebso
Ones we are on board.....start lah we all taking picture of...well almost everything. I think those who been to Kaleebso before will feel we are very jakun. Here snap pic, there snap pic....hehehe....even I feel very jakun.
Me and Eric in our small cabin. We share this cabin with Yew Hong....all 3 batang in a small cabin.
A look at our small cabin.
The tanks are ready at the dive deck.
Captain/Skipper Khay Lee at the bridge.
Ones everyone has settle into their room and the boat is on its steady way heading out of the river, Khay Lee gather all of us at the dining deck for a quick intro and also some briefing about Kaleebso, the do's and the don't....etc
After the briefing...we are expecting nasi lemak as supper....but then tarak...haihzzzz. So we went down to the diving deck and set up our gear..., ready for tomorow's morning dive.
5th Jan 2008
-6am
Didn't get much sleep at all...the boat engine is so loud :( Only after the boat was in open sea and it accelerated...then the noice is more tolarable. Woke up feeling like wanna go back to bed n just sleep n drool there.
Did a quick check on the gears and then we procceded to the dining deck for some breakfast and a cup of strong coffee for me.
Everyone pagi pagi muka blur blur.
Somehow Eric look so happy.....maybe coz he slept nicer last nite.
Its dawn....and the water gonna be cold.
Our 1st dive is a check out dive.....basically for us to get used to breathing compress air underwater since quite some time d din do so. Also its for those with new gears to "check out" their new gears.
We dive into green semi murky water with vis somewhere ard 5m. Current is ok...still managable n get to rift dive a bit also, however its a little risky giving that vis is bad. Manage to spot 2 sea horses in thie dive, a black colour one and another is orange.
On the 2nd dive, we went down following a line laid by Khay Lee. The line is suppose to lead us to the sea horse nest which he found. I lead Chuan, Apple, Carrie, Yew Hong and Yvonne on this dive.
To be continued in "LOB @ Pulau Sembilan, on board KALEEBSO part 2"
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Shopping @ DD
Was at Diver's Den (aka DD) last weekend with Apple and Chuan. Basically they are there to get a set of regulators and BCD each, while I am there to kam ching kam ching ard and also to change my regulator 2nd stage hose to the swivel type.
I bawa my reg everything there....then baru been inform that they are out of stock for the swivel hose...aiyah. Have to wait for the to order from stokies and they will call me when they got the stock.
So I sit at the counter n look ard...chatting with the "si tao poh" while Apple n Chuan chooses their BCD n regs. Then I spotted "it"....something I wanted to get for quite some time liao. Its the last unit...n the "si tao poh" say cincai lah...cheap cheap sell to me.
Well...what did I beli...hehehe...see below:
PADI RDP Wheel....aka The Wheel
All in a package (from left)...The Wheel, instruction manual (damm thick) n a quick reference card....keyboard not inclusive :P
I bawa my reg everything there....then baru been inform that they are out of stock for the swivel hose...aiyah. Have to wait for the to order from stokies and they will call me when they got the stock.
So I sit at the counter n look ard...chatting with the "si tao poh" while Apple n Chuan chooses their BCD n regs. Then I spotted "it"....something I wanted to get for quite some time liao. Its the last unit...n the "si tao poh" say cincai lah...cheap cheap sell to me.
Well...what did I beli...hehehe...see below:
PADI RDP Wheel....aka The Wheel
All in a package (from left)...The Wheel, instruction manual (damm thick) n a quick reference card....keyboard not inclusive :P
Thursday, October 18, 2007
I miss......
So many things I miss now days.....especially after being tied up with loads of work. Kinda wonder when will I able to balance back my life and work.....which was so importantly stressed in my ex-company.
Things I miss:
1- Rock climbing
Use to do this every Friday evening without fail....now days don do d. Don quite remember when is the last time I went rock climb also.....I think easily its 6 months ago. Not sure whether the fingers can still take the torture and the body is still as agile as used to be.
Yew Hong mention that he also miss rock climbing....hence we try to make it every Saturday from next month onwards.
2- SCUBA Diving
Last was in end July.....which is quite a tiring trip. Then subsequently no more trips d...haihzzz. Then start doin much of my DMT training d...but due to work commitment...I am forced to delay it till next year.
3- Badminton
Same case as DMT training.......have to give way to work commitment. Kinda sad coz I like badminton a lot and I can now see my skills from years of training last time are goin down the drain. Would try to make it for a regular weekend game in the future.
4- Jungle trekking & mountain climbing
Too bz to organise a trip....haihzzzzz.
Things I miss:
1- Rock climbing
Use to do this every Friday evening without fail....now days don do d. Don quite remember when is the last time I went rock climb also.....I think easily its 6 months ago. Not sure whether the fingers can still take the torture and the body is still as agile as used to be.
Yew Hong mention that he also miss rock climbing....hence we try to make it every Saturday from next month onwards.
2- SCUBA Diving
Last was in end July.....which is quite a tiring trip. Then subsequently no more trips d...haihzzz. Then start doin much of my DMT training d...but due to work commitment...I am forced to delay it till next year.
3- Badminton
Same case as DMT training.......have to give way to work commitment. Kinda sad coz I like badminton a lot and I can now see my skills from years of training last time are goin down the drain. Would try to make it for a regular weekend game in the future.
4- Jungle trekking & mountain climbing
Too bz to organise a trip....haihzzzzz.
Friday, September 14, 2007
I miss this...I seriously do
I miss this so much.....haihzzzz.......I really do.....please see below:
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Wah....king of fruits......
Oooooo.....fresh from the tree.....
Wah.....just look at the colour.....
So many.....arghhhhh
Well....ok, I miss durians. Its seriously a nice fruit.....I love the smell, the taste and the security it provides u when fending off pick pockets...hehehehe..imagine swinging 1 bag full of durians at the robber...sure he lari wan...or maybe he curi 1 or 2 then lari lah :P
But then again hor.....for those sharp eyes....you would notice this posting is labelled "Diving, Exercise and Sports"....so what does durians got to do with it. Well....basically nothing lor...I saja put durian pics coz I suddenly got crave for durian.
However back to the real posting....what I seriously miss...see below:
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OWD days...so happy....coz finally I am a certified Scuba diver...seriously its something very very kam thung to me......coz got past bad experience wan.....secret.
Slowly become DMT d....never tot I will make it to this stage. For those who really know me...if u tell them I am doing DMT now...they will be very suprise....they are already suprise when I become OWD.
What a geng......so many of us sharing same interest.....finally one shares my love too now.
Afterall....who say life is not that much FUN......
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Wah....king of fruits......
Oooooo.....fresh from the tree.....
Wah.....just look at the colour.....
So many.....arghhhhh
Well....ok, I miss durians. Its seriously a nice fruit.....I love the smell, the taste and the security it provides u when fending off pick pockets...hehehehe..imagine swinging 1 bag full of durians at the robber...sure he lari wan...or maybe he curi 1 or 2 then lari lah :P
But then again hor.....for those sharp eyes....you would notice this posting is labelled "Diving, Exercise and Sports"....so what does durians got to do with it. Well....basically nothing lor...I saja put durian pics coz I suddenly got crave for durian.
However back to the real posting....what I seriously miss...see below:
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OWD days...so happy....coz finally I am a certified Scuba diver...seriously its something very very kam thung to me......coz got past bad experience wan.....secret.
Slowly become DMT d....never tot I will make it to this stage. For those who really know me...if u tell them I am doing DMT now...they will be very suprise....they are already suprise when I become OWD.
What a geng......so many of us sharing same interest.....finally one shares my love too now.
Afterall....who say life is not that much FUN......
Friday, August 03, 2007
Back from DM training
I can't really say that goin dive while doing DM training is much FUN....for the no 1 reason is becoz u won't be goin on much FUN dive anymore. Most of the time will be teaching+helping+coordinating students and if you are lucky, well get to lead one or two dives to some nice sites.
Anyway during last weekend trip...I manage to spot a nice bunch of healthy anemone with many clown fish residing in it. The anemone is at very shallow water near at the house-reef which you can basically walk out to it during low-mid tide.
I manage to find some time and sneak out to take some pictures of the anemone...see below:
Anemone ah......
So much anemone...and they look healthy
Eh....got clown fish residing in the anemone
This clown fish is not so shy
Manage to get a close up shot
Anyway during last weekend trip...I manage to spot a nice bunch of healthy anemone with many clown fish residing in it. The anemone is at very shallow water near at the house-reef which you can basically walk out to it during low-mid tide.
I manage to find some time and sneak out to take some pictures of the anemone...see below:
Anemone ah......
So much anemone...and they look healthy
Eh....got clown fish residing in the anemone
This clown fish is not so shy
Manage to get a close up shot
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Confined water training....with real students....
Initially tot that delivering confined water skills shgould be a breeze....since did it before in training...however somethings are very diff when delivering to actual students...as listed below:
- Students ego
Sometimes a student thinks he/she knows more than instructor...so tent not to listen or pay attention to briefing n training....end up kena repeat confined skills few times coz din do properly - Students limits
Must know how much a student can take.....emotionally and physically. - Mind reading
Be able to roughly know what's going inside the students's mind...whether he/she is scare, nervous, happy, emotional......etc. - Know ur stuffs
Really have to know what u r talking when explaining diving theories. Also prepare to answer many questions regarding diving.....no wonder divemasters have to read encyclopedia. - Demo water skills slowly n repeatly...eventhough u don feel well
No matter how tired are ur eyes...how bad the salt water is hurting it.....if the students din understand mask removal then u have to repeat doing it few times with a smile in ur face....heheheh
Overall...its not easy to teach students but its damm lots of FUN
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Confined water training....finally over...
Finally kau tim d....all the Open Water Diver (OWD) confined water skills....all 20 of them, done. Took 2 weekends to practise all of them.....1st weekend quite chaotic...did not do very well also. Finally on yesterdays training...everything seems much much much more better d....most skills performed with average 4 out of 5 points. Happy to know that my fellow buddy did very well too.
Summary of training (doin, learning, teaching):
1- Half mask
Easy to do, easy to learn, easy to teach.
2- Reg recovery
Easy to do, easy to learn, easy to teach..if student din panic :p
3- Mask removal
Easy to do, a little complicated to learn, extremely difficult to teach if student panic :(
4- Free flow reg
Easy to do, student might not understand what u r doin, easy to teach...provided student understand :p
5- AAS
Not very easy to do, easy to learn, quite complicated to teach if student do too fast.
6- Remove weight underwater
Easy to do...can be very hilarious too..hehehehe, easy to learn, not easy to teach also...and can also be hilarious.
and the 3 most interesting activity....
7- Fin pivot
Easy to do, not easy to learn the proper way, not easy to teach...students might wonder what the hell u r doin :p
8- SCUBA removal underwater
Not easy to do properly, not easy to learn the proper way, suprisingly quite easy to teach :)
9- CESA (Control Emergency Swimming Ascent)
Easy to do, can be complicated, easy to teach if do slowly
and the most funny wan....
10- BCD removal n donnin on water surface
Easy to do...but definitely hilarious, not complicated to learn...all u have to do is wear the darn BCD on water surface, errr....can be easy to teach geh.
So basically that's all lor. Still got many other skills...but these are the main ones. Some of them can really be very very hilarious when performed wrongly...kekekeke. No wonder sometimes the air usage is so high...coz laughing non stop underwater :p
Summary of training (doin, learning, teaching):
1- Half mask
Easy to do, easy to learn, easy to teach.
2- Reg recovery
Easy to do, easy to learn, easy to teach..if student din panic :p
3- Mask removal
Easy to do, a little complicated to learn, extremely difficult to teach if student panic :(
4- Free flow reg
Easy to do, student might not understand what u r doin, easy to teach...provided student understand :p
5- AAS
Not very easy to do, easy to learn, quite complicated to teach if student do too fast.
6- Remove weight underwater
Easy to do...can be very hilarious too..hehehehe, easy to learn, not easy to teach also...and can also be hilarious.
and the 3 most interesting activity....
7- Fin pivot
Easy to do, not easy to learn the proper way, not easy to teach...students might wonder what the hell u r doin :p
8- SCUBA removal underwater
Not easy to do properly, not easy to learn the proper way, suprisingly quite easy to teach :)
9- CESA (Control Emergency Swimming Ascent)
Easy to do, can be complicated, easy to teach if do slowly
and the most funny wan....
10- BCD removal n donnin on water surface
Easy to do...but definitely hilarious, not complicated to learn...all u have to do is wear the darn BCD on water surface, errr....can be easy to teach geh.
So basically that's all lor. Still got many other skills...but these are the main ones. Some of them can really be very very hilarious when performed wrongly...kekekeke. No wonder sometimes the air usage is so high...coz laughing non stop underwater :p
Btw...as professional divemaster in training....we should not laugh at the students eventhough it is damm bloody funny sometimes...ahem....professionalism charisma must be maintained :p
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
LT here I come again......wait for me ya...
My 1st trip to LT (Lang Tengah island) is somewhere middle of last year May. Went there for my Open Water Diver (OWD) course...hehehehe...so I am still actually consider a new diver :)
I quite like the environment in LT. Its a very small island, compared to its 2 nearest neightbour Perhentian and Redang. Only 3 active resorts here, 1 tutup liao and another one is planned to start construction soon. There is only 2 beaches in the island....and the one where the resort I usually stay is located....only got 1 resort there. Also the beach is in a clove....so the water in front of the resort is usually very calm.
The sea so calm...
Soon I'll be visiting LT again....can't wait. Starting to miss the place already....the white sandy beach, the sweet smell of the sea, the warm n soothing sea breeze and the sound of waves crashing onto the beach.
Rain is coming...
I quite like the environment in LT. Its a very small island, compared to its 2 nearest neightbour Perhentian and Redang. Only 3 active resorts here, 1 tutup liao and another one is planned to start construction soon. There is only 2 beaches in the island....and the one where the resort I usually stay is located....only got 1 resort there. Also the beach is in a clove....so the water in front of the resort is usually very calm.
The sea so calm...
Soon I'll be visiting LT again....can't wait. Starting to miss the place already....the white sandy beach, the sweet smell of the sea, the warm n soothing sea breeze and the sound of waves crashing onto the beach.
Rain is coming...
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
All in a weekend dive trip (Day 3)
Saturday...
Today is the D-Day for the Wreck Specialty students....today they have to do wreck penetration....which is the most difficult task to do in taking the course.
The wreck they are gonna penetrate is Sugar Wreck. Rt will set a route for them...which he will mark by using his reel. Then the students will have to follow the reel and penetrate the wreck. Those who fail to complete this task will fail the course.
Our 1st dive for today is Tokong Laut....or also known as Temple of The Sea to the average mat salleh. This is a very nice dive site....made out of a huge rock pinacle which rise up of the sea. The peak of the pinacle is about 3 metres above sea level.
There are many rock rumble at the bottom of the pinacle....creating a lot of small cracks and crevics. Reef sharks like nurse and bamboo sharks like to hide among the cracks. I caught a video of a nurse shark hiding in the crack. Also white eye morays loves this areas too.
Visibility is superb....though current is quite strong on one side of the pinacle. We are limited to half of the pinacle to explore only....to avoid from fighting the current. There are some other divers in this site also. I did not do any dive leading this time....so its a FUN dive for me...yahoooooo.
Next is the D-Day dive for the Wreck Specialty students. Our dive is to Sugar Wreck and we are doing penetration. Since there are so many students on this trip, the group are split into 2. I will lead 3 divers to see the propeller and rudder at the stern of the wreck...and RT will lead the other 4 to the wreck entry while he set the reel for the path.
Some students got lost while devending...hence delaying the setting up for the reel...haihzzzz. The while penetrating...someone accidently snap the reel line, only 2 students make it to complete the wreck penetration. On our way back to the resort....RT is thinking how to do penetration for the rest of the students. His reel also is much shorter now.
Finally our last dive is at Terumbu Tiga. There are a lot of rock crevices in this area which is big enuf to penetrate...hence the rest of the students who did not do the penetration in Sugar Wreck will do it here. I am leading Sim for fun dive here and we are looking for Nudi Branch. Vis is very very bad....ard 3 metres only and I imagine I am looking for nudi branch. Search high and low, found many normal nudi branch. Finally reaching the end of the dive....manage to spot a very nice nudi...happy ah Sim.
Lastly at nite....me, RT, yvonne, josh and eddie went rto the chinese restaurant next to Watercolour Resort for dinner. The rest went to Long Beach for partying. After dinner...we went for a walk at PIR (Perhentian Island Resort).....very nice and expensive resort.
End my day with doing my logbook in my room and sleep of early. Its the end of the whole trip...and I did 7 dives in total. Total expenses for my whole trip is roughly ard RM 650....kira ok lah. Nice trip...especially when diving in Fish Heaven...a must go dive site :)
Today is the D-Day for the Wreck Specialty students....today they have to do wreck penetration....which is the most difficult task to do in taking the course.
The wreck they are gonna penetrate is Sugar Wreck. Rt will set a route for them...which he will mark by using his reel. Then the students will have to follow the reel and penetrate the wreck. Those who fail to complete this task will fail the course.
Our 1st dive for today is Tokong Laut....or also known as Temple of The Sea to the average mat salleh. This is a very nice dive site....made out of a huge rock pinacle which rise up of the sea. The peak of the pinacle is about 3 metres above sea level.
There are many rock rumble at the bottom of the pinacle....creating a lot of small cracks and crevics. Reef sharks like nurse and bamboo sharks like to hide among the cracks. I caught a video of a nurse shark hiding in the crack. Also white eye morays loves this areas too.
Visibility is superb....though current is quite strong on one side of the pinacle. We are limited to half of the pinacle to explore only....to avoid from fighting the current. There are some other divers in this site also. I did not do any dive leading this time....so its a FUN dive for me...yahoooooo.
Next is the D-Day dive for the Wreck Specialty students. Our dive is to Sugar Wreck and we are doing penetration. Since there are so many students on this trip, the group are split into 2. I will lead 3 divers to see the propeller and rudder at the stern of the wreck...and RT will lead the other 4 to the wreck entry while he set the reel for the path.
Some students got lost while devending...hence delaying the setting up for the reel...haihzzzz. The while penetrating...someone accidently snap the reel line, only 2 students make it to complete the wreck penetration. On our way back to the resort....RT is thinking how to do penetration for the rest of the students. His reel also is much shorter now.
Finally our last dive is at Terumbu Tiga. There are a lot of rock crevices in this area which is big enuf to penetrate...hence the rest of the students who did not do the penetration in Sugar Wreck will do it here. I am leading Sim for fun dive here and we are looking for Nudi Branch. Vis is very very bad....ard 3 metres only and I imagine I am looking for nudi branch. Search high and low, found many normal nudi branch. Finally reaching the end of the dive....manage to spot a very nice nudi...happy ah Sim.
Lastly at nite....me, RT, yvonne, josh and eddie went rto the chinese restaurant next to Watercolour Resort for dinner. The rest went to Long Beach for partying. After dinner...we went for a walk at PIR (Perhentian Island Resort).....very nice and expensive resort.
End my day with doing my logbook in my room and sleep of early. Its the end of the whole trip...and I did 7 dives in total. Total expenses for my whole trip is roughly ard RM 650....kira ok lah. Nice trip...especially when diving in Fish Heaven...a must go dive site :)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
All in a weekend dive trip (Day 2)
Friday...
Totally rested after a good 8+ hours sleep. Bangun pagi n Paul already awake d too. Brush my gigi n makan the roti I bought (save cost) for breakfast...and I am ready to go diving for today.
1st dive for today is a secret dive site call Fish Heaven. Its so secretive that the buoy is tied 5 metres underwater to avoid other people knowing this site....now I know people do tie bouy underwater. We search for the dive site via GPS and when we are ard the area, the DM will dive into the sea n search for the submerged buoy. Then he/she will surface with the rope tying the buoy...to tie it to the boat.
The dive site is very far from Perhentian...roughly ard 40 mins boat ride. It is actually nearer to Lang Tengah. Was thinking of searching for this site next time n mark it on RT's GPS....then can make it a new 'secret' dive site d.
The dive site is a sunken barge....sunken bout quite some time d, hence become a sanctuary for fishes. While decending, we saw a school of bat fish near the buoy line. Then as we look down....school and school of yellow fussilers and hundreds of damsel fish greets us. We could hardly spot the wreck...its totally covered with fishes. When we are about 5m from the wreck....we can see it. The structure of the wreck is still intact...with some holes on the side, suitable for penetration. Big fishes (puffers, barracudas, snappers) can be seen circling the wreck....hunting for food. Overall this is a superb dive site....a must see.
Our next dive is to Sugar Wreck....the wreck students will have some assignments to do there. The students are split into 2 groups consist of 3 and 4 students each. I am leading 4 students on this dive. Vis is not very clear....hence I lead the students very close to the wreck. We did some simple penetration.....and saw a school of huge (bout 6 feet long) barracudas. Ended the dive by spotting a bamboo shark at the back of the wreck.
After Sugar Wreck.....next dive is Vietnamese Wreck. The current is quite strong on this site. Yvonne is so silly to jump into the water without wearing her fins...haihzzzz....sometimes wanna be "gung-ho" also must see conditions mah. This time ard I lead 3 students while RT lead the other 4. Did some simple penetration....but bit difficult coz the current is so strong. Saw many nice nice soft corals....so colourful.
End the day with a nice dinner and relaxing by the beach. Chart my logs.....and then I'm ready for bed. Got another bz diving day tomorow....hence need the rest.
Totally rested after a good 8+ hours sleep. Bangun pagi n Paul already awake d too. Brush my gigi n makan the roti I bought (save cost) for breakfast...and I am ready to go diving for today.
1st dive for today is a secret dive site call Fish Heaven. Its so secretive that the buoy is tied 5 metres underwater to avoid other people knowing this site....now I know people do tie bouy underwater. We search for the dive site via GPS and when we are ard the area, the DM will dive into the sea n search for the submerged buoy. Then he/she will surface with the rope tying the buoy...to tie it to the boat.
The dive site is very far from Perhentian...roughly ard 40 mins boat ride. It is actually nearer to Lang Tengah. Was thinking of searching for this site next time n mark it on RT's GPS....then can make it a new 'secret' dive site d.
The dive site is a sunken barge....sunken bout quite some time d, hence become a sanctuary for fishes. While decending, we saw a school of bat fish near the buoy line. Then as we look down....school and school of yellow fussilers and hundreds of damsel fish greets us. We could hardly spot the wreck...its totally covered with fishes. When we are about 5m from the wreck....we can see it. The structure of the wreck is still intact...with some holes on the side, suitable for penetration. Big fishes (puffers, barracudas, snappers) can be seen circling the wreck....hunting for food. Overall this is a superb dive site....a must see.
Our next dive is to Sugar Wreck....the wreck students will have some assignments to do there. The students are split into 2 groups consist of 3 and 4 students each. I am leading 4 students on this dive. Vis is not very clear....hence I lead the students very close to the wreck. We did some simple penetration.....and saw a school of huge (bout 6 feet long) barracudas. Ended the dive by spotting a bamboo shark at the back of the wreck.
After Sugar Wreck.....next dive is Vietnamese Wreck. The current is quite strong on this site. Yvonne is so silly to jump into the water without wearing her fins...haihzzzz....sometimes wanna be "gung-ho" also must see conditions mah. This time ard I lead 3 students while RT lead the other 4. Did some simple penetration....but bit difficult coz the current is so strong. Saw many nice nice soft corals....so colourful.
End the day with a nice dinner and relaxing by the beach. Chart my logs.....and then I'm ready for bed. Got another bz diving day tomorow....hence need the rest.
Monday, May 21, 2007
All in a weekend dive trip (Day 1)
Itenaries:
Location: Pulau Perhentian
Schedule: 17th - 20th May 2007
Activity: FUN dive + partial DMT training
Initially didn't thought of going for this trip, coz don't think can make it. Suppose to roll into a new project on 14/05/2007....means won't be able to take leave. However suddenly the management told me that the project has been delayed....so I tot, what the heck...just try to get the leaves lah. Got it approved bout 1 week b4 the trip....hence consider really last minute d. Since its last minute...I din really asked anyone to go with me, just wanna make it a simple budget trip.
Wednesday...
Bus is at 9.30pm....so was a bit rush. Left my client's location in PJ ard 6.30pm. Sampai rumah already 7pm...then kena pack pack a little...especially the toiletries stuffs n "mou kan" (towel)and check whether everything is packed or not. Seriously u don't wanna find out u left something important like ur underwear (happen to me ones) when u r already like 400kms away from home.
Took a quick dinner and I am off to the KTM station to catch a train (what else) to the Putra Bus Station near PWTC. Really susah take train with such a huge dive gear bag.....n then kena jln bout 500m from the train station to bus station carrying a 15kg dive bag...torture torture.
One thing nice bout the Putra Bus Station....then bus always depart on time (+- 2 mins) diff....coz the announcer will scold if the bus don leave...hehehehe. So finally cabut from KL at 9.30pm. Its 8 hours ride to Kuala Besut.....or should I say 8 hours of torture if u can't sleep :) Lucky for me...I got both the seat to myself...seems like no one bought the seat beside mine...yahoooooo.
Thursday...
Din get to really sleep much....I think only manage to catch a short nap between 2am till 3.30am. The bus driver is really speeding....we reach Kuala Besut jetty at 4.30am....45 mins earlier than the Mutiara bus which left KL half an hour earlier. Din have anything much to do in the jetty.....weather is nice and windy and cold. The Watercolour office is not open yet also....so I go sleep on a big bench/platform I found near the office. Bout 10 mins into my sleep....a female cat come n rub rub against me wor...wa lau....terkejut aku. Then tido beside me....hehehehehe.
Finally the Watercolour opis open...but still I have to wait for RT n the geng who will only be reaching bout 9.30am....wa lau eh. Manage to catch some sleep in the Watercolour office....eventhough its not comfortable at all.
Finally semua orang sampai...n off we went to Pulau Perhentian. I am damm tired at that time. I skip the 1st dive (just a checkout dive) to have lunch with Chu San and Azlan. Afterthat manage to get bout 2 hours sleep too b4 the next dive at 4.30pm....we are going to Terumbu Tiga (T3)...yahooooo...one of my fav dive site coz a lot of nudi branches. I really sleep like a dead log (expected lah...more than 18 hours no sound sleep) until I din know my room mate knock the door several times too.
Finally at 4.30pm.....we are off to Terumbu Tiga. Mild current is expected coz the tide is moving out. Vis is ok...not bad. I din use my wetsuit.....decide to wear my "charisma" white skin suit n swimming bermudas saja...hehehehe. Din really see anything spectacular lah....except more than 20 of those normal looking nudi branches.
Got night dive today also...but got surcharge...so I dowan to go lah. Spend the rest of the day doin my log (only 1 dive today) coz now got dive comp d....can know my own profile...kekekekeke. Then makan n go to bed early coz next day got early dive.
Location: Pulau Perhentian
Schedule: 17th - 20th May 2007
Activity: FUN dive + partial DMT training
Initially didn't thought of going for this trip, coz don't think can make it. Suppose to roll into a new project on 14/05/2007....means won't be able to take leave. However suddenly the management told me that the project has been delayed....so I tot, what the heck...just try to get the leaves lah. Got it approved bout 1 week b4 the trip....hence consider really last minute d. Since its last minute...I din really asked anyone to go with me, just wanna make it a simple budget trip.
Wednesday...
Bus is at 9.30pm....so was a bit rush. Left my client's location in PJ ard 6.30pm. Sampai rumah already 7pm...then kena pack pack a little...especially the toiletries stuffs n "mou kan" (towel)and check whether everything is packed or not. Seriously u don't wanna find out u left something important like ur underwear (happen to me ones) when u r already like 400kms away from home.
Took a quick dinner and I am off to the KTM station to catch a train (what else) to the Putra Bus Station near PWTC. Really susah take train with such a huge dive gear bag.....n then kena jln bout 500m from the train station to bus station carrying a 15kg dive bag...torture torture.
One thing nice bout the Putra Bus Station....then bus always depart on time (+- 2 mins) diff....coz the announcer will scold if the bus don leave...hehehehe. So finally cabut from KL at 9.30pm. Its 8 hours ride to Kuala Besut.....or should I say 8 hours of torture if u can't sleep :) Lucky for me...I got both the seat to myself...seems like no one bought the seat beside mine...yahoooooo.
Thursday...
Din get to really sleep much....I think only manage to catch a short nap between 2am till 3.30am. The bus driver is really speeding....we reach Kuala Besut jetty at 4.30am....45 mins earlier than the Mutiara bus which left KL half an hour earlier. Din have anything much to do in the jetty.....weather is nice and windy and cold. The Watercolour office is not open yet also....so I go sleep on a big bench/platform I found near the office. Bout 10 mins into my sleep....a female cat come n rub rub against me wor...wa lau....terkejut aku. Then tido beside me....hehehehehe.
Finally the Watercolour opis open...but still I have to wait for RT n the geng who will only be reaching bout 9.30am....wa lau eh. Manage to catch some sleep in the Watercolour office....eventhough its not comfortable at all.
Finally semua orang sampai...n off we went to Pulau Perhentian. I am damm tired at that time. I skip the 1st dive (just a checkout dive) to have lunch with Chu San and Azlan. Afterthat manage to get bout 2 hours sleep too b4 the next dive at 4.30pm....we are going to Terumbu Tiga (T3)...yahooooo...one of my fav dive site coz a lot of nudi branches. I really sleep like a dead log (expected lah...more than 18 hours no sound sleep) until I din know my room mate knock the door several times too.
Finally at 4.30pm.....we are off to Terumbu Tiga. Mild current is expected coz the tide is moving out. Vis is ok...not bad. I din use my wetsuit.....decide to wear my "charisma" white skin suit n swimming bermudas saja...hehehehe. Din really see anything spectacular lah....except more than 20 of those normal looking nudi branches.
Got night dive today also...but got surcharge...so I dowan to go lah. Spend the rest of the day doin my log (only 1 dive today) coz now got dive comp d....can know my own profile...kekekekeke. Then makan n go to bed early coz next day got early dive.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Going diving again
The diving bug has bitten me again...and this time the bite is deep. I am deeply infected by the diving "desease"...so badly that I am going to the sea again this weekend to seek the cure to my addiction.
Actually it doesn't really sound that bad lah. I just love Scuba diving...so if got chance, I will go for it. Furthermore now i have a "buddy" for life d....so even more easier.
I am looking forward for the trip this weekend....coz my friend aka "the instructor" is gonna let me teach his Open Water Students on some of the modules in knowledge development. This will be part of DM training for me :) Hope able to have fun while educating people on the FUN FUN FUN of Scuba Diving.....hehehe...hurrayyyy
Actually it doesn't really sound that bad lah. I just love Scuba diving...so if got chance, I will go for it. Furthermore now i have a "buddy" for life d....so even more easier.
I am looking forward for the trip this weekend....coz my friend aka "the instructor" is gonna let me teach his Open Water Students on some of the modules in knowledge development. This will be part of DM training for me :) Hope able to have fun while educating people on the FUN FUN FUN of Scuba Diving.....hehehe...hurrayyyy
Monday, March 26, 2007
Ready to dive
Finally...the wait is over. Its been slightly more than 6 months since I last dive into the sea (ones a while got dive in swimming pool ler :p hehehe). Over the months....I kinda forgotten how sea water taste also...hehehehe.
When I heard bout the trip to Perhentian on end March, at 1st I kinda shake the idea off coz the sea will still be quite rough bout this time. Also during that time, I have not secured a job yet, hence going diving is way out of my budget.
Then later I manage to get a job.....hmmm...now seems I can go dive d. I calculate my budget and seems like I can afford to get some gears too....hmmmm, now I am even tempted to start diving again.
Finally I made up my mind....and round up some friends. I got my gears...and I am going diving end of this month. Now only 1 word I can say....
YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When I heard bout the trip to Perhentian on end March, at 1st I kinda shake the idea off coz the sea will still be quite rough bout this time. Also during that time, I have not secured a job yet, hence going diving is way out of my budget.
Then later I manage to get a job.....hmmm...now seems I can go dive d. I calculate my budget and seems like I can afford to get some gears too....hmmmm, now I am even tempted to start diving again.
Finally I made up my mind....and round up some friends. I got my gears...and I am going diving end of this month. Now only 1 word I can say....
YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Diving soon lor.....
Today went to buy gears.....wah...really kenot tahan lah. The feeling of going back into the sea is just so strong. When testing the gears n putting on the BCD to test the size.....really feel like going back to diving d.
Its been 6 months now......arghhhh....half year din touch the sea liao. Miss seeing the nice fishes, the taste of salt water and the wonderful feeling of doing "backroll entry" into the sea.
Need to brush up on my skills again before goin back into the sea......have to get used to my new gears n know where are the equipments attach to.
Anyway...gonna have a trip voming really soon, so I wanna say....
"Sea oh sea...u wait...I am coming back to embrace u d"
ooooooooooooooooooooooh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Its been 6 months now......arghhhh....half year din touch the sea liao. Miss seeing the nice fishes, the taste of salt water and the wonderful feeling of doing "backroll entry" into the sea.
Need to brush up on my skills again before goin back into the sea......have to get used to my new gears n know where are the equipments attach to.
Anyway...gonna have a trip voming really soon, so I wanna say....
"Sea oh sea...u wait...I am coming back to embrace u d"
ooooooooooooooooooooooh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Monday, February 12, 2007
Dive season gonna start soon......yahoooooooooo
Hmmm...if I remember correctly....the last time I dive was middle Sept last year. Its been almost 6 months now....hmmm....ada sikit miss diving also. Soon the dive season on the East Coast gonna start.
Initially bout the end of last year, I tot I would not get a chance to dive again this year. Initially wanted to do DM training this year also....but then seriously kena reconsider.
The bout the begining of this year...I manage to secure a kerja. This means I will have income to feed my passion d....however now got 1 problem pulak. Now $$$ might have...but time maybe tarak pulak...haihzzzz.
End of March got a trip to Perhentian.....me n Beckz also planning to go for it now. Hopefully our plan jadi lah....seriously we need a diving holiday to kick start the season......
DIVE SEASON GONNA START LIAO LAH............YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Initially bout the end of last year, I tot I would not get a chance to dive again this year. Initially wanted to do DM training this year also....but then seriously kena reconsider.
The bout the begining of this year...I manage to secure a kerja. This means I will have income to feed my passion d....however now got 1 problem pulak. Now $$$ might have...but time maybe tarak pulak...haihzzzz.
End of March got a trip to Perhentian.....me n Beckz also planning to go for it now. Hopefully our plan jadi lah....seriously we need a diving holiday to kick start the season......
DIVE SEASON GONNA START LIAO LAH............YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Dive dive dive....yahooooo...diving is FUN (Episode 3) - FINAL EPISODE
Final eposide of my SCUBA diving epilogue for the year 2006. For this post...I wanna scrible down the most wonderful trip I had....which include the most toughest and FUN course for me by far.
Brace yourself for the most adventourous and FUN dive trip I have ever did. Welcome onboard....smiles and laughter is mandatory while reading.
Merdeka Eve Nite 2006:
The plan is 'bertolak' from KL bout 1am...early Merdeka morning. Since from 6pm till 1am got nothing todo....so I 'ajak' one of the Mat Salleh (David Beasley....yeah...its him again) to go rock climb 1st in 1 Utama. This is because the other Mat Salleh (Greg Hoyle...this is geng 'baru') which we are gonna 'tumpang' his car, stays only bout 10 minutes away from 1 Utama.
So here we are....one banana chinese and a mat salleh climbing wall in 1 Utama prior to the trip. Another reason for this also becoz we wanna tire ourself kaw kaw so can sleep on the journey later. Greg told me that he can do the driving from KL to Merang Jetty (700+ kms bout 7 hours...trust me its torturing) eventhough I told him that it will be torturing. Since he insist....well I then better tired myself now via rock climbing n sleep later. Summo his car damm comfy....Honda Accord V6 3.0 VTEC leh...full leather interior.
Early Merdeka Day 2006:
Go pick up Richard aka The Instructor from his house bout 12am sharp. Then we went to a 'mamak' stall near his house to wait for another 3 fellow divers.
Ones 7 of us are ready....we left KL in 2 cars. Next stop in in a rest area along Karak Highway where we will rendevouz with 7 more fellow divers. In total...will be 14 divers (3 gals, 11 guys) in 4 cars....1 Accord, 1 Vios, 1 Kelisa, 1 Wira.....so no need guess which one is fastest ler..hehehehe.
Reached Gambang Rest Area around 4.30am for fuel. This is the bout 1/2 way into the journey and also the end of the highway. After this we will be using the trunk roads to reach Merang Jetty. Greg felt tired so I took over the drive. Wah...so excited....1st time drive Honda Accord V6 3.0 VTEC leh....summo got EBD, ABS, TCS,....macam macam lagi. Furthermore it just started to rain....yahoooo...get to test car in rain.
Along the journey...it rained heavily. Really nice to drive the car......damm powerful, responsive and stable. Kept on forgetting that I am attacking sharp corners on the trunk road at 90km/h.....best best...low understeer and the car just turn in according to driver's need. Sometimes can feel the TCS kicks in also.
Merdeka Day Morning 2006:
Reached Merang jetty bout 7.40am.....then found out that the 7.30am boat din wait for us...damm. Kena wait for the 9.30am boat now...aiyoh....double damm. Take the 2 hours slack time to read on my PADI Rescue Diver manual....got tough exam wan ah.
Yew Hong last minute baca buku.
Finally got up the boat....and as usual....it is my favourite place to catch a nap. I dunno y lah...the boat shakes like nobody's business but still its a nice place to nap for me.
Sleeping in boat.
Lastly reached the island...yahooooo...my 6th trip there in 3 months. Seeing the cool 'signboard' again is the proof I am here again.
Cool signboard.
1st dive is the famous "Checkout Dive". As usual...this dive is a torture for me...coz my eyes are tired after hours of concentrating on the road. Usually in checkout dive, we brush up a little on our basics diving skills such as mask removal and regulator 2nd stage recovery. This time, the Rescue Divers (Odett, Yew Hong, David and me) have to do something special...which is to take a deep breath, remove our SCUBA gear underwater (bout 12 metres deep), swim close to the sea bottom for 5 kick cycles, make a u-turn and wear back the SCUBA unit. Quite frightening actually but everyone did it perfectly.
The most FUN part of this whole trip is the Rescue Diver course. We had some confined water session....in which case that we laugh our hearts out 70% of the time....act as victim for 20% and last 10% is rescue our victim. Our instructor put us on an incentive, that who acts as the best victim will receive a gift at the end of the training. With this incentive for grab..... we try every possible ways to out do each other in becoming the victim. Listed below are some ways used by the 4 of us:
Odett:
Shout "HELPPPPPPPPP" at the top of her voice to get attention from people in the resort...kekekeke....till some of them really stand up n tengok tengok what happen.
David:
Swam towards Yew Hong n grab him when David was being the panic victim. Yew Hong was caught by suprise and couldn't even sink and kick in time to get away from David. Was very funny when we saw it....really laughing until stomach pain while threading water.
Yew Hong:
Release all the air from his BCD and pretend to struggle at the water surface while shouting for help. Really drank a lot of salt water while doing this. No wonder he won the best victim award.
Me:
Always have my BCD almost empty....hence still can sink a little and make my rescuer have a very tough time rescuing me from underwater...hahahahaha
Overall....we are really enjoying ourself soooooooo much that we din even realize we got sunburn on our faces, neck n head while threading water in the hot sun.
Other times of the trip:
Performing the rescue scenarios is one of the requirements in order to be certified as a Rescue Diver. For me....I find this the toughest part of the whole journey. Everyone have to do 4 scenarios.
One of my scenario involve saving a panic cum unresponsive diver in open sea....bout 200 metres away from the beach. During the rescue, I had to remove gears, thread water, do rescue breath and lastly tow the diver back to shore in a limited amount of time. After reaching the shore.....gotta carry the diver up the beach and perform CPR also.....damm tiring.
Yew Hong (left) carrying David back to shore. This is a very tiring activity.
Yew Hong (left) doing CPR to David.
Me (left) doing CPR to Odett
Odett tried many times to carry me up during training but fail. Really susah for her...and also torture for me, kena eat sand each time.
Many of us lose weight while goin through the rescue training. Yew Hong lost almost 4kgs on the trip....that is an average of 1 kg per day...wa lau eh...what a good way to slim down eh.
On this trip also....I got to lead dive for a few times. The 1st was leading Yew Hong in a deep dive at Karang Nibong Laut. There are many baby jelly fish and planktons at shallow water, some of them is very cute. Visibility of the dive is not very good (ard 7 metres) due to termocline and some mild current stirring up bottom sediments. However we manage to spot many nurse sharks among the rocks at the dive site. Also while descending, we saw a very very tiny (bout 2 inch long) Titan Trigger Fish on the buoy line.......soooooooo cute.
The 2nd lead dive I made was to Batu Banyak Keras. This time Odett and me lead 4 (Ginn, Stanley, Greg and Beckz) AOWD students. I took the Lead and Odett take the back as the Sweeper. We did a few rounds at the dive site...which consist mainly of 3 small boulders and some giant sea fans. It is quite a nice dive site with variety of fishes. During the safety stop, I challenge Beckz on some buoyancy control...hehehehe....now she know what is called "Buoyancy Control"....hehehehehe.
Divers "lepaking" at the cafe during surface interval (SI).
Last day nite:
As usual.....the last nite for the trip is our Graduation Nite. Overall 8 divers passed as Advance Open Water Diver (AOWD) and 4 passed as Rescue Divers (RD). On this nite also....we vote who is the best "victim" in the rescue training exercise...and Yew Hong got the prize.
Voting for the "best victim award".
Overall 8 divers (Greg, Stanley, Ginn, Beckz, William, Josh, Sim and Eddie) passed as AOWD. This pic shows Greg (right) receiving his scroll from Richard.
4 divers (Yew Hong, David, Odett and me) graduated as Rescue Divers. This pic shows me graduating.
Final day:
This is always the sad day for the trip. We are leaving the island after such a wonderful and FUN 4d3n trip. As usual...we will take many many photos....as we would like to remember this trip forever.
Before the trip....we were full of anxiety and expectation. Now after all our expectations are answered.....we will always look back to the pictures to bring back those old memories....those FUN we share and those happy moments we went through.
The 4 gentlemen (from left: William, Eddie, Sim and Josh) with the pretty rose Beckz (in middle) posing for a shot.
Wah....this picture very "gaya" ah.
Dive sites in Pulau Lang Tengah.
The whole group.
Back row from left: Stanley, Odett, William, Siew (me), Yew Hong, Sim, Josh, Eddie, Richard (instructor), Beckz, Greg, David and Ginn.
Front: Eric.
Finally....this is the end of all the diving stories I had for 2006. The most memorable and most 'precious' trip (among all the 7 trips I made in 2006) is this one....which will forever has a long lasting effect in my mind...and also in my heart. You will always never know what the future (3 months is enuf) holds for u.
Throughout all the dive trips.....I have countered my fear of drowning, has more confidence at sea, learn to react to situations and lastly enjoy every single moment I go underwater. I realize the need to conserve the wonderful nature of the underwater aquatic life. Hence as a diver, I always remind people to take caution while diving/snorkling so that we will not harm the balance of the aquatic world.
Not to forget all the friends I have made doing diving together. Now the dive season is closed in the east coast of Msia...hence we don't see each other much. However when the season opens back next year.....brace urself...I AM GOING BACK TO SEA.......
yahoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
..........THE END.............
Brace yourself for the most adventourous and FUN dive trip I have ever did. Welcome onboard....smiles and laughter is mandatory while reading.
Merdeka Eve Nite 2006:
The plan is 'bertolak' from KL bout 1am...early Merdeka morning. Since from 6pm till 1am got nothing todo....so I 'ajak' one of the Mat Salleh (David Beasley....yeah...its him again) to go rock climb 1st in 1 Utama. This is because the other Mat Salleh (Greg Hoyle...this is geng 'baru') which we are gonna 'tumpang' his car, stays only bout 10 minutes away from 1 Utama.
So here we are....one banana chinese and a mat salleh climbing wall in 1 Utama prior to the trip. Another reason for this also becoz we wanna tire ourself kaw kaw so can sleep on the journey later. Greg told me that he can do the driving from KL to Merang Jetty (700+ kms bout 7 hours...trust me its torturing) eventhough I told him that it will be torturing. Since he insist....well I then better tired myself now via rock climbing n sleep later. Summo his car damm comfy....Honda Accord V6 3.0 VTEC leh...full leather interior.
Early Merdeka Day 2006:
Go pick up Richard aka The Instructor from his house bout 12am sharp. Then we went to a 'mamak' stall near his house to wait for another 3 fellow divers.
Ones 7 of us are ready....we left KL in 2 cars. Next stop in in a rest area along Karak Highway where we will rendevouz with 7 more fellow divers. In total...will be 14 divers (3 gals, 11 guys) in 4 cars....1 Accord, 1 Vios, 1 Kelisa, 1 Wira.....so no need guess which one is fastest ler..hehehehe.
Reached Gambang Rest Area around 4.30am for fuel. This is the bout 1/2 way into the journey and also the end of the highway. After this we will be using the trunk roads to reach Merang Jetty. Greg felt tired so I took over the drive. Wah...so excited....1st time drive Honda Accord V6 3.0 VTEC leh....summo got EBD, ABS, TCS,....macam macam lagi. Furthermore it just started to rain....yahoooo...get to test car in rain.
Along the journey...it rained heavily. Really nice to drive the car......damm powerful, responsive and stable. Kept on forgetting that I am attacking sharp corners on the trunk road at 90km/h.....best best...low understeer and the car just turn in according to driver's need. Sometimes can feel the TCS kicks in also.
Merdeka Day Morning 2006:
Reached Merang jetty bout 7.40am.....then found out that the 7.30am boat din wait for us...damm. Kena wait for the 9.30am boat now...aiyoh....double damm. Take the 2 hours slack time to read on my PADI Rescue Diver manual....got tough exam wan ah.
Yew Hong last minute baca buku.
Finally got up the boat....and as usual....it is my favourite place to catch a nap. I dunno y lah...the boat shakes like nobody's business but still its a nice place to nap for me.
Sleeping in boat.
Lastly reached the island...yahooooo...my 6th trip there in 3 months. Seeing the cool 'signboard' again is the proof I am here again.
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Cool signboard.
1st dive is the famous "Checkout Dive". As usual...this dive is a torture for me...coz my eyes are tired after hours of concentrating on the road. Usually in checkout dive, we brush up a little on our basics diving skills such as mask removal and regulator 2nd stage recovery. This time, the Rescue Divers (Odett, Yew Hong, David and me) have to do something special...which is to take a deep breath, remove our SCUBA gear underwater (bout 12 metres deep), swim close to the sea bottom for 5 kick cycles, make a u-turn and wear back the SCUBA unit. Quite frightening actually but everyone did it perfectly.
The most FUN part of this whole trip is the Rescue Diver course. We had some confined water session....in which case that we laugh our hearts out 70% of the time....act as victim for 20% and last 10% is rescue our victim. Our instructor put us on an incentive, that who acts as the best victim will receive a gift at the end of the training. With this incentive for grab..... we try every possible ways to out do each other in becoming the victim. Listed below are some ways used by the 4 of us:
Odett:
Shout "HELPPPPPPPPP" at the top of her voice to get attention from people in the resort...kekekeke....till some of them really stand up n tengok tengok what happen.
David:
Swam towards Yew Hong n grab him when David was being the panic victim. Yew Hong was caught by suprise and couldn't even sink and kick in time to get away from David. Was very funny when we saw it....really laughing until stomach pain while threading water.
Yew Hong:
Release all the air from his BCD and pretend to struggle at the water surface while shouting for help. Really drank a lot of salt water while doing this. No wonder he won the best victim award.
Me:
Always have my BCD almost empty....hence still can sink a little and make my rescuer have a very tough time rescuing me from underwater...hahahahaha
Overall....we are really enjoying ourself soooooooo much that we din even realize we got sunburn on our faces, neck n head while threading water in the hot sun.
Other times of the trip:
Performing the rescue scenarios is one of the requirements in order to be certified as a Rescue Diver. For me....I find this the toughest part of the whole journey. Everyone have to do 4 scenarios.
One of my scenario involve saving a panic cum unresponsive diver in open sea....bout 200 metres away from the beach. During the rescue, I had to remove gears, thread water, do rescue breath and lastly tow the diver back to shore in a limited amount of time. After reaching the shore.....gotta carry the diver up the beach and perform CPR also.....damm tiring.
Yew Hong (left) carrying David back to shore. This is a very tiring activity.
Yew Hong (left) doing CPR to David.
Me (left) doing CPR to Odett
Odett tried many times to carry me up during training but fail. Really susah for her...and also torture for me, kena eat sand each time.
Many of us lose weight while goin through the rescue training. Yew Hong lost almost 4kgs on the trip....that is an average of 1 kg per day...wa lau eh...what a good way to slim down eh.
On this trip also....I got to lead dive for a few times. The 1st was leading Yew Hong in a deep dive at Karang Nibong Laut. There are many baby jelly fish and planktons at shallow water, some of them is very cute. Visibility of the dive is not very good (ard 7 metres) due to termocline and some mild current stirring up bottom sediments. However we manage to spot many nurse sharks among the rocks at the dive site. Also while descending, we saw a very very tiny (bout 2 inch long) Titan Trigger Fish on the buoy line.......soooooooo cute.
The 2nd lead dive I made was to Batu Banyak Keras. This time Odett and me lead 4 (Ginn, Stanley, Greg and Beckz) AOWD students. I took the Lead and Odett take the back as the Sweeper. We did a few rounds at the dive site...which consist mainly of 3 small boulders and some giant sea fans. It is quite a nice dive site with variety of fishes. During the safety stop, I challenge Beckz on some buoyancy control...hehehehe....now she know what is called "Buoyancy Control"....hehehehehe.
Divers "lepaking" at the cafe during surface interval (SI).
Last day nite:
As usual.....the last nite for the trip is our Graduation Nite. Overall 8 divers passed as Advance Open Water Diver (AOWD) and 4 passed as Rescue Divers (RD). On this nite also....we vote who is the best "victim" in the rescue training exercise...and Yew Hong got the prize.
Voting for the "best victim award".
Overall 8 divers (Greg, Stanley, Ginn, Beckz, William, Josh, Sim and Eddie) passed as AOWD. This pic shows Greg (right) receiving his scroll from Richard.
4 divers (Yew Hong, David, Odett and me) graduated as Rescue Divers. This pic shows me graduating.
Final day:
This is always the sad day for the trip. We are leaving the island after such a wonderful and FUN 4d3n trip. As usual...we will take many many photos....as we would like to remember this trip forever.
Before the trip....we were full of anxiety and expectation. Now after all our expectations are answered.....we will always look back to the pictures to bring back those old memories....those FUN we share and those happy moments we went through.
The 4 gentlemen (from left: William, Eddie, Sim and Josh) with the pretty rose Beckz (in middle) posing for a shot.
Wah....this picture very "gaya" ah.
Dive sites in Pulau Lang Tengah.
The whole group.
Back row from left: Stanley, Odett, William, Siew (me), Yew Hong, Sim, Josh, Eddie, Richard (instructor), Beckz, Greg, David and Ginn.
Front: Eric.
Finally....this is the end of all the diving stories I had for 2006. The most memorable and most 'precious' trip (among all the 7 trips I made in 2006) is this one....which will forever has a long lasting effect in my mind...and also in my heart. You will always never know what the future (3 months is enuf) holds for u.
Throughout all the dive trips.....I have countered my fear of drowning, has more confidence at sea, learn to react to situations and lastly enjoy every single moment I go underwater. I realize the need to conserve the wonderful nature of the underwater aquatic life. Hence as a diver, I always remind people to take caution while diving/snorkling so that we will not harm the balance of the aquatic world.
Not to forget all the friends I have made doing diving together. Now the dive season is closed in the east coast of Msia...hence we don't see each other much. However when the season opens back next year.....brace urself...I AM GOING BACK TO SEA.......
yahoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
..........THE END.............
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Dive dive dive....yahooooo...diving is FUN (Episode 2, stage 2)
Continue from "Dive dive dive....yahooooo...diving is FUN (Episode 2, stage 1)".........
July 2006 (Perhentian):
This is my 1st FUN dive after getting my AOWD. The trip was planned by me and initially many of my friends wanted to join.....however as the date comes closer...all also ffk me...haihzzz. Finally only me and my instructor decide to go for the FUN dive trip.
I have heard a lot of wonderful things regarding the dive sites in Perhentian Island. It is famous for its ship wrecks dive sites and also a favourite spot for back packing mat salleh to do dive. Basically you don't have to attached yourself to a "package" type trip, there are many resorts, dive centers and 'makan' places here.....so u can plan your trip according to your preference. There is even a school here. Its the perfect place for people who are on a tight budget and would like to have some dives while hanging out on the island.
For this trip..., me and my friend (the freelance instructor) decide to only do 4 FUN dives. Our 1st dive was initially planned at Vietnamese Wreck....which I heard b4 that is it a wonderful dive site. As the boat reaches the dive site.....the surface current was so strong that we have no way of fighting it. Even paddling hard, we are at a lost end against the current. Finally we abandon the dive....sadly.
Instead we change location to another dive site call Batu Nesan. As we just descent into the water....3 huge 1 metre long Bumphead Fish swam towards us. Actually I think we descented into the swimming path of the Bumpheads. If we would have went down bout 10 seconds later, we might actually sit on the Bumpheads too...hehehehe.
Big Bumphead Fish
The other 3 dive sites that we went were:
1)Shark point
Boring site.
2)Tokong Laut
Cun site. Seriously.......if you are an AOWD, you have to go dive here. The dive site is a big mountain shape boulder that rises from the ocean floor. The top of the boulder is exposed above water for about 3 metres. Surface current is usually mild. The current at the bottom can be harzardously strong....however it is FUN for doin drift diving.
You can also test ur diving control skill at this dive site by taking nice photos while in current. I manage to spot a Scorpion Fish while drift diving, quickly make a 90 degree turn, fight the current....and snap the pic.
Try to spot the Scorpion Fish...hehehe
3)Sugar Wreck
This site is a cargo ship which sank back in 2001. Its carrying supply of raw sugar when it sank, hence the wreck is call "Sugar Wreck". Current can be strong at surface, however ones at the bottom...the wreck can shield off the current. Many Lion Fish and Puffer Fish at this wreck.....not forgetting the number of sea durains also.
Lion Fish
Overall this trip is damm enjoying. Nice dive sites, get to eat barracuda fish curry (have to wait 1 hour to prepare), get to eat nice n cheap western food, get to see many tanned mat salleh lui and lastly....banyak bikini gal ahhhhh........slurrrpp.
Underwater pictures from this trip are available at the URL below:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=80t4j8i.81yvul3i&x=0&y=-r9s3m5
.......To be Continued in "Dive dive dive....yahooooo...diving is FUN (Episode 3)..........
*preview::: Episode 3 is the final episode of my 2006 SCUBA diving stories. It contains the best course I have ever took by far...which is the PADI Rescue Diver Course.
July 2006 (Perhentian):
This is my 1st FUN dive after getting my AOWD. The trip was planned by me and initially many of my friends wanted to join.....however as the date comes closer...all also ffk me...haihzzz. Finally only me and my instructor decide to go for the FUN dive trip.
I have heard a lot of wonderful things regarding the dive sites in Perhentian Island. It is famous for its ship wrecks dive sites and also a favourite spot for back packing mat salleh to do dive. Basically you don't have to attached yourself to a "package" type trip, there are many resorts, dive centers and 'makan' places here.....so u can plan your trip according to your preference. There is even a school here. Its the perfect place for people who are on a tight budget and would like to have some dives while hanging out on the island.
For this trip..., me and my friend (the freelance instructor) decide to only do 4 FUN dives. Our 1st dive was initially planned at Vietnamese Wreck....which I heard b4 that is it a wonderful dive site. As the boat reaches the dive site.....the surface current was so strong that we have no way of fighting it. Even paddling hard, we are at a lost end against the current. Finally we abandon the dive....sadly.
Instead we change location to another dive site call Batu Nesan. As we just descent into the water....3 huge 1 metre long Bumphead Fish swam towards us. Actually I think we descented into the swimming path of the Bumpheads. If we would have went down bout 10 seconds later, we might actually sit on the Bumpheads too...hehehehe.
Big Bumphead Fish
The other 3 dive sites that we went were:
1)Shark point
Boring site.
2)Tokong Laut
Cun site. Seriously.......if you are an AOWD, you have to go dive here. The dive site is a big mountain shape boulder that rises from the ocean floor. The top of the boulder is exposed above water for about 3 metres. Surface current is usually mild. The current at the bottom can be harzardously strong....however it is FUN for doin drift diving.
You can also test ur diving control skill at this dive site by taking nice photos while in current. I manage to spot a Scorpion Fish while drift diving, quickly make a 90 degree turn, fight the current....and snap the pic.
Try to spot the Scorpion Fish...hehehe
3)Sugar Wreck
This site is a cargo ship which sank back in 2001. Its carrying supply of raw sugar when it sank, hence the wreck is call "Sugar Wreck". Current can be strong at surface, however ones at the bottom...the wreck can shield off the current. Many Lion Fish and Puffer Fish at this wreck.....not forgetting the number of sea durains also.
Lion Fish
Overall this trip is damm enjoying. Nice dive sites, get to eat barracuda fish curry (have to wait 1 hour to prepare), get to eat nice n cheap western food, get to see many tanned mat salleh lui and lastly....banyak bikini gal ahhhhh........slurrrpp.
Underwater pictures from this trip are available at the URL below:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=80t4j8i.81yvul3i&x=0&y=-r9s3m5
.......To be Continued in "Dive dive dive....yahooooo...diving is FUN (Episode 3)..........
*preview::: Episode 3 is the final episode of my 2006 SCUBA diving stories. It contains the best course I have ever took by far...which is the PADI Rescue Diver Course.
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