| | my my, where do i begin. my scuba trip was simply awesome. it was one of the most amazing experience that i promise to treasure forever. thinking back, the world underwater is somewhat more amazing and splendid than what we see on land. this trip was ideal as it finally gave me a break from the mundane life... let's see if i could put bits of my trip here.. well, i left on saturday night. i wouldn't say that the bus ride was bad, but the seat was really bad (beneath the central air-con vent), and was next to a malay guy (thank god he went off in kluang). managed to sleep for a while in the bus...but it wasn't really good. anyhow, reached mersing really really early (8.15) and spent half the day exploring the town. it is really quaint. not as old as some places in georgetown, but still quite quaint. in fact, i love that simple feeling of a small town. anyway, spent the whole day in mersing (and in KFC there), and left the jetty at 5pm. the trip to pulau aur was rough. the waves were high and we were basically flying in the boat. the speed boat was so fast that it sent water splashing everywhere..well, we reached there 2 hours later (normal boat ride= 6hours). dinner was provided by the resort and was rather nice. and the best part of the trip, i managed to secure a room with 6 bunks and no one to share with...haha (the other 4 guys have to share another room). slept like a log that night as i was so tired from the bus ride. next morning, first dive was after breakfast. it was the start of my most wonderful experience. i managed to enter the water safely, and went really far below. was able to see so many wonderful things...the corals, sponged, kelp, fishes (including a pufferfish n a couple of lionfish), nudibranch, sea cucumbers, sea stars and loads of mollusc. it was simply breathtaking. in the words of my friend : it was like watching discovery channel but in real life). second dive was after lunch, off the pontoon. there, managed to see the whole staghorn coral bed, sea cucumbers, and more fishes. best part, a school of barracuda actually swam in front of us....wow. at night, sat for my theory exam and passed with flying colours... i was only a step away from being certified. day 2 was also another exciting day. both dives were at teluk jawa, off pulau dayang. the morning dive was more interesting as the water was clear then, and fishes were all very active. was again bedazzled by the beauty and splendour of the underwater world. also performed a few skills in order to be certified...in the evening, completed the other few skills, and wala...i'm now a certified PADI diver. pity, as i didn't manage to see any manta ray, dugong or whale shark. another pitiful thing was that the turtle only revealed itself after we surfaced... note to self, i need to go diving more often...and to more exotic spots, so that i can see what i really wanna see. my ultimate dream is to swim with the belugas (was a childhood dream). but now, i wanna swim with the turtles, play with the manta rays, and watch the whale shark feed. come on, who wouldn't want to see the largest fish on earth... ok, enough of my trip. now, it's back to the normal life of mine. filled with datelines, experiments, sampling, fishes, and the such...so long for now |
