28 August 2008

Hippo Goes Diving... again

PROOF that I went diving over the weekend!! It was the company trip to Redang, and also did snorkeling while I was there. As you knew from my previous Diving post, I am NOT a swimmer. I CANT swim. Little did I realise that, quite a few people cannot swim too.

There were some that could swim very well in swimming pools, but not in the Sea. They claimed that, they feel the fear of having no edge to hold on, or no floor to stand on. Even with a life jacket on, these people just refuse to jump into the Ocean.

One girl was holding on to me for her life... I was like.... "ehhh, I also cannot swim one you know, I cannot save you...". But when you hold their hands and lead them in the water, they feel so safe!! Yeah right, as if just leading you in the water, you can float :) Of course, the most important thing is the Life Jacket. Make sure you wear it correctly!

When I was in Redang, I manage to dive twice. Once was a shore dive. It simple dive, to remind me on what I might have forgotten since I last dived. The 2nd dive was more interesting.... My first Sea dive!!

By the way, I am NOT certified yet, but the Instructor said it was OK to join them. Just as long as I stick close to him. Thanks Ah Shir!! The first Sea dive was kinda of scary. The first thing I had to do is to jump into the water... everything when you do for the first time is SCARY, since you don't know what to expect.


Make sure the BCD is inflated before you jump in. If not, you'll sink like a rock. Once in the water, it was not that bad. Just that, for once, I CANT see the bottom!! Probably 30 meters to the bottom. It was also the Jelly Fish season, so I have been warned!! A few people got stung in the previous dive...

So once we submerge, I could see loads of Jelly Fish swimming around. For the first few minutes, all I was doing was trying to avoid them. Little did I know, one of them snuck up to me and stung my leg. It was a burning sensation and a big pinch. Not as Pain as people tell me. But yah, it was shocking...

In my head, I had a choice, surface and swim back to the boat and end my 5 minutes of dive, or... take it like a man and go on... So I went on... At first I was scared that my leg would cramp up causing me to be NOT able to swim. But after a few minutes, I realised that it wasn't that bad. I would classify the Jelly Fish sting like a burning sensation, like when you get scalded by hot water.

The rest of the dive was interesting. I saw fishes... corals... and more fishes... and yes, I did manage to see a Black Tip Shark. This is my freaking 3rd time seeing this type of shark. There are probably more interesting fishes out there, but because I cannot identify them, I'll just classify them as fishes. I did also manage to see some Clown Fish while I was down there. Of course I know what a Clown fish is, Nemo made it famous....

Amelia and Me

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