Redang Trip over Raya Holidays

It is the Raya Holidays, 1 Oct 2008. We decided to visit Redang one last time before the Resort closes for the monsoon season. We had a convoy of people on this road trip. We decided to head off, on the eve of Raya, making the 6.5 hours. Traffic was decent. It was an all nighter. I as the Navigator couldn't keep my eyes opened an hour into the drive, and had to be demoted to the back, where I could get some beauty sleep. Fortunately the traffic was good, and by about 6am we were at Kuala Terengganu.

Soon we headed into the island on the speed boat. Due to the fact that most of us didn't have any good sleep the night before, most of us headed to sleep once we arrived.

Later that afternoon, I managed to join the divers for a shore dive. It was a simple dive round the corner. Lucky me as I did manage to see a Sea Turtle on this dive. Of course the were many other cool fishes, but to me, all of them look the same.... fishes... fishes... fishes...

As the night approached, it was the usual routine. Alcohol, party, karaoke, party, disco and party. Tonight was no exception. I guess, no words can describe what we were up to, but to invite those who want to experience it for themselves to join us on our next trip! Mind you, I think they finished 6 bottles of alcohol that night!

On Thursday, I manage to do a Boat Dive. As I was not a certified diver, I had to tag along with Ah Shir, my diving instructor. My 2nd boat dive was much better than the previous one I had on my last trip. I was more confident and was able to enjoy the dive more. There were some photos and videos of this dive, but I am unable to post them here today. Maybe shortly, you'll be able to see them on youTube (hopefully).

On Friday, I visited the Marine Park for a snorkeling session. It was my time to the Marine Park, and I highly recommend it for all non divers. It is beautiful and filled with fishes. I was a little upset with the condition of the corals around the area, with most of it damaged due to humans kicking on them while snorkeling.

The photo above is the only decent photo that I managed to capture while I was snorkeling around the Marine Park. Most of the other photos had the fishes back to me, showing their tails, not to mentioned being too far away from the camera. The photo above was captured with the fishes being really closed to me, as if they were smiling and posing for the shot!

We also managed to see some newborn turtles while we were at the Marine park. Redang has some reserved lands, and also a turtle sanctuary. Did you know that the gender of the turtles are determined by the temperature of the surroundings? Fact of Fiction?



Some of the usual suspects on my trip to Redang. As usual, every night it was an adventure. With alcohol in the mix, and no cars to drive home, everybody could intoxicate themselves and not feel guilty about it. Come to think of it, most of them can't remember how they got (walked) home! :p

The following are some amateur photos captured by Elaine while diving. It gives us an insight to what is available in the sea, and why we should preserve our environment. The photos looks extra blue, due to all the red light wave being absorbed by the water.





To those who have never dived, I would recommend that you attend a Discovery Dive course. You'll not regret it... I have NOT!!!

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

The Hippo Goes Diving

Everybody knows that I can't swim... Seriously, I can't swim...

But when I was at Redang last weekend, I decided to attend the Open Water Diving course. There were two friends who were already attending the course, so I decided to join them. In my mind, if I panic or get scared of the Diving course, I would just bail out... naturally... as my GF would call me a Chicken!

So why am I a Hippo? Well, because Hippos likes to soak in a pool, relax and not really swim... sounds like me... :)

Well, before we headed for the waters, there lots of safety and equipment briefing. After a couple of hours... finally... we suit up and headed for the waters... the swimming pool actually, as the sea were too rough.

When in the water, we practised a few simple stuff like how to clear water from your diving mask or how to locate your regulator in the event it drops out of your mouth. We also learnt how to use the Buoyancy Device Control (BCD), it is actually like a life jacket, that controls your buoyancy while you are under water.

The trip to the pool was fun. Constantly we are reminded to breath and never hold your breath. We were just practising finning (swimming) around the pool.

Before we finished for the afternoon, we had another task. He requested that we practised removing and replacing the mask under water. Yes it to practise the event our mask is accidently knocked off under water. Boy, was it hard. More than anything, it was the fear of removing the mask underwater, let alone that we had to pass the mask to a friend for like a few minutes... after a few tries, I gave up. I couldn't not overcome the fear...

Early the next morning we had another session. After some technical briefing and safety talk, we head to the pool again, as the sea was a little rough. Today we practised more finning. New techniques that we practised was to remove and replace our BCD while in the water, as well as remove and replace our weight belt.

Remove and replace the BCD while above the water was a little harder than expected. Not to mention, literally, I was trying to grab and wear my life jacket!! It was a little difficult, as the Air Tank which weighs about 15kg wasn't easy to just put on...

We also practised how to control our BCD and how to control our breathing. By having more air in your lungs, you'll float, while by emptying your lungs, you'll sink more. It seems easy... breath in... float... empty your lungs... sink.... How hard can it be??

Before we ended for morning, we were required to practise remove and replace the mask!!! What? serious?? Must we???

OK OK... relax Eric... relax... after a few attempts and NOT panicking, I manage to remove and replace the mask. I think, I spent almost a full minute underwater, hoping that the instructor Ah Shir would return my mask... It was scary... specially when you are not able to see anything, or do anything...

So after lunch, we were allowed to go for our first dive in the ocean. Boy was I excited... and scared at the same time. Each of us were also provided with Dive computer to know the vital stats while diving.

It was a little harder than anticipated. The sea was very different, specially with the waves constantly coming at you, not to mention, I CANT SWIM!!! No more corner of the swimming pool to hold on, or no more 6 feet depth where I can just stand up and put my head above waters. This is the real deal... no turning back... no easy way out...

After getting under water we headed for deeper waters. We were practising our breathing as well as our BCD control. We also had to practise remove and replace our BCD under water, as well as the weight belt. When we were practising this, we were at the seabed, about 5 metres underwater. Removing the BCD was a little scary, specially when you are so deep under water. But it wasn't a difficult task. Removing the weight belt, it wasn't scary but boy was it a hard task. From the moment the belt was removed, I almost immediately floated up. The belt that I had was at least 4kgs (4 weights) and it like sank right to the bottom. I had to like lift the belt, while trying not to float away!!

We had to practise more BCD control. Practise how it would be like, when we enter the waters from a boat. Practise practise practise...

I didn't not manage to complete my diving course. I didn't stay the full 4 days required to complete the course. I never planned to even attend the course, let alone complete 2 days of it. I must say that our dive instructor Jan Shir is one of the most patient person around. He was always calm and cool, always in control of the situation. If anybody wants to take their diving course, I would recommend to take 4 days off, and to complete the course at Redang with Jan Shir.

In my opinion, as a NON swimmer, diving is kinda of cool. While underwater, you feel weightless. You hear nothing except your own breathing. It is like you are in a completely new dimension. For those who have not tried diving, I would recommend going for the discovery course. It is about an hour plus, and it gives you a full on experience of diving.