Turtle Laying Eggs at Redang

I went into Redang a few days back. I had to go in on official work. We went to check out the renovation that has been going on with the resort, as well as understand more on how the operations run on the island.

Although I was supposed to be there for work, it was quite a relaxing 3D/2N I was there. I had to setup up their broadband as well as WIFI. I too had to capture photos, and update their website with new photos.

On the 3rd day, at about 5:45AM, uncle woke me up. He pointed from balcony at a little object that seems to be moving across the sand. At that time, it was really dark, way before dawn, but I could make out what it was... A turtle!!!

So we rushed down to get a closer look. Since we didn't want to startle it, we just quietly follow the turtle. I wasn't too sure what she was doing, but hoping to see her lay some eggs :)

Anyway after following the turtle for close to 2 hours plus, she finally settled on a spot to lay her eggs. This was after like loads of people following the poor turtle and blinding her with their bright flash from the cameras. Did you know, every 3-5 steps, the turtle had to stop to catch her breath. I estimated that she came to shore at about 3-4AM and was in search for her spot to lay her eggs since then.

After digging and laying her eggs for almost an hour, she was done. She had laid about 120 eggs this trip. The eggs were carefully collected before she covered up the giant hole she had dug. It was kept by a resort for safe keeping before handing it over to the Marine Park personnel.

Did you know that, many curious people actually eat these turtle eggs? It is like a consider local delicacy...

Anyway I would like to take this opportunity to tell everyone to Say “NO!” to turtle and terrapin eggs. The cause has been started by Prof Chan, a world renowned turtle researcher and conservationist. You can read about her cause here. Why don't you just head straight here to sign her petition and say "NO" to turtle eggs.

OK, back to my turtle event. So the turtle had laid her eggs and was getting ready to head back. She spent close to 20 minutes trying to cover where she had laid her eggs. When she was done, she headed straight to the sea. It was a slow long and tedious walk back. Every couple of steps, the turtle would stop, to catch her breath before moving again.

By about 8:45 the turtle had reached the water and was on her way back to her natural habitat, the sea! Once she reached the shore line, you could see this once, slow and clumsy turtle move swiftly in the water.

Hope to see you again, Ms Turtle!!

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!!!

Company Trip: The Treasure Hunt @ Redang (Answers)

If you guys, have NOT read my first post about the Treasure Hunt, please read it first, before reading the answer. The first post can be found here.

When I designed the Treasure Hunt, I wanted them to do a little exploration of the Redang beach that we were staying on. They needed to walk around to find the answers. So to ensure that they had to travel to the furthers resort from where they were staying, I forced them to visit Redang Reef Resort (Question 1) and to obtain a Flyer.

And to ensure that, not only 1 person was running around taking photos, I made them take some GROUP photos, where all members were required to be in there (Question 8, 9, 10). This actually forced everyone to participate.

And for the bonus Question 10, I had to force them to RUN back to the start point, if they wanted to obtain the bonus points. Only one team, manage to get points for Question 10. And in the end, they were also the winning team. I guess their strategy to run back for the Bonus 20 points were all worth the efford.

Overall the Treasure Hunt was a success. Everyone participate in it. Everybody had great fun running around locating the answers. When I say everyone, it includes even the Boss, who was forced to run along with her team members! Of the 5 teams that participated, everyteam was very spotting and manage to get at least 8 of the 10 questions correct. Not too hard if you asked me, but the key was getting it done quickly!!


The following are the answers for the Treasure Hunt.

1. Business Card/Flyer/Brochure from Redang Reef Resort (10 Points)
   *To be uploaded soon*
   
2. Photo of the Ramly Burger Stand (10 Points)
   
3. Photos of Walls Ice Cream Fridge AND Nestle Ice Cream Fridge (10 Points)
4. Photo of the Batik Shop (10 Points)
   
5. Photo of the Banner "International Year of Reef 2008" (10 Points)
   
6. Photo of PADI logo OR SDI logo (10 Points)
   
   
7. Photos of BOTH Tattoo Shop (10 Points)
   
8. Group photo at "Laguna Redang Resort" sign board (10 Points)
   
9. Group photo outside "More More Tea Inn" (20 Points)
   
10. Group photo at Redang Pelangi Canteen @ 6:20 time. Photo of clock too!! (20 Points)

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

Company Trip: The Treasure Hunt @ Redang

As the main and only organiser for the Company trip, I guess it would also be my job to ensure that; everyone was well taken off, well fed and had a great time. Of course, in any company trip, we would have to have some Telematch or Games.

Taking the idea from my Darling, I decided to swap at the Telematch to a Treasure Hunt instead.

The following are the questions that I had prepared for the Treasure Hunt.

1. Business Card/Flyer/Brochure from Redang Reef Resort (10 Points)
   
2. Photo of the Ramly Burger Stand (10 Points)
3. Photos of Walls Ice Cream Fridge AND Nestle Ice Cream Fridge (10 Points)
4. Photo of the Batik Shop (10 Points)
5. Photo of the Banner "International Year of Reef 2008" (10 Points)
6. Photo of PADI logo OR SDI logo (10 Points)
7. Photos of BOTH Tattoo Shop (10 Points)
8. Group photo at "Laguna Redang Resort" sign board (10 Points)
9. Group photo outside "More More Tea Inn" (20 Points)
10. Group photo at Redang Pelangi Canteen @ x:xx time. Photo of clock too!! (20 Points)

Teams that returnd first, would be awarded bonus placing points. The placing points are as follows

• First Team in : 30 points
• Second Team in : 25 points
• Third Team in : 20 points
• Fourth Team in : 15 points
• Fifth Team in : 10 points

Teams were given 1 hour for the whole event.

For Question 10: I had allocated the time of 6:20 PM for them to be back to capture the photo. It was 20 mins into the hunt, and the team had to decide whether to return back to the start point for the 20 bonus points.

I will post the answers as well as the winning team and scores in my next post.

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.

Beach Bumming @ Pulau Redang

Last weekend, I was at Pulau Redang. The trip was great spent the weekend with my Darling and her family. I also met two new friends, Mr Chivas Regal and Mr Jack Daniels!!

If you guys don't know where Redang is, check out the following Google Maps

View Larger Map

If you guys enjoy the beach, snorkeling or diving, then Redang is the place. From the day I arrived, I did NOTHING, but chilled out the whole day. Loads of alcohol, paired up with a beautiful resort = Unforgettable Weekend!

Anybody who knows me, would also know that I cannot swim. Yes, I can't swim. With the help of a Life Jacket, I went snorkling around the Redang Island. It was way cool, I could see loads of fishes and corals. So excited I was!!

Next I decided to try some Scuba Diving. My darling who is a hardcore diver and instructor decided to take Mr Hippo (me!) on a Discovery Diving course. After the usual briefing and all, I took to the sea. Yes, I was very afraid of the idea of swimming and the possibility of drowning!

Anyway, I did manage to do all the basic stuff and were actually swimming underwater for like 15 mins. It was way COOL. Come on, be as happy for me ok? For someone who can't swim and fear the water, I thought that it was a great achievement!!

The place that I stayed at was the Redang Pelangi Resort. The food was great, the people there were all very hospitable and I felt really at home. Most of the other resorts on the island were a little too commercialise, but somehow the Redang Pelangi Resort made me felt cosy and warm. You can check their website out here.