Scuba Evaluation Dive @ Pulau Aur ( 20/7 - 22/7 ) : Day 3

We had breakfast around 6am and boarded our boat to Telok Jawa, our 3rd dive spot around 7.30am.
It was our last day on the island and there's 2 more dive to be completed.

pushing the boat into the sea..

My gang....
L-R : Wee, Asri, me and Chong

preparing our equipment...expert ady...ngek ngek...=P

mine..

Wan wearing his weight belt...i have to wear 8kg of weight on my waist whereas the others wear 10kg..

On the way...

reached Telok Jawa...

Nice scenery....

The 1st evaluation is to wear our scuba gear at the surface of the water.
I'm the 1st to do it ( very confident ma...heheh...).
This is another method beside the 'giant-stride' and backward-roll.
And i find this much much easier as i doesn't need to wear my gear on the boat.
Just set up ur gear and throw it into the sea and then jump onto the sea to wear it.
So much easier for someone like me who can barely carry such a heavy weight. =P

After that, we were required to do compass navigation on the surface of the water from the boat to the rocks and back.
Quite easy actually... =P
Then we're required to do tired diver tow, which means we need to pull our buddy for a short distance on water..
Quite easy also except i'm not that strong so i'm a bit slow...


We went underwater after that.
The underwater view is getting nicer in every dive.
En Zakian said he spotted a blue-spotted stingray. T_T
I want to see oso lei....
The corals are nice and the visibility is good...


We're required to perform the controlled emergency swimming ascend in the end.

That means using a control line, ascend with only one 'aah' sound all the way up to the surface and then orally inflate our BCD.
This is another option when u run out of air and ur buddy is far away from u. ( canot use his / her octopus )
We started by ascending 20 feet underwater.
It was quite easy and i still hav enough breath when i reached the surface.
This is because our lungs will expand when we ascend and thus having more air.
And this is why it's dangerous to ascend too fast when u're deep down in the water because u can die from artery puncture which can result in death.
I had some small problem when i needed to orally inflate my BCD after that as i kept on sinking ( not fast enough ) but still i passed la...cuz after a few blow, i can manage to stay afloat...
Then when En Zakian is satisfied, i fast fast push the BCD inflater button....heheh...


We relaxed on the boat while waiting for the 2nd group after that.

adjusting the mask...

doing compass navigation...

tired out..

So while waiting for the 2nd group, i spend my time snapping photos and snorkeling...


Action action je....

Asri listening to her Ipod....

doing Ballet with my buddy....

Wan, Asri, Chong and Wee Swim over to the rocks...

and pose for me.

Big beautiful coral underneath.....

like a cake underneath the water...

feeding the fish with fresh bread. lucky them.

We went back to the resort to have our lunch after the 3rd dive.
We proceeded to Pulau Lang around 2.30pm to have our last dive.

We're going to that small island...

nearing...

Pretty..

Our last diving spot. Nice ^^

Clear bluish water + rocks + coconut trees = paradise

This time the 2nd group go into the water first.
Everyone in group 2 was complaining bcos they dont want to be the 1st as being the 1st means they canot stay underwater too long.
heheh...
But En Zakian said that he'll make sure each group dives for only 40min.
This dive is going to be a more relaxed dive as the only thing we need to do is to use the compass underwater instead of on the surface.

It's kind of torturing to be the 2nd group because well..the boat is very shaky that time and i was nearly seasick.
but i mastered the "secret" to prevent seasick...muahahaha...
that is, fix ur gaze at something faraway. =P
But well..i'm quite happy with myself that i didnt get seasick at all whole thru the trip.

The view underwater was very nice.
The corals were nicer compared to the previous 3 dives.
This time we can swim wherever we like with our buddies.
The depth are also greater than the previous 3 dives.
It's like about erm...around 12m maybe...canot estimate the depth. =P
The maximum depth for open water dive is 18m.


And hey, finally i get to see 3 baby NEMOs !!!
ngek ngek...
they were sooooooooooooooooo cute !
Almost all of us were trying to find nemo eversince the 1st dive but to no avail.
so happy lo...
And then while i'm diving, a school of big Barracudas swam past me and i was like...Wow.

fishes i saw underwater...christmas tree worms, clown triggerfish, giant clam, surgeon fish, barracudas and nemo and etc....
*picture taken fr internet*

Well...don't play play...
I saw sharks eh...muahahaha...


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Tada~!

dead baby shark. muahahaha....

another. found them inside one of the boat.

so...who say i didnt get to see sharks huh ?? =P

I finally am able to grasp the 'technique' of descending underwater by my own will.
Before this i had trouble to descend..maybe i dont have enough weight on me or what.
I tend to float up easily and need people to pull me back to the bottom again. =.=
I spend most of my time trying to descend and try to maintain neutral buoyancy and i end up didnt quite enjoy the view around me.
But this time i can control my ascend and descending and control my neutral buoyancy well.
I can now hover in front of the corals i wish to see closely without crushing on it.
I love the corals so much that i tend to feel heart-pain if i see others suddenly kicked it and it broke in front of my eyes.


The 4th dive is in fact my best dive ever.

going back to the resort around 5pm.


We packed our belongings as this is our last day and board the boat at 6.30pm.


Everyone happy....^^

happy happy....

We reached Mersing jetty at 8pm.
The ride was soooooooo bumpy that my coccyx ( tailbone ) still feel painful after bumping it hard on the boat for several times.
It was like being inside roller coaster except this ride is far more uncomfortable.
everyone forced me to sit in between the boat to prevent me from flying off the boat.
Imagine being inside this monster for 1 and a half hour.
That is really a nightmare. =.=lll


Overall everyone passed the practical.
Except for Chong who is at the borderline as he didnt really do very well.
He dono how to swim and it caused him to be a little bit scared and tends to panic.
We have to pay Rm150 again next time to sit for the theory test then we can fully pass and get the license. But now we're considered 90% pass ady la...

What i really learned from scuba diving is not to panic during whatever happened.
Once u panicked, u cannot do anything right and loses time.
I suppressed the panic inside me when i'm asked to remove my mask and put it on again bcos i fear that if i didnt clear my mask well, there'll still be water inside and my contact lens will be washed away.
And with confident and calmness, i really did it well.
It goes the same with the other evaluations.


And thru scuba, I get to know more friends of the same interest.
At first i was worried i cant get along with the others.
But with scuba alone, the topics flowed naturally.
Asri actually told me a lot of things about Indonesia and about all the nice nice islands there and about tsunami and its aftermath.
And...*ahem* the 3 malay guys kept on wanting to take photos with me cuz i'm cute. =p

And most of all, i learned to live without my hp for 3D2N.
WOW. applaud for me please. heheh....



Planning for my next dive destination now. heheh....


P/s : Didnt upload any underwater pic because i can only get them from En Zakian when i sit for my theory test...sien lo...


*the end*

Scuba Evaluation Dive @ Pulau Aur ( 20/7 - 22/7 ) : Day 2

I woke up 6.30am in the morning on the next day.

It was RAINING.
The first thing that comes to my mind is - is this a bad omen?
Because i had my period the day before i depart for Pulau Aur.
Gosh, i know. It's terrible.
but well, dun worry la...i didn't pollute the sea...
And no sharks come after me either...heheh...
Thanks to the 'genius' invention of tampons. =.=lll
I swear i'm not going to use it again after this.
Having period on this important day and then heavy rain in the morning - how could i not possibly push away the thought that these are bad omens?
But well...I went for the dive anyway.
I've paid Rm695 for this trip + license, there's no turning back.

rain rain go away......

around 7am...foggy...


the rain subsided about half an hour later....

morning view of the beach..






breakfast time......yummy~

My wet suit...

The instructor postponed the dive to one hour later, around 9am.

Legend : Red dot = place we stayed
D1 = 1st dive spot @ Telok Teluran
D2 = 2nd dive spot @ Atlantis bay
D3 = 3rd dive spot @ Telok Jawa
D4 = 4th dive spot @ Pulau Lang

I didnt take any photo of the 1st dive spot as i didnt bring my camera along.

We are divided into 2 groups.
I'm in group 1 together with Asri, Wee, Chong, Wan and Bakar.
The other group consists of Amri and 4 other chinese guys whose name i couldnt remember either. They stick to each other like glue... =.=lll


The 1st dive spot is Telok Teluran, which is suitable for learners like us as there are lots of ropes for us to hang on.
We're required to get into the sea thru the 'giant-stride' method ( take a big step from the edge of the boat into the sea )
Well...the scenery underwater at Telok Teluran is juz ok. nothing special.
The corals are hard corals like the ones at Lang Tengah.
We're bought to this site bcos we're juz beginners and the corals muz be hard enough to withstand our 'accident'-kicks..

But all the same, i was quite excited as it was my first dive in the real sea.
It is more of a fun dive and doesn't require any skills.
But we learned / refreshed the skills of neutral buoyancy, equalizing ( prevent ur ear drums from over-pressurize ) and mask clearing ( clear the water from ur mask underwater ) thru the 1st dive naturally.
And En Zakian took his expensive underwater cam and took photos of us underwater...^^


My buddy is Bakar, a malay guy.
Well, i was fortunate enough that the malay guys are quite gentleman and Amri is especially nice enough to teach and help me on putting on the diving equipment eventhough he is in the 2nd group.
Bakar is a nice buddy too as he didnt leave me alone when underwater. ^^

After the 1st dive, we went back to have lunch and then after some rest we continued the 2nd dive around 3pm.

Me and Asri...

playing with cute hermit crab while waiting for departure...^^

never forget to bring along energy boosting bananas and bread.

The evaluation started on the 2nd dive at Atlantis bay, near our resort.
This time we're required to go into the water through the back-roll method. ( sit by the edge of the boat and plop into the sea backward )

backward-roll

The current there was soooooooooo strong and i was nearly swept away. ( i mean it )
I didn't realised that i was swept away until when i tried to swim back, i had trouble to move forward.

Luckily i managed to get hold of the rope Amri throwed for me and he pulled me to the front of the boat where the others are waiting.
I was damn exhausted by that time.
Everyone was grasping tightly to the end of the other boat while waiting for our instructor ( En. Zakian ).
I feel that i'll be swept off any moment by juz holding on to the end of the boat.
The current is really that strong.


The current cannot be felt after we safely descended to the bottom.
The scenery underwater was not that nice either because the water's visibility is not that high.
The fishes were not that many either.
But hey, i saw a cuttlefish....ngek ngek...*syok sendiri*
We are required to perform the task of neutral buoyancy, mask clearing ( taking the whole mask out and put it on again...my, i'm glad i did it nicely with no water going into my eyes ), breathing through buddy's octopus ( spare regulator ) ( something to do when u run out of air ).
Well, i did everything nicely....heheh...

cold~

in the water!

Bakar, me and Asri after the 2nd dive

boat that stored the oxygen tanks

the 2nd group preparing...that's En Zakian at the front.

En Zakian briefed on the 2nd group on what to do.

me n my buddy with Pulau Aur's village behind

The guys taking giant stride from the edge of the boat as it's more suitable.

holding on to the edge so that wont be swept away....

deflating the BCD so that can sink underwater...

We relaxed while waiting for the 2nd group to come out..

Saw a few of this boat nearby...forgot what it's called. This ship belongs to a family from france.

We went back to the 'resort' after that.
There's still a lot of time before our BBQ dinner so as usual, camwhore lo...

huge clams...can see a lot of these underwater...

me me me!

only 2 pic of me...kelian lo..

En Zakian suggested us to go to the village to have a look so the 10 of us ( minus Asri ) took off to explore the village.

This is the only bridge that connects Atlantis Bay resort to the village.

Breath-taking view....

halfway to the village...

me with Wan n Amri..

and we reached after half an hour.


nice rocks..

sea cucumber everywhere....the water is soooooo clear!

sooo soo clear that corals / rocks can be seen from far....

The bridge is soooo lauzy and didn't maintained so most of the planks were wobbly and dangerous.
I even 'made' a hole on the bridge and luckily i didnt fell thru it.

There's nothing to see so we went back before the sky went completely dark.

one bad thing is that we canot see sunset and sunrise here.
Sigh.

We had our delicious BBQ dinner and after that En Zakian taught us on compass navigation.

delicious BBQ dinner...

Amri taught me how to use it during exercise and well....hopefully i know how to use it in the water on the next day.

After that, i went back and have my sleep around 9.30pm as we're going to wake up even earlier the next day at 6am.

Ya, i know, it sounds kinda boring without a night life.....but hey, my hp canot use wat...
Better sleep early than missing someone right...

*to be continued*