My group of friends and I met in the airport last Friday to make a trip to Perhentian Island where we planned to do a little snorkeling...Perhentian Island is situated offshore on the coast of north eastern Malaysia, south of Thai border...
The speed boat ride towards the island, was quite bumpy, I must say...yes, the seas were quite rough and choppy...but I'm sure the driver was speeding as well...I literally had to fight the wind, because I could feel the wind trying to push me off my seat!!...my friends too was struggling to stick their arse on the plank...it seems to be on mid-air more than half the time, that I was really fearful they may fall off the boat...my butt felt bruised and raw when we finally reached our destination...the bumpy ride did come with advantages...for one, my friends was so occupied with self-balancing, that they totally forgot to be seasick...not bad...
We didn't waste much time that two days...I went for a round of photography while the boys sorted out their stuff...we were issued our snorkeling gear right after lunch...where we headed straight for the snorkeling sites...the boatman dropped us at the first destination...but we saw NOTHING...the water wasn't very clear as expected...and I gather it was because of the heavy rain the day before...it was only at our third destination that we managed to finally see some spectacular coral reefs...and it turned out to be fantastic!!...The place seems to be teeming with life...and curious fishes...
One of my friends brought an Olympus camera, which was waterproof and weather-proof (I forgot the model name, though)...we took a good lot of pictures on the coral reefs, but many of them turned out to be quite disappointing...*grin*...well, we still keep the pictures...but it was either blurred pictures of coral reefs...or the colours were not strong and striking...
The second day of snorkeling turned out to be the most eventful comparatively...we paid a visit to Redang island...and on our way there...we saw what I thought was a fat, dark man enjoying his swim off the shore...but hey, hey...what do you know...it was THREE turtles mating together!!...one male, another female...talk about being horny...that lucky bastard had 2 partners to keep himself busy!!...
The sea in Redang was much clearer...hence, visibility was much better...there was a larger variety of coral reefs and tiny sharks too...I attended to the coral reefs...but I kept away from the sharks...I'm uncomfortable about nibbling fishes...but sharks...are much worse, I think...
So these are a couple of things I've learn so far...
1. Fish absolutely LOVES dead skin...if you recall in my previous post, I fell down three days prior to this vacation...injured my left leg, bruised my right...scraped my left arm and bruised my right as well...so the wound was in the midst of healing...of course, it didn't heal instantly...so some dead skin was still hanging off my wound...and the fishes happily nibbled at it...and it felt SO ITCHY!!!...
2. Soaking an infected and injured leg on salty sea water may not be the best idea after all...it wasn't the soaking that hurt...it was the after effect!!...Walking on the beach or anywhere else after the hours of snorkeling was painful...not to mention stingy as well...though I am aware that salty water could help kill germs...so the boatman says...
3. The snorkel is created to help you breathe...it is not meant to stand in your way...I had my goggles with me, so I did without the mask...but as I was so used to letting my breathe out through my nose, the snorkel was pretty much useless to me..."You don't trust the snorkel to help you breathe"...was the comment a friend of mine gave...he is right, I suppose...but I'm not going to waste time telling my brain that...I snorkeled without the snorkel...
4. Life-jackets could be a nuisance at times...but you still have to put them on...as a rule, it was compulsory for us to put on the life-jackets while we snorkel...but it was getting so annoying!!...For one, I couldn't dive and touch the coral reefs that I was so itching to...(I finally did, btw...ditched the stupid jacket and just went in)...and it made swimming almost impossible!!...in fact, if anything...when you wear a life-jacket, where you go is dictated by where the waves bring you...but I wanted to go against the wave...and I wanted to go to the coral reefs pronto!!...Not wade and dwaddle like a duck...with so much to see, there just isn't time!!...
5. As long as there is food, be happy...food where we were staying, weren't that great...but at least we were fed...it was Malay food all the way, except for the last night where we had BBQ...but cool...we managed to stuff ourselves quite well...
6. The sea is an awesome being...I've spent more than half my day on the sea...have been through calm seas...and choppy ones...the most choppy of course, was a wave of half a metre high at max...I can't imagine how it feels like to face a 48 metre high wave!!...I have come to understand that it is a different set of rules altogether, when we go to the sea...and we have got to play by theirs in order to survive...I love to observe how the waves go in different directions, as the wind and current brings them...I am fascinated to hear about how boatman tells the storm by the movement of trees and fishes...I love the salty air, and cool wind the sea brings...but I am just not prepared to mess with them...in fact, after this trip, I feel a deeper respect for the sea...and will leave them at peace to do as they will...
7. Being away from the modern world is good...the yearning for technology is hefty too...there, in the beach...a 100 PLUS drink is RM3...while Internet access...is 30 cents/minute...that makes a freaking RM9 for just half an hour!!...a normal meal is no less than RM15...ah, the price we pay to stay away from the rat race...
Nevertheless, it was a good holiday...I was lifted from my depression...and I am feeling better about myself...I am photograph crazy once more...taking photos of "nonsensical stuffs" as my friends would call it...but I don't care...
Now, if you will excuse me, I need to tend to my sun-burnt skin...
The speed boat ride towards the island, was quite bumpy, I must say...yes, the seas were quite rough and choppy...but I'm sure the driver was speeding as well...I literally had to fight the wind, because I could feel the wind trying to push me off my seat!!...my friends too was struggling to stick their arse on the plank...it seems to be on mid-air more than half the time, that I was really fearful they may fall off the boat...my butt felt bruised and raw when we finally reached our destination...the bumpy ride did come with advantages...for one, my friends was so occupied with self-balancing, that they totally forgot to be seasick...not bad...
We didn't waste much time that two days...I went for a round of photography while the boys sorted out their stuff...we were issued our snorkeling gear right after lunch...where we headed straight for the snorkeling sites...the boatman dropped us at the first destination...but we saw NOTHING...the water wasn't very clear as expected...and I gather it was because of the heavy rain the day before...it was only at our third destination that we managed to finally see some spectacular coral reefs...and it turned out to be fantastic!!...The place seems to be teeming with life...and curious fishes...
One of my friends brought an Olympus camera, which was waterproof and weather-proof (I forgot the model name, though)...we took a good lot of pictures on the coral reefs, but many of them turned out to be quite disappointing...*grin*...well, we still keep the pictures...but it was either blurred pictures of coral reefs...or the colours were not strong and striking...
The second day of snorkeling turned out to be the most eventful comparatively...we paid a visit to Redang island...and on our way there...we saw what I thought was a fat, dark man enjoying his swim off the shore...but hey, hey...what do you know...it was THREE turtles mating together!!...one male, another female...talk about being horny...that lucky bastard had 2 partners to keep himself busy!!...
The sea in Redang was much clearer...hence, visibility was much better...there was a larger variety of coral reefs and tiny sharks too...I attended to the coral reefs...but I kept away from the sharks...I'm uncomfortable about nibbling fishes...but sharks...are much worse, I think...
So these are a couple of things I've learn so far...
1. Fish absolutely LOVES dead skin...if you recall in my previous post, I fell down three days prior to this vacation...injured my left leg, bruised my right...scraped my left arm and bruised my right as well...so the wound was in the midst of healing...of course, it didn't heal instantly...so some dead skin was still hanging off my wound...and the fishes happily nibbled at it...and it felt SO ITCHY!!!...
2. Soaking an infected and injured leg on salty sea water may not be the best idea after all...it wasn't the soaking that hurt...it was the after effect!!...Walking on the beach or anywhere else after the hours of snorkeling was painful...not to mention stingy as well...though I am aware that salty water could help kill germs...so the boatman says...
3. The snorkel is created to help you breathe...it is not meant to stand in your way...I had my goggles with me, so I did without the mask...but as I was so used to letting my breathe out through my nose, the snorkel was pretty much useless to me..."You don't trust the snorkel to help you breathe"...was the comment a friend of mine gave...he is right, I suppose...but I'm not going to waste time telling my brain that...I snorkeled without the snorkel...
4. Life-jackets could be a nuisance at times...but you still have to put them on...as a rule, it was compulsory for us to put on the life-jackets while we snorkel...but it was getting so annoying!!...For one, I couldn't dive and touch the coral reefs that I was so itching to...(I finally did, btw...ditched the stupid jacket and just went in)...and it made swimming almost impossible!!...in fact, if anything...when you wear a life-jacket, where you go is dictated by where the waves bring you...but I wanted to go against the wave...and I wanted to go to the coral reefs pronto!!...Not wade and dwaddle like a duck...with so much to see, there just isn't time!!...
5. As long as there is food, be happy...food where we were staying, weren't that great...but at least we were fed...it was Malay food all the way, except for the last night where we had BBQ...but cool...we managed to stuff ourselves quite well...
6. The sea is an awesome being...I've spent more than half my day on the sea...have been through calm seas...and choppy ones...the most choppy of course, was a wave of half a metre high at max...I can't imagine how it feels like to face a 48 metre high wave!!...I have come to understand that it is a different set of rules altogether, when we go to the sea...and we have got to play by theirs in order to survive...I love to observe how the waves go in different directions, as the wind and current brings them...I am fascinated to hear about how boatman tells the storm by the movement of trees and fishes...I love the salty air, and cool wind the sea brings...but I am just not prepared to mess with them...in fact, after this trip, I feel a deeper respect for the sea...and will leave them at peace to do as they will...
7. Being away from the modern world is good...the yearning for technology is hefty too...there, in the beach...a 100 PLUS drink is RM3...while Internet access...is 30 cents/minute...that makes a freaking RM9 for just half an hour!!...a normal meal is no less than RM15...ah, the price we pay to stay away from the rat race...
Nevertheless, it was a good holiday...I was lifted from my depression...and I am feeling better about myself...I am photograph crazy once more...taking photos of "nonsensical stuffs" as my friends would call it...but I don't care...
Now, if you will excuse me, I need to tend to my sun-burnt skin...
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