My Virgin Dive
Thursday, November 11, 2010This post is delayed by almost 1.5 months..but still I had to blog about my FIRST dive trip before I can do so for my second, which I just returned from last weekend!! So here goes..
After worrying about the whole "not being able to just pop my head out of the water if anything happens" thing for a good 2 weeks since the pool session..D-day finally arrived. I was nervous yet excited, mixed feelings. But of course, I had to MUST go, even if its just to save my face..yes, my ego is extremely important to me:) So loot (40% clothes and such, 60% food, 100% necessities) we packed, and off we trooped. Van ride, boat ride..by the time we reached Dayang, it was about 4am on Saturday morning.and we had to wake up about 3 hours plus from then..
Good Morning little island
Surprisingly, the 1st day (Saturday) was better than the 2nd..despite much less sleep in comparison. I guess it was just the whole built up of excitement and all..Not that I dislike diving, its just after being depleted of my energy on Saturday, crawling out of bed and braving the traces of chilly wind, from the previous night's rain, on an early Sunday morning was a great chore..It was dreadful..but we still headed out, duh.
Must we really dive in such "good" weather to snooze?
Honestly diving is one sport that requires so much preparation and gearing up, and seemingly trivial mistakes can actually be quite terrible *eeks*..But every single time I step into the water and sink deep down, ALL
Lesson-time, kiddos.
We are such fabulous students, aren't we?
Don't worry, you are a wonderful instructor too!!=) To be true, I thought Kiat was kinda intimidating the very first time I saw him in Diventures. He did not smile, he face was so black tan, he looked sterm..scary. But after all these time, he is actually very friendly, and quite full of nonsense at times. But not to worry, he is absolutely professional when it comes to coaching us! Its probably his many years of diving and teaching experience, that he could share quite a bit with us, really insightful:) So all applause for him!! Kudos to Kiat!!
My buddy for my first open water dive: My big sister!
Here are some of the marine lives we got to see during our dives..I will only name a couple which I know and am sure of=P
Top-Left: Clown Fish aka Nemo
My dear buddy got all so excited over these little orange things.
Top-Left: Moray Eel
Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right: Bumphead Parrot Fish
We saw quite a number of these huge things swimming together. They will use their foreheads bumpheads to knock on the coral and feed on them. And trust me, when I say they got some really strong teeth there. Don't you think their set of "dentures" resemble those in our mouths?hehe
Bottom-Left: Sea Cucumber
After only two dives..is this normal? I guess so..especially for my monster, he sleeps before and after every single dive, he practically falls asleep once he gets his butt to the bench on the boat. Unbelievable, not?
Rest is important to keep us diving:)
What can I say, we are a bunch of troopers who love the sun, the sea, AND the sand..we were almost slippers free the entire trip (besides shower-time)..back to basics uh? embrace the nature..HAHA
Flippety Floppety only allowed in the water!
After the "serious" stuff..time for some funny/unglam/hilarious shots of the trip..not to worry, each of us has a share=P
#1: Alicia aka Me
I always wonder how do the rest keep their hair so nice and neat underwater!! Like seriously, mine is forever the messiest, whether above or under water. I perpetually look like I got electrocuted=S
#2: Venetia
I just think this action is funny, because it reminds me of Kiat mentioning that we all look so busy struggling to "fin" with our hands.
#3: Eugenia
Honestly, I could not find a truly unglamorous or funny shot of her. But I had to be fair and dedicate one to her=P So this is the weirdest action I could identify among all the underwater shots of her.. There is ballet, water ballet, and now introducing underwater ballet=)
#4: Wei Jie
Somehow I think that this "pose" is so him. No idea why too..its like he is playful, and always have something up his sleeves?! Don't ask me how I inferred them of him and the picture!! HAHA..no matter what, its quite a funny pose!!
#5: Ivan aka the clown
My little sister called him a joke when she saw this photo..And ever since, he is known as the clown!! HAHA..it was really darn funny seeing him swim around holding on to the power inflator hose..I think quite a number of us tried to signal to him to let go of it, but he just didn't understand!! So that was how we all recognised my monster on the first dive..He is just so hilarious sometimes, it leaves me speechless but gives me laughters=D
My 4 saviours!!!!
The four of them actually helped me quite a lot during the course of learning diving, all in their own unique and special ways. Just having the guts to learn diving with me, and trusting me not to risk their lives with my ditzy-ness, have earned them many many brownie points:) All together, they made this learning experience breeze-like (minus the unnecessary worries I gave myself).
The Chung Divers=)
Since years ago, we have been mentioning about learning diving. However, our schedules always clashed, it was seemingly impossible to find a common free slot. Then we talked about just learning separately, but for some reason, none of us got down to it. FINALLY, I guess it was just the time that all three of us really wanted the license bad, so we made the supposedly impossible happen. And I am so glad I got to do this with my sisters!! *WIDE SMILE*
LOVE my monster~
I am truly lucky to have a bf who actually shares a same interest as me. So I know, we have at least one thing in common!!hehe.. Besides the usual movies, shoppings, parties, etc..this was something different that we did together. One very sweet and memorable experience=)
Alicia is a diver.
We have all graduated!
I thoroughly enjoyed myself during this weekend getaway..It was literally; eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, eat, sleep..and then the cycle repeats..Now I totally get it when they say diving does not make you lose weight, even though its so tiring. Actually its the lifestyle of a diver that forbids the weight loss!!hohoho..on the brighter side, it equalises out, the large amount of food you take in balances the huge amount of calories you burn. at least I HOPE SO!! =)
I can only go deeper, there is no turning back!
Toodles~
Labels: family, friends, I, me, scuba-diving
♥ silence fall upon
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9:53 PM