Koh Samui, Thailand

14th November 2007
I & mom took the 11.15 AirAsia flight to Penang. Thinking that flight delay would be possible, I book for the 11.15 am trip instead of 2.15 pm trip. With that, we have to wait at Penang airport for 4 hours before boarding on Firefly flight to Koh Samui at 4 pm. I did think of lazing at Batu Feringgi since we had an ample of time but I was kinda shocked when the trip to Batu Feringgi from airport would be RM60 per way. Bloody hell..that is expensive enough. Damn bored waiting, and doing nothing at all. Time was ticking slowly but finally, we checked-in and lepak2 at Nando's, until the boarding time.
The journey to Koh Samui from Penang took 1 hr and 20 minutes by Firefly. Well, I dunno whether it's my nasal problem or not but the cabin smells funny. Tried to ignore the unpleasant smell and enjoy the trip. I was worried with the weather because at this point of time, Koh Samui is facing the monsoon season which I really hate it. Not to say I didn't do the study about Koh Samui, it's just that the information in the internet were deceiving, unlike the information given about East-Coast of Malaysia which is very clear about the weather. I only knew that Koh Samui is in monsoon a few days before departure, and that was told by a friend from Malaysianunderwater.com.
When we arrived Samui airport, rain fell heavily but just for a few minutes. No sun at all and this had ruined my mood. We took a cab to Centara Villa Samui, which is located at Tambon Maret, southern part of Samui, and that took around 30 minutes. This resort is located at a very secluded area. Generally, Samui has such a narrow road system, and that was why it took some time to get to the resort. Believe it or not, Samui was declared as disaster due to flood a few days before we arrive. There were still remaining of the stagnant water from the flashflood. We arrived around 5.30 local time. The resort was just superb but the problem was, since I came with my mom, there were a lot of stair cases.The staff were really friendly. We were treated with a welcome drink...delicious yummy young coconut with some pandan flavor. We got in to our room and relax. At night, we had dinner at Reef Restaurant. The choices of food are very limited so I just had toasted breads with tomato soup. While mom had grilled Barracuda and tomato soup. If the next time I met with Barracudas, I would say to them ' Ur flesh sucks!!'. Really, Barracuda flesh is not delicious at all...yuckksssss...mackerel & tuna are 10 times better. And the price...well..2 tomato soups, 1 grilled barracuda, 1 mango juice and 1 pineapple juice, cost us 850 Baht..around RM86...bloody expensive.
15 November 2007
Woke-up earlier hoping that I can go diving, or at least snorkeling at the nearby island, Koh Matsun or Angthong Marine Park. I went to the resort sports centre and it was not opened yet. It was too hot after it was raining heavily in the morning. Nothing much to do so I just stroll along the beach. Out of nowhere, 2 stray dogs came & I got panic. Bloody dogs!!! My mom remind me not to run, or else they would run after me. So I simply went into the water, and my pario got wet. I thought one of the dog would never follow me into the water but it just approached me. I lift my hand, and the dog ran away...Agaknye anjing2 ni x pernah nampak org pakai tudung kot...huhu...sebab tu laa dia jakun..pathetic!!! And as for my mom, the 2 dogs followed her until she got lost in the resort itself.Wakakakaka....I told her to chase the dog but then, dia buat toye jerr!! One of the dogs were bloody and wounds everywhere..very disgussing!!
I was so disappointed because the dive centre in the resort was in renovation, or maybe no longer in operation. Then we got to the resort reception to get some information. At the end, we went to the butterfly garden opposite the resort. Butterfly park in Kuala Lumpur is 100 times better with more butterflies and variety is colors and sizes. Half an hour later, we went to Lamai, to have our lunch..of course at the Muslim restaurant. We got there by the resort cab (Toyota Wish..huhu..) and we paid 550 Baht per way. Bloody expensive for 10-15 minutes journey from the resort. We had our lunch and as I expected, Thai Muslims (refering to the cooks) never fail to serve us with good, delicious and halal food. The foods are cheap as compared to the resort. I even tapau fried rice so that I wouldn't feel hungry while isolating in the room. What a boring day!! After lunch, we got back to the resort. Mom wanna buy some fruits so we stop a few minutes at the town. She managed to get mangoes and she complained they are very expensive.
There is one village at Koh Samui, i.e Hua Thanon village, where the residents are mainly Muslims. It's quite near to the resort and there is a big mosque...the only mosque in Samui perhaps.
I did nothing during the day so I just stay in the room and mom went to the SPA. She really enjoyed the trip..i guess!!
16 November 2007
Nothing much to do..nothing much to see..I just waited for the departure back to Malaysia. It was really a terrible trip for me..no diving...no snorkeling...no tours...4.40 pm, fly back to Malaysia. Well, I would come back some other time to witness the true beauty Koh Samui at the right time, and not during monsoon.

Pulau Payar, Kedah, Malaysia

A day trip to Pulau Payar is really worth going and it is fun too. This place is the only place in Malaysia where it has platform, meant for diving preparation and snorkeling. And there is no chalet or resorts, thus nobody is allowed to stay overnight on this island. By 6 pm everyday, visitors have to leave the island. I went to Pulau Payar by taking a midnight bus to Butterworth. Bus fare is around RM24.10.
The journey took around 4.5 hours. I have nothing to do at all since it is too early in the morning, and there is barely any building at the bus station. A bit worried since I’m alone. Just ensure that I sit at places with a number of ‘can be trusted people’. How I wish he was with me during the trip. I forgot to bring any books for reading and I just sat there doing nothing. Around 5.15 am, I went to the jetty to take the earliest ferry to Penang. I just love to experience this situation. No place, except Penang, with a huge ferry services that can even transport vehicles to the other side of land. It took around 10 minutes only to get to Penang from Butterworth by the ferry. So around 5.30, again I just wondering around, and sat at the bus stop hoping that time would run faster.
The next destination is to get to Swetenham jetty, which is less than 1 km distance from the Penang jetty. I was thinking of going there at the moment I arrived Penang, but the street is bloody dark and I don’t want to take the risk of getting kidnapped, robbed or snatched. Huhu…remain at bus stop until 6.45 am. I walked and stopped whenever I feel like to do so until I reached Swetenham jetty. I just love Penang. It is a unique place and no wonder why tourists/foreigners love to go there.
Waited for Feer, and yayyy…finally my new diver friends arrived Azura, Casey & Lena. It’s good to know people and make new friends. We boarded on the 8.30 ferry to Langkawi, which it would stop over at Pulau Payar to drop passengers. It took around 1 hr 30 minutes to get to Pulau Payar. We rest at the deck instead of in the cabin, just to feel the seabreeze and fresh air (though traces of smoke were present). Around 10 am, we arrived Pulau Payar, embarked at the platform and secured a table for us. Mr. Rahim, the host of Pulau Payar, gave some introduction and reminders to all visitors. He is damn hilarious.
Then, we gear up and did the snorkeling to warm up. Casey was instructing Zura so the divers for this day were me, Lena & Feer. There is a 1 meter long Barracuda wandering nearby the platform. The only Barracuda there…alone….lonely…huhu…kesian plak tgk Barracuda tu. I thought all Barracudas are silver in color but this one…gold. Very nice and very big…old enough. At first, I was worried that it might attack me..hehe…Barracudaphobic., but it just stayed there, not moving much…. still, didn’t dare enough to approach it. Other attractions, presence of Moorish Idol…haha…a type of fish I really love to look at…a lot in Pulau Payar, but not at other islands. Larytail wrasse, Sargeant Majors… everywhere. I don’t know how to describe in words. You wanna see it, you gotta go there. Lovely..
1st diving was at Coral Garden and Japanese Garden. The initial plan was to descend at Coral Garden, and ascend at Japanese Garden. But since the was bloody strong current, we couldn’t proceed to Japanese Garden. Visibility was so-so but I felt like crying because there are a lot of beauties that really impressed me. Fishes, of course pelagic, move in flocks and I think more than 300 fishes per flock. Corals…subhanallah.. Purple and white soft-corals grow undisturbed. A big grouper…called ‘kerapu panau’ was also seen. Ahh…forgot to mention our divemaster, Shah. Haha.. there was a panic time…and funny too. We (I & Lena) got panic because we got trapped in the strong current where we thought that Shah would unable to find us. And the funny thing is that, we were at the same place, didn’t go any further and stayed together just above him while we saw he dived deeper, further from us. Maka terkapai2lah kami melihat divemaster kami menyelam ke sane ke mari mencari dua ikan duyung yang comel…wakakaka. If he just looked at the surface direction, he would have seen us earlier without getting tired finding us here and there. A lesson to be learnt, never leave your buddy behind and always stay together when got stucked in current. Don’t panic!! First time diving with Lena, we managed to establish a good buddy co-operation. I will always remember ‘I hold u, u hold me’. When our divemaster found us, he totally held us together and didn’t let us dive away from him. Thanks a lot to him for being our rescuer. That current occurs at the interchange of Coral Garden and Japanese Garden. I wonder what are the things present at Japanese Garden. Well, past is past…I will surely visit these sites again, hopefully with milder current and much2 better visibility.
After the 1st dive, we got back to the platform, detach the gear from the emptied tank and re-attach with a filled tank. Then, I had lunch and the food…marvelous. Worth paying RM280 because all I can eat. Sounds great but who on earth wants to eat until bloated prior to next diving? Throw up..that’s for sure..
2nd divesite was at Kaca, a site where sharks (Black Tip) are present. We found 2-3 Black Tip sharks but damn f*** because I couldn’t snap any photos of those sharks. Not because my digicam was damaged, but I was suddenly ascended unintentionally & didn’t realize. Deflated my BCD a.s.a.p but damn, I couldn’t get down. I was pulled downward and when that happened, was unstable. And added with the ‘Sharkophobic’ (huahuahua…pandai2 je buat term sendirik!!!), I forgot to change my digicam mode. It was a catastrophy I guess…really frustrated. The sharks circled us several times and I should have taken the chances to snap several pictures of sharks. Besides sharks, we should have visited a wreck but since the visibility was bad, it’s not worth going there. Like Coral Garden, Kaca also has numerous fishes moving in big groups and smaller fishes were seen surrounding the corals. Looked for nudibranches too. Well, there is 1 or 2 nudes, typically the genus Phyllidiella sp.
Finally, got back to the platform and it’s time to pack things up. Feer and Lena went for another snorkeling. I just relaxed and looked at all the shots taken during the dives. Changed attire and visited the underwater chamber present at the platform. Here I could see the Barracuda clearly with all fishes inhabiting around the platform. Nice!! At 3.30 pm, jumped in to the ferry and that’s it. A bit tired but satisfying enough though a short trip. Hoping that I will have the chance to go there again. Insya Allah….Arrived Swetenham jetty, naik kereta Feer ngan Zura n kereta Feer plak naik ferry…hehe.. g Butterworth to send me to the bus station. Got the 7 pm ticket to KL…and chow!! Thanks to all … gonna miss u all..

Northern Thailand; Chiang Mai &Chiang Rai a little bit of Laos.. Thailand

My 3rd time to Thailand, has proven that there are major differences between Malaysia & Thai. But let me just keep the differences aside because most Malaysians are sensitive to critics. Well..it took around 3 hours flight from KL to Chiang Mai. We were supposed to depart at 8.15 but got an SMS from AirAsia a day before informing the delay. We departed at 10.20 pm...(by the way, 'we' are my mom, her Swedish friend, Neide and...of course..me). Arrived at Chiang Mai International Airport, we jumped in to a taxi straight to Suriwongse Hotel, a 3 star hotel but looks as though it is more than 3 starsss. One thing I love about Thailand, no matter how many stars  hotels they have, they are always very comfortable for accomodation. The taxi fare from the airport to the hotel is 120 Baht. Then, we had our lunch at a Chinese-Muslim restaurant, the food was yummy!!
Our programs on the 1st day, visit to Wat Pra That Doi Suthep (Doi Suthep temple) or known as Golden Temple. Everything looks gold, the statues, the umbrellas, the monuments, but no idea whether they are pure gold and gold plated. This is the temple where the King of Thailand would go if he visits Chiang Mai. Pictures, pictures and pictures here.

Later, went to Jade factory and observed how jades are processed. I didn't know there is purple jade. Huhu...felt like buying a jade ring but that was not in my traveling budget.

At night, went to the Night Bazaar just in front of the hotel. I guess, mom made the right choice to stay in Chiang Mai. Everything was easy for us there. I just couldn't resist to do the shopping. Bought a few pieces of shawl and carved soaps. I tried to polish my bargaining skills but I couldn't do any better. Still need my mom to get the cheapest price for me. We surveyed the price for massage service at massage centres that we had passed, planning to get some massage before going back to Malaysia


On the 2nd day, it was a long journey. Really really long. We went to Chiang Rai, Mae Sai and Laos. Chiang Rai is 3 1/2 hours journey from Chiang Mai. We chartered an airport taxi to get to Chiang Mai. Our taxi driver, Jo, was strong enough to do the driving. Sometimes felt pitty for him but actually, he used to do lots of drivings from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai.
We visited a temple...I can't remember it's name. It looks like a white temple and it was built with a cost of 300 million Baht. It has such a beautiful design. And I almost pissed off when my mom's digicam couldn't function, running out of battery. I forgot to charge those batteries (when the digicam is not mine, I don't really concern about charging the batteries) If I had my digicam, this wouldn't happen. So we had to rely on Neide's digicam.

Later, we continued the journey to Mae Sai, to visit the union of hill tribes. There are 5 tribes and the name that I can recall, Karen tribe, Ahka tribe and Lao Min-Yuen tribe. The most popular is the Karen tribe where they have the long neck

Next, we headed to Mai Chen, where the Mekong river is located. The current looked strong because it is rainy season in Northern Thailand. We decided to take a small boat to cross the river and get to Laos, another country next to Thailand. That small boat didn't look secure enough but the locals know better whether it is safe or not. Neide seemed to doubt the safety and she almost decided not to go. Mom convinced her and at last, she joined us. Around 20 minutes, we embarked from the boat at the riverbank of Laos. Did some shopping there. They have this kind of whisky called 'snake whisky'...Well, snakes or scorpions were being preserved in bottles. Yucckkkksssss...I asked the boatman if the whisky is dangerous but he replied, it makes a man stronger...well..whatever..aphrodisiacs I guess...

After the shopping in Laos, we returned to the boat and headed to Golden Triangle where we can see the association of 3 countries, Burma (Myanmar), Laos and Thailand. Golden Triangle was famous for the plantation of Poppy plant, and used to be the largest opium production in Asia...or perhaps, in the world. Now, there's no more poppy plant though there are some hidden places where poppy is still being planted...my assumption anyway...Went to the opium museum and gained info about the history and things related to opium productions.

Then we had our lunch at Chiang Rai, at a Muslim restaurant, really nice Thai food. We had it quite late, around 3 pm local time. After lunch, we went to the Northern most part of Thailand, which is the borderline of Myanmar. These 2 countries are separated by a river..I forgot the name of the river. Pitty for the Burmese, especially the children, they were begging for some money but I couldn't give any.
Once I give, then there would be crowds of children approaching me for money. It's a common phenomenon there. Finally, we got back to ChiangMai around 5, and arrived at 9...It was raining and dark on the way back to Chiang Mai.

On the 3rd day, we went to Maesa Elephant Camp. I really love this place because they have lots of elephants and they are so cute especially the young elephants. We are allowed to feed the elephants with bananas and sugar canes only and that can be purchased at a price of 20 Baht. They seemed to eat all the time. Then we watch the elephants bathed at the river. Just love to look at the jumbos, manja btul...mcm baby. The best part was the elephant show. Very nice and very impressive because the elephants are taught how to play football, how to paint (their paintings are 10 times better than mine) and they are very obedient to their 'masters'. Good elephants...If anybody wants to visit this camp, I would like to suggest that you snap as many pictures with the elephants as you can BEFORE the show. Not after the show because the elephant masters would demand for tips for each picture taken with their jumbos. 
Next, went to Bai Orchid, an orchid farm. Many orchids but not as many that we have in Malaysia. Just wondering why most of the orchids are in purple by right orchids are available in many colors, single or double-blended color

s.

Nothing much to see and not worth buying the souvenirs here. Then, had our lunch at a restaurant near the hotel. Then we went to Borsang where the Sa paper industries are centred here. The famous place for umbrella making is located in San Kampaeng, very near to Borsang. Things are quite expensive here but much cheaper than at the airport. About Sa paper, it is made up of mulberrybark. We have some products made of Sa paper in Malaysia but of course, they are expensive.

Got back to the hotel and rest, later went for wimming at the hotel pool for 1/2 hour.Around 7 local time, went to the night bazaar and massage. I got a foot massage and Thai massage. Oh my goodness, I felt my bone cracking because of that Thai massage. I think next time I would go for Oil Massage.That is better I think. And after the massage, did some shopping for a few minutes and got back to the hotel. Last day, nothing much because we are out of time to go anywhere or do anything. Checked out and left for the airport early. At 1.20 local time, we departed to KL and that's it...byebye Chiang Mai!!

Pulau Tioman, Pahang, Malaysia

This month entry...about Tioman. Well, I went with several friends from IIUM Kuantan (Nana, Naha, Onah and Not) and departed from Kuantan around 7.15. We took the ferry to Tioman from Tg. Gemok because it is nearer to Kuantan compared to Mersing jetty, about 1/2 hour difference. We should have boarded on the 9 am ferry but since we arrived a lil bit late, 10-15 minutes, we missed that ferry and boarded on 12 noon ferry. Damn..if I kept my mobile in my pocket, we would have departed earlier. The company which we made the ticket booking, have called me but I didn't answer it. The journey took about 2 hours and I got dizzy due to this long journey. The air-cond was really freezing my skull and that worsen the condition. I think it would be ok if it was a bit warmer.


We embarked at Tekek Village jetty. I had no idea that there was constructions at Tekek. They are building a new and big jetty where many catamarans, boats and ferries can be parked there. But it was such a disappointment because we were unable to stroll along the beach near. I was thinking of escaping from inhaling carbon monoxide and all the unpleasant smells expelled from the heavy vehicles but it seemed that I have to bare with it. We checked-in at Peladang Tioman chalet, good chalet, good facilities (near to shops, dive centre, duty free and of course, the jetty) and very reasonable price. One good thing about this chalet, they don't deal with agents and that was why we got a very cheap rate. Pointer, walk-in bookings are much much encouraged if u r a budget traveller. Do not ever attempt to book through the 3rd party a.k.a internet as you will end-up with disappointment. And make sure if you want to enjoy lots of things, it's better to check the facilities and transports available at the village that you are going to stay at. We were about to stay at Tioman Beauty Beach Resort, at Lanting Village, but luckily I realized that this place does not have proper facilities and it is very difficult to go to other places from here.


After checking-in, we rested for awhile and around 5.00, we went to Marine Park just to wet ourselves. It was quite a distant to walk from Peladang Tioman to Marine Park...1.5 km I guess. Along the way, I was thinking that Marine Park would have a blue, clear water with corals and marine lives but I was totwlly wrong. The water was damn cloudy and there was nothing I could observe. And a bit dirty as well. In my opinion, this place used to be a good place to bath or rilex but due to that major construction at the jetty, everything was gone. And another factor is, it was the interchange of monsoon season and caused the sea to be choppy and caused the particles or sediments to rise to the surface. But it's ok for this time because we went at the wrong time. How bad it was, I shouldn't blame or complaint too much. Realizing that it wasn't our luck to look at the beauty of Marine Park, I just enjoyed myself and have fun with my friends. At least I was able to go away from the crowds and noises and tiring life of KL. That is much much better.


When sun started to hide itself, we made our way back to chalet and bathed. After bathing with clean water, we went to The Zon, a duty free shop which is less than 50 m from our chalets. Not much to shop but I bought several fridge magnets. A few minutes later, we return to our chalet and rest. Around 9 pm, we had our dinner at a restaurant near the chalet. Very simple meal but enough to relieve the hunger after seabathing. Not so pricey either.


The next day, we went snorkeling (Nana, Onah and Not)and diving (me, Naha) at Pulau Rengis and Soyak. Before that, we dropped at East Divers to register and set up our diving equipments. First dive at Pulau Rengis, well..not bad. It was a 'disaster' when my cheap mask kept on fogging and I really hate that. Very uncomfortable and I should have used other mask.And the fu**in shit was that, my digicam got damaged while trying to capture some pictures down there. But whatever bad things happened to me, I was so happy to see friendly batfishes swimming near us. 3 times the size of my palms, each. Naha said one of the batfishes was drunken because it was swimming upside down. Hehehe.I realized that too. I was hoping to see some Moray eels or turtles but nothing. Visibility was not that good...4-5 m only. And not much clownfishes but they have many hardcorals though at some part, a small portion of corals were dead. 40 minutes later, we ascended and back to East Divers. For my other 3 friends, they almost regret because they didn't bring the breads to feed the fishes but at least they fill the time with something fun. The moral of the story, whenever u wanna go snorkeling, bringing some breads is a must. Heheh..


Around 2.30, we went diving and snorkeling at Soyak. Water was rough and a bit tiring for people like me. I love Soyak because they have lot of Nudibranches. This time, I saw the species that I have not seen at Perhentian, Tenggol or Kapas. This was a satisfaction for me. I found some at the rocks and some at the sea floor. If I have my digicam, I would have taken some pictures of those nudes...huwaaaa....sedey...sedey...Forgot one thing, we had more companies joining our 2nd dive..I think they are from CoRal Malaysia...5-6 of them. And after the dive, we went back to the beach and guess what...the water was so rough, bumpy, choppy..whatever...I felt like riding on a roller-coaster or like Nana said, riding a sea-horse...ehehehehe..just imagine that u r riding a while horse...I think more or less the same thing when riding on a boat at a wavy water surface. I thought I would get nausea or something but thank God, I was fine though I could sense body imbalance movement after the ride....ahakkss...


After the water activities, we stop over at the nearby restaurant and had cendol, ABC, banana fritters and keropok lekor...really yummy and made our tummy full too. Chit chatting, quarreling and teasing each other were the activities while having the hi-tea...Later, we went back to the chalet, bathed and rested. I started to feel cramps on my abdoment. Yeahh...lady's time. Thank God it was after the divings. At nite, they went for dinner but I stayed in the chalet as I didn't want the cramp to trouble myself or other people. They came back from dinner and we lepak in front of the chalet, chit chatting until midnite.


3rd day, we went kayaking. 1 hour, RM30 for one kayak. Quite ok..but I thought it would be like RM10. No complaint about that. One kayak, me & Nana, the other kayak, Naha & Not. It was nice to see some corals down there but the Booby Traps dominated that area. Not much fishes but the water clarity ws good enough to make me jump from the kayak into the water...but didn't do it though. After half n hour, we return the kayak and bath...yippie...1/2 hour to 12, we mae a move to our chalet, bath and pack our stuff.


Hoping that the ferry had not arrived yet to the jetty, we walked quickly and 10 minutes after 12 noon, we arrived the jetty and...a boy monitoring the ferry passengers told us the ferry had already boarded. Hampehhh...punctual lh sgt..so we took a 2 pm ferry to Tg. Gemok. while then, we had lunch and chit chatting again. The ferry only arrived at 2.30. Lambatlh pulak...so we lepak at the jetty and fed the fishes with whatever food we had left. Really enjoyed and funny too when looking at the fishes struggling for pieces of food.


Tata Tioman..

Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu

Issskk....liat btul rasa nk update blog bile masa terhad n mood swing. Hmmm...apapn, kena share gak experience aku dgn sume2. Well, this was my 2nd time to Perhentian. The 1st was in 2006 with Irah, Azrin n Azrin's dad. And this time, I went there with my hunny, Maniza n her hunny jugak..ehehe..We went to Besut using the East West hiway...xdelaa hiway mane pn sbb jln kiri kanan hutan....If u r lucky enough, u'll see the wild jumbos crossing the roads. But we weren't able to meet one. The journey to Besut jetty from Tronoh took about 6 hours. We arrived at 3 am and we slept in the car...not sleeping at all due to attack by the mosquitoes..except for Remy. He didn't really care about the presence of the blood suckers.
14th July, we went to Perhentian by a speed boat at 7 am. The water was quite choppy though it was still early of the day. About 30 minutes, we arrived Perhentian Kechil and headed to Chempaka chalet. Rm30 per night..very cheap but those who couldn't withstand the conditions of that 'shrieking shack', it's better not to book this kind of accomodation. We rested, while waiting for our rooms to be cleaned up, at Spice Divers. We were lucky to get the early check-in. Straight away changed our attire and prepared for our divings. We were briefed by Madeleine, a young Germany girl, who is actually a SCUBA instructor. 1st dive would be at Tabir Batu or in English, Rock Curtain. This site is nice and the water visibility is good. As usual, all typical n popular marine fishes were seen. Corals are damn colorful and beautiful. I was looking for nudes and sluts..I mean, the nudibranches and the seaslugs, but couldn't find any. I think there were many nudibranches and slugs at Rock Curtain, but it was just that my mask lense kept on fogging. I really got mad because I have applied a thick layer of anti-fog.At this site, I manage to see Blue-spot stingray, Nemo,brown-marbled groupers, yelow-tailed barracudas, big-eyed snappers, batfishes, blue-ringed angelfishes and Red-breasted fishes. I couldn't bring my digicam as we dived to the depth of 16 meters.
For the 2nd dive, we went to Terumbu Tiga, or Three Reefs. While on the boat, I could see that this place would give me some problems. I felt like vomiting..almost having nausea. No idea why but I still wanted to do the diving. Upon descending, of course I had to deflate my BCD...until all air was out from the BCD, I realized that I couldn't descend. I forced my self to swim down but remembering that would create painful sensation to my ears, I tried to control breathing. It was no use because I still couldn't descend. En. Zainal, our divemaster, pulled me and then he gave me a weight. Struggling to descend itself caused me to use up 50 bar of pressure. The problem was, I didn't put enough weight and that caused me positively buoyant instead of neutrally buoyant. And the worst thing ever happened to me was, I couldn't do diving that well because of the strong current down there. I couldn't see the current, but I could feel it. Thank God I have that Atomic fins which helped me a lot to face the strong current. At that point of time, I made up my mind that I would try not to dive at a strong current site. For those who love thrill, drift diving is very fun, but can be very dangerous, or fatal sometimes, if u have the inability to use the drifting skills. But if next time I happen to dive in strong current, I'll just try to get out from the current. Actually, more varietie of marine creatures we can see when there's current, and the water visibility is much better. At last, I could see nudibranch and I just love looking them.The fun was only for a short while when current was getting stronger and I was running out of air. Before out of air, it's better to ascend. En. Zainal brought me to the surface, swim to the boat, detach all equipments and got onto the boat. I was too tired and headache and felt like vomiting. Drank a lot of water to replenish all the water loss. Do't ever think that when u r diving, you won't get dehydrated. It was quite a tiring day but it was worth with all those experiences facing the current and increased glycolytic rate in my body.
15th July 2007, our 2nd day started with diving at Temple of the Sea, a.k.a Tokong Laut. The boat ride from Perhentian Kechil to Tokong Laut took quite a some time. Along the ride, I kinda worried if I had to face another strong current like the day before. But tried to possess positive thinking by telling myself, just do it!! After 20-25 minutes, we arrived Tokong Laut. All I can say, Masya Allah...the water is very clear that we can almost see the bottom surface and that was 12 meters deep. Wowww....baby jellyfishes were numerous, as if welcoming us to Tokong Laut..or perhaps, welcome to taste my stings...:p...I wasn't worry too much because those lil squishies were still young and their sthings wouldn't harm at all, unless those who has very sensitive skin. While descending, I had this strange feeling...a feeling of happiness eternally...yaikksss...There were so many things to see..Moray eel, lionfish, turtle, seaslug, pufferfishes, nudibranches, big Blue-ringed angelfishes, a shark,...just name it. I was soooo happy to see a green turtle. It was alone looking for food beneath the corals. Remy pulled my hand to approach the turtle but I didn't want to touch or approach it because it would run away if I do so. And at that point of time, I cursed myself for not bringing the digicam along. No housing, no photograph for more than 10 meters. Visibility was excellent, in addition to the wise-thing-to-do-to-change-the-mask. Before that, I saw a shark, but not a complete one, as I able to see only a part of it's body and tail..but not its face. It was hiding wihtin the corals. A shy type I guess. And that lionfish, it was a small one. Where was its friends? And I saw this one small seaslug, blue in color and taking the pattern of batik. I hoped to see more colorful nudes and sluts..oppss..I meant nudibranches and seaslugs. Blue-ringed angelfishes were 5 times larger than my palm and they moved like 4 in group. And they seem didn't bother our presence and enjoyed their meals on the reefs.
In the evening, we dived at D'lagoon. Vis not that good, nothing much to see but there were several attractions, larger-than-me giant stingray, nudibranches, shrimps and beautiful coral garden. It was the worst dive for me because I got stung by a type of sea plant (or maybe a type coral). Looks can be deceiving. Well...while looking at those shrimps, I placed my hand near that organism just to let the shrimps approach my palm. Unfortunately, I forgot to put on my glove. And when my two fingers touched that plan, I felt a burning sensation..or maybe, it was like somebody poured concentrated acid on my fingers. I pulled my fingers away from that thing. It was very painful and I have to hold on it until ascend.
16th July, last day in Perhentian. We dived at Iron Cape..well not much to see but they have more triggers and sweetlips as compared to other places. Sadly, many dead and damaged corals over there. Something must be done to preserve and conserve them.

Pulau Kapas, Terengganu

23-24 June 2007
It was a sunny morning when we arrived Kapas. Check-in time is a t 2 pm but since we had to wait for several hours, we changed our attire and enjoy snorkeling. There was almost nothing we could see except a few half alive corals & some fishes..& 'oysters'..This was because, we went to the wrong site for snorkeling...hehe...Didn't feel disappointed though because we believed there would be nice sites to explore in Kapas.
After a few minutes of snorkeling, we changed and had our lunch...then check in... Changed again to proper attire and got prepared to dive. At 2.55, we started our 1st diving at Southern Tip of Pulau Kapas. Unfortunately, it started to rain and it was not really a pleasant diving because it affected the visibility of environment underneath. I had problem to descend because I used less weight than I supposed to use. But of course, our divemaster, En. Azam, helped us a lot. Hmm...almost panic because the starting depth is like 10m...so nothing I could see..even the bottom. Descend slowly, at last I saw the bottom surface & started to get excited. Yippieee...there are lots of hard corals and typical marine fishes like parrot fishes and that rainbow fishes...My buddy snapped some pictures but we didn't really satisfy with most of the pictures..but it was ok for beginners like us.
There were so many anemones where Nemoss live. Tried to look for nudibranches as well but I couldn't see any because of my cheap mask...it fogged easily though I applied anti-fog to it. My buddy told me he saw Morray eel but I couldn't see that cute and unique creature. Hoping that I could see a sea-turtle but..again...no turtle...Really loved the moment where a group of fishes surrounded us but suddenly I got headache. We dived for 35 minutes & ascend to the surface...Dark clouds and tears dropped while we hoped on the boat.
Back to our chalet & rest...I got headache and it was because I tried to constraint my breathing and caused air spaces in my body. I should have breathed normally..shooossshhh....what a big mistake!! But there is cure when someone happened to face this, go back to the water, snorkel, dive, bath...or whatever...then he/she will feel better. That's the healing power of the sea. So, my buddy suggested that we go for snorkeling. This time, we walked along the beaches and asked people the locations of nice snorkeling site. We almost fail to find a good spot but to avoid disappointment, we simply got into water, with our fins on, swimmed blindly and thank God, we found it. There are beautiful corals...alive & dead...and oucchhh...sea-urchins...why was that thing appear when we tried to appreciate the beauty? I admit...I'm afraid of sea-urchins...it's like a Booby trap and I just didn't want to suffer because of that black, thorny creature. But remembering that is heir place, so I tried my best not to hate them too much by saying 'hello mate!!'..hehe.. There were also clownfishes but not the same as Nemo...we call it Tomato clownfish because the color is just like a tomato. And our luck, we spotted a Blue-spot ray looking for food at the dead corals...How lovely it was...

The next day, went for diving at Coral Garden. Descended at 5m deep and explored that place. Marvellous...beautiful...butterfly fishes, damsels, clownfishes, pufferfishes, tubeworms and other creatures were present. Captured videos at this site and I just loved to look for more corals and fishes. I thought I could never see any barracuda, but our way up, several barracudas pass through our group. Unfortunately, they passed through just to say 'hello!'..huhu...Almost forgot, I realized that I can control buoyancy better and this time,on my own..Always remember, once u r possessed by beauty of the sea, u'll tend to forget everything...so, to be safe, I always look for my diving buddies and divemaster should I feel I'm away from the group.
When it starts, the end must come. So...gotta say bye2 to Kapas island and the crews of Dive Terengganu...but it's not the end because, one day, we will come again to explore other dive sites in Kapas Island...so long..Cotton Island

Pulau Tenggol, Terengganu, Malaysia (PADI Open Water Course)

25th May 2006,
Nothing much..we departed to Dungun at 10.30 pm

26th May 2007,

We arrived Dungun and relaxed at D Molek Inn and had breakfast there. We met out instructor, Mr. Bryan Knight...like Bryan McKnight ehh...then, at 10.30, we hoped in to a boat to Tenggol Island. It took 1 1/2 hour to arrive. I got that so-called 'tanning' while on the boat..sat at the deck along the trip and exposed myself under the UV light just to avoid inhaling excessive carbon monoxide from the boat exhaust.
At noon, we arrived and checked-in at Tenggol Aqua Resort. We changed to swimming attire. We were given a briefing about SCUBA by Bryan and learnt to setup the SCUBA equipment. Then we got into the water and dive to a depth of 3 meters...Wow...I love those corals and fishes...with the sunlight penetrating and everything looks lively. We dived 2 times and the problem with me was, difficult to establish neutral buoyancy..Luckily I didn't really damage the corals though I landed on the coral beds twice or thrice.


27th May 2007,

We went to the turtle point but couldn't find any turtle. But it didn't matter so much because the beauty underneath has unshaded the disappointment of not being able to observe a turtle. Fishes were so beautiful. I found several anemone with Nemos at several spots. The Nemos are just like the clowns..ahakkss...looked friendly but actually they were saying 'Go away..don't disturb us'..I just loved to see the colorful of the corals, tubeworms, nudibranch and other rarely seen coral fishes. And definitely I didn't expect to see any shark.
28th May 2007,
Today, I improved my diving skills and I was in the water for almost 45 minutes..and then my tank was running out of air. This time was the real diving where the beauty of Tenggol underwater was much much more revealed.We dived at the turtle point again. This time, we got the chance to touch the 'touchable' marine life such as a species of sea-cucumber, tube worms, soft corals, anemones, again...Nemos..and others. There were even purple corals...damn i didn't bring my digicam along to get a few snaps of pictures. Nevermind, Tenggol is a worth place to go and dive again. And we planned to go to Tenggol again, next month.
29th May 2007,
We woke up, had our breakfast and exam. We planned to dive one more before we check-out but time didn't permit us to do so and it was quite disappointing.Thought of extending another night but it was not a good option because somewhat expensive. Well, about the exam, we passed the exam and we were given temporary license. At 12.45, we went off and it was very unpleasant to leave Tenggol island. Gonna miss Bryan, pakcik Jamil, Salim, Vaza and the rest.

Pulau Pangkor, Perak, Malaysia

Tadaaa....this was my 2nd time 2 Pangkor. The 1st time was like 3 years back. The difference was, I camped at Pangkor instead of staying in the hotel. I went with him. Only for 2 days 1 night because the holiday was damn short..during Labor Day and Wesak Day.
I have not been for camping for years...too long. The last when I was in my 1st degree year...And last few days, I managed to go camping. It was quite funny when we didn't bring all the essential equipments such as insect repellant, blades, mugs and sunscreen...pheww...just look at me!!I'm tooo dark...not tan..but dark...huhu...I need to consult the beautician and do the facial thingy...arrgghhh...We asked the taxi cum van driver to take us to the camping site. Then we set up the tent and unloaded our stuff. I cooked Maggi for lunch because we haven't had anything since morning..Damn..the pan iss too small...and I forgot to buy eggs..Taste would be better when you cook Maggi with eggs. Then we went for bathing..no such thing as sunbathing for both of us because we are 'tan' enough for that...ahakkss...Then, at 4.30 pm, we hired a motorcycle and around the Pangkor island we went. To the Dutch Fort, Historical Rock and other places. The main purpose hiring that motorcycle was too find the gas oil as fuel for our lamp but we couldn't find any. I decided to sit and have 'power' laksa while viewing the sunset but unfortunately, it was sold out...huhu..unlucky me. At night, I cooked 'jemput-jemput express ADABI'..ehehehe....obbviously...masakan org malas nk masak..what to expect more when things are not planned properly? But as long as we can eat...it should be ok.
The next day, we went for snorkeling. At first, I almost give-up with the water condition in the 1st snorkel area but then we went to another place and found that the 2nd place is much better. Muahahaaha....bye bye to those who snorkel at the crowded people. Nothing they could see and the fishes are 'reluctantly' feed their breads. As compared to Perhentian island, the corals in Pangkor are more beautiful and bigger even less than 2 metres from the shore but the the clarity of water is tenfold times clearer and more beautiful in Perhentian. And compared to Mamutik island, corals in Pangkor a bit 'alive', however in Mamutik, the fishes are more friendly :p and and the water is clearer...minimal turbidity. I didn't go to the deeper snorkel area but he went and he told me he can see many soft corals...and he even said there are purple corals as well...huwaaaa...
I can feel the stinging sensation and I wonder why. Then I realize this one Mat Salleh was telling her friend she got stung by jellyfishes..not the adult jellyfish but the 'baby' jellyfishes. I can see baby jellyfishes...they are transparent that you can barely see them. Suddenly I recalled what was said by Dory (Finding Nemo)...lil squishy..ahakkss...I couldn't stand the stinging so I went off to the shallow area and fed the fishes again. After snorkeling, we returned to the main shore. Wihout bathing 1st, we had laksa which was not so delicious as compared to the place that I initially wanted to have laksa. Just to suppress hunger, we just eat. Again, we went around Pangkor island, riding our 'bike' and this time we went south. Returned to campsite and we rest before having freshwater bath and packed our stuff. At about 3.30..we returned to Pangkor Jetty and went back to Lumut.Sadly, the environment in Pangkor is no longer preserved because it is not the same like the past 3 years. However, there are certain things that affect the environment. 1st, there were toooo many people coming to Pangkor...2nd,the beaches and snorkeling area became too crowded. I went snorkeling and I was too upset with the cloudy water and some filth. People are allowed to feed the fishies with bread but these 'sort of jerks' people fed them excessively where the pieces of breads 'scattered' and floating. I bet most people would feel uncomfortable to swim at that area and play with the fishes. 3rdly, about the safety in the snorkeling area. It is too dangerous when this area is the port for the boats to drop the passengers. Some people would prefer to snorkel without life jacket. What would happen if the boat operators do not realize there were snorkellers along their way? It is not a wise thing to allow boats to pass through the snorkeling area if they want to preserve the corals under and lives under it. Well, it's up to the locals to think what is the best for the island.