Gunung Bunga Buah, Genting Highland, Pahang

For a few weeks, I didn't manage to plan any activities until a 'Black Rose' suggested to me to climb Gunung Bunga Buah at near Genting Highland. And yes, this is my 1st time...of course after a long time, to involve in mountain climbing activity. It's really really a climbing for me. If I normally have my sweetheart as my buddy during the divings, but this time, I have Ross as my buddy. (I don't even know if there is buddy system in mountain climbing)
It's very near to KL and took only a few minutes to get there. 25 people participated and no idea who they are. Didn't do the introduction/orientation and don't bother to do so. The 1st part was to walk through a path and that wasn't a problem. Stopped at exactly the point of entry/exit of GBB. After a few minutes break, we started to climb where the steps are slippery clay and I started to worry about my shoes and clothing...hehe. As long as I'm not sliding down and bang myself to the ground, it's ok enough. This is the toughest part where I have to go uphill and downhill several times. I started to feel shooting pain on my toes and I knew this would happen. Going uphill was better though it was very exhausting. At least it wouldn't torture my knee as compared to going downhill. That time I knew that my shoes were not compatible for this type of activity and that indicates I have to look out for another shoes.
Carrying heavy load using improper rucsac is extremely an attempt to suicide....hehe...why I said that? Because I need a good and technologically manufactured rucsac or else my body won't last long. It needs a good support and even if I carry a heavy load, I won't feel the burden. And the most important is, I may not want to get knee dislocation due to the extreme body and load forces exerted on my knees while going down.
Unlike Ross, she's damn heartless because she looked very energetic all the time. Now I realize that I'm not fit enough, so what I'm going to do now is, to get fit and take a damn good care of my diet. I haven't moved around while carrying heavy load on my back before, so I think by exercising such climbing activity might help me to improve my strength.
Though the pains and tortures, it was a very beautiful day when the cool breeze blew my tired body. It's like in paradise when I look at the green foliages and heard the birds, the crickets making sounds. I have not heard such rhythm for a long time. It's very cooling and relaxing. The sense of giving up during the climbing faded away when I enjoy the nature. Now I understand why some people who practices yoga and some other 'weird' practices must have connections to the nature. Let me see...what will happen if someone 'bertapa' in the middle street of KL....hehehe...will there be any connection to the nature? Or will he/she commit suicide?...:p.
At GBB, the vegetations vary but not the fauna. I like to look at the orange moss where it is not commonly (or may not) found in the lower altitude.However, I found this one cute 'ulat bulu'. Damn big and i think if somebody accidentally touched it, he will get terrible itchiness. One funny thing about this 'ulat bulu' is that, it looks like as if it's wearing black lipstick and black mascara....wakakakaka. And remain static on the tree bark so that I can snap a picture of it.
We made a few minutes stop at Rock Garden where we could see Genting Highland clearly from that point. The whitish rocks here are covered with orange moss and they look perfectly good for photography. We also did not want to miss to take the shots of Genting Highland from that point. If I am not mistaken, Rock Garden is half-way to the peak of GBB

We reached the peak around 6.15 pm (Am I corect Ross?). Then we just lepak2, chatting with other climbers. As the sun fully set, rains came suddenly and heavily. The shelter was not fully set yet and we all got wet. While they set up the shelter, we stayed in the tent for awhile and when the shelter was ready, we moved into it. It was time for dinner, and those who are experts, cooked the dinner, and for amature/don't-even-know-how-to cook, just look at the struggling cooks. hahahaha ... I like this part. After dinner, we chit chatted a bit and went ZzZzZzZzZz...as usual, there's no way I can sleep. There was one fella snoring that night. I think all creatures in the whole GBB may have heard he snored. Sorry dude...didn't mean to insult but u should do something to cure/reduce it.
The next day, we had breakfast and started to pack our stuff. around 9.30, we descend. It was a great torture when descending. My knees could no longer manage to handle the weight of my rucsac. I felt my knees are loosening and shivering. Fortunately, the Proton team members were behind us and one of them (Ringo) carried my rucsac. While Lan, gave me some 'asam' and advice me to bring 'asam' whenever climbing the mountains. He also lend me a knee guard. I think I will have collapsed up there if I keep on carrying that unorganized rucsac. Whatever it was, I felt relief when I manage to end the journey safely though my toe nails are going off from the nail bed and my knees are weakening.
Next mountain...not yet in mind but definitely a simple one. I have to gain weight, keep fit and have own proper equipments first or else, I will face the same thing again.

Pulau Aur, Johor : 5-8 April 2008

5 April 2008

12 am- Departed to Mersing via Karak highway. I drove from KL till Gambang R&R and the rest, Remy took over. Maniza….TIDO!!!…hehehe…Passed Muadzam Shah and Nana’s house was in my mind.
6 am- Arrived Mersing and lepak2 while waiting for abang Gee and the other Aur diver clan. Around 7, board on the speedboat and chow to Pulau Aur. Took around 1 hour 30 minutes…or maybe 2 hours…can’t remember. Passed through several islands, Pulau Kecil, Pulau Besar, Pulau Tinggi and some other islands I couldn’t recall the names. By the way, met new experienced diver including my future abang ipar (Abg Gee), uncle Urchin, Ajis, Arip and Psha. Wallaaa….Psha is the youngest but didn’t think she is the youngest in the group at first. Arrived Aur, hang out at the dive centre, located at the Atlantis bay. Checked in our room. Aur is beautiful…really beautiful. Next to Aur is Pulau Dayang. Pulau Dayang looked nice in pictures. We relaxed, had lunch and started our 1st dive around noon.
1st divesite was the housereef. Ermm…sandy bottom, occasional beds of corals, mild current so did a bit of drift dive. NICE!! The nicest, manage to swim along a turtle and get a nice picture and video of it. Not that big turtle though.
Since it is impossible to state all dives in this blog, I will outline the memorable dive sites I dove in.
I remember we dove at The Pinnacles 2. Well, it was such a disastrous when Uncle Urchin was finning that fast that I almost lost my breath. Mild to strong current was there that we have to cross the current to get to the spot. I don’t know what was at the spot so I just simply follow, and of course I don’t want to be left behind. I almost give-up and planned to ascend but out of nowhere, I felt someone pulled my BCD. I guess it must be Arif. A little better though I felt like vomiting due to abrupt physiological change. Whatever it is, I didn’t really remember seeing any interesting creatures.
Other dive was at Pulau Lang. I love this site because I saw many beautiful nudibranchs, perfect for my main purpose of diving. Not only that, the sun was shining brightly that everything looked beautiful down there. I could recall the presence of colonies of Christmas Tree worms (a type of tube worm anyway). It was really nice. There was also a Mooray eel and blue-spotted stingray hiding under the within the grooves. It’s really big I tell you. The clownfishes were cute and I can say, they didn’t feel scared in the presence of divers. I played with the clownfishes and they kept on moving in and out of their ‘home’..like playing hide and seek.

Next dive was at the Rayner’s Rock. This site is cool. It was just that I couldn’t bring my digicam along because the housing safety clip got cracked, so I don’t want to risk the digicam. Due to this, I missed to snap the pictures of 2 types of colorful nudibranchs and that really ruin my day. I was a little bit moody that time so I don’t bother to look around or to look for more nudibranchs. There was mild current but didn’t affect me at all. It’s lovely to drift dive at this site.
Our nightdive was at Crocodile Rock. Sounds scary and no idea why the locals gave such name. Nightdive should be that deep but I know these guys used to dive deeper than that. It was so dark and I really got confused, got slept by somebody’s fin out of nowhere, got lost and got blurred. I was hoping to see something nice but in this condition, I’m not really in mood to explore. There was a Mooray eel which I thought cream or white in color, instead of dark brown. It was really big and I was shocked at first. Other than that, that was a fish lying on its side, on the side. It was sleeping I guess. We saw a big turtle and Remy tried to grab and dove while grabbing on it but the turtle was a little fast. I tried to capture pictures but again,it was dark and I was confused. It was disgusting to see a lot of worm-like creatures and bugs when the torch lighted the dark. Actually, I expected to see more nocturnal creatures but it was not my day.
We dove at Pulau Dayang as well where there is a wreck lying down at almost 30 m depth. It was almost sunset and it looked terrible down there. I believe it would be a lot more better when there was sunlight to assist my visual when the water visibility was not that good. But it was ok I guess.
Last but not least, we dove at Pulau Pinang. There were a lot of fishes but since I was not feel that good, I didn’t really care with the fishes or anything. I found only typical nudibranchs which I can say, I found them at almost all dive sites I went before.
This trip is awesome but will be a lot more better if I went with the right people at the right time. At least I manage to do more than 10 dives in 4 days time. RM690 was a very good deal and diving with ‘crazy’ people was just the best way to enhance and improve diving experience.

Pulau Sibuan, Mabul, Mantabuan and Sipadan, Sabah, Malaysia

9th February

Stonefish

Spanish dancer

After tutoring session at Sg. Penchala, I rushed to PWTC & parked my car at Hentian Putra to get the KTM Komuter to KL Sentral. From KL Sentral, took a bus to LCCT. Quite panic because I was afraid I couldn't check in on time. Met Bryan, Angie (Bryan's sweet & funny girlfriend) and Steve. Happy to meet Bryan. Checked-in and the plane left at 3.25 pm. Just so you guys out there to know, Bryan was my instructor (check this website out www.mrdivemalaysia.com) when I was undergoing my PADI Open Water course at Pulau Tenggol last year. By knowing Bryan, diving becomes my interest among all recreational activities.

Hypselodoris bullockii

Arrived Tawau Airport around 6.10 pm. It was dark already in Sabah. There was a guy waiting for us to pick us up to Dragon Inn which is in Semporna. It took around 40 minutes to get to Semporna from Tawau. A night at Dragon Inn with Chinese halal food at the resort itself.

10th February

Long-nosed hawkfish

Shrimp

Woke up early to make sure everything is ok before transfer to Singamata Adventures. Accomodation operated in the middle of the Semporna water. From Dragon Inn (which is actually a floating resort), we were transferred to Singamata Adventures by boat, which was only 5 minutes from the Semporna jetty. We unpacked our equipment, signed the release form, relaxed for a few minutes & then 1st dive begins. Oppss....we were not the only group in Singamata. There were a couple from Netherlands who are actually working at K.K. Dick & In...nice knowing them. Dick is funny & In is caring.

Glossodoris atromarginata

White-eyed moray eel

Chromodoris willani

Our 1st dive begins at Pulau Sibuan. A boatride from Singamata to Pulau Sibuan was really like a roller-coaster. The sea was rough but I can still remain OK. I have no idea the name of the 1st dive spot. We didn't bother to ask our Divemaster (John), but as far as we concerned, dive...and dive...and dive. For the 1st time, after couple of dives, I managed to see starfishes, here and there. Saw a very big turtle was sleeping under the coral bed. That was the biggest I've ever seen. Took the chance to snap some good pictures (Bryan did that actually). But there were some ugly pictures due to improper settings of the camera. Quite disappointed but I reminded myself, there would still be a lot more dives to do. There was a Mantis Shrip, damn beautiful and many nudibranches especially the Chromodoris sp. type. For the 1st time, I saw couples of black Frogfishes and crocodilefishes. I almost couldn't see the Frogfishes because they were well camouflaged. Either that fish moved, or somebody really showed you exactly where the fish is, then only one can really see it. And guess what, while I was trying to snap the pictures of a yellow black nudibranch, there was a seasnake coming out from a hole. Bryan pulled me away from the seasnake and we followed the seasnake to take some pictures of it. It was scary in the beginning but lovely later.
After the 1st dive, we stop over at the Sibuan Island itself. I was almost freezing and shivering. I started to get headache and I refused to have the lunch provided. No appetite to eat with this not so good condition. I drank a lot of water, hoping that the ache would subside. There was no sunshine. It was cloudy and windy. That was why I felt cold. Extreme I guess. Anyway, there were couple of natives, especially the kids, playing along the beach while trying to communicate with the divers who stopped over there. There was a little girl, sitting right in front of me, and made a gesture of "Can I have something to eat?". I felt like crying just to see how unfortunate they are...need to beg for food. I forgot that I still had my lunch untouched and I didn't give to that girl. But we got some buns, so we gave the buns to the kids. I took some pictures with them. Yeayyyy....

Mantis shrimp

After 1 hour and 30 minutes surface interval, we prepared for the next dive. At the same island but different spot. Again, I have no idea what was the name of the 2nd dive spot. For 2nd dive, I got several problems which really tortured myself. First, I got headache, 2nd, I was cold...almost hypothermic, 3rd, I felt sleepy, and 4th, I started to feel to throw up. I wouldn't want to disappoint Bryan, so I just face it and proceed with the dive. After 56 minutes, we ascend and right at the surface, I vomit...3-4 times. Everything came out from my stomach but Alhamdulillah I didn't eat any solid food, or else, it would be worse. Got into the boat and I lie down. Though the dive was quite a torture, but there are more things to see. More Nudibranches, Mooray eels and others. There were couple of animals I couldn't see, such as the lobster, the lionfishes and some types of shrimps. Maybe because I was having headache which caused me to feel unease to observe and enjoy the dive. I didn't do the 3rd dive because I was so cold and I felt not so good to do the next diving. They all went down & I stayed on the boat, wrapped in towel (thanks Angie!!), and the boatman looked after me. It was worth I didn't do the 3rd diving because Bryan said there was not much to see. We went back to Singamata and it took a shorter time to arrive. It was raining and I just couldn't describe how terrible I felt that time.

Ornate ghost pipefish

I thought there is hot shower in Singamata but there isn't one. I couldn't get myself warmer without hot shower, so after cold bath, I wrapped myself with 3 blankets and 2 towels. Hehehe....like a sick people eh? I slept until dinner was ready. And after dinner, I straight away went back to my room n zzzzzzzzzz....

11th February 2008

Sibuan Island

Good morning everybody. I woke up, hoping that the sun shines brightly. But it did not when I open the room door. Rather windy. But it's ok. I accepted whatever conditions of the day, as long as I can dive. I had breakfast and prepared for the diving.
On the 2nd day, we went diving at Pulau Mabul. I'm happy that I managed to do all 3 dives. 1st dive spot was near the Mabul-Sipadan Resort, 2nd dive was at Seaventures housereef, and the 3rd was almost near to the 1st spot (theartificial reef i guess). I could say that the 1st and 3 dives were muck dives. Well,
1st dive was awesome. I was told that there would be current down under, so we need to drift dive. I kind of scared when they mention about drift diving. It looked scary for novice diver like me. Well, it's worth trying rather than not trying at all. Around 9.30, we descent. What a world full of beauties. I saw a group of razorfish swimming nearby. They move horizontally but in vertical position. I could barely identify which was the head, which was the tail. But then, further observation did tell me which is which. We swam slowly crossing the empty seabed. I saw this small anemony with 4-5 clownfishes...I wasn't sure in which family or species those fishes are. The 2 of them were big, unlike the common size of anemony clownfish. Next, Bryan saw a sand flounder and I almost puzzled with what he was pointing at. Really good camouflaged. It was awesome creature with its eyes functioned like a submarine periscope. I think that was the only flounder I saw. We swam again, exploring, and there was a time where I really drift dive...not that extreme drift dive but it was great. Just imagine u r moving on an escalator...hehehe...Really slow but still I have to swim in the right technique. If not, I would probably be spinning around.
Besides razorfish, clownfish & flounder, there was also Mooray eel. I just like this fella. It looks fierce when I saw this creature in the pictures. But after couple of dives, I really admire it. With the help of Bryan's torchlight, I snapped some pictures of that Mooray eel. Accidentally, there were images of cleaner shrimps when I view the pictures in may notebook. How I wished to see the cleaner shrimps which were red in color during the dive. Later, at other part, we saw a black/dark frogfish. It looked as if it was hanging on that rope. Very amazing creature. I was hoping to see some other frogfishes with different color, eg. white, yellow or brown but there wasn't any. Hoped to see stonefish as well but none. But 1 thing for sure, I was very excited to see porcupine pufferfish. It's just so cute. I wonder where was its buddy? Huhu...poor little puffy.
2nd dive, was at Seaventures. Time in was in the noon. Angie was told that someone found a pygmy seahorse at this spot. We were excited to go down and look for pygmy seahorse. Right after we reach the bottom, at a depth of maybe 12 or 13 m, there was a seafan which looks like exactly where the pygmy seahorse lives. But when I got there, there was only an infamous longnose hawkfish. At least, this creature didn't disappoint us even with the absence of that seahorse. There were couples of nudibranches...my favorite...especially the family Chromodoris. Really cool!! Crocodilefish (again..black in color) was sitting at its place quietly, and didn't bother with our presence.Crocodilefish is a cute creature as well. I could see a medium sized turtle swimming at a distance, and a lionfish remained static at one point. After almost an hour, we ascent. Had our lunch and relaxed before the final dive of the day.
3rd dive was a reef dive. And it was annoying for me because my digicam battery was flat. There were a family of turtle..around 3-4 of them. It should be nice for my picture collections. And dream came true when I finally saw purple nudibranch...the Chromodoris bullocki..I saw 4 purple slugs and my bloody digicam didn't work at that moment of joy. I felt it was quite a short dive...actually it was 57 minutes bottom time..but spending more time on the purple slugs made the dive time seemed shorter. I was just too excited. Around 3.30, we left for Singamata. What a great day today..

12th February
On the 3rd day, we dove at Pulau Mantabuan. This island is protected by the armies and I could see the natives which are Bajau Laut. They live in a long boat..quite long I guess and carry out their routine on that boat...cook, eat, sleep, laundry etc. Yeah...really impressed me. I was supposed to make 3 dives but I missed the 2nd dive because I was cold and not feeling OK. I have no idea what was the name of 1st & 3rd dive spots. I only knew the 2nd spot, Lobster Point, which I didn't dive in.

School of Batfish

Pulau Mantabuan is far from Singamata Resort. It took around 45 minutes or more to get there. The unpleasant thing is, it was rainy at that time and really cloudy. I was prepared for the 1st dive. Unfortunately, I got terrible headache and was almost not in mood to explore that site. I had no idea why this happen and I gave a sign of 'Head..not OK' to Bryan. He checked my dive mask and he thought it was too tight. He signaled that I have to loosen it a bit. Well, I tried but the ache didn't subside, but in fact, amplified. All I could do at that point of time was, to remain calm and ignore the pain. The water was quite turbid and visibility maybe around 5-10 meters. But surprisingly, coral growth was amazing. Unlike Angie, Bryan, Steve Dick & In, they really explored it and manage to see macro lives such as the shrimps and crabs
They had a bottom time of 97 minutes for the 2nd dive....wowww.....that was awesome. Regret for not diving but no point to force myself to dive. I know my body limit. They found lots of shrimps and maybe some lobsters. And they told me, water visibility was very good, compared to the 1st dive.

Sand Goby

3rd dive...well I thought I would be all right. But the headache came as I got into the water. This time was far much worse than before. I didn't think it was decompression sickness. This must be something else...cold or fatigue. It wasn't a good idea to go up, so I just dive, trying so hard to ignore the ache. I did close my eyes for a few seconds...just to ease the pain, held to rock or hard corals, and not moving much. Panic is not an option...hehehe...Short bottom time, 44 minutes only.
When we arrived Singamata, Bryan suggested that I had jaw fatigue, that caused me to get the headache. Yeahhh...why I didn't realize about that earlier? I felt my jaw is somewhat uncomfortable..tight or something. When I moved my jaw, I could actually feel it affected the crown region of my head. Phewww....I was glad it was not because of something serious. Angie got the Panadol tablets, and I took 4 tablets in one shot...hehe. Very wrong indeed.
There was another 4th dive (for Angie & Steve) and 3rd dive for me, at Singamata housereef. We were told that we could see Mandarinefish here. Yeaayyyy....I was very excited to look this little cute fella. Actually, it was a twilight dive....ooo la la...I forgot that sun sets 1 hour earlier in Sabah. So basically, 6 pm is just like 7 pm in Peninsular...A few minutes after we got in, it started to become darker. Almost similar to night dive but there were still very limited light. Torchlights are musts. Right at the descend point, John showed me an anemony, where there were a colony of shrimps. Really cute...brown with white spots shrimps. I tried so hard to take a good picture of it, & I guess I did it. Not so perfect though. Then we proceed to the point where the Mandarinefish lives. There were two of them. According to John the DM, there would be 7 Mandarinefishes appear on certain season. But I forgot to ask when exactly is the season. I was happy to see them but a bit disappointed because I couldn't get a very nice and clear picture of them. They hided within the corals..moved here & there...that made us difficult to take their pictures. I should have tried video mode at that time. It was getting darker & darker. I couldn't see a thing, so it's better to stay close and alert. I never ever got away...even a meter from my buddies. Of course, visibility did make the surrounding looked more scary. Well, my first dive in dim light or no light at all...was ok. I hope I can do this again. There were a lot to see down there, besides mandarinefish. Small crabs & shrimps espceially. With Angie's strobe flash, I almost got my eyes burnt. Hehe....but one thing, pictures are much2 better. I forgot about the headache...and heyy....I didn't feel it even a second....thanks everybody!!
Went up, hot water was prepared for us, bathes, relaxed and dinner. Everything looked tasty and I ate as many as I could. Really starving...

13th February
Today, Pulau Sebangkat was our next destination for diving. I think it is near to Pulau Mantabuan. I able to complete all 3 dives. Yeayyy...this time, no more headache, no more discomfort. Much much much better and I was happy. 1st dive, 69 minutes, 2nd dive, 70 minutes and last dive 84 minutes (the longest bottom time time for me...yeayyy). Dick & In were not going with us because they have gone to Sipadan early in the morning.
1st dive was nice but I couldn't remember what we saw here. 2nd dive, we were escorted...not really escorted but the army boat was there to protect us from the pirates...They could from Indonesia, could be from Phillipine or could be from Malaysia...These pirates kidnap foreigners espcecially and ask for ransome. There were several cases before. How dare you pirates!!! But I still like Jack Sparrow...hahaha..

On the 3rd dive, we saw a ghost pipefish on the last dive at 5 meters depth (our safety stop anyway). That was awesome and we were satisfied to see one. I consumed 99% air in my tank and when the pressure gauge turn 10 psi, Bryan signaled me to get the alternate air source from him. After a few minutes, I got the alternate air source from Steve. hehehe...I breathed fast and consumed more air...still not good.

14th February
The 5th & last day of our diving trip is at Sipadan. Thank god that the sun finally showed up..hehe...Sipadan is actually a small island. It takes 20 minutes walking to make a complete 1 round. The beach is just beautiful, amazing and very clean except where there was a bit improperly disposed rubbish at the abandoned chalet. But didn't really hurt us anyway. Something should be done so with that unpleasant sight. That was the only chalet operateing in Sipadan before. However, the state government of Sabah is seriously making effort to preserve the priceless beauty of Sipadan and with that, they asked the resort operator to close it, with some payment of course. There was also a dive operator, Borneo Divers, and they were asked to do the same thing. Currently the dive operator is operating at Semporna. To dive or enter Sipadan, RM40 is imposed to every individual as a conservation fee. And the island is protected by the army. There was a case of kidnapping tourists, a few years back, for ransome. Poor hostages..they really were in trauma. Bloody kidnappers!!
Early morning, we packed our stuff and checked out from that floating resort heading to Semporna jetty. From there, we went to Sipadan by the dive operator's boat. Our stuff were then sent to Dragon In, the floating chalet where we stay upon arrival to Semporna. It took around 45 minutes to reach Sipadan.
The divemaster, which I didn't know his name, was a friendly and funny type. He told us that he would bring us to a spot where we can see pygmy seahorse....huhuhu...again, we were excited. And again, to see thay lil pinky pygmy, we need to be at a depth of 22 meters. Well, when we arrived, we got in and it was really beautiful down there. Thank god there was no current and our dives in Sipadan were just awesome. Contrarily as what we were told by Dick & In. The sea condition was not that good on the day before. I was worried to hear about that.
Wall dives seem a bit scary to me because when looking down, I couldn't see the bottom and it looks really dark blue deep down there. As if looking at infinity. The wall is 600 m deep. Can you imagine that? But the tip is, don't ever look downward. Explore the walls, see the fishes, see the flare of the sunlight penetrating the water, those are much better. And it is important to check the depth gauge so that you won't end up with decompression dive.
We did 3 dives in Sipadan. 2 dives were at Richard Reef (wall dives) and Turtle Tomb to Barracuda Point.
I was just happy because the water condition appeared nice and better. I saw lots of colorful fishes, various types and I simply have no idea what species they are. Totally multiracial community...hehehe. There were big fishes, small fishes, giant turtles, small turtles and...phewww...just say it. The 1st surprise for me was seeing a big white nudibranch. I am yet to identify what species it is. Its length was like the length of my palm and width of my 3 fingers. Sorry, I didn't have any length measuring instrument. Turtles are everywhere. They didn't seem to bother our presence and that was good. Easy for me to look at them closer. My digicam, just couldn't stop snapping pictures and shooting video. There were turtles resting on seafans. Strangely, the turtles were heavier than I, but their mass didn't seem to break or damage the seafans. I thought seafans are fragile but they just don't. Hard corals dominated the walls and soft corals were much lesser. I am still waiting for the divemaster to bang the tank and show us the pygmy seahorse. There were some signals but showing some other creatures which I didn't really care due to attraction to the fishes and turtles. It was weird when there was nit much nudibranch to see. Perhaps, it was not the right season for the nudis to show up.
After 46 minutes, we ascent to 5 meters for safety stop. Such a short bottom time because we dove at 28.6 meter depth...that is the maximum depth personally. At the safety stop, the corals are beautiful with no bleaching or damage seen. I saw a very big fish, but it swam away damn fast when I approach it but I guess it was a grouper. Strange, grouper doesn't normally swim away that fast when "intruders" approach them. And for the time, I saw a flamboyant cuttlefish but it immediately hid away within the corals. I tried to look for Angie or Bryan and tell them what I saw but they were out of my sight. When I looked back for the cuttlefish, it was gone....I couldn't get to snap pictures of that creature....so sad!! Besides cuttlefish, there were couples of very large batfishes, swimming slowly and arrogantly..hehehe...But at least, I had the chance to approach them slowly.
After surface interval of 1 hour, we prepared for 2nd dive which was at Richard Reef but at a shallower part. Nothing much to see here because the main objective is to look for the pygmy seahorse (was it?). Bottom time was 53 minutes. I saw at least 2 white tip reef shark but at a distant. Couldn't get any pictures of them. AFter 2nd dive, we got back to shore, had our lunch and got ourself warmer by walking along the beaches. Ahhh...there was a cat...with no tail at all. Island cat..just like the one in Tioman, but this one is a playful type. Gave it a sausage but it played with its expensive meal.
Prepared for the last dive, we were heading for Barracuda Point through the Turtle Tomb. I couldn't see the turtle cave..huhu...I forgot to ask the divemaster to take us there. There was schooling jacs..i think hundreds or thousand of them. Really fun. I couldn't take any picture because I handed my digicam to this one cute guy before I descend...not sure if he is European....we met down there and he passed me the digicam. What a day...I didn't get the chance to know him...not even his name...arrgghhh...I hope he is working with the dive operator that took us to Sipadan, and if he is, I will be able to meet him again in the future....hehehehe....I thought that we would see the swirling school of barracuda but they were not there. Only couples of them and if I'm not mistaken, it's the yellow tailed barracuda. Not the silver barracuda. The divemaster also managed to 'sing'. I heard some hummings and I wondered where they came from. Until the DM swam near, the hummings louder and confirmed, he made the sounds. Hehehe...trying to sing in the water i guess. I handed him my digicam and signaled me that he wanted to take pictures. I signaled ' What picture?"...and he replied "Just watch". Wooowww....he got me pictures of fire goby. That was sooo sweet. Thanks DM...Finally, we ascent and that's it...time to say bye2 to Sipadan. There was a turtle swimming approaching us...and I felt like it was trying to say 'Bye bye guys'..huhu....bye bye to u too turtle...Until next time...definitely I will return to Sipadan...
Got back to Dragon Inn and there was hot water shower....cool!!!Rinsed our equipments and digicams and relaxed. Dinner at Chinese restaurant..awesome food.

15th February
Woke up damn late, surfed the internet, view the pictures, lunch at the same Chinese restaurant and 3.30, land transfer to Tawau Airport...6.40 pm, Bye bye Sabah

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!!