As promised...!

Took me a little while to make it (about 30 min, and that includes the learning curve). Its my first vid, so be nice! And its also just my 3 and 4th days surfing, so of course the waves are small!

MONKEYS!

Took the long arduous journey from Banda Aceh to Medan (15 hrs overnight). And from there, transfered to another bus to goto Bukit Lawang (3 hrs). Again a hellish ride. 3 hrs, dusty broken roads, no AC, and constant stopping along the way. But i think it was all worth it!

Hiding in the trees

Why Bukit Lawang? Why not? Hahhaa. No, it used to be a famous tourist destination before a flash flood ripped through in 2003. Why is it that i like to goto these natural disaster places? Its not by choice mind you. But it was a definite presence when i arrived there.

Anyways, this place is famous for its national park which has Orangutans! I think i paid a little too much (60 USD for 1/2 day hike, but thats normally split b/t 4 ppl so it is quite cheap) but i do not regret it at all. It was well worth it, in every way.

Right after i arrived, i checked into a very nice place (still cheap though) a guy on the bus recommended. He went with me to find his friend which was also an excellent guide and we went off into the jungle. It didn't take long. After about 10 min of hiking (i was sweating at this point, its the jungle after all!) we found our first orangutans! We found another group of tourists in the jungle and joined up with them because they had seen/heard one close by.

I think she wants to give us the finger! Or maybe the shocker?

So we follow this group (the guides know each other of course) down a steep hill (one of the tourists couldn't make it). Up in the tree, far far out of view, was a big hairy orange thing! I was not impressed. We spent the next 5-10 min looking at this far away ball of fur and i began to wonder if i had spend my money wisely. But, that thought soon left my mind as the Orangutan started to climb down the tree! She was being convinced to come down by one of the guides holding out some banannas! Not something that i was pleased with but they never gave them one. She never came close enough neways.

Wait, who's that up there?

And of course, to my plesant surprise, it was not one, but two orangutans! A mom and a baby! How lucky was that?

Baby as well?!?!

I know the vids/pics seem exciting, but please keep in mind, Orangutans are very, very lazy creatures and actually spend most of their time just sitting there. I'm glad there was a baby as there was so much more action.

After finally getting bored of them, my guide and i hiked on and stopped for lunch on a log just off the trail. We sat and talked for a while (which is why i like him so much) about family, life in indonesia, and the monkeys. Then out of the blue, a white handed gibbon crashed around in the distance! We quickly packed our stuff and walked down the log to get a better view. Out in the distance, was a tiny female gibbon, also with a baby! But, this time, they took off overhead and i really didn't' get a good view of them. So no pics of them. Its unfortunate, the Orangutans are so slow, but the Gibbons are so fast. They need to share some of that energy/laziness so that they are more photogenic. They hung out above us for a little bit, just long enough to take a dump and piss right beside us but out of view.

Hot shower!

Then, as an added bonus, out popped another female Orangutan. She stopped right out in front of us and chilled in her tree. She pretty much just stared at us while we stared at her. I didn't get a pic b/c i was more interested in seeing the Gibbons. But either way, she looked exactly the same as the other one. I guess i'm not that much of a naturalist. Once i've seen one, i want to see somethign else. Although, i never get tired of looking at the same stuff underwater!

Throughout the rest of the hike (the hardest part actually!), we heard Gibbons in the distance but there were no more sightings. That was ok with me though. I was quite happy to have seen 3 of them. I was more excited about the rapid shooting i was about to do in a tube! But this did end up being quite a disappointment. Nevertheless, it was good entertainment. We met up with another guide, and the 3 of us plopped into 3 tubes tied together (how boring! i wanted to go solo! hahah). I sat in the middle to enjoy the ride and they steered the way. The water level was quite low so the rapids were pretty weak. But of course if i was on my own it would have been quite a thrill. But 3 tubes are just too stable for any real rocking.

I just wish i had known that i was going to be sitting there, i would have brought my waterproof case and more importantly, my sandals for the walk back! Regardless, it was a good time and i went back to my room tired but quite happy.

Nice little waterfall

After a quick nap and dinner, i ventured back out into town. Again with my guide, but this time, to goto a wedding! How cool is that? One of his friends was getting married and he asked me to come along! I asked if it was ok or not, and he replied, 'its a village wedding, the more the better!' I was so thrilled to get the chance to see an Indonesian (Java) wedding!

Wedding time

Anyways, we arrived and things were not all that exciting. There were some ppl singing, the bride and groom were sitting around, and lots of ppl were eating. We grabbed some food and sat down. I asked is it going to be like this all night? 'Pretty much', he told me. I sat there for about 45 min just watching and absorbing. But after that much time, i pretty much absorbed all that i could and went back to my room. Some ppl asked me to stay, but i couldn't take it nemore. All it was was ppl singing (karaoke style). It was interesting to note that the songs were not all traditional Java songs. Some were Kota i believe (of course i can't tell). All i know is that some songs had a cow bell ringing in it (uh, i think it needs just a little more cowbell...)

-bk

Huh? Its Valentines day? Really? And the superbowl is in a couple of weeks? What happened to January?...And other deep revelations.

I completely forgot that Feb 14th was V-day. It came as a little bit of a surprise when my instructor said there will be no surfing tomorrow because he has to take his gf out. Why so surprising? I guess for me at home V-day usually has a pretty big build up (TV, radio, friends, etc…). Yet this time, it had completely slipped my mind. Well, that and there are very little advertisements/reminders for V-day here (at least English ones). I have to admit that V-day is usually kinda depressing for me (I should actually say it IS depressing) as a majority of the time, I spend it single. But out here, I’m almost completely alone (I have no friends out here besides the locals which don’t exactly have the best English) and I don’t feel one ounce of sadness about it.

Things are different at home I guess. Getting pounded over and over again with the same corporate garbage, still has an effect on you regardless of how well you know its just a fictitious holiday. I’ve had a few interesting revelations out here (in Lampuuk) while sitting in my room, sweating like a pig, bored to tears. Mostly about how the world as I see it. Generally its regarding what my parents have always told me, but also about life in a first world country.

I read the book The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (excellent read for those of you atheists, or religious but atheistic at heart people) while in Malaysia. It really got me thinking, not about religion (I’ve always been an atheist, now I’m just more proud to say it), but in terms of the way that people think. So many of us (I included) have been raised to think a certain way about life. This gives us a very unique set of morals and beliefs (some of which are religious) which I have began to notice are almost, dare I say, country specific. They are also specific to your socioeconomic class, but most importantly, how you were raised by your parents.

I’m not saying that my parents have raised me wrong in any way. Nor am I saying that I was raised perfectly. I’m just saying that the things that I believe, and what my parents have told me are not always true/correct. Back to the idea of V-day, understanding new truths about life after being bombarded for years about another, has been sort of an epiphany for me. I have always thought of myself as a free thinking person. Flexible and bendable in every way. But I’m slowing coming to the realization that I’m a damn stubborn fool.

Change is slow, painful (sometimes), and constant battle within yourself. For the better? Maybe. For the worse? Again, another maybe. Back to Dawkins, he mentioned several times about religious zealots, like Al Qadia and American Taliban. At first I was just thinking that these people are just crazies. They believe that the Bible/Qran is the word of God, while in reality, it MAY have been, but after being translated so many times, who knows (I’m not going to argue whether the Bible is the greatest work of fiction here, this is a travel blog people, hahaah!).

I now see the struggle in which these people must endure. In the face of overwhelming evidence, they still cling onto their beliefs. They call it faith. I call it something else. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it stupidity (or I’d be calling myself stupid). I’d instead label it as fear, in my case at least. To go against everything you’ve been taught and told (over and over by some) about how to live your life and the choices to make.

Dawkins talks about this. Its called Hell to Christians. To me, its my own personal hell. A place where, if you didn’t listen to the advice of your parents, friends, and less importantly, governments and big corporations, you end up, instead of being happy and successful (ie. rich as corporations would have you believe).

Life is much more complicated than what all combined would have you believe. But then again, that is the old me talking. Life really isn’t that hard. Its more simple that you think. History has shown, when Man is confronted with a huge problem, great thinkers may spend years, even lifetimes, dreaming up complicated models, methods and solutions. Yet some of the greatest mysteries have been solved with just the simplest of equations (remember e=mc2?).

Sometimes, it’s the simplest solution that makes the most sense.
Sometimes, they’re also the hardest to accept.

-bk

So that’s why surfers are always so fit

Damn that guy looks fit! Hahhaa!

I’ve even had the chance to read an intermediate levels guide to surfing during this time. A very useful guide and now allows me to know things like off shore wind and the difference between a gun and long board.

The last two days my instructor has not been feeling well and I pretty much went out on my own (under his supervision of course). Battling the waves to get out was a lot harder than I previously thought. Without someone there to help you with your board and tell you where to wait to catch the waves, it can be quite intimidating. I spent a lot of time getting tossed like a top by some pretty small waves. I haven’t been able to master the duck dive which would help me get through the waves. But then again, it can’t really be done with a long board since its too buoyant.

Either way, I am very confident now in getting onto my long board on waves that have already crashed over (if that’s the term, I haven’t really had a good explanation of wave terminology yet, but that will change since I’m planning on going to surfing school in Bali!). However, those aren’t really waves, more like moving water I’m riding (videos coming soon! Have to reformat them for you).

I only got the chance to really get up on two actual forming waves which was the next level of difficulty. When you feel the wave pick you up you get your first feeling of the power of waves. As it lifts you up in the air, you paddle down the face and take off (get onto the board). That of course is what separates body surfing from real surfing, the take off. It’s a great feeling when you get up and ‘drop’ onto the wave (you have a slight drop depending on how big the wave is) but its usually at this point that I wipe out since I’ve yet to master handling the drop.

After wiping out, this is where you feel the real power contained in the wave. As the water comes down and smothers you, you literally get tossed and turned like a toy. Your board goes flying out underneath you and gets dragged along with the wave (while spinning round and round of course). Sounds like fun until tones of salt water get forced into your nose and the wave holds you under a little while longer than you feel comfortable with.

The level of fitness required to learn to surf is also much higher than I thought. You spend a huge amount of time paddling, getting up, wiping out, paddling again, repeat. I guess this is why surfers are always so fit. You need a pretty fit upper body to push yourself up after paddling through what seems like endless amounts of waves.

Regards, I still enjoy learning to surf (good exercise for me). Still learning how to catch that perfect wave (a nice small slow breaking wave in my mind) and eventually, I want to be able to do some tricks (I can turn a little, but not much since I’m just in the white wash and not of the wave).

Lampuuk – an unknown surfing heaven

Warm tropical breezes all day here

I thought I could leave the depressing atmosphere in Banda Aceh by heading 25 km West to Lampuuk to learn some surfing. I was sorely mistaken. This entire town was also wiped out by the tsunami. However rebuilding efforts have done a good thing here. Everywhere there are new houses to replace those destroyed by the water. In fact, there is a refreshing air of optimism here. The beach Lok Nga is supposedly one of the great unknown surfing destinations in Sumatra and Indonesia as a whole. The government is underway in promoting tourism, surfing and diving here in hopes that the influx of money can help rebuild Aceh’s tattered economy.

They wanted me to take their pic

And I can’t say that I’m disappointed either. One of the trainee divemasters on Weh suggested that I come down here to learn surfing instead of going to the more famous Pulau Nias. Again, not written in my Rough Guides, I have stumbled upon another jewel of exploration. I’m quite glad that I’ve ditched the recent Lonely Planet and instead decided to head off on my own (not an easy decision mind you). Many people ask me how I knew to come here. I just tell them word of mouth and they’re quite happy. Tourism is starting to pickup for them and I can only hope that it helps them out. I’m not sure if they know the ugly side of tourism yet.

Mmmmm, waves...

Yesterday I headed out with my instructor (Adoon) for some surfing lessons. He showed me how to paddle (much harder than it looks, but then I wasn’t using a long board either, the newbie board) and how to stand up on the board (was able to do it once!). I was thinking I would just come here and learn how to bodyboard. But whatever, they don’t have body boards at my bungalow so I might as well just learn to surf! I’m glad I made that decision because its way more fun to surf. Albeit much harder.

My new friends. Apu the bird waits for me every day to finish surfing.
I'm slowly teaching him/her how to play nice

Today I went out to a different beach (Lok Nga) which was much better. More consistent waves, very soft, sandy beach to keep from cutting myself up, and plenty of people (primarily girls, although they are Muslim girls) to laugh and watch me struggle. I have finally realized why surfing is so dangerous. When those big waves crash over and you get sucked in, it really feels like you’re in a washing machine. You get spun over and over and over so fast you don’t even know which way is up anymore. Thankfully I have a nice buoyant surfboard attached to my leg so I can always follow the line back to the surface.

I was actually able to get up on my board today (because I had a long board) and I actually rode a few waves! I’ll tell you there is nothing cooler than the feeling you get from riding a wave, even if its just a small one and you’re just heading back to the beach. Although dangerous, I’m in a nice ‘safe’ learning area without any huge waves. I’m still learning to paddle, sit on my board, read the waves and get up, but so far, its been a total blast. I can’t wait till I can turn and actually start to do stuff on the wave! But I guess I still have a few more things to learn. Gotta make sure I don’t drown out there (its easier than I thought!).

Thought the label was quite funny. So appropriate for this region.

Surfing is almost like a culture out here. I’m quickly learning that the more you get into a sport, the more you get INTO the sport. Hmm, what to invest my money? Motorcycles, climbing equipment, diving gear, or surfer wear. So many decisions. Money is not really the main factor, nor is safety (sorry Mom!), its what do you want to focus on?

Awesome tropical nights.

Banda Aceh – A short but depressing stop along the way

Deserted streets (during prayer time)

December 26, 2004, the ground shook for 8.3-10 min with a magnitude 9.3 earthquake. Then within minutes, a wave swept across the Indian ocean.

After leaving Pulau Weh, under the recommendation of one of the cool Indonesian people I met in Gapang, I headed off to Banda Aceh to spend a few nights. Only after reading the lonely planet did I realize that this was the site that the tsunami truly reared its ugly head.

Most people only are concerned with Thailand and Phuket. Why is this? Statistics say that roughly 8000 people died there while estimates here in Banda Aceh top over 130 000 people. It’s the sobering fact that tourists died in Thailand while in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Somalia, Malaysia, etc, only locals perished.

Sobering is a good word to use here. When you realize that the internet café that you’re sitting in, after the tsunami, had 2 bodies floating in it. When across the street there were about 1000 bodies strewn about. Cars tossed like toys. Shops looking like they were bulldozed over. Of course none of this is present now, but when someone tells you that they can still smell the stench of dead decaying bodies, and that in the matter of minutes they lost their entire family, your ‘vacation’ quickly evaporates and you get thrown back into the real reason why you’re here in the first place.

The place across the street where I ate dinner was covered in water with a wave over 1 m high. Sure, 1 m is nothing, but considering that I’m about 10 min from the coast by motorcycle and you realize how far the water came in. I look around while I walk. There is no where to hide here. No hills to run to. Few trees sturdy enough to climb.

Devastation was quick and efficient. Those lucky enough to be spared natures wrath instead had to deal with malaria, lack of adequate water, food, shelter from the sweltering heat and other ranges of diseases inflicted on mankind.

And of course after that, dealing with the pain of lost loved ones, family and friends. Everyone I’ve met since I’ve been here has lost someone close to them. It’s a tough pill to swallow when you think about it. In addition, Banda Aceh is the place of recent separatarian violence which the Indonesia army quelled with brutal and lethal force. I meet a ‘refugee’ who fled to Australia during that time. There is still general distrust of the Indonesian government here which I can’t say I blame them.

Indonesia is a place of many religions, cultures and people. Prior to this trip, I knew little about the state of affairs here. Now, I’m glad (if that is the correct word to use) that my eyes have been opened yet again to the real world in which we live in.

All statistics from Wikipedia (of course).

Advanced Open Water baby, it was all worth it!

Adventure time!

Singapore to Pulau Batam, 1 hr ferry.
Overnight stay on the island eating KFC and MacDonalds.
Pulau Batam to Dumai, 6 hr ferry.
Dumai to Pekanbaru, 3 hr minivan (disastrous road conditions).
Touring Pekanbaru for the day by foot. Living on sate.
Pekanbaru to Medan, overnight bus (horrendous road conditions).
Touring Medan for the day by foot again. Living on sate
Medan to Banda Aceh, overnight bus (atrocious road conditions).
Finally, Banda Aceh to Pulau Weh, 1 hr ferry.
Pulau Weh ferry terminal to Gapang beach, 45 min (again, terrible roads).

Aceh ferry!
Hahaha, just kidding, its a fishing boat.
Similar to my dive boat

I've spent almost 80 USD, taken 3 ferries, 2 overnight VIP buses, a cramped minivan and chewed through 3 days on my 30 day non-renewable visa to get to Pulau Weh. Why? Because the Lonely Planet said that this place was a dive island. Why is that a problem? Because i no longer have that copy of the Lonely Planet! I have a 2005 edition of Rough Guides instead (thought i'd switch things up a bit). So with no guide book for the first time, a lingering thought that Banda Aceh was omitted from the Rough Guides due to recent violence in the area (that was 2005 mind you), alone, with little sleep and no shower since Pulau Batam, i headed off for a destination that i knew little about.

Some random hard coral

When i say that i knew little about Pulau Weh, i meant it. No maps, no ferry departure times, no hostels or guesthouse listings, no warnings or points of interest nicely laid out for me. I didn't even know what beach i was supposed to goto. I was finally roughing it the way that traveling should be done. As exciting as it is frustrating, i must say it was an experience that i will not soon forget. Arriving at 5:30 am at an empty ferry terminal with no one around in a strange country really makes you think, what the hell am i doing here? When you sit there fighting off mosquitoes for the next 3 hrs you begin to wonder if you're even going to the right place. What if there is no diving there? What beach is the dive shop on? Should i just go back to Medan or should I just stick it through?

Ah, there are some fish

Thankfully, every ordeal I encountered has amazingly been dealt with by the kindness of both locals and foreigners. One guy I met on the ferry bought me lunch. Another told me where to stay in Pulau Weh. And another gave me the name of a good dive shop (probably the longest running one on the island, they even got hit by the tsunami!) Most of them just pointed me in the right way, told me where to stay, and gave me directions to the bus terminals. But i know i never would have made it here without other people's help. Its amazing what can happen when you just start talking to some random strangers! Or maybe they just felt sorry for me as i was normally in the fetal position, crying my eyes out in some dark corner of the bus station. Hahahah!

Shy eel

Back to Gapang beach, Pulau Weh, Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia (long address eh?). I arrived on what was not the most beautiful beach, nor the greatest accommodations. The water on the other hand was a whole other story. Clear aqua blue, with coral right up to the beach. I was considering going snorkeling the next morning but instead, i went straight to the local dive shop, Lumba Lumba, and signed up for my PADI advanced open water course.

My room's view

Just enjoying the view

This place (at least this beach) was truly setup for diving. A nice short beach walk into the crystal clear water for shore diving. There was plenty of coral off the coast, a few wrecks and nice sloping walls all accessible by boat. Accommodations ranging from basic to nice (of course i was in the most basic), 3 resteraunts (all serving the same stuff unfortunately, one of the reasons i needed to leave) and 2 dive shops. The beach itself couldn't have been more than 500 m long, and with nothing to do here but dive, its pretty much all i did. I was doing 2 dives per day up till my last day in which i did 3. Totaling 9 dives (4 fun, 5 adventure), i'm now on my way to the required 20 logged dive minimum (15 to date) for some sites i'd like to see in Borneo and the Philippines.

Frog fish and shrimp pal

The adventure dives, 5 in total required by PADI (more of a money making scheme than anything i my opinion) were 1/2 adventure, and 1/2 monotonous skill development. I should have ditched Peak Performance Buoyancy for something more fun, but whatever, its done, i maybe learned one thing? The dive itself was great as i got to see a turtle, peacock mantis shrimp, and tonnes of other fishies. But the really cool stuff came with the other dives (don't have my log book handy so i can't tell you exactly what i saw).

Cool looking puffer

I switched the underwater photography adventure dive for drift diving instead because it just seemed so much cooler. Was it? it was pretty cool to drift but unfortunately, disagreements on the surface about currents lead pretty much to us swimming against the current instead of drifting with it. As a newbie diver it was pretty difficult to handle everything at the same time but it all worked out in the end (buoyancy, backwards roll of the boat, not touching the reef, swimming into the current, etc...). We did get to drift a little bit, but that was because we swam into the current and then drifted back to where we were. Hahaha. I got a good taste of drifting when i did my deep dive, another high current dive!

Fish are gone again? What's happening?

Deep diving! Probably my second worst fear in diving following getting eaten by some kinda sea monster on a night dive. Going 30 m (100 ft for you imperialist) underwater and getting narced was not something i was looking forward to. And this adventure dive was nothing short of a true adventure. Starting off, up to this point i have only done buoyant backwards rolls for entry (one if you're counting). These are usually done to ensure everything is ok on the surface before descending. However, at The Canyon (our deep dive site), the current was quite strong which required us to descend quickly to the bottom so as not the get swept off the reef.

Lion fish, there are so many of these guys around its not even cool to see them anymore!

I double checked my gear to make sure that everything was functioning. Then checked it again just to be sure that i knew what i was doing so that i wouldn't end up drowning (yeah drowning is pretty much the top fear i have in diving, but thats a real fear so it doesn't count). My instructor checked if i was ok, and then 3...2...1...splash! I was in the water. My BCD wasn't fully empty so i had a trouble sinking but i took care of that quickly with the bum dump (that's what i call it). Up ahead i saw my instructor swimming head down to the bottom. I quickly followed her. I didn't realize that the current was so strong and by the time i reached the bottom, i was about 10 ft down current from her hanging onto a rock for stability.

Can you see the octopus?

We just descended 23 m in what felt like a matter of seconds! Prior to this point, i've never gone past 18-20 m (if i remember correctly) and that was usually a nice gradual drop to allow our ears to equalize. This time all it was was equalize, swim, equalize, swim...all the way to the bottom. I didn't realize that when i reached the bottom i was breathing like a maniac. My instructor looked over at me and signaled me to relax, breath slowly. I was sucking at my my air like Marlboro man on top of a mountain!

Or this one?

More octopi!

I instantly slowed down my breath, relaxed and started following my instructor around. We swam/crawled the last few meters to our maximum depth of 30 m. I was still very nervous at this point but in reality, 30 m doesn't feel any different from 10 m. They are different, but that is a completely separate issue.

Looking up

When we found a nice spot behind a rock, shielded from the current, i got the chance to stop and look around. For me, this was THE most amazing dive experience to date. To my right was a slope down into oblivion, to my left, the rocks sloped 30 m up to the surface (which of course was not visible). All around us were giant sea fans the size of myself, schooling fish and other divers on a fun dive. Words really cannot describe the feeling I had when i was 30 m underwater in what felt like a giant aquarium!

What are you looking at?

Now if i went back again, i'm not sure if i would think it was the coolest place on earth. But i'll bet there is a good possibility that i'll think it was pretty high on my top 10. Now i'm thinking that this is probably due to the depth we were at. At 30 m a lot of people start to get narced. And I, being a member of that distinguished group, was definitely getting narced. I would say it was a very euphoric feeling for me, almost unnoticeable (i thought i was running off adrenaline) as nitrogen narcosis but very obvious when i did a simple skills test underwater. On the surface it took me 40 sec to calculate the navigation headings for a clockwise and counterclockwise square. At 30 m, it took me 45 sec. Not bad right? Yeah well, the first of my calculations were completely off, making the next 2 very off (but mathematically correct to my credit). If I was to use those headings to make a square, who knows where i would have ended up.

Couple more eels here, these guys were everywhere in Batee Tokong

As we acended to shallower depths, the 'narced' feeling that i had slowly left but the dive itself still had me going full throttle! I was loving it and couldn't stop talking about when we got back to the surface. I have to do it again!

Beautiful honeycomb eel

Towards the end of the deep dive (well, the end for me as my air was getting low), my instructor led me to some rocks where we were planning to hang out the remaining portion. Me, still being a newb, was being pressed against the rocks by the current. I decided that i would join her at the top and rolled myself over (while carefully avoiding the coral) to get up to her. What i didn't realized was that the grip i had was really weak. The current caught me and swept me upwards off the rock into oblivion. There i was, floating off into the great blue yonder. My instructor realized i couldn't make it back and joined me for our safety stop at 5 m. The current was so powerful that in only a min, the reef was gone and all around us was blue, blue, blue. The only reference point was the surface at 5 m above us and our instruments. We chilled there for 3 min and headed for the surface. Its strange to float around in what felt like the open ocean. I was quite calm, not afraid of something coming out of the deep to eat me, but i did have to keep my eyes moving around just in case. In every direction you looked, there was just...nothing. Got quite boring after a while. Even when you're afraid of things that go bump in the night.

Another one!

Night diving, terror in the deep for someone that is always wondering, what is out there just beyond the range of my light?

As the sun was setting and the sky became black, we loaded our gear onto the boat and headed out for the dive site. Tonight’s dive was a dive of multiple importance which really helped build the anticipation. First, it was my inaugural dive at night (hence the name night dive, duh!). Second, we were going to dive a wreck, also a first for me. And lastly, it was my final adventure dive to finish my certification as an Advanced Open Water diver!

More lionfish

I’m just kidding about the pressure actually. There really is no tests to pass, its just dive at night and don’t die. Hahha. I guess if I didn’t complete the dive due to panic or something then they could have failed me but that wasn’t going to happen. And if I died, I guess it wouldn’t matter anymore if I passed or not now would it.

Just swimming about

I’m deathly afraid of what I cannot see. Especially in water. It’s a foreign environment that we left a few million years ago. Who knows what may have evolved in that time while we were out of the water swinging from trees and eating bananas? Haha, I know its just my mind playing tricks on me.

Poser!

We double checked our gear on the surface as usual. I checked that my light was working a few times just in case. Don’t want to be under and have a light go out! We rolled in and met on the surface to ensure that everything was good. I buddied up with my instructor and gave her the ok to descend. We let the air out of our BCDs and I entered a totally different world.

This guy must have been a little self conscious

I was surrounded on all sides by darkness. All I could see was what was illuminated by my torch. A few other divers, a buoy line and blackness below. At first I was like, stay calm, this is soo great! The first few seconds were fine. At least up until I saw the top of the wreck. I was descending right on it! When something that large suddenly appeared out of the darkness my heart skipped a beat and I started to really freak out! This thing was massive! What the hell was it?!? Where is the bottom? Shit I’m going to drop right into it!

Calm down Brian, its just a small tug boat. Nothing strange here I told myself over and over. But the thing was freaking huge! Like a ghost wreck emerging out of the blackness! My breathing was out of control at this point. By the time we hit the bottom I had probably gone through 30 bar of air! I turned to look over and looming out of the muck was the bow of the massive ghost ship. I turned to the other side and there was nothing but darkness.

Not very well hidden are we now?

We started the dive by circling the ship. By the end of the dive we had swam around it 3 times! It was actually quite small and by the time I made it to the stern the first round I was all calm again. In fact a little bored as there is really very little to see. Well that’s what I thought initially. But after a little while I began to absorb my surroundings. It felt like being on the moon! Just mud, a few rocks and total blackness all around. A very cool experience. Now I want to see larger wrecks! And do some more night diving!

Some more corals

Batee Tokong

The best dive of my entire trip was the fun dive we did here. It’s was considered the best site by my divemaster and it did not disappoint. In fact, it made all my other dives besides the night and deep very disappointing. Hahah, I guess I expected too much after that point. But what do you expect when in one dive you see 2 black tip reef sharks, a school of barracuda, an eagle ray, more eels than I care to count, lionfish galore and massive schools of fish from tiny to 15 cm long creating little highways all over the reef? I really didn’t want to leave but air supply always has a way of deciding for you what is going to happen next.

Sea cucumber! Couldn't run away could you?

Watching so many fish swimming around you you get the feeling that you’ve been plunged into another world. Well, of course it is a different world, its underwater! Its so strange when you float there and watch these beautiful predators swim by effortlessly. When you look up and see a big ray just flying away off in the distance. When the underwater expressways laid out by the little fishes circle around and under you like a trail of ants. The views are breathtaking and so humbling. I’m so sold as a diver. I’m gonna do my best to dive the world!

Nemo and dad

I wish I had some more pics, but after a little while with the camera, I realized it was just getting in the way of my diving. I was more concerned with photographing stuff than enjoying the moment, which I now realize are so painfully rare.

My one of my prized sightings, a beautiful school of Barracuda