I did eventually find myself a wicked place to stay. My own toilet, fan and large bed. And the owner, the coolest Malaysian i've ever met! I will definitely go back! So a place to sleep was settled. I was ready to nap and take a nice cold shower.
I don't really remember what i did for the next 5 days. And no, its not from alcohol poisoning or nething. I spent a lot of time in my room reading. Which of course was the stupidest thing i could have done. But the last few days i've gotten into such a hyper reading mode, i'm finishing books in 2 days. But besides reading i went out for 3 dives and 3 snorkeling excursions around the corner. The diving here is great. Best i've seen since Pulau Weh (these guys are associated with dive shops out there too!). Although the big fish were kinda lacking, the fish stocks were great. Many little fish and plenty of coral.
Probably the most important things to write home about the diving were 1, i saw a massive school of barracuda. Absolutely amazing. Also, very briefly saw a school of big big trevallie. Very cool. But the best thing, my first wild fish attack (been attacked before in Pet Habitat of course)! Trigger fish are always known for being aggressive to divers, often nipping and biting ones that get too close or into their territory. I'm glad my last dive in the Gili Islands allowed me to witness a good method for driving an attacking fish away. Or at least so i thought.
I was just casually swimming along with my instructor one dive and out of the blue i felt something on my fins. Now the fins i was using were really soft and flexible so sometimes when i kick i will bend and feel really funny. That and when i touch something with them they give this weird kickback as well. So of course, i slowly turned around to see what i had bumped. Behind me was nothing but blue open water, and a very angry looking, 1/2 m long, probably about 8-10 kg Titan Triggerfish. I saw him bite one of my fins and turn off. I started to panic. I tried to swim away but he was way too fast for that and came for another go at my fins. I remembered the other guide in Gili pulling out his secondary regulator and spray bubbles to scare another trigger before (one about the same size too!) and it worked like a charm. I figured it will work for me too. I fumbled around feeling for my secondary while eyeing the trigger prepare to have another go with these plastic thingies that were invading his personal space (which of course at the time, just so happened to still be attached to my feet!).
He came in close, and i let him have it! Of course to my surprise, my secondary was set at a very low pressure and the bubbles just fizzled out. Shit! I was defenseless now (of course not that bubbles really had much of a chance to protect me in the first place). I thrashed in the water and dove down to the bottom where my instructor was. Luckily for me, the trigger decided to go after her instead. After one nip she turned around and gave that punk a swift kick with her fin! Armed also with her secondary, we watched as the trigger hovered around us. We slowly swam away without another incident. My heart was pounding like hell. It was an interesting moment which i know i didn't handle with the most grace possible. But i'm glad i had that experience. And also that i didn't know before hand that they can sometimes take ppls ears off!
Snorkeling did not have nearly the same level of excitement as diving but were equally fun. The first couple of times i went out on my own which of course was probably not the safest, but very rewarding. I learned to dive with weights (a rock) which has improved my bottom time considerably. I came across a school of yellow banded fusiller which i loved to chase around everyday. One day, i found a school of parrot fish (very unusual to me) and hung out with them for the better part of 20 min. They were very calm with me around, just staring at them. Even when i dove down they would keep eating whatever they were and let me get in real close. Close enough to grab them if i was quick enough. Quite good fun i tell you.
I only wish i had more time out there. I hung out the last few nights with some Brits i met at the bus station over to Kuala Besut. Good fun. I'll have to bring those drinking games back home too.
I think after getting my ass away from my books and out at night did i realize how great this island really was. At first it seemed like it was just the standard stuff. Sand, water, tourists, etc. But after talking to some people, i realized that this place was so much more. The locals, or more specifically, my guesthouse host was the coolest Malay i have ever met. The sand was so soft and smooth. The water was usually crystal clear (well, i do have to complain about the sea lice though), teaming with life and excellent coral. But i think the most important thing was, no one ever bothered you or tried to sell you anything! For 5 entire days! Now, for those of you at home, i'm sure this means nothing to you. But for those of you who've been out here, you know exactly what i'm talking about. It was so amazing here after i realized that fact! My only wish was that it would have came earlier instead of so late. Its like an oasis in a desert. Its probably what Thailand was 20 years ago. I can't help but feel sad about how this place will develop (for i know it will) over the next 2 or 3 years.
What can you do but keep the memories alive. All i have to say is that Pulau Perhentian has single handedly restored Malaysia from my 'do not visit again' list to my 'i'm coming back again' list.
Its off to Borneo for me now. I'm almost there. Yet i still have so much further to go. Both mentally and physically.
-bk
1 comment:
Another 30 mins passed at work.
Your blog is starting to rival Warcraft forums for my slack off time at work.
Yes, F1 sucks without having commentary and those girls in the pics were NASTY.
Can't wait to get out there.
Post a Comment