The wonder of underwater world is soon to be unfolded before your eyes. Look no further, it is right here in our home land.
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I was not quite used to scuba diving the first time with the extra gears: strap a metal tank full of compressed air on my back; stuff an uncomfortable contraption in my mouth; fasten a tight-fitting piece of goggles across my face; fit fins to my feet. Uncomfortable and unskillful, I struggled in my new uniform, wondering whether the effort was worthwhile.
The clumsiness soon vanished as I tumbled below the surface and moved weightless through the water and drifted with currents. I have the chance to observe, often at close distance, creatures of all shapes and sizes that I would never have imagined. It was quite a magic world and it seduced a new diver like me.
Today, after many dives later, I know I had made the right decision when I was having doubts the first time. At times, when I was donning vest and shorts in running, I thought to myself what a world of difference it is compared to scuba diving.
I went for a scuba diving at Sipadan, an Oceanic Isle East of Sabah, from 14 to 19 April. It is a world-class destination for dive enthusiasts. Sipadan Island is like the shape of a mushroom. A light greenish-blue shore indicates the shallow part. However, the turquoise waters abruptly turn dark blue at the edge of a vertical wall which plunges 100 meters abruptly to the ocean floors.
Normally, an organized trip to Sipadan for diving would include diving at the nearby two islands: Mabul and Kapalai which are about 25 minutes apart accessible by speed boats. Sipadan is largely boat diving – divers get on their boats in full gears for two or three dives daily. It is a short ride to the various dive spots, usually 10 minutes or less in speed boats. We covered quite a number of spots of the few days there.
The underwater current, though dangerous and unavoidable, add excitements to diving. Drifting with a 2-knot current offers an outstanding underwater experience. Recognizing the direction of the current, we would swim against the current to a distant spot and later, let the current gently swept us back to the starting point.
Of descending, sometimes we would encounter amidst a school of fishes – big number of them. The underwater world is a beautiful and serene world. The corals, the fish, and the creatures – come in all shapes and sizes and in different colours. The creatures at the ocean deep were relatively undisturbed by the gazes of fellow divers. I was particularly enthralled by the pink soft corals sprouting from the reef like some exotic cotton wool.
I took almost 900 photos with my Nikon camera. Needing a rest, the camera refused to power up on the last day of diving. I was having a wonderful time in this dive trip. On 19 April, my mind partly switched over to the next event – participating in the MMDS1 Duathlon at Dataran Merdeka on 23 April.
BTW, Eric Teo (Penguin-10), is a Dive Master. If you are interested in diving too, you may contact him via email: ericchteo@gmail.com
Recounted by Weng
Written by KC
1 comment:
Wow! I'd love to get there some day, it looks fabulous.
Steve
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