Tropical holiday

(Delayed post)

After being certified as a full fledge diver, another dive trip awaited me. I bought a new dive suit recently and couldn’t wait to wear it. It was Merdeka holidays and every other person seemed to be traveling somewhere. I wasn’t going to spend it on Dataran Merdeka or on a tall building admiring the fireworks. It’s the holidays! It’s time to get out of the city and onto some secluded island where human contact is kept at minimal.

I highly recommend Tenggol Island if you’re looking for a quiet relaxing holiday. The journey takes approximately 5-6 hours from KL on road and an hour boat ride from Dungun to Tenggol. The huts are comfortable and clean and every hut overlooks the sea. Hammocks and funky beach lazy chairs are spread across the beach. It gets better – meals are cooked and served to you. Simple food from the kitchen to your table – and it makes me feel as if I brought my maid for the holiday. It’s simple food but one gets the feeling that they have brought their maid along for the holiday.

The main reason for the holiday is to clock in several more dives and possibly this may be my final dive before the big day. Since getting rid of the tan is not as easy as washing grease off a dirty plate. The dives were amazing but unpredictably challenging, having us to fight the current half the time. We weaved in and out boulders the size of trucks and wrung through tiny alleys just enough for one to pass. The feeling that you’re just a tiny speck in the midst of the huge ocean leaves you in awe but at times quite intimidating.

And of all the 20 odd dives I’ve clocked thus far (not much actually), I think this one trip has a significant label to it. I term it as “combat underwater”. Almost every dive, I would surface with new cuts, bruises and lacerations! My new dive suit has new coral marks and residue on it. Not only was I fighting the current, I was fighting to keep neutral buoyancy. And because of that, I did injustice to nature underwater. My sincere apology for harming the underwater beauties. I’m still recovering from the scrapes and cuts. The scars are evident and I think I’d run for rose hip oil if it doesn’t disappear soon enough. Anyway here are some shots from the tropical holiday.