Archive for the ‘Trip Report’ Category

#1   It’s the best place to master underwater photography.

#2   You can try the dry-diving, the newest sport to hit Asia by storm.

#3   You get to see whale sharks, dugong, manta rays, etc.

(advice: get a better photographer.  we tried to tell him to take the whale shark but he was too dense)

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#4   The dive centre offers excellent spa services too.  Hair revival treatment: RM 150

#5   You get to see the resort’s resident squirrel do 50 push ups at a go

#6   Racial tension is not tolerated – all differences can be settled in a camel fight.

But most of all, you get excellent company.

- Coral Redang, 18-21 September 2009 -

A whale shark paid a surprise visit to 16 divers on board M.V. Samudera Quest yesterday (30 May 09) during a surface interval along the channel between Pulau Aur and Pulau Dayang.

The group of Deep Blue Scuba divers has just completed their first morning dive when a boat crew spotted the shadow of a whale shark approaching. Within seconds, the three-meter whale shark swam right up to the stern, close enough for the boat crew to gently stroke its head. The divers immediately ran for their cameras and started shooting the friendly and graceful creature.

Kang-Su, an avid diver and underwater photographer with more than 150 dives in less than a year, could not let the opportunity passed. He jumped right into the water without a mask, just as the whale shark turned around, and captured a perfect shot of the full body.

“We saw a whale shark in Pulau Aur,” exclaimed Maddy and David “and it is just our 6^th dive!” Both of them were relatively new divers who were on their second dive trip to get the Advanced Open Water certification.

Besides an amazing encounter with the whale shark, the group was rewarded with two challenging dives at the majestic Tigara Wreck this morning. Tigara Wreck is a rare site – even to the experienced Deep Blue dive crew on board – because it is only accessible when they charter a boat. The massive sunken cargo tanker sits solemnly on the sea bed as schools of barracudas and other rich marine life surround it.

“This beautiful site is definitely worth visiting again,” shares YP, who is planning to organize another live-on-board trip to Tigara in the near future. Meanwhile, several of the 16 divers look forward to their next dive trip to Sipadan in July.

Deep Blue Scuba celebrates the festive season with amazing dives in Maldives, reports Kelly Ng

If you were planning to get away from the crazy parties for a relaxing tropical Christmas, you are in for a huge disappointment. Those with a love for challenge will find themselves slapped with many folds of craziness, unleashed within a confined 38-meters dive boat.

22 happy divers on board Southern Cross

22 eager divers were warmly greeted at Male Maldives onto the lushly furnished 10-cabin MV Southern Cross, all looking forward to checking out the clear blue waters in South Male and South Ari Atoll. They were surely treated to 17 amazing dives over the course of six days.

Male has an array of diverse dive sites that promise to please a group of divers with different profiles. And it certainly did on this trip. The coral lovers indulged in a leisurely swim in the Coral Garden where the abundance of coral fishes, eels, and anemones simply took one’s breath away. The pelagic hunters were rewarded with an intense experience of being surrounded by a school of mature white-tip, black-tip and reef sharks.

School of yellow striped fish seeked shelter in a cave

We were trailed by a friendly napoleon wrasse which was screaming for attention and affection

The divers were unanimous when it came to the highlight of the trip. It had to be snorkeling with the whale shark – for majority of the group – for the first time! The boat paced up and down the channel anxiously for two full days as the dive masters kept watch for the faint shadow of a whale shark. Just as the group grew restless, a four-meter medium sized whale shark decided it was time to strut its stuff. Most of the divers never thought they would jump (without hesitation!) from the bow of the boat three meters down into the sea!

Divers were speechless and in awe as they watched the whale shark swam gracefully away

There was no snow or mistletoe but the divers were not shortchanged of a cheery Christmas. Far from that, many would not want to spend it any way and any where else! Imagine being swept off to a private island, savouring grilled meats over a grand long table lined with rose petals and tea candles, and basking under the moon light with the fire glowing in the background… That was Christmas in Male.

Our very own kungfu divers

Diving with Deep Blue Scuba is never complete unless you have found yourself suffering from stomach and facial cramp – generally more than once hourly – after laughing your head off at a thirty-second spontaneous stand-up comedy by one of the Deep Blue crew. At other times, the group kept themselves busy and entertained by taking hundreds of photographs (sometimes after smearing half a bar of bright red lip stick onto one another), learning synchronized dance moves to 80s music, filming the Asian adaptation of R.E.C. the movie, or sneaking a huge bunch of banana into someone’s cabin. The Maldives experience was enhanced by the excellent company of hyperactive, easily-tickled and over-the-top crazy divers; certainly not a trip for the faint-hearted.

Casualties from an afternoon of Dai Di (also known as the Big 2 Card Game)

For a larger view of the articles, click on the images. =D

I returned to Singapore from a Phuket LOB dive trip sooner than the rest. Ricky asked me how the trip went. I replied, “as long as Pierre showed half his buttocks and YP continues to suffer verbal diarrhoea, everyone will enjoy.” Anyone wish to dispute with me?

Great dives make great dive trips, but a great dive trip does not necessarily require great dives. There is more to a dive trip than the diving itself. There are the companionship, the above water activities, the trips to the islands and streets, and the entertainment provided by cranky and comical characters.

Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are great dive sites; the same can be said of those at Ko Ha; Colourful soft corals, rich marine life and plentiful fishes. Though we came for to see manta and whale shark, but we were still sufficiently awarded with close encounters with leopard sharks.

But the most special dive was the evening dive at Ko Ha Yai cave. We ascended in the cave to the surface and were greeted to beautiful stalactites hanging from metres high limestone cave ceiling. The limited light penetrating from the waters into the caves make the place a little eerie. But our laughter and hustle bustle brightened up our visit to this “cathedral cave”. The arch above us resembles a cathedral’s ceiling and the dripping drops from the ceiling bear resemblance of holy water from above.

If these wet activities were good, the dry ones were even better. We played games in between dives and joked non-stop. Girls jumped from the sundeck into the sea; the guys could only imagine that they were not wearing their wetsuits. We fished (fish?) for squids and got ourselves squirted. I also came to realize that one, regardless of gender, can be creative in expletives.

On Patong Beach, we played fireworks and lighted lanterns and set them off in hope of our New Year wishes come true. We danced through the stroke of midnight to usher in 2008.

And what about Pierre and YP? You got to dive with them to find out.

I have always loved LOB. What could be more interesting and convenient in diving than to be with a
group of fun-loving fellows diving off a live aboard dive boat. You eat, dive, eat, joke, dive, have fun,
eat, sleep, dive; and the cycle repeats .. and repeats… and repeats. And with a live aboard, you can go
to remote dive sites and cover a wider dive location.
17 of us went on a LOB over last weekend; just a normal weekend type of dive trip—departing on a
Friday evening and returning on the Sunday evening but the LOB dive trip turned out to be more than a
normal typical dive trip.
We covered the northern waters of Tioman, the eastern coast of Pemanggil and the dive sites in familiar
Aur, all in a weekend. We dived wrecks and submerged reefs normally inaccessible to dive boats from
island resorts, and explored new bays which are hardly dived.
But then again, diving is not just about diving. Diving is about having fun with fellow divers. Diving
is about having good food between dives. Diving is also about sharing jokes, talking-cock, merrymaking
and more.
And after each dive, no matter whether the dive site was good or the dive conditions were bad, we were
treated with delicious food and snacks: sumptuous breakfast with choice of cereals, bread and noodles;
buffet spread of fish, prawns, chicken, vegetables and omelet for lunch; BBQ dinner with grilled beef,
shrimps, chicken wings and red wine; and spring rolls, chocolate cake and ice cream for afternoon tea!
I went about taking pictures, not just underwater pictures but also taking candid shots of divers on the
surface, on the boat, having meals, joking, etc. We don’t just let down our hair to have fun. We even
let down our pants! Well, not we, just one of us. And not let down the pants to have fun the way u
think. In the midst of excitement and spontaneity, this funny chap pulled down his pants and faced the
white cheeks of his buttocks towards the camera!
And some jokes are never too old to be told over and over again. Jokes which I have first heard 2 dive
seasons ago were again brought up and the laughters never seemed to reduce. I need not wonder why
the girls were more wary of raising their arms after hearing our jokes.
In just 2 days, we had so much fun, so much food, so much laughers. And it wasn’t just about diving, it
was also about meeting new friends and doing new things.

Location: Tioman, Pemanggil and Aur

Location: Malapascua, The Philippines ( Thresher Shark Divers )

Dive Site: Monad Shoal

Max Depth: 22 m

Temp: 27 ºC

Visibility: 10 m

Date: 27 Oct 2006

Time: 6:30 am

5 dives in the past 2 days at this same site and still without a single sighting of what we were here for made us desperate. I murmured a short prayer to all the gods I know and took my plunge into the water. Cold water woke me up and we reached the bottom within 3 minutes. While descending, 3 divers in my group mimicked a group skydive free fall formation. Well after all, they had nothing better to do in the last 5 dives here. “Might as well play a bit”.

We arrived at the first cleaning station; the group that jumped in earlier was just about to leave. The DM signaled that one thresher had just left. Damn it! We took over their position. I felt like a sentry taking over a checkpoint. And all we saw was blue. Nothing. We moved to the next cleaning station; patience was on thin ice now.

Suddenly one diver at the front starting waving us over; we went 100% alert. All eyes scanned into the deep and far hoping to see a dark shadow. Instead he waved to us frantically over to his position and pointed at a small coral head.

I then realized that he was showing us a stonefish! My mind toyed with these choices at that very moment:

1) Remove my fin and whack him on this head

2) Take out my dive knife and cut his hose

3) Take out my dive knife and cut him

Man! Here we are waiting to see a thresher and he was asking us to see a bloody stonefish! I really admired his courage. What the rest of the group and me did to him after the dive I shall not reveal.

We were fast approaching decompression limits and so had no choice but to end our dive.

While on the boat, we learned that another group which took over our position 2 minutes after we left sighted a thresher. Damn it again!

Ces’t la vie. And that’s diving too. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t. But for us, it was all 6 times “don’t”. Sigh… at least we live to dive another day.