Scuba diving....(part 1)

WHAT??? Scuba diving!!!

That was the first question popped out from my missus (a.k.a Home Minister) when I told her that I want to do scuba diving. I told her that I really appreciate the beautiful corals and fishes and I have to see them before they become extinct!!! [At the rate of the global warming now, not quite sure how long all these beautiful and delicate things will last] Actually I wanted to take up scuba diving much earlier but due to work and family commitment, I had to defer my dream. Despite her worries about the whole thing, I think she wasn't quite sure what type of fishes I really want to see...and 'curious' whether actually I am interested to see the two legged type or the real fish....hehehe....[Note: Home Minister is not the sun sea and beach type of person. Her skin will turn red like boiled prawn if exposed a bit too long in the sun...just my luck!]

Back then in August 2011, I didn't know a soul who was into scuba diving...so the best guide was the internet. I got a few dive centres name but when I called up no one answered except .... Tristan Low of Marine Monkees. I called my friend Amin Badawi whether he is interested to join and he said ok. Amin is a fanatic in photography...

I took my wife to see Tristan so that he can answers all the questions she might have...Tristan was a pro and very convincing and she was okay after that. I realised that there were lots of paperwork to fill up before Tristan agrees to take me and Amin as his students. The one that I cannot forget is that he insisted that we get a doctor to certify that we are fit to do scuba diving....reason...both of us are above 45. Tak guna betoi!!! apa orang tua tak boleh scuba diving ke? Anyway both of us got the doctor's okay and we started our classroom sessions immediately...Tristan really put us through the whole thing...tengok video....baca buku...jawab soalan....chapter after chapter....semua kena buat....lepas tu dia suruh buat exam pulak...passing mark like 80%. Tak guna betoi!!!...initially I thought it was all fun and easy going...tough!!!

Tapi disebabkan oleh nak dapat PADI Open Water Diver certification, semua tu kira masalah kecik...both of us got through the lessons and the tests....next... the confined water session. Interesting!!!!

Shonny Loh trained us both during the confined water session. That was the first time I assembled the diving gears, looked at the every detail of the equipments that will be my lifeline underwater....but opps...before gearing up... Shonny without mercy asked me to swim 200m in the pool...damn!!! lagi sekali terkena...mana larat nak berenang 200m...nasib baik dia bagi pakai fin...no jokes la these fellas...betoi2 ikut buku...

Semangat tengah kuat!!!...nak dapat OWD license jugak....so apa instructors cakap... ikut saja...the most difficult part was to do hovering...floating like a jinn underwater...up... down...up...down... jenuh nak control breathing...buat sampai steady....finally after 2 days of training we acquired the confined water skills....now we are ready to do the skills in the open water...now really over excited!!!...[pinjam favourite word kawan]  

We have to be quick before the season close in late Oct. We haven't got much time and quickly agreed to do our Open Water in Pulau Tenggol, Terengganu. [Earlier Tristan said it could be in Pulau Sibu somewhere off Mersing.] We drove from KL to Kuala Dungun at night and arrived there in the early morning. Tristan and Shonny and the rest of the team were already there. We had a quick breakfast in the kampong and the boat took us about 45 minutes to reach Pulau Tenggol. Once we reached Pulau Tenggol, I realised that there wasn't much to do there except diving. The only plus thing there was the food was good though....

We had to do 4 Open Water dives before we can get the certification. I had the first taste of the real thing when we did the first open water dive....1. descend wasn't that easy...I don't understand why I couldn't descend fast enough like other people...and 2. equalisation wasn't that easy for me...blowing air inside my head was not working fast enough. The right ear was really painful. I had to go up a bit, equalised before going down...bit by bit...even 1 meter difference was painful. Everything was real slow....descend and equalisation....but once I leveled up... I will be okay....The other problem was foggy mask...but I can just clear it by letting in a bit of water inside the mask and blow it out. Even though we didn't dive very deep...around 12 - 15 meters but the air ran out in less than 45 minutes [Otai can lasts more than 1.5 hours at this depth]. Lots of thing were not quite right la....one of them was hovering [another story in part 3]...

Finally, both Amin and I were certified...I was really pleased with myself that even though I started late, Alhamdulillah... finally I got to swim with the fishes and see the corals...Thanks to both Tristan and Shonny for opening a new window to the world...and my wife for her support and understanding....


Bye for now...