1. Hunt for the hammerheads - Kite Island, Sabah
After a 3 month self-imposed ban on diving, my immediate diving adventure was to hunt for the hammerheads in Kite Island, Sabah.
Diving in Layang-Layang is very different from my "normal" diving conditions.. I mean the deep blue was.. well, deep blue.
The hammerheads proved to be elusive to us, the closest being the origami towel hammerhead design which was requested by my roomie, Sue. The house-keeping personnel probably felt sorry for us and agreed to create one for us. Hehehe..
However we were presented with a group of devil rays (6 of 'em), a trio of reef sharks, a large school of giant jacks (can be classified as a university) and apparently there were sightings of manta rays.
As with other dive trips, the company was great! Strangers ended up as friends, while friends.. remained as friends.
2. The Ruins of Yesterday (Above Water)
My next destination takes me across the Straits of Malacca. To ensure that we could maximise this trip, we took the first flight out to Jogjakarta. This just re-enforces my belief that I do end up getting up earlier when I'm on holiday compared to when I am working.
Prambanan (a Hindu temple) did not really appeal to me, as I had expected. Perhaps the early morning flight had affected my ability to soak in the wonders and beauty of this place. This place had a lot of sand too.. and I was in sandals.. which didn't go well with me.
Due to an earthquake in recent years, this temple is currently undergoing restoration works and from the looks of it, it will be restored to it's magnificient state.
After a short break, we headed to this place called the Kraton or something like that. It is actually an old palace which is turned into a museum. Nothing much here except for mannequins dressed in the attire for different types of ceremonies participated by the royal family of the place. I wasn't really paying much attention to it.. so whatever I terms I just used could be wrong also. Hahahaha..
Finally, we ended up in Borobodur. This temple, just wow-ed me. It was a one piece work of art, still standing magnificiently. There was a story to it, etched along the walls of the temple. We didn't take the services of a temple guide, so we ended up making our own story as we went along. Hahaha.. most of the time was spent taking pictures anyways.
After a 3 month self-imposed ban on diving, my immediate diving adventure was to hunt for the hammerheads in Kite Island, Sabah.
Diving in Layang-Layang is very different from my "normal" diving conditions.. I mean the deep blue was.. well, deep blue.
The hammerheads proved to be elusive to us, the closest being the origami towel hammerhead design which was requested by my roomie, Sue. The house-keeping personnel probably felt sorry for us and agreed to create one for us. Hehehe..
However we were presented with a group of devil rays (6 of 'em), a trio of reef sharks, a large school of giant jacks (can be classified as a university) and apparently there were sightings of manta rays.
As with other dive trips, the company was great! Strangers ended up as friends, while friends.. remained as friends.
My next destination takes me across the Straits of Malacca. To ensure that we could maximise this trip, we took the first flight out to Jogjakarta. This just re-enforces my belief that I do end up getting up earlier when I'm on holiday compared to when I am working.
Prambanan (a Hindu temple) did not really appeal to me, as I had expected. Perhaps the early morning flight had affected my ability to soak in the wonders and beauty of this place. This place had a lot of sand too.. and I was in sandals.. which didn't go well with me.
Due to an earthquake in recent years, this temple is currently undergoing restoration works and from the looks of it, it will be restored to it's magnificient state.
After a short break, we headed to this place called the Kraton or something like that. It is actually an old palace which is turned into a museum. Nothing much here except for mannequins dressed in the attire for different types of ceremonies participated by the royal family of the place. I wasn't really paying much attention to it.. so whatever I terms I just used could be wrong also. Hahahaha..
Finally, we ended up in Borobodur. This temple, just wow-ed me. It was a one piece work of art, still standing magnificiently. There was a story to it, etched along the walls of the temple. We didn't take the services of a temple guide, so we ended up making our own story as we went along. Hahaha.. most of the time was spent taking pictures anyways.
3. The Ruins of Yesterday (Underwater)
Another dive trip within 2 weeks. I'm on a roll here! Hahaha.. This trip was a leisure trip and ended up diving whenever we felt like it. After the near-like disappointment of the hammerhead trip, I'm happy to say that this dive trip was a "rediscover the pleasures of diving" experience. This was also my first time diving together with Din after a lapse of 3 years (the last dive, made me wanna quit.. but to be fair, he wasn't my buddy then.. hahaha).
First dive itself, I was awed. I "met" all the fishes that I have seen before but somehow did not get to see them in my recent dives. This somehow made me feel at home. What made it better is, I am now able to spot some marine life all on my own, without being dependent on the Dive Master or Din. Yay!!
The wreck dive was pretty alright too.. although the current towards the end of the dive made it tiring for me. So tak payah eloborate on this dive la :p
I love the last dive the most! So many things to see.. so relaxing too.
Well, that's it for this 3-in-1 posting.
