Pulau Aur
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
That took place during the easter weekend.
Got to the island with 50+ other people; lifesaving people (there to take their Bronze/Silver Cross tests), parents (plus the 3 triathlon babes there for a leisure trip), and the dive people.
Didn't snap pictures cos I was suffering from Phuket Withdrawal Symptons, nah just kidding. Just didn't feel like it. There were people all around to do it instead.
Anyhow, I got to share a room with the bf, bf's mum & June! Won't be going into details because you don't need a lot of details for such a trip, you'll just need to pay your dive operator some money and everything's going to fall into place.
That's my first leisure dive, and I had bf for my buddy. We were really lucky to see live turtles not once, but twice on our first day of diving (at Lang Island & Telok Jawa respectively). Baracudas, garfish, batfish(!), boxfish, soldierfish, idols, clownfish, angels, groupers (definitely a tasty treat!), christmas tree worms and so on. George, our dive master, brought us to a depth of 20 over metres on our first dive, & I was initially worried since it's been a long time since we touched the diving gear and it's just beyond our certification limits. No sweat though, our limit for this trip turned out to be 92feet! That took place at Pinnacle Point on the 2nd day; he said if we were lucky we could see whale sharks and manta rays, no such luck though!
In conclusion, my first leisure dive was fantastic! More time to look at the fishes instead of focusing on drills, I had such a great time down there, just observing. Both bf & me concluded that it's really amazing to be so deep down with sooooooooooooooooo much water all around you. I feel like I've stumbled into a whole new world underwater, there's so much activity going on around and I'm just some random observer that's happened to pass by. Being able to see an entire school of ikan kuning swim past right in front of you, can be a really magical experience. There's just a lot of respect that I have for the seas & oceans; for the myriad life forms that it supports, from the tiny cleaner shrimps to the gigantic whale sharks. I love the sea. I love diving!
Okay, enough of dive-talk. I should just go again sometime soon, once I start having an income.
For the times that we were not diving, we went fishing! I'm a total newbie at this; and I hope my dad would share more with me (but he wouldn't). Thankfully, fishing nowadays is somewhat idiot-proof. You don't even have to tie your own hooks and knots; there are ready-made ones that you can just clip onto the lines. We tried jetty-fishing but apart from the few tiny fishes we caught on the sabiki hooks, there was nothing else. & what really amazed me was that you don't need any bait for the sabiki hooks. Wtf? No bait and the fishes still get themselves hooked?! Anyhow, I enjoyed the session where we had a boat to bring us out to sea more instead; more fishes were caught. We caught many groupers (one of the boatmen said to me, bbq sedap, when i caught one). It's a damned cruel business, getting the hook out, & it's definitely something I am going to need more practice with, everyone was laughing at my inability to get it out luh.
We enjoyed our catch the next day steamed. Super yummy, the flesh is just so soft and tender can. I think fishing can be a new hobby, provided there are fishes to be caught. This little kid Daryl, taught me a new fishing lingo (钓石头鱼). & his dad is the one of the coolest around, damned generous and encouraging too. He was telling one of my friend's younger sis not to be sad because she didn't catch anything; it's just not her luck, and stuff like that. I sibei respect people like that one lor, uncle koon, way to go man.
And for times we weren't diving or fishing, I spent my time swinging (& sleeping) in a hammock under some coconut trees, overlooking the horizon. Damned the song. 2 angmohs brought the hammock and everyone else just had fun swinging in it; thank you angmohs! Anyway the 2 of them went diving with us, if they send the pictures to us, I'll post some up okay! Promise!
I thought the food was alright, not fantastic. Still swearing by the lambchops, chicken wings and satay (bbq night!) from Dayang Blues Resort, heard it's one of the best in that region. Anyone wants to go there someday?
All in all, I had a great time, & I hope everyone else did too. Couldn't ask for better room-mates, and I had fun helping Patrick 'babysit'. I heart you bf! I love you Aur/Dayang! Can't wait to go back again soon.........
1:49 AM
Got to the island with 50+ other people; lifesaving people (there to take their Bronze/Silver Cross tests), parents (plus the 3 triathlon babes there for a leisure trip), and the dive people.
Didn't snap pictures cos I was suffering from Phuket Withdrawal Symptons, nah just kidding. Just didn't feel like it. There were people all around to do it instead.
Anyhow, I got to share a room with the bf, bf's mum & June! Won't be going into details because you don't need a lot of details for such a trip, you'll just need to pay your dive operator some money and everything's going to fall into place.
That's my first leisure dive, and I had bf for my buddy. We were really lucky to see live turtles not once, but twice on our first day of diving (at Lang Island & Telok Jawa respectively). Baracudas, garfish, batfish(!), boxfish, soldierfish, idols, clownfish, angels, groupers (definitely a tasty treat!), christmas tree worms and so on. George, our dive master, brought us to a depth of 20 over metres on our first dive, & I was initially worried since it's been a long time since we touched the diving gear and it's just beyond our certification limits. No sweat though, our limit for this trip turned out to be 92feet! That took place at Pinnacle Point on the 2nd day; he said if we were lucky we could see whale sharks and manta rays, no such luck though!
In conclusion, my first leisure dive was fantastic! More time to look at the fishes instead of focusing on drills, I had such a great time down there, just observing. Both bf & me concluded that it's really amazing to be so deep down with sooooooooooooooooo much water all around you. I feel like I've stumbled into a whole new world underwater, there's so much activity going on around and I'm just some random observer that's happened to pass by. Being able to see an entire school of ikan kuning swim past right in front of you, can be a really magical experience. There's just a lot of respect that I have for the seas & oceans; for the myriad life forms that it supports, from the tiny cleaner shrimps to the gigantic whale sharks. I love the sea. I love diving!
Okay, enough of dive-talk. I should just go again sometime soon, once I start having an income.
For the times that we were not diving, we went fishing! I'm a total newbie at this; and I hope my dad would share more with me (but he wouldn't). Thankfully, fishing nowadays is somewhat idiot-proof. You don't even have to tie your own hooks and knots; there are ready-made ones that you can just clip onto the lines. We tried jetty-fishing but apart from the few tiny fishes we caught on the sabiki hooks, there was nothing else. & what really amazed me was that you don't need any bait for the sabiki hooks. Wtf? No bait and the fishes still get themselves hooked?! Anyhow, I enjoyed the session where we had a boat to bring us out to sea more instead; more fishes were caught. We caught many groupers (one of the boatmen said to me, bbq sedap, when i caught one). It's a damned cruel business, getting the hook out, & it's definitely something I am going to need more practice with, everyone was laughing at my inability to get it out luh.
We enjoyed our catch the next day steamed. Super yummy, the flesh is just so soft and tender can. I think fishing can be a new hobby, provided there are fishes to be caught. This little kid Daryl, taught me a new fishing lingo (钓石头鱼). & his dad is the one of the coolest around, damned generous and encouraging too. He was telling one of my friend's younger sis not to be sad because she didn't catch anything; it's just not her luck, and stuff like that. I sibei respect people like that one lor, uncle koon, way to go man.
And for times we weren't diving or fishing, I spent my time swinging (& sleeping) in a hammock under some coconut trees, overlooking the horizon. Damned the song. 2 angmohs brought the hammock and everyone else just had fun swinging in it; thank you angmohs! Anyway the 2 of them went diving with us, if they send the pictures to us, I'll post some up okay! Promise!
I thought the food was alright, not fantastic. Still swearing by the lambchops, chicken wings and satay (bbq night!) from Dayang Blues Resort, heard it's one of the best in that region. Anyone wants to go there someday?
All in all, I had a great time, & I hope everyone else did too. Couldn't ask for better room-mates, and I had fun helping Patrick 'babysit'. I heart you bf! I love you Aur/Dayang! Can't wait to go back again soon.........
Labels: bf, dive, friends, happiness, holiday, sea, travel
1:49 AM
Phuket: Final Installment!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Okay people, last one!
Finally decided to rent a bike from our hotel to get us to Phuket Aquarium at Cape Panwa at last. Was pretty reluctant initially as I felt it wasn't safe with the hilly and unfamiliar roads/roadsigns. Turned out to be a great decision, saved us some moolah. It's about sgd70 to hire a cab for the entire day, and we only spent sgd15 for renting the bike the entire day too.
Guess I got a pretty good tan while we rode. Entrance tix costed us 20Baht each (wtf 1dollar!).
we arrived safely!
skeletal-looking fish; forgot the name. but i wonder if the meat's going to be transparent also when it dies...
grumpy looking grouper, probably very old
beautiful turtle
gold trevally or something like that; they have really long "hair" growing (and flowing) from the fins, lives in the same tank as the turtles
electric eel
butterflyfishes
the ever-familiar lionfish
this one cute, the name also cute; cowfish
spotted moray eels; misunderstood most of the time
soldierfish, eyes will really remind you of a sad-looking fish. sad soldiers?
batfishes; this picture makes me want to steam and eat them up!
funny-movement shrimp, cute?
surgeonfish; like blades
these totally look like rolled up condoms lah
angelfish... nice glow
interesting-looking seagrass; mini spherical leaves
another cleaner shrimp
supposed to take a shot with the turtle but it swam away
stingray; they ALWAYS have a smile on their face one leh
flying underwater
this one too old and fat to fly anymore
tigerbarb, nothing really interesting to say bout this one
the tunnel-like thing.
sharkie
maori humphead wrasse; the saltwater luohan? and speaking of luohans, they have one on exhibit can!
ENORMOUS grumpy looking groupers, somehow they remind me of the potato cod
dugong, i still can't believe people in the past mistook this for a mermaid...
a set of dugong skeleton on display. did you know that they are mammals just like dolphins and whales? the fingers, look.
Finished walking around the air-conditioned aquarium and we found out that the aquarium's not the end to our visit! You can actually continue to their....
There's actually also the Hatchery, Turtle Center, and Research Vessel that visitors can go take a look at. Cool cool cool.
view from the trail
have never been to a hatchery, this is just awesome. baby fishies, here we come!
some jellyfishes that like to stick themselves onto the glass tanks
bf likes these, cute
baby bamboo shark
and baby sharks come from these egg cases; reminded me of cockroaches... haha
clownfish looking radiant
seahorse, probably went out in the sun too much? looking really chao ta.
have never seen a sea horse on any of the dives i've been on, yet
this is some squid thing, just that it's a little burnt.
mean-looking arowana
this lobster looks really scary, like some tarantula spider
And then we moved on to the turtle centre, where they breed baby turtles until they are old enough to be released back into the sea. First time I'm seeing so many green turtles altogether at a go, overwhelming.
there were soooooooooo many of them in the different pools
and when they're tired of splashing around they just tuck in everything and float on the surface.. haha
much bigger pond for the much bigger turtles... these fellas here look really battered
quarantined, perhaps it was sick?
Spent half our day here before moving back to Patong Beach. Totally loving this place.
Got back to Patong Beach so we could go for dinner. Haven't been feeling well the entire day, damed menses decided to be a bitch and brought cramps along. Lao-sai throughout the day, literally. I'd be clambering for the toilet every 2 hours or less, & I hope it'll never ever have to be like this again. Made me feel really weak, and there goes my appetite for the entire day and the next.
we thought the logo reminded us of the taiwan lailai beef noodles at liang seah st. free one day we go together okay!
supposed to be a fine-dining place, prices were exhorbitant and we were given complimentary crostinis.
don't be deceived, i felt like shit(ting).
bf's steak, serving was scarily big.
and my lasagne. i think i only managed to finish a quarter of it. terrible waste of food, blame the cramp!
Total damage done: sgd50-70. We're probably not going back there again, that money can get us both a decent thai massage each leh.
bf and the trusty scooter...
advertisment van for thai-boxing, they have a fake ring with some locals in it asking passerbys to go watch their matches.
bf's supper that he commented was very good; pork porridge. i should have taken a mouth seriously! spent my time curled up in bed getting ready for the next lao sai round to come and nursing the cramp instead... regret!
caught in the act!
Got a minibus deal that got us to the airport at 170Baht each next day, beats flagging a cab that will probably chare a 600Baht fare.
Not exactly a bigbang ending to our kick ass trip, but I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures!
3:04 AM
Finally decided to rent a bike from our hotel to get us to Phuket Aquarium at Cape Panwa at last. Was pretty reluctant initially as I felt it wasn't safe with the hilly and unfamiliar roads/roadsigns. Turned out to be a great decision, saved us some moolah. It's about sgd70 to hire a cab for the entire day, and we only spent sgd15 for renting the bike the entire day too.
Guess I got a pretty good tan while we rode. Entrance tix costed us 20Baht each (wtf 1dollar!).
we arrived safely!
skeletal-looking fish; forgot the name. but i wonder if the meat's going to be transparent also when it dies...
grumpy looking grouper, probably very old
beautiful turtle
gold trevally or something like that; they have really long "hair" growing (and flowing) from the fins, lives in the same tank as the turtles
electric eel
butterflyfishes
the ever-familiar lionfish
this one cute, the name also cute; cowfish
spotted moray eels; misunderstood most of the time
soldierfish, eyes will really remind you of a sad-looking fish. sad soldiers?
batfishes; this picture makes me want to steam and eat them up!
funny-movement shrimp, cute?
surgeonfish; like blades
these totally look like rolled up condoms lah
angelfish... nice glow
interesting-looking seagrass; mini spherical leaves
another cleaner shrimp
supposed to take a shot with the turtle but it swam away
stingray; they ALWAYS have a smile on their face one leh
flying underwater
this one too old and fat to fly anymore
tigerbarb, nothing really interesting to say bout this one
the tunnel-like thing.
sharkie
maori humphead wrasse; the saltwater luohan? and speaking of luohans, they have one on exhibit can!
ENORMOUS grumpy looking groupers, somehow they remind me of the potato cod
dugong, i still can't believe people in the past mistook this for a mermaid...
a set of dugong skeleton on display. did you know that they are mammals just like dolphins and whales? the fingers, look.
Finished walking around the air-conditioned aquarium and we found out that the aquarium's not the end to our visit! You can actually continue to their....
There's actually also the Hatchery, Turtle Center, and Research Vessel that visitors can go take a look at. Cool cool cool.
view from the trail
have never been to a hatchery, this is just awesome. baby fishies, here we come!
some jellyfishes that like to stick themselves onto the glass tanks
bf likes these, cute
baby bamboo shark
and baby sharks come from these egg cases; reminded me of cockroaches... haha
clownfish looking radiant
seahorse, probably went out in the sun too much? looking really chao ta.
have never seen a sea horse on any of the dives i've been on, yet
this is some squid thing, just that it's a little burnt.
mean-looking arowana
this lobster looks really scary, like some tarantula spider
And then we moved on to the turtle centre, where they breed baby turtles until they are old enough to be released back into the sea. First time I'm seeing so many green turtles altogether at a go, overwhelming.
there were soooooooooo many of them in the different pools
and when they're tired of splashing around they just tuck in everything and float on the surface.. haha
much bigger pond for the much bigger turtles... these fellas here look really battered
quarantined, perhaps it was sick?
Spent half our day here before moving back to Patong Beach. Totally loving this place.
Got back to Patong Beach so we could go for dinner. Haven't been feeling well the entire day, damed menses decided to be a bitch and brought cramps along. Lao-sai throughout the day, literally. I'd be clambering for the toilet every 2 hours or less, & I hope it'll never ever have to be like this again. Made me feel really weak, and there goes my appetite for the entire day and the next.
we thought the logo reminded us of the taiwan lailai beef noodles at liang seah st. free one day we go together okay!
supposed to be a fine-dining place, prices were exhorbitant and we were given complimentary crostinis.
don't be deceived, i felt like shit(ting).
bf's steak, serving was scarily big.
and my lasagne. i think i only managed to finish a quarter of it. terrible waste of food, blame the cramp!
Total damage done: sgd50-70. We're probably not going back there again, that money can get us both a decent thai massage each leh.
bf and the trusty scooter...
advertisment van for thai-boxing, they have a fake ring with some locals in it asking passerbys to go watch their matches.
bf's supper that he commented was very good; pork porridge. i should have taken a mouth seriously! spent my time curled up in bed getting ready for the next lao sai round to come and nursing the cramp instead... regret!
caught in the act!
Got a minibus deal that got us to the airport at 170Baht each next day, beats flagging a cab that will probably chare a 600Baht fare.
Not exactly a bigbang ending to our kick ass trip, but I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures!
Labels: bf, happiness, marine life, thailand, travel
3:04 AM
