Friday, August 20, 2010

Sabah in December Part 1 - Feeding the addiction

So after having earned my Open Water certification, it was going to be a three-month wait before I hit the seas again. It's helluva long wait ok for those who's been hit by the diving bug. For those who've experienced it, there's a symptom I call the 'Scuba Dream' - it's a very vivid dream of going diving, the sort of experience we don't want to wake up from.

December 2009, and it is the year-end trip to Sabah for Chris and I. It's always lovely to 'balik kampung', and now there's the added incentive of going diving at the Taman Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Taman TAR) marine park. Just a 10-minute boat ride from KK, these islands ( Mamutik, Sapi, Gaya, Suulug, Manukan, et al ) provide a quick getaway for some fun in the sun, and now, provide the very convenient opportunity to do some diving near the city centre.

I must say the visibility isn't great, the marine life nothing to shout about, but it's still good enough to enable me to practice my skills and satisfy the craving for blowing bubbles...

I did get the chance to see turtles, stingrays, and all the fishies in the ocean. But what sets Tmn TAR apart is the macro life. Gobies, shrimp, feather stars, and all those little things that scutter about between the rocks and on the sand.

On the boat heading to the dive site near Pulau Sapi, damn excited to hit the sea after such a long time away.

All dressed up and ready to go. The divemaster, Judan, and I ready to do the back-roll entry in.

While in Sabah, plenty of time to do composite pictures like this    : )

No underwater camera yet so no shots below the waves.

And that was a very good day indeed.

With the diving all done on day one of the trip, we shall put up more pics and stories of my always-enjoyable trip to the Land below the Wind...


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