My Travel Blog

Dive with White Manta - 7 Skies (15th Aug to 17th Aug 2008)

2008-08-18T12:22:00.009+08:00

Around a year ago (http://shuetravelblog.blogspot.com/2007_10_14_archive.html), I went diving on Black Manta and was totally impressed by their services and sincerity to make the dive trip an unforgettable one. This time round, I went on White Manta to visit 7 Skies. Only one word to describe this trip, "Fantastic"!

We boarded the boat at SAF Yatch Club. Watching the sun set as we departed Singapore for 7 Skies.

Our check dive was done at Batu Katoaka. Applause for Chris for his drawings.

Dive 53
ABT: 40min
Max Depth: 21.9m
Conditions: Choppy with a bit of underwater current.
Vis: 20m

Nope, we didn't see any manta ray even though it was on the white board.

Photo of a shrimp.

After our check dive, we proceeded on to our next dive site: Seven Skies

The Seven Skies is a super tanker that sank near the Anambas islands, Riau province. (Location: 2°38' N, 105°13.5' E. 220km NE of Singapore). The location of this famous wreck has been disputed over and over again, until finally it was resolved in 2005 that it is within Indonesian waters. Currently, there is only one way to get there: by liveaboard. The wreck lies about four hours journey East of Pulau Aur, Malaysia. It is sitting upright on a sandy patch, its top at about 32m and its bottom at 67m. (http://www.kapalselam.org/dive_trip/anambas_2006/)

http://www.asiadivesite.com/malaysia-dive-sites/tech/seven-skies-wreck.php

Dive 54
ABT: 28min
Max Depth: 34.2m
Conditions: Choppy with a bit of underwater current.
Vis: 10m

Dive 55
ABT: 28min
Max Depth: 33.5m
Conditions: Choppy with a bit of underwater current.
Vis: 10m

As the visibility is rather poor, photos of the wreck were very blur

There was a school of baracudas swimming by the side the wreck. And lots of big batfish. After the 7 Skies dive, we proceeded to Pulau Aur for our night dive at Pinnang. Being lazy, i skipped the night dive.

After a good night sleep, we proceeded with our morning dive at the same site.

Dive 56
ABT: 54min
Max Depth: 17m
Conditions: Peaceful.
Vis: 20m

Our last dive was done at Pinnacle, just off Dayang island.

Dive 57
ABT: 44min
Max Depth: 25.4m
Conditions: Peaceful.
Vis: 15m

1 minute after my descend at 25m, there was a Diver's Alert Horn sounded by Daniel. Lots of noises made by divers. All the clinking and dinging of tanks... i looked up and .....

Whale Shark!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our chase begins......

The whale shark surfaced and even our boatman got excited and jump into the sea.

it seems like the whale shark mistook our boat for its mother..

I was this close to the whale shark...

What a Weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

Singapore Zoological Garden - 29th Jun 08

2008-06-29T17:04:00.004+08:00

Finally, after 10 years, i'm back to the zoo....

Tioman Dive - 20 Jun to 22 Jun 2008

2008-06-28T11:32:00.005+08:00

Finally, my first dive of the year. Since i have been to Pulau Dayang, Pulau Aur, the next destination is of course Pulau Tioman. I went with Mark and Charles Scuba.

Friends that came along with me this time. In fact, willy was the one who jio everyone else.

And i made new friends...

View from the our Resort

View from the Pier

Yeah!!!. Finally the first dive!!!

In some photos, I have used photoshop to increase the "red" in underwater photos, and reducing the blue. I followed the instructions as stated on this site. Very useful. http://www.gadling.com/2005/02/11/how-to-editing-underwater-photos/

Most interesting dive site: Labas. The rock structures allow swim thrus. There's lots of fishes hiding in the "caves".

Finding Nemo

Panic Diver

Hmm... from the view of a shark.

Advance Water Divers!!!!

Open Water Divers!. Such coincidence to meet Adam in this dive trip. Singapore is really a small country.

Nice shot! by our Dive master.

Mermaids!!! ~whistle~

Let's go for another dive trip!!!!

DIVE LOG.

Dive 48 Kadok Bay

ABT: 35 min

Max Depth: 20.2m

Dive 49 Labas

Quite fun as the rock structures allow many swim thrus.

ABT: 47 min

Max Depth: 17.2m

Dive 50 Ringgis

ABT: 47 min

Max Depth: 10.5m

Dive 51 Lighthouse

Sea was super choppy. End up getting sea sick and vomit my intestines out. To make it worse, didn't see anything in the dive.. haiz...

ABT: 33 min

Max Depth 37.1

Dive 52 Swimming Pool

Didnt' see anything.. haiz haiz...

ABT: 35 min

Max Depth: 20.2m

Pottery and Ceramics Gallery at Fort Canning (14th Dec 07)

2007-12-18T20:46:00.000+08:00

This is the first time i was invited by my colleague to a pottery and ceramics gallery for the opening night. She has some of her works being displayed as well. Wow!

I brought my new toy, a Canon EOS 400D to take a few photos. Using a DSLR to take photos and hearing the "click" sound at every shot really gives the photographer a sense of satisfaction. Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens. ISO: 400. Aperture set at f/5 to f/5.6 to create blurred background. (and of course to increase more light as it's really dark)

Ceramic burgers!

My colleague's works!!!

This mini human is also made by her - and that's her hand of course.

These 2 angels were done by a female caucasian - I really like the expressions of the angels. Their heads are thumb size only, so the creator has put in a lot of effort in moulding their expressions.

Another works of my colleague - See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil

The hand belongs to another colleague of mine who was also invited to the gallery.

Anambas Expedition with Black Manta (12th Oct to 15th Oct 07)

2007-10-19T21:34:00.000+08:00

I have been looking forward to this dive trip. Ever since my last open sea dive at Perhentian in Apr, the only dive i had was at Sentosa Underwater World in Sep.

(Sidetracking a bit)Nevertheless, the dive at Sentosa was memorable as i get to see eagle rays upclose, stroking their tummies as they swam pass. I also get to carry leopard sharks and let them rest on my thigh as i half kneeled. In addition, i get to play with Dugong. (http://www.underwaterworld.com.sg/adventures.htm) The best part is that non divers can also go there and dive. During this dive, no finning. Just lots of weight and you hop around the place. You also become one of their exhibits for the visitors of the underwater world.

Enough of that, back to this dive trip with Black Manta. Most of my friends would already have received my earlier email with photos of a whale shark. I have finally seen a whale shark!!! and it's only my 41st dive.

For this trip, I stayed on board Black Manta (name of the boat) for 4 days 3 nights, going for dives along the journey to and fro Anambas - Anambas archipelago (Indonesian: Kepulauan Anambas) is a small archipelago of Indonesia, located in the South China Sea between east and west Malaysia and Kalimantan.

Day 1 (12 th Oct 07)
Met up with the other divers at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal around 6pm. For this trip, i went alone and was all ready to make friends there. Got introduced to my room mate, Nitin and subsequently to a few other divers, Philip, David, Pearly, Christian, Gary. Subsequently, was also introduced to Vincent, the boss and his eldest daughter(junior diver). Readers, never underestimate her as she has already seen whale shark twice in her life and for this trip, we are relying on her as the lucky charm to see the whale shark once again. :)

Once i boarded the Black Manta, i was amazed by how luxurious it is. Pictures of the boat can be found on this site.(http://www.whitemanta.com/mvblackmanta.php). Stayed in Room 3. My only previous Live on Board was with "Beach Boys" which only have the basic neccessities.

Quickly, i got myself comfortable and was all ready for my first dinner on Black Manta. The boat has already started moving to our first dive destination, Acasta Reef.

The Chef is a Thai and naturally, all our meals were cooked in the Thai style manner. For all the meals on Black Manta, the food were mainly spicy, but overall, delicious and filling!!! After dinner, chatted with the divers for a while before going to sleep. Can't wait to dive!!!

Day 2 (13th Oct)

We are right in the middle of the sea and yet, the sea is so calm and peaceful. It's definitely not a photo of a swimming pool.

Dive 1 (Acasta Reef - Garsa Dua Wreck)

Max Depth: 35m ABT: 52min Vis:30m

Description of the Wreck:

GARSA DUA - Indonesian: Motor general cargo vessel: P.T. Pelayaran Samudera Garsa Line; 1969; Imabari Zosen, Imabari; 3,126; 101.63m x 16.31m x 8.61m.The Indonesian motor vessel was on route from Osaka to Lho Seumawe, Indonesia, carrying a general cargo, when she was wrecked by running aground on Acasta rock, about 120 miles east of Singapore, on April 1982.The wreck broke in two the intact stern section and the twisted broken remains of the cargo holds lays at about a 45 degree list on the side of Acasta rock at a depth of 58m, the bow section lays further away.(http://drmike.smugmug.com/gallery/1602846/1/81189739/Medium). Drawing provided from Dr Mike

The whole stern section of this large ship is laying on the side of Acasta rock.The superstructure is large and intact and completely covered in soft coral.

Stayed around the wreck for 10min before moving to the reefs nearby. Lots of marine life as we finned...

Pics of moray eel.
Most species lack pectoral and pelvic fins, adding to their snake-like appearance. Their eyes are rather small; morays rely on their highly developed sense of smell, lying in wait to ambush prey.
The body of the moray is patterned, camouflage also being present inside the mouth. Their jaws are wide, with a snout that protrudes forward. They possess large teeth, designed to tear flesh as opposed to holding or chewing. (wikipedia.com)

Dive 2 (Acasta Reef)

Max Depth: 30m ABT: 64min Vis:30m

Did our second dive at the same site but gave the Wreck a miss and went directly to the reef.

The marine life here is vast. We awed as schools and schools of different fishes swim past us.

Dive3 (Kayuara Island)

Max Depth: 22.5m ABT: 41min Vis:25m

There was lesser marine life here and visibility dropped.

While diving, from far, we saw an eagle ray. It was a very magnifcient sight as the eagle ray flapped its "wings" across the waters. A pity it was quite far away and i couldn't take a photo of it. It was exactly like seeing an eagle flapping its wings in the sky.

As we continued finning, we suddenly hear "ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding!" from another dive group pretty far away. it's the sound produced when a diver uses a steel rod to hit against his air tank. The sound produced is to gain attention from other divers - usually to alert others of exciting sightings. We started to fin harder and look around... and we saw ...

....

Whale Shark!!!!! Finally i see it. First time in my life!!!. hahahahaha. I couldn't contain my excitement. In the midst of excitement, i didn't adjust my camera properly and the shots turn up underexposed. Readers may have to turn up their monitor's brightness to have a better look. I didn't want to photoshop these photos as i quite like the deep blue color of the sea...

This photo is so cool. Just got it from one of the divers. That's me and how close i was...

The whale shark was very curious and it surfaced to take a look at us...

Shots taken from the boat... As a result, all the divers grabbed their cameras and masks and went snorkelling with the whale shark.. The whale shark actually enjoyed the company of the divers and played with them!

We did our Dive 4 (nite dive) at the same site and yes, the whale shark is still around... When the divers went down, all the torchlights shone at the whale shark and the cameras flashes sparkled the darkness.. I didn't bring my camera down, hence no photos for this dive... But it was definitely spectacular to see the whale shark in a nite dive...

Day3 (14th Oct)

A beautiful morning...

Dive 5 (Dum Dum island)

Max Depth: 21.5m ABT:53min Vis:20m

More pics of Moray Eel. The reefs were badly destroyed - mainly due to fishermen bombing the place to catch fish...

Pic of a Scorpion fish below. I have other pics of scorpion fishes in my Puerto Galera trip. This one is rather pink as compared to the others i have seen in Puerto Galera. So far, my impression of scoprion fishes are very red fishes.

Dive 6 (Kenmundi island)
Max Depth: 19m ABT:59min Vis:15m

Saw a family of bumphead parrotfishes lunching...

Pictures of my dive group.

Upskirt of Black Manta - haha

Dive 7 (Kenmundi Pinnacle)

Max Depth: 32m ABT:44min Vis:25m

The previous 2 dives were quite plain as the corals were destroyed and marine life was scarce. Hence, Vincent went around Kenmundi island and found us this marvellous dive site. It has beautiful fences. I would call it the Heaven's Valley cos the place is really heavenly...

Lots of small fishes swimming...

The currents are very strong and i was finning a lot. As a result,I used up my oxygen too quickly and had to cut my dive short.. As i was doing my safety stop, a turtle came along...

Dive 8 (Kenmundi island) - Night Dive

Max Depth: 16.4m ABT:46min

We dived at the coast of the island and there were many mini caves. Spotted 2 crabs in this crack.

Phillip spotted this baby lionfish on a rock. it's only 5cm....

Dive 9 (Campelena Wreck)

Max Depth: 34.7m ABT: 29min Vis: 15m

As we descend down to the wreck, we saw a marble ray ...

As it was all the way at 34.7m, there was low light and i couldn't get a good shot of the marble ray.

Pictures of divers doing their safety stops after the deep dive...

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Vincent and his crew (http://www.whitemanta.com/) for making this dive trip such a memorable one. Thank You!

Back to reality....

China Trip (8th Jun to 17th Jun 2007)

2007-06-20T22:22:00.000+08:00

This trip was never planned for but it happened, suddenly. Juggling between work, exams preparation and music practices, i barely survived the month of May. Anyway, i did and here i am, penning down my feelings for this trip.

The last time I participated in a performance was 3 years ago. I have been a cellist in this chinese orchestra since sec 3... Due to the heavy workload of my first job, i stopped my participation and focus on my career. At that point in time, i had decided not to go back anymore.

One fine day in April 07, a good friend of mine called and asked if i'm interested in this overseas performance. Coincidentally, it clashed with my reservist, and i replied if he is able to help me defer this reservist, i would be obliged to go. And again, it happened. All seems to be arranged..

After a few intensive practices, we were on our way to China. This orchestra is mainly made up of sec 2 to college students, a few music instructors and a few seniors (undergrads to working professions). All of us come from different areas of professions. Bankers, lawyer, teacher, professor, engineers etc. All of them, be it young or old, have one common passion, music..

After working for 3 years in the private sector, the demanding work life has left me quite drained and exhausted. Fortunately, after meeting this group of performers, i am once again motivated. I was deeply touched by their effort to come for practices every Sunday.This trip has rekindled my interest in music and, most importantly, to feel encouraged that there are many people who do things not just to get ahead in the rat race, but for a passion.

A little introduction about chinese orchestra music. Most people may not have gone to a Chinese Orchestra concert before cos it's not very popular. Singapore has a professional group, Singapore Chinese Orchestra which holds regular performances. I'm under Nanyang Academy Fine Arts City Chinese Orchestra (http://www.cityco.com.sg/english/default.asp) which also holds around 4 concerts a year.

Though I'm not an expert in Chinese Orchestra music, I find their music easier to appreciate than the western symphonies. Many of the Chinese Orchestra music are story based or object/character based which allows listeners to easily understand what the composer is trying to portray at each section of the music. Western symphonies requires more in depth understanding of the composer, the era in which the piece was composed hence more studying is required in order to appreciate.

Many people have asked why cello and double bass are used in Chinese Orchestra. There's a long story behind it but in short, there's no other better, effective instruments than cello and double bass to play the low pitch music. Hence, they are now being used in Chinese Orchestra.

The theme of our Beijing performance is Dream of the Red Chambers 紅樓夢. The pieces performed are actually the soundtrack of the show itself, re-written to be performed by Chinese Orchestra.

In this novel, the main character, Jia Baoyu, is the adolescent heir of the family, apparently the reincarnation of the Stone (the most reliable Jiaxu manuscript however has the Stone and Jia Baoyu as two separate, though related, entities). In that previous life he had a relationship with a flower, who is incarnated now as Baoyu's sickly cousin, the emotional Lin Daiyu. However, he is predestined in this life, despite his love for Daiyu, to marry another cousin, Xue Baochai. The novel follows this love triangle against the backdrop of the family's declining fortunes.
(wikipedia)

During this trip, i didn't take many photos but here's a few memorable ones...

As per the tour guide, this is the "pretty tree". Expensive and very rare in China.

This photo was taken in the back stage dressing room on our first performance night at Chang Chun. The performance was on our 2nd day there, a Sunday.

On the next day, we went to the famous Chang Bai Shan at Chang Chun for sight seeing. Below is a lake (tian chi) formed on top of the mountain. Such a clear sighting is rare as it's usually foggy at the mountain top..

and subsequently, we travelled to Yan Ji on a 12 hours bus journey. From there, we took a 24 hours train ride to Beijing. Below are shots taken in the train.

Finally, the most important performance at Ren Ming University (中国人民大学). Concert falls on a Saturday and this concert hall (中国人民大学明德堂) is newly built.

a wide shot of the concert hall. (there are circle seats as well)

Below is my neighbouring instrumental group, tan bo yue.

My fellow cellists and bassist

The following 3 photos are from the courtesy of the University photographer. Scenes taken during the performance.

Finale...

Applause...............

Perhentian Dive Trip (5th Apr to 8th Apr 2007)

2007-04-10T20:55:00.000+08:00

2 weeks after my Pulau Aur Dive, I was on my way to Perhentian with Orpheus. Having a long weekend without going diving is just too wasted...

In this trip, i made many new friends and also realise that Singapore is truly a small country. More likely than not, you'll realise the new people you meet probably know your friends already.

The trip to Perhentian comprises of a 11 to 12 hours bus ride from Singapore and a 40 min speedboat ride. The speed boat ride is "fast and furious", and is just as exciting as any roller coaster rides i have ever taken. Enjoying the wind as the boat speeds towards Perhentian, the past weeks of work stress faded...

The Perhentian Islands (Pulau Perhentian in Malay) lie approximately 10 nautical miles (19 km) offshore the coast of northeastern Malaysia in the state of Terengganu, approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of the Thai border. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar ("Big Perhentian") and Perhentian Kecil ("Small Perhentian"). - wikipedia.

My stay was at Flora Bay Resort on Perhentian Besar. Throughout the 2 diving days at Perhentian, we experienced passing showers in the mornings and afternoons. Visibiliy was quite bad at some dives as the underwater current stirred up the sand on the seabed. Visibility was as bad as 5m in one of the dives.

During my first dive at Tanjung Basi, saw many angelfishes and butterfly fishes. Below, the couple butterfly fishes followed our dive group throughout the whole dive.

Found this fat moray eel hiding in one of the cracks.

During one the dives, Sylvie spotted the black tip and immediatly i kicked furiously towards the shark. I managed to snap a photo before it made me eat dust with its speed.

If you look real carefully, you'll see a tiny shrimp in the centre of the weed...

For this dive trip, i decided to take more non-fish photos.. so there's many divers' photos this time round.

My diving buddy for this trip.

There were quite a few big puffer fishes during our dives. This one was really unlucky. it was being chased by me and my buddy to the extent it got trapped by us.

in the photo below, that's where we got it trapped.. i was infront of it and my dive buddy was behind. Realising it has no where to swim, it just lay still on the seabed. LOL.

At Tekong Laut, it's famous for the nurse sharks found in many of the cracks underwater.

As we swam, the current got a bit strong. Irregardless, i kicked and kicked to catch up with the big school of jackfish ahead. it seems like jackfishes like to swim against current.

As i finned towards the big school of jacks, they turned and veered left. Quickly took a shot of them before they turned left.

Undeterred, i swam forward to catch up with another smaller school of jacks infront. That's when the big school turned and swam towards my direction from behind. within seconds, they are right beside me, about 2 m away.

i finned real hard to maintain their speed, turned myself and swam downwards facing upwards... And i took this shot below them.. My best underwater shot so far. :)
A moment worth living for...

Detailed map of some of the dive sites.

"What are you looking at?"

Dive at Pulau Aur (Mar 16 to Mar 18, 2007)

2007-03-21T22:21:00.000+08:00

First dive of the year. Finally the monsoon is over and many divers are very excited about the new fishes that may appear in M'sia after this monsoon. This is also the first time i'm diving with Willy, and his friend CK. The 2 new equipments for this dive are my Mask and my camera casing. The previous mask- 2 months old only, started leaking water during my last PG dive. For this dive trip, I can finally take photos underwater. Cool!

Some 80km east of the Mersing jetty are the islands of Pulau Dayang, Pulau Lang, Pulau Aur and Pulau Pinang. My first diving trip was at Pulau Dayang, and now 8 months later, i'm back and staying at the island opposite - Pulau Aur.

Our first plunge was at Pulau Lang and the visibility was amazing. I estimate it reached almost 30m and the sea was infested with fishes and corals. Really mesmerizing...

Because the visibility is so good, i took many pictures of the corals and here's a few. Realised that i still need a lot of practice in underwater photography, as many of my photos are overexposed.

With a bit of photoshop, i tilted the color balance towards red, and reduce blue. Now the corals look so beautiful. Hee.

Thanks to Paulina, we managed to spot this gigantic lionfish. She was clearing her mask when she spotted this creature hiding underneath a small cave.

Finally, i get to see cuttlefish. It does not seem to be afraid of us and is swimming very close to our group...

No wonder it's moving so close to us.. it's sleep walking!!.. i mean sleep swimming. LOL

Photos of our leisure divers:

In a blink, our short weekend trip is over. good bye...

My HongKong Trip (14 Jan - 17 Jan 07)

2007-01-20T07:30:00.000+08:00

A little background on my sudden HK Trip. In Dec, I learnt from my bro that he is going HK on a business trip in Jan and that he'll be having the hotel room to himself. Being well trained in cost-benefit analysis, it wasn't difficult to figure out that i can save on my accomodation if i was to go to HK with him during this period. And now it's the off peak and there won't be a crowd in most of the shopping areas and not to forget, it's winter. The weather will be fantastic. Of course the con is that i have to travel around alone in HK as my brother isn't going there to play. Travelling alone = Adventure!! Within 3 days, i have gotten my leave, booked the air tickets and getting all prepared for this trip.

14 Jan 5:50am, Terminal 1.
Jetstar only have 2 flights to HK, one at 640am and the other at 1145am. To maximize my stay there, I took the earlier flight.

Finally, I reached the Hong Kong Airport. History of this airport: The airport was built on a largely artificial island reclaimed from Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau. The two former islands that were levelled comprise about 25% of the surface area of the airport's 12.48 km² platform. It is connected to the northern side of Lantau Island near the historic village of Tung Chung, now expanded into a new town. Land reclamation for the airport added nearly 1% to the entirety of Hong Kong's surface area. It replaced the former Hong Kong International Airport (popularly known by its former name Kai Tak Airport), which was located in the Kowloon City area with a single runway extending into Kowloon Bay close to the urban built-up areas.

At the airport, I purchased the HKD 300 Train express which includes 2 Airport Express train rides and ride-all-you can MTR for 3 days. Good buy!

My first stop is at zhong huan. From there, I alighted from the Airport Express and make my first "travelling alone" trip in HK. Walking towards Shang Huan, I arrived at Stanley Street/Portinger Street. Traditional street stalls along this distinctive street of stone-slab steps sell ribbons, bows and buttons. Neighboured with modern buildings, this is where old and new charmingly mix. (Discover HK)

Something you'll definitely observe if you travel by foot on HK is that they have many slopes and hills. This means that you better hope that you are walking downslope most of the time, which unfortunately I wasn't. So with all my luggage, a BackPacker's 10 litre bag and my trusty sling bag, I walked and walked...

The infamous Former Central Police Station. This grey building with its Doric-style columns and facade was built in 1864 and stands as testimony to Hong Kong’s colonial heritage. It has undergone numerous extensions and alterations over the years with the current edifice dating back to 1919. It was used as both the Hong Kong Island Regional Police Headquarters and the Central District Police Headquarters until 2000s.

The police station is a central setting in most Hong Kong action films, the place in which squadrons of creepy gangsters (called triads) stage machine-gun battles with adorable good-guy cops. This building just seemed so familiar yet strange. Recalling the1990s HK movies especially Jacky Chan's popular Police Story I, II, III, you'll see this building once in a while in the backdrop

I took photos of sign post once in a while to remind me where i was at that point of time.

Since 1993, Pacific Coffee Company has been providing world-class coffee to satisfy Hong Kong and Singapore's growing demand for specialty coffee beverages. Since then, the company has grown rapidly and continues to bring more stores to your neighborhood. The Pacific Coffee brand is recognized as the 'Best Coffee in Hong Kong', having won Hong Kong Magazine's Readers Choice Award for 'Coffee Shop of the Year' for seven consecutive years. Pacific Coffee Company also was recognized as 'Coffee Shop of the Decade' in Hong Kong Magazine's 'Readers Choice'.

Obviously, Pacific Coffee is a lot more popular in HK than in Singapore. You can see many outlets here and they're usually packed throughout the day. Not to forget, these cafes provide the perfect source for free internet.

Our local bank in HK.

Yes, the ICAC. Again, many HK movies always involves this building, and giving the world a bad impression of HK Police.

Basically, i have walked from zhong huan to shang huan and then back tracked all the way to Causeway bay. It was like a 5 hours walk, with intermittent rest and occassional stops to figure out where i was. At Causeway Bay, I met up with my bro who has just checked into Holiday Inn. In the hotel, I gotten rid of my turtle shell (backpack) and make my way to the Peak, alone. My bro has to entertain his boss first. The tram to the Peak is just walking distance from Central Station.

The view from the Peak is spectacular. It was quite cold and windy, especially the fact that it's winter now.

I got the people there to take a photo of me on the Peak. To print out the photo, it's HKD 80 for A3, HKD100 for A4. Coincidentally, at the shop, I saw one of my colleague's photo being used as their display photo. (when i went back to ask her, she's just as surprised cos yes, she did get a photo taken at the peak, and it was actually like 6 years back when they took the photo.)

(pict loading error)

by the way, that was a smile plus teeth chattering, cos it's freezing cold. My face is already frozen hard. haha.

After the Peak, i met up with my bro for dinner. It's 8pm.. He brought me to the popular Macau Cha Chan Ting.
Yummy, Roasted Pigeon. One of HK's famous delicacy.

This is the satay noodle which we didn't order. This was actually ordered by the other customer sharing table with us. We ordered XO sauce pork noodle. When our dish came first, the other customer thot it's hers and started eating. For info, it's very common to share your table with other people in HK eateries. When the satay noodle came, she realised her mistake and instead of being apologetic, she started complaining to the waiter. She even say why we didn't voice out when our noodle came. She complained that the meat used in the XO sauce noodle was lousy meat, and that the waiter, and us cheated her of a more decent dish. As you can see, there 's more meat in the satay pork noodle. I offered to share the noodle with her but she say no, and she continue nagging and nagging to her companion - an old man- who just continue eating. Apparently, he's so used to her complaining, treating it like the street's sounds, the cars engines and the eating noises at the eateries.

We ordered fried pork knuckle, but we didn't eat the fatty portion cos it seemed very lethal.

After a filling meal, we went shopping at nv ren jie. I bought myself another sling bag, very similar to the one i brought from Singapore. This is because during the wait for my bro at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR, my sling bag's strap snapped. My bag ke4 si3 yi4 xiang1 (die in foreign land) and i disposed it in one of the dustbin there. I hoped it doesn't blame me for not bringing it back to Singapore for a proper burial. haha.

After shopping, we went back to the Hotel and i finally got my well deserved rest.

Day II (Monday)

Today my plan is to go Disney!!! As Disney opens at 10am, I walked around Causeway bay in the early morning and caught sight of their national library.

Yeah. Finally on my way to Disney.

This is the train to Disney. It has got mickey face on their window.

There, I got to take a photo with Donald Duck, my favourite Disney Character.

Small Writeup on DonaldDuck (wikipedia) :Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic-book character from Walt Disney Productions. Donald is a white anthropomorphic duck with yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He usually wears a sailor shirt and cap — but no pants (except when he goes swimming).

According to the cartoon Donald Gets Drafted (1942), Donald's full name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck (his middle name appears to be a reference to his sailor hat, which was a common accessory for Fauntleroy suits). Disney's website also states his name as Donald Fauntleroy Duck. Donald's birthday is officially recognized as June 9, 1934, the day his debut film was released, but in The Three Caballeros, his birthday is given as simply "Friday the 13th." In Donald's Happy Birthday (short) it has his birthday as the 13th of March.
Although usually easygoing, Donald's most famous trait is his short and often explosive temper. He is also sometimes portrayed as more crafty and cynical than other characters such as Goofy or Mickey.

Donald's famous voice, one of the most identifiable voices in all of animation, was until 1985 performed by voice actor Clarence "Ducky" Nash. It was largely this semi-intelligible speech that would cement Donald's image into audiences' minds and help fuel both Donald's and Nash's rise to stardom. Since 1985, Donald has been voiced by Tony Anselmo, who was trained by Nash himself for the role.

In Disney, I was more interested in their plays and movies. Above is the Disney awards where they give awards like most Heroic, most Romantic etc. Very interesting and really brings back your childhood memories. Other plays i caught is the Lion King Adventure and the 3D Disney Movie. Thumbs UP!!!

At around 3pm, I left Disney and make my way to Tung Chung station where i'll be taking the cable car from Skyrail Terminal to Ngong Ping. The Skyrail trip takes 20-25 minutes. The round trip ticket cost around HKD 88. (Can't really remember)

Here's a photo taken from the cable car. I would strongly recommend all people to take the cable car cos the view is really mesmerising, something you'll never forget for life... The weather is very cool which may well be also one of the reason why i enjoyed this ride so much.

After the cable car ride, i made my way to the Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. The 34-metre-high Giant Buddha, the world's tallest, outdoor, seated, bronze Buddha statue, sits on a lotus throne above a three-platform altar and weighs 250 tonnes. Magnificient sight!

A close up on the Buddha's face...

I stayed one hour at the Po Lin Monastery to enjoy the peace and serenity before making my way back to Disney where i'll catch their night view and fireworks at 7pm. My cable car ride back was just as unforgettable. Alone, I sat in the cable car and enjoyed the sun set...

Night View of Disney.. I tried to take photos of the fireworks but not very well taken. Again, if you ever go Disney, never miss the fireworks. All in all, my Disney trip is very fulfilling and it really makes me feel that I'm a kid once again, stress-free without any responsibilities and commitments..

I met up my bro for dinner and this time we ate at Da Jia Le, a food court chain.

Yummy!! Pork Ribs Set.

Steamboat set. Here in this photo, you can catch a glimspe of my bro's tummy. haha. He's not exactly slim as you can see.

After dinner, we had dessert at xu liu shan. Most famous dessert chain in HK.

Next, my Bro brought me to this shop where they sell cold dishes like noodles, bird's eggs, squids etc. There's a lot of variety and you just mix and match. I tried to take a photo of the variety of cold dishes they have but was stopped by the boss. oh well.. Heard there's a similar shop opened in Singapore but not very successful as their variety is limited.

This is the final product. I got green noodle, bird eggs, squid and fish cake. They'll mix it with their sauce and you eat from the clear plastic bag with a pair of satay sticks. Very delicious!!!

Day III (Tues)

My bro is checking out today and returning to Singapore whereas i have booked a room at TST guesthouse for one more night.

Our hotel room is quite big, although it doesn't have a splendid view.

As my bro checked out at 830am with his boss and i can only check in at TST Cosmic Guest house at 12pm, I went to MacDonald's and spend my time reading until 11am. With my backpack, i moved on to my next destination: Cosmic Guest house.

I was already mentally prepard how small my room will be. .and here's the photos. Above and below are the photos of my toilet in the small room. I finally understood what they mean when you can brush your teeth, shit (forgive me for the crudeness), and bath at the same time. haha

Directly from where i was standing (taking photo of my toilet), the bed is located directly on my right. No table...

The Guesthouse is actually located on the 12f of an old residential building. They just renovate the interior.

The walkway of the building..

I took the Star Ferry Tour Ride (HKD 40) where the ferry will make a 1 hour round trip

Shoving off from the north side of Hong Kong Island, I got a classic view of the shiny steel skyline against the fog-shrouded spine of the Peak. The boat follows the curve of the shoreline, past bumper crops of tall condos, then heads into open sea before turning back..

This building is the HK Cultural Centre. If you look at the building, it doesn't make any logical 3D sense. Very interesting architectural design. If you notice the buildings in HK, most of them have very interesting design, unlike Singapore.

After the tour, i walked to the Jade Market... I can't differentiate a jade from stone. haha.

(Discover HK)About 450 registered stall-owners sell amulets, ornaments, necklaces and trinkets made from the revered green stone. This is a fun place to browse and to buy an inexpensive memento of your visit, but think twice about buying anything costly unless you are a jade expert. Open 10am - 5pm daily

And I walked to Flower Market...

This hub of Hong Kong's wholesale and retail floral business will welcome you with sweet natural fragrances and eye-catching colours of flowers and plants sold for very attractive prices. Other accessories, including plant hangers and dried flowers, are also available. Open 7am - 7pm daily. (Discover HK)

And I walked to the bird market...

(Discover HK)Set within an attractive Chinese courtyard design, the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden is a market catering to bird lovers. They come to the market with cage in hand to find new birds of different types and sizes, buy accessories and food for their treasured pets, or to just take their pet birds for a "walk" and meet up with other bird lovers. The garden, with its many singing birds, offers a pleasant and novel experience. While appreciating the beauty and sweet songs of the birds, please avoid direct contact. Open 7am - 8pm daily.

And I walked to the GoldFish Market...

(Discover HK)Shops selling colourful fish of different species along with furnishings and decoration for aquariums line both sides of Tung Choi Street. The shops are usually open 10:30am - 10pm daily.

Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish.. Goldfish..

Dinner time. I had my dinner at Macau Cafe again. and this time i tried their Portuguese Cod Fish in Cheese. Yummy!!..

After my dinner, i made my way to the Avenue of Stars where i can enjoy the night scene of HK.

i just sat there and look... completely captivated by their night view. There's a symphony of lights show at 8pm daily, best viewed from Avenue of Stars. The show is spectacular as the lights and lasers danced to the music.

Symphony of lights

(Discover HK) This spectacular multimedia show, named the world's largest permanent light and sound show by Guinness World Records, combines lights and narration while featuring 33 buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbour. The facades of buildings are decked out in lights that, at the flick of a switch, glow in a myriad of colours depicting Hong Kong's dynamic pulse.

At Asia's first Avenue of Stars, you can see plaques honouring celebrities from the silver screen, and those behind the camera. The latest addition is a bronze statue of the legendary kung-fu action star Bruce Lee. Find out all you need to know about the 100-year development of this Hollywood of Asia and enjoy the star-studded harbour views

Bruce Lee...

Day IV (Wed) Last Day.

On my last day, i only have the intention to visit Tai-O fishing village.

Also known as the "Venice of Hong Kong", Tai O is also a hot tourist spot for both foreigners and residents of other parts of Hong Kong, despite damage by a fire in July 2000. The pang uk, a kind of stilt house, built right over the waterway are still quite scenic. A rope bridge tended by local women used to be quite popular with visitors, but it has been replaced with a steel pedestrian bridge.

The traditional salted fish and shrimp paste and storefronts at Tai O. For a small fee, some residents will take tourists out on their boats along the river and for short jaunts into the sea. Many tourists come to Tai O specifically to take these trips to see Chinese white dolphins. It is also a good place to see the sunset.

To get there, I have to take the train all the way to Tung Chung and then take bus 11 to Tai-O. The bus journey is around 45 min.

The bus has to go up some hilly areas and on top of the hill, we encountered thick fog as in the photo. Visiblity is around 20 m at most. It's my fist time experiencing thick fog. Woah.
Finally i'm here. A very quiet and backward area of HK.

Took a few photos of their lifestyle. Above is the firewood which they use for cooking. Took a photo of their small huts (below).

This marks the end of my HK trip. What makes HK unique is that it's a place where you can see the city life and country side life all together. Below are some wide photos i took. The resolutions are not that good as the acutal size is quite big which i can't upload....

Cable Car View

Big Buddha

Harbour View

Peak View

Cosmic Guest House Outside View

My Dive Trip in Puerto Galera - the Philippines (23 Oct 2006 to 28 Oct 2006)

2006-11-19T00:15:00.000+08:00

Started to pack my diving stuff just the day before the trip. FYI, i didn't pack my cat inside.. he was just curious...

After packing, did quite some adminstrative stuff and went out to catch a midnight movie with my friends. Chatted over the nite and went home around 5am. Time to go the airport!!

Arrived at the Budget Terminal at 6am. The place is impressive, though it's supposed to be a Budget terminal. They have a Sports Gear Shop, Times Bookstore and many other stores. The other divers - mainly instructors from Orpheus - are sleeping on the airport benches already. They just came back from another diving trip.

Travelling by Tiger btw...

Shots of the Budget Terminal from the courtesy of Jeff's blog http://www.jeffooi.com/2006/05/heres_what_singapores_budget_t.php

At 8am, our plane took off. Don't really remember what happened during the flight cos i was asleep most of the time. Around 1230pm, we landed at Clark Airport in Manilla. Boarded a mini bus and travelled to another airport to get 2 other divers who travelled by Jetstar and SIA. Took another 2 hours to reach the other airport...

Upon arriving there, learned that one flight was delayed for about 2 hours. Since there's not many things to do there, we decided to carry on sleeping.. After another hour or so, I got restless and took a few interesting shots at the carpark...

Portrait Shots of Grandma,

and her son, and her grandson...

Philippines Toilet...

Grounded Divers...

Finally, collected all the divers at around 4 pm. We started to make our way to the jetty. Another 2 hours car ride... Now, got to take a boat ride to our Dive Resort - Mermaid. It's on an offshore island.

Although it seems very dark, it's only 630pm.. Another 1 hour boat ride.. Finally we are here!!!

Pictures of the Hotel...Swimming Pool

MyRoom

Exterior of the Hotel

Finally, my first plunge into the Philippines sea. As I slowly sink towards the ocean bed, I closed my eyes and this magnify my senses towards the new yet familiar surrounding... The sound of my breathing, the gush of bubbles up my face, the cold sea water forming a layer in my wetsuit... I am really excited and happy. I'm back...

Before I carry on my story, I would like to thank OrpheusDive's people and all other people that introduced me to diving. Also, all photos here are from the courtesy of Agnes and Gladwin. I have edited some photos to enhance it's colors and to remove the bluish nature of light underwater.

During my 15 dives (1 night dive), we visted many wrecks, including a cave (shark cave). It wouldn't be difficult to know what's in the cave. haha.

Sabang Wreck

One commonly spotted fish in PG is the frogfish (rare fish though) It's quite easy to understand why it's called a frog fish when you have a good look at it. Below, this frog fish is spotted resting on the edge of a wreck.

Giant Frogfish

"The frogfish is superbly adapted for its habit of ambushing prey. This fish's head is mostly upturned mouth, and the small gill opening is set behind the pectoral (side) fin where its outflow of exhaled water will not reveal the fish's presence to potential prey.

The frogfish braces itself into position on the seafloor using the stubbly, jointed pectoral and pelvic (forward) fins; the fish changes position by "walking" on these hand-like fins.

The coloration of frogfishes is highly variable. Black, red, orange, yellow, and mottled patterns have been observed in a single species.

Frogfishes are among the most specialized of ambush predators; their camouflage is so effective that biologists call it "aggressive mimicry". These fish actually lure prey into ambush using a modified dorsal fin spine that acts like a "fishing pole" complete with fleshy lure. The frogfish flicks the lure over its mouth to attract small fishes. When the prey is within reach, they are literally sucked into the frogfish's cavernous mouth as the rapid expansion of the mouth cavity results in an inhalation of water. Frogfish can expand the mouth cavity to twelve times its normal resting volume within 6 to 10 milliseconds, making this one of the fastest capture mechanisms known in the animal kingdom. Because of this feeding method, frogfishes were once called anglerfishes – but this name is now reserved for families deep sea fishes that feed in much the same way." (extracted from www.triangledivers.com)

Other than those cute little "seafrogs", another rare type of fish spotted in the wrecks is the Scorpionfish.

"Scorpionfishes have large, heavily ridged and spined heads. Venomous spines on their back and fins with a groove and venom sack. Well camouflaged with tassels, warts and colored specks. Some scorpionfishes can change their color to better match their surroundings.

They feed on fishes employing a lie-in-wait strategy, remaining stationary and snapping prey that comes near. With their mouth they create a vacuum and suck prey in during a nearly imperceptible split-second movement (15 milliseconds).

Scorpionfishes are not aggressive, but if threatened they will erect their dorsal spines. If danger continues they flee, usually very fast but only for a short distance and then quickly settle back and freeze. The stonefishes for example ususally bury themselves in sand or rubble using a shoveling motion of their pectoral fins. In a matter of less than 10 seconds only the dorsal portion of the head remains exposed, some sand is thrown on top to further enhancing concealment. Some species like the devilfish have very bright red and yellow colors on the inner surface of their pectoral fins. Those colors are not visible when resting but are flashed if threatened." (extracted from http://www.starfish.ch/reef/scorpionfish.html)

By the way, some little knowledge about the colours when diving..

Underwater light has characteristics that are quite different from the same light on land. On land, for instance, the color tones we perceive are the result of a bias in one or more of the three primary colors. Underwater, however, the deeper you go, the more most light frequencies are diffused so that at close to 40 meters, the deepest depth for recreational dives, almost all the frequencies are diffused into the water, except for blue light. This is the reason why the seas appear blue when you look at the sky from underwater. Only the blue light can penetrate that far. The first colour to be diffused is red and as you go deeper, orange.. etc. (from Canon website)

Only when you shine a white light at the object using your torch or if you are near enuff, the flash from the camera should reveal the actual colors of the fish.

We came across this huge fish in our last day of diving. It's around 1.2m long. I'm guessing that it's a scorpion fish but not very sure... Anyway, i'm not very sure of its colors, so i just tweak the image a bit using photoshop to give it a color...

Another similar species of the Scorpion fish is the Lionfish.

The lionfish is also known as the Turkey Fish, Dragon Fish and Scorpion Fish. The lionfish are voracious predators. When they are hunting, they corner prey using their large fins and then use their lightning quick reflexes to swallow the prey whole. They are notable for their extremely long and separated spines, and have a generally striped appearance, red, brown, or black on white.

While the hardiness and disease resistance of the lionfish make their care relatively simple, the venom of the spines is extremely painful, and lionfish are recommended for only the careful aquarist.

We 've seen at least 10 lion fishes in our dives. Slow fishes but very magestic...

The infamous fishes from "Finding Nemo"

These babycat fishes are found in a crack and seemed to be posing for the camera.

"Fishes"

BoxFish

NudiBranch
"These sea slugs are soft-bodied snails. The word "nudibranch" comes from Latin nudus meaning "naked", and Greek brankhia meaning "gills". The name is appropriate since the dorids (infraclass Anthobranchia) breathe through a branchial plume of bushy extremities on their back, rather than using gills. They are carnivorous. Some feed on sponges, others on hydroids, others on bryozoans, and some are cannibals, eating other sea slugs, or, on some occasions, members of their own species.

They occur worldwide at all depths, but they reach their greatest size and variation in warm, shallow waters. Among them, you can find the most colorful creatures on earth. Because sea slugs, in the course of evolution, have lost their shell, they have had to evolve another means of defense: camouflage, through color patterns that make them invisible (cryptic behavior) or warn off predators as being distasteful or poisonous (aposematic behavior). " (extracted from Wikipedia)

In the picture on the left, it was taken on my last day of diving.. I got a bit restless and started playing with the nudibranches. Got one and actually stick it onto my Mask.

Moral Eel

The moral eel is a large and elongated fish that lives in the holes and crevices of coral reefs. This eel is commonly greenish in color and can grow up to 2 meters in length. It is solitary, seldom seen and does not like to be disturbed. Although it is not poisonous, the bite of a disturbed moray eel has been known to cause serious injuries.

Mantis Shrimp

Mantis shrimp are marine crustaceans belonging to the order Stomatopoda. They are neither shrimps nor mantids, but receive their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the terrestrial praying mantis and the shrimp. They may grow to a length of 20–40 cm, although most species are considerably smaller. Mantis shrimp appear in a variety of colours, from rather dull browns to stunning neon.

Called "sea locusts" by ancient Assyrians, and now sometimes referred to as "thumb splitters" by modern divers - because of the relative ease the creature has in mutilating small appendages - mantis shrimp sport powerful claws, formed like jackknives, that they use to attack and kill prey by spearing, stunning or dismemberment. Some pet mantis shrimp have managed to break through their double-paned aquarium glass with a single strike from this weapon. (Wikipedia)

Food for thoughts: (Yummy!!)

In Japanese cuisine, the mantis shrimp is eaten as sashimi and as a sushi topping, and is called shako (蝦蛄). In Cantonese cuisine, the mantis shrimp is a popular dish known as "pissing shrimp" (濑尿虾, Mandarin pinyin: lài niào xiā, modern Cantonese: laaih niuh hā) due to its tendency to urinate when cooked. Because of this, mantis shrimp are speared to induce them to evacuate their bowels prior to being introduced into the cookpot. After cooking, their flesh is closer to that of lobsters than that of shrimp, and like lobsters, their shells are quite hard and require some pressure to crack.

There are health concerns associated with consuming mantis shrimp, as the shrimp is known to dwell in contaminated waters, this is especially true in Hawaii where some have grown unnaturally large and are being consumed by poorer people.

Along the dive, we spotted a octupus about 0.7 m long, hiding in one of the crack. It's one of the most interesting sea creature I've ever seen. Disturbed by us, it started to leave the crack and instantaneously changed it's colour to sand color as it settled on the sand. Realising that it has not gotten rid of the strangers, it moved to a rock and again, it does its magic trick. Within a split second, it has changed its colour into a rock. Wow!

Octopuses are characterized by their eight arms (not tentacles), usually bearing suction cups. These arms are a type of muscular hydrostat. Unlike most other cephalopods, the majority of octopuses — They have almost entirely soft bodies with no internal skeleton. A beak, similar in shape to a parrot's beak, is their only hard part. This enables them to squeeze through very narrow slits between underwater rocks, which is very helpful when they are fleeing from morays or other predatory fish.

Octopuses have a relatively short life span, and some species live for as little as six months. Larger species, such as the North Pacific Giant Octopus, may live for up to five years under suitable circumstances. However, reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch, for they neglect to eat during the (roughly) one month period spent taking care of their unhatched eggs.

Octopuses have three hearts. Two pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third pumps blood through the body. ctopuses draw water into their mantle cavity where it passes through its gills. As mollusks, octopuses have gills that are finely divided and vascularized outgrowths of either the outer or the inner body surface.

Pinnate Batfish (rare sighting)

Triggerfish

Sharks!!! We went to "Shark Cave" and there resting in the cave, is a 1.5m long shark. Woah!!

Only a few sharks are dangerous to humans. Out of more than 360 species, only four have been involved in a significant number of fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans: the great white, tiger, oceanic whitetip and bull sharks.

Sharks are often killed for shark fin soup: the finning process involves capture of a live shark, the removal of the fin with a hot metal blade, and the release of the live animal back into the water. There have been cases where hundreds of de-finned sharks were swept up on local beaches without any way to convey themselves back into the sea. Conservationists have campaigned for changes in the law to make finning illegal in the U.S

So pls no more Shark fin...

Sea snakes are venomous. They have short hollow fangs near the front of the upper jaw, and the poison acts on the nervous system like the related cobra's. Unlike land snakes, however, sea snakes are not inclined to bite, and as such are not harmful unless abused. Sea Snake venom is generally more toxic and dangerous than venom from land snakes. Most cases of people being bitten by sea snakes involve fishermen bitten when sorting through a catch from a net. The venom is composed of powerful neurotoxins (affecting the nervous system) and sometimes myotoxins (affecting skeletal muscles), with a fatal dose being about 1.5 milligrams. Most sea snakes can produce 10-15 mg of venom.

Food!!!

On Top: Banana in flames.

Below: the Philippines version of Goreng Pisang

Mantis Shrimp??

Catfish??

Dive Sites in Puerto Galera

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Above: the diving group : My buddy and I are missing from this photo.

Me on the left and my dive buddy on the right

I'll be back....