My 6-day Seaventures

Wow...finally back from a long-awaited dive trip...This trip is full of first-times, risks and experience.....
Bear with me if you arent a diver....

07/09(Wed)

Gastic wasn't feeling very well still...but it did not stop me from dipping into the blues...
We started our first dive with a group 5 divers: HQ, YS , Joseph (49 yrs), Corrine (28 yrs) and I plus the divemaster, Imran, who planned the trip and 2 local indonesian divemaster and instructor Noldi and Richmon respectively.

Was being paired with Corrine who had not done muck diving before...Muck diving means the creatures u see are all macros in size..tiny-weeny..

It was the first-time for me too...that's y we were lost....why did everyone manage to see so many things except for us???That's because the creatures are so small and u have to know where to look for them...

The first thing I saw was a puny shrimp~1cm...I was trying to figure out where the head was and I got a bad headache after focusing for too long...

Because all of them brought down their cameras, except for me....everyone was diving by themselves...so we were a little disorientated as we dunno who to follow...

I really think I can't appreciate macros...So it was quite a boring dive for me....was a little disppointed too...


08/09 (Thur)

Woke up early in the morning to take pictures of the surrounding environment...My dear couple was still snuggling in bed...
Had lunch and set off for 3 dives. Buddied up with Corrine again. The dives were slightly better due to good visibility. However the current was strong on 2 dives and the DM had to hold on to me to prevent me from drifting away. Though still didn't managed to spot many marcos I got to see my first reef octopus and a baby rock lobster....
Noldi, one of the local DM went down with a spear and caught a big cod and a 50 cm Jack...
That's what was served for dinner....;

09/09 (Fri)

We set off for a 1-day trip to Bungka Island which was a 3-hr boat ride from Manado. The weather was good so I sat at the bow of the boat to feel the morning sun...Noldi and Richmon were out there too. Saw a handful of small flying fish popping out and back into the water. Suddenly, Richmon told me he just spotted a dolphin. I turned to the same spot, hoping to catch a glimpse...True enough....The same dolphin did a high jump and disappeared back into the water. The rest of the people were sleeping in the boat..so I was the only one who had seen it...and it made my day..:)
I decided to "dump" Corrine and follwing YS and HQ to search for macros...HQ has this amazing ability to spot minute creatures....
We came across a mantis shrimp...it was lobster-sized so i managed to spot it. These stomatopods uses their specialised appendages to "spear" or "smash" their prey...The force of the strike is able to break a double layered safety glass.
We took our metal pointers and "fought" with it. It retaliated with loud "clangs" when we took turns to disturb it. This chap is really formidable...:)

I gradually saw more and more critters as they unveil the curtains of the soft corals. This is where I started to appreciate these beautiful and amazing shrimps and crabs of different colours and prints.
YS took many pictures along the way to the extent that we spent too much time on each creature...
I decided to proceed on to check out what others have beneath their lens.

I ended up hopping from one diver to another and ran out of air soon. I was left with 15 bars before and ascend after completing my 3-min safety stop.
I came up alone...without any buddy and waited for the rest on the boat. HQ came out some time after and told me I should do a 20min stop instead due to the long time we stayed in the deep. Need more time to out-gas..I was unaware because I did not have a dive computer. YS's newly bought camera got flooded because a strand of hair got stuck in the o-ring....there goes $600. Thank god he managed to salvage the SD card.

My 2nd dive was longer and I ascended with 10bars of oxygen....I told myself that I should stop this habit of completing a dive with so little air. Noldi and Eric caught more fishes this time and an octupus. I cant imagine myself eating Batfish..

We reached Bungka at about 3pm. The water was so clear and the corals were so rich even in the shallows. Some of us went for a dip. The crew began pitching tents and setting up fire...The deserted island suddenly turned into a makeshift kitchen and camp. We ended our day with a night dive at this virgin site.

Wendy and I sticked closely together in the dark. The site was amazing... many critters came alive and we saw many things. Before I knew it, 50 min had passed and everyone was still exploring. I checked by pressure gauge...10 bars, so I signalled to HQ and she shared what was left of her 50 bars with me. I thought she's preparing to ascend, but she continued following Eric,a 21-yr-old DM, for another 8 mins. Because she was wearing a computer, I guess I can trust her to do a proper safety stop. We were halfway through our sefety stop, when we started gasping for air. She signalled the ascend handsign and we surfaced without completing the stop. We found that we were the only one surfaced and the boat was beyond our sight. A few minutes later, someone else surface and the boat picked us up....

1-hour of night dive and ran out of air....This was listed as another "first-time".

We had a quick shower and dinner was ready... Lots of fishes, squid and juicy vege. The crew sang and played guitar to keep us entertained....
They had good voices and they sang throughout the night.
HQ and YS went back to the boat to sleep. Corrine was supposed to share the tent with me, but she changed her mind and slept on the boat too.

I left bags of my barang barang in the tent and went to the toilet in the boat. When I came out Eric carried every single bag of my stuff, hands full and attempted to wade through the waters to put them back into the boat. He thought I wanted to sleep on the boat too. I told him that I'll be camping and he hurried off to put my stuff back...hee...so pai seh...

I felt tired but I couldn't sleep, because I could feel the tree roots beneath my vertebra. However, I enjoyed the peace and warmth as the hospitable crew continued to sing throughout the night. Even though I was alone with a group of people whom I knew for less than 3 days, they made me feel like home.


10/09 (Sat)

We were lucky to be in time for the window period where the currents were less strong. The first dive site is known as a "washing machine"- as the name implies if we were to hit the current that occurs in the late morning, it'd be hazardous.

The last dive site is called "Paradise". Ironically, the island is known to be haunted even in the day. We dove at the jetty and there was an enormous variety of marine life:- frogfish, harlequin ghost pipefish, sea snake, shrimps, scorpionfish, porcupinefish, mantis shrimp, crabs,etc...A paradise indeed. There was also a small hot spring at the seabed resulting in warmer waters as compared to other sites.

We set off back to Manado as the weather turned stormy... The waves were furious and we were all shivering as the cold wind blew against our wet bodies. The boat had come to a halt at a small village because the waves were too big.

We saw a boy pulling a rope attached to a sampan as he made his way though the water which came up to his shoulders. Why would anyone do that especially in the rain? He was actually trying to anchor the sampan. This scene would never be found in Singapore. The children there have to make a living, and to them this is nothing. Imagine how much our mothers yelled at us when we tried to play in the drizzle....

You do not have to teach them customer service...and you do not need to fork out a single cent to pay service charge... yet you can get the best service from this crew of Barracuda Resort operator...
Eric, offered to buy Goreng Pisangs from the village. Like the boy, he jumped into the water which leveled up to his chest and waded 200m across to the shore. After some time, he came back with bags of fried bananas raised in the air, making sure that they don't touch the the saltwater, and waded back to the boat.

So nice to have hot goreng pisangs on a cold day.....

We continued the journey as huge waves surged into the boat...slippers floated everywhere...the sea was still rough and there were times I was pretty frightened. I shivered throughout the 3-hr journey and curled myself up..totally frozen.

Thank goodness...we got back safely to the resort before dusk.

11/9 ( Sat)

Our aim was to do 3 dives today before 1.30pm.
On my first dive, I shot up without doing any safety stop because my tank was low on oxygen...again and I was too light. On my 2nd dive, I did only 3 min instead of 20 min because I was left with 10 bars.....HQ stayed on to complete her safety stop but ran out of air too. YS ascended to grab a 2nd tank for her, when he's supposed to complete his too....
By then, my Nitrogen level should be quite high as I did not do proper stops on 2 consecutive dives...Imran decided to give our last dive a miss because it was too risky. One nitrogen bubble could have caused paralysis...


We went for a massage in the evening and came back to log our dives.

12/9 ( Sun)

Diving in indonesia makes u feel like a king....All you need to do is dive....No need to assemble, no need to change tank....they'll do everything for you...they'll wash your equipment and dry it for you. Excellent service.

We brought back nothing but fond memories....

Apprehensive about the trip?? PHS-pre-holiday syndrome

Yap...Dad just pop in to ask if I am excited about my upcoming dive expedition to Manado....Actually told him that I'm not as excited as I felt a few weeks ago....
In fact I was a bit apprehensive....
well, it's always been the case...for some strange reason, I'd always feel afraid and restless a few days prior to my trip...maybe I'm too homely....however there were exceptions....it depends on whom I'm going with...

Think I'm gonna be alone most of the time for this trip...gotta spare a thought for my couple friends whom I'm tagging along as the gooseberry...well, both of them are my good buddies...but they are too loveydovey to even take note of the bright bulb..oh well..:)

My gastric's not feeling too well lately, ever since the day I fainted...I've been feeling nausea and appetite is going down...However, I've been forcing myself to finish my meals to give me energy....

I wasn't really being myself for spending more time at home these days...especially this weekend...turned down 2 dinner appointments just to rest at home...But I kinda enjoy it...Really hate crowds..coz they make me giddy...

My body's failing me again...was on my way to work today and felt an acute pain in my right knee joint....*sigh* signs of aging....

The blue day will arrive in a few hours time...feeling more blue than ever because I've been resting too long at home...errm..actually no lah...been to work this 2 mornings...
But just not in the mood to work these day...getting slacker and slacker...just feel like dumping my work aside and go...but I can't...gotta explain and allocate my work to my colleagues and to rush as many things as possible within these 2 days ( cos I'm flying off on wed ) so that they don't have to cover too much of my work....

Rose is still in NUH...think she wont be back till weeks...AL will be flying off to NZ soon too...we are gonna be short-handed on top of my absence..poor Jean...

Called Qi just now...she was very upset cos her Godpa fell and hit his head...internal bleeding and got into a coma....he's going through an operation at this point of time and the chances are only 20-30%....I pray for him....

Alright....time to continue packing....

it didn't work!

Zoloft didn't make me any happier...still the same. Got an sms this morning from Auntie Rose hubby, Uncle Daniel informing me that she's hospitalised due to kidney stones...
Since I'm on MC, I went down to NUH to visit her.....

When I reached there, the hubby had left. She was having breakfast when I met her. She looked really tired. She was brought to the X-ray room for scanning and I followed. We waited a while for the report and I went out to make a call. When I came back, she got the film in her hand...I took it from her and see and realised that they gave someone else's film to her! Rose din realise because she didn't have her glasses on. We told the nurse and got it back eventually.

She went back and rested...I still feel a little weak because I realised that my hands were trembling a little while I was smsing..I left and went for a free session of lymphatic drainage therapy. It's said to improve blood circulation. I've made this appointment long ago and it has really come into use after my fainting frenzy yesterday.

They wrapped my thighs and tummy in those inflatable bags and applied air pressure to it...So it basically massages your whole abdomen and lower body with a series of inflation and deflation...I was told that it improves your lymphatic circulation to your lymph nodes.
Dunno how true it is but I can't really feel any effect.

Went home in a cab just in case I fainted again and had half a portion of my lunch and went to sleep...And the 2-hour nap made me feel even more tired now..

Trust betrayed...eventually led to fainting

I just found out yesterday that someone I was close to betrayed my trust.....Lies, lies and more lies...to think that I had been so frank and nice....what I got back was just a pack of lies... How would u expect me to trust people again??? Do I look like a fool?

Was so depressed today and took 2 days of mc...went to the doctor and he probed me into telling him everything. Told him was too stressed up by work but he feels that work-related stress doesn't really contributes to depression usually. He was right, it was some other matters. No matter how stressed or busy my work is, it never makes me depressed....at the most, frustration. Gave me relaxant and Zoloft; he said the latter might make me happier and more positive....and more refreshed at work. I wonder how it does magic.... cant wait to try...maybe i'll get high...hehe

Was very tired and slept when i came home...mum din cook cos i told her i'm on half-day off in the morning...so she expected me to buy lunch to work. Yes, din want them to know that I'm on MC due to depression..otherwise they'd get worried.

I had no appetite for lunch so went out with an empty stomach to meet a friend for blood donation. He's a frequent blood donor so i approach him since i've been wanting to donate blood a long time back..

But he was late, so I went to the nearest bakery and grab some bread before the donation. The donation went on without any pain...it was much faster than I thought and the nurses there are all very friendly and hospitable. But the needle was damn big! Bigger than the biggest I've seen at work...16G! But it pierce into my flesh without any pain at all. The whole process took about 10 mins and we went out for refreshments....the bandage was really cool with this Mr. Smiley face on it :) and it's bright orange!

We decided to take a train to bishan to have dinner. But i felt nausea before entering the station, so i rested a while. Took the train and felt really stuffy again, so got off after 2 stops and rested again...

Reached bishan, bought some plums to curb my nausea and went to coffee bean to chill out. I couldn't take tea nor coffee on empty stomach so i keep popping plums down my throat cos it makes me feel better.

Went to the ATM to transfer some money while he walked around...the lady in front of the queue was really slow and I began to feel like vomitting again...controlled myself and completed the transaction...

As I was pacing up to go to the toilet, I realised that my vision grew dark....I stumbled and fainted before I knew....The next moment, I heard voices, I couldn't open my eyes....but I heard this lady who keeps saying "OMG" and someone rubbing medicated oil on my nose and my sides....The vision recovered slowly and I saw this lady picking up my phone....I forced myself up and told her not to call....my parents shouldn't know....so i woke up and told them I was fine...even though I wasn't...I called my friend and told him to come. They helped me to a chair and i rested...

The security was informed and I was brought to their room where they offered me warm water....I wanted to go to the ladies...still...because my tummy was aching even when I passed out. The female security accompanied me in the toilet and waited for me for almost half-an-hour outside my cubicle...It took me alot of strength to finish that business and all this while I feel that I'm gonna pass out anytime...Then I vomitted all the plums that had been churning in my stomach....

I've learnt something amazing today....that a person's willpower and determination can really prolong his/her life....
Though I wasn't at the verge of death today..but I really felt the need to go to the hospital while I was lying in the middle of the shopping mall. I didn't want to get up because I was too tired and weak...and even broke out in cold sweat.... But I know that if I were to end up in the hospital, things are gonna blow up. So I forced myself to wake up.

My first instance of passing out was at home near my sink....I blackout and my dad grabbed me just in time before i fell...and the moment he does that, i told myself to wake up...and it doesn't take more than a minute to do so....but i gave them more than an hour of fright...keke

My friend was like, " I wouldn't dare to bring you to the next donation you know? "
haha...but i still dun believe that I'm that weak....i'll make sure i go on a full stomach on the next appointment.:)