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Posted by hlyeoh @ Fri 02 Mar, 07, 11:27PM under Starfish- Dive
Link to the wonderful seaworld creatures. The lion fish is the most common one. I saw a lot of them in phuket sea. It is a creature that you wouldnt wan to mess with, they have the secret weapon on their body. Very nice, and unique creatures indeed. 
Posted by hlyeoh @ Tue 14 Feb, 06, 04:14PM under Starfish- Dive
Date:11/2/2006 Departed from Penang at 5am with a van.Together we have 6 people ( 4 guys + 2 girls) in one van.Met two new friends from USM from this trip. Stopped at Hat jai around 830am, we changed from van to bus. Then proceed our journey to Phuket.Didn't really have a good sleep, my neck is terribly pain,as I can't position my head well in the bus seat. 430pm, reached Phuket. We called "tu tu" which is local taxi to go to our hotel. It caused around 600 baht which is equal to RM60.By the way, "tu tu" can fit 6 people in one car. 600pm, the hotel i lived don't have air-con, it is a basic hotel, with one bath room, one bed,and a table. Overall,it is still quite clean.After settling our luggages, We rent 3 motors to explore the town. In phuket, you can drive motor without helmet :) though this is against the law.
The first destination was sunset restaurant where you can see a remarkable sun set. I snapped a lot of photos there, it was definately a good time for me to toy with my camera. I tried to play with the shutter speed,and aperture.The sun set at Andaman sea. I really think Phuket has many nice spot to shoot photos. After stopping there for an hour, we went to have our Thai dinner. Our USM friend already have a list of menu that she recommended us to try which was introduced by her Thai uncle. She ordered some local dish. But I find it hard for non-local people to really like it. The local "tao gei" is triple bigger than Ipoh "tao gei" and there is some sour taste when you eat them.
Date: 12/2/2006 830am, grabbed our breakfast in 7-11.Leonard liked the burger in 7-11. He kept praising the burger.After breakfast, we went to snorkeling. YS,YM and Leonard wanted to try "skin dive". As for me, i didn't follow them to do skin-dive. I enjoyed my snorkeling. By the way, this was the first time that i snorkeled. It was fun. 10am - 4pm, we started our first dive into the sea. We did shore-diving. We practised the skills that we learnt in the pool session,such as mask clearing, regulator sharings and etc. We have 3 dives on the first day. I found myself having problems to equalize underwater. My head was like going to split underwater, my mind keep thinking whether the eardrum will be exploding.Ivan kept dragging me down, as I kept floating up. At the last dive, the visiblity in the water turned bad, which was approximately within 3 meters. At that time, I losted my buddy and I couldn't find them. I dared not advance to search for them, as I scared i will swim to the wrong direction and ended up in a even far area, so after scanning the surrounding there for a few minutes, I ascended. Phew ..it was a relief that I resurfaced, I stayed there for a few minutes while waiting for them to find me. 7pm,someone suggested to try Thai massage. Everyone agreed.The guys are specially exhilarated. Anyway, this was the first time that i tried Thai Massage. I liked it a lot, as I like to bend, to stretch my body part, just as what I have practised in my Yoga class. I can hear cracking sound when the Thai girl was trying to bend my legs and my hands.{luckily no bone fracture} =P 930pm, we rushed to watch Simon Cabaret in Patong. A show with beautiful ladies, that actually are men. This is also worth a visit, good entertainment. It cost 600 baht. It was an interesting show. I must say these "lady" have a good body shape. The ladies even come down the stage to kiss the audiences and did something very "awful". I was a bit shock to watch the scenery. haha... Anyway, Thailand has a lot these "ladies",even we can spot a few in every bars and pubs. There are thousands of pubs, bars along the street. Besides, there are also many kinds of shows, Simon Cabaret is one kind of it. There are even many shows like topless show, man show etc.. Now I understand why men should not come to Thailand so often...
1030pm, we toured around Patong for awhile after the show. The Thai girls tried to lure the guys to go in the pubs for a drink. Date:13/2/06
then descented from the boat. My heart was thudding hard while exciting of what was going to happen next. It was a great experience, I get to see a lot things compared to the days before. This time, I swimmed with the fish, catched the fish and played with the fish. Some of the fish even looked at us curiously, they did not avoid us. I saw the corals, it was very colorful. I like the lion fish and the clown fish (Nemo). found in coral reefs, especially in shallow waters hovering in caves or near crevices. Lion-fish have venomous fin spines that can produce painful puncture wounds. We didn't dare to swim close to it. Ivan liked to catch photos of the tiny creatures in the sea. At the moment, i didn't not know the name of that fish yet. 5pm- Resting in the boat while the boat man drove us back. I found that my hands and legs have many scratchs and some part of the skin is bleeding due to the scratch,I guess it must be caused by coral cuts. 830pm, time to leave Phuket. Date:14/2/06
11am-4pm,slept whole day.
Posted by hlyeoh @ Fri 10 Feb, 06, 10:03AM under Starfish- Dive
i was just informed that the journey to phuket takes 10 hrs to reach there. I was nearly fainted. It has been long time that i didn't travel by bus and more "jiat lat" it takes 10 hrs. (@@) ... Thinking about what to do during the long hrs journey on bus, so I have put 4 books, (maybe extra 2 magazines), to my bag. 4 books + 2 magazines + 1 mini walkman ( i m actually thinking about ipod .. too bad, no $$ to buy, some gadget that i can only think will be used for travelling time) should be able to help me passing the time. Started to feel jittery for the coming dive trip. I wasn't so sure what will happen there, and what to expect there. Anyway, I will try to enjoy myself there after spending a huge sum of amount for this dive course. My friends and i were already upset for the dive centre because they are keeping sucking our blood, demanding for extra charge etc .. There is nothing we can do, just hope that he will prioritise our safety during the dive session. ..........................
Posted by hlyeoh @ Sat 04 Feb, 06, 05:48AM under Starfish- Dive
This is a dive map which i downloaded from internet. Cool huh? Malaysia has so many island that I haven't got to explore yet, all my life,although i live in island which is Penang island =P, i haven't really visited a lot of island.
Posted by hlyeoh @ Wed 01 Feb, 06, 10:07PM under Starfish- Dive
Pick from asiaexplorer newsletter, it is related to Pulau Perhentian. Pulau Perhentian Besar is the biggest island in the Perhentian archipelago, which includes Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Rawa, Pulau Susu Dara Besar and Pulau Susu Dara Kecil. As its name suggests, Pulau Perhentian Besar is the biggest of these islands, and it is also where most of the accommodation is concentrated. The islands are called Perhentian because it is where fishermen and seafarers stopover, to get fresh water from the spring that flows straight down to the sea, and to shelter in times of stormy weather and they're far from the mainland. Today, beach tourism has overtaken fishing as the primary activity and most of the fishermen here double as boatmen to ferry visitors around their emerald paradise. The guesthouses in Pulau Perhentian Besar is found mainly along the northwestern coast at Teluk Pauh, and at the southern coast, at Teluk Dalam. In my opinion, the most beautiful scenery is at Teluk Pauh. The resorts here include the expensive Perhentian Island Resort, and the slightly cheaper Coral View Resort. They are adjacent to each other, with the landmark Perhentian Island Pier separating them. At peak season, you'd find lots of Mat Salleh sunbathing on the snow-white stretch of powdery sand. A little further away from these two major resorts is the cheaper Cocohut. There are numerous eateries at Teluk Pauh, and you'd be spoilt for choice. You can swim straight out to the coral reef at Teluk Pauh, but there may be current so exercise caution. On the southern side of the island is Teluk Dalam. Over here, the "anchor" is Arwana Perhentian Resort, one of the newest (and more expensive) resorts on Pulau Perhentian Besar. Not far from it are Fauna and Flora guesthouses, both lower down the price scale. Teluk Dalam is transquil and slopes gently downwards, with the open sea further away. It is quite sheltered compared to Teluk Pauh, so it is great for swimming, especially for those who don't swim so well. However, the quality of the coral reef in Teluk Pauh is better than Teluk Dalam. To view pictures of Pulau Perhentian Besar, visit our newly revised photo gallery:
Posted by hlyeoh @ Mon 30 Jan, 06, 12:39PM under Starfish- Dive
Date:30JAN2006 Still in chinese new year celebration,great that i dun have to go to work. I am glad to tell you that, i have completed all my diving lessons. There is still one more lesson and exam. I have eaten a lot during cny. It just seems that the chinese new year cookies are so delicious that you can not stopped yourself from sampling them one after another. I need to control myself, otherwise, i believe that i could no longer fit into the diving wet suit after cny. It is already quite torturous for me to wear "S" size. Ivan said wet suit is tight,but once you go into the water, you will feel better. Anyway, "s" size is also not fit into my body. There is still some hole that allows water to go inside in the upper part of the wet suit. Defination for wet suit, wet suits get their name because you get wet while wearing them- water enters at the wrists,ankles and neck.
Three Buoyancy Compensators (BC's) to better buoyancy control. That's right, three bcs. First of all, there is your buoyancy compensator, which is what most people think about when we talk buoyancy. But there are two other bcs, Breath Control and Body Control. Let's take them in that order. Your Buoyancy Compensator The buoyancy compensator is used for gross changes in buoyancy. These changes take place due to wet suit compression, compression of air in our bc, and changes in the weight of our tank as we use up our air. There are a few things that are important to remember about our bc. First of all it is not an elevator,! We do not use our bc to bring us to the surface and allow us to sink. We use our bc to maintain neutral buoyancy at all times. This is a very important concept. Let's look at the proper use of a bc during a dive. You add a little air to your bc prior to entering the water. This assures that after hitting the water, you return to the surface immediately. This allows you to make sure your mask strap is still in place, your weight belt is not sliding down, and you are with your buddy. It also allows you to signal the boat crew that you are ok. (Admittedly, some very experienced divers enter the water with no air in their bc and commence their descent immediately. But these are very experienced divers.) To start your descent, you should let all the air out of your bc and then using either a line or a surface dive, begin your dive. I prefer to swim downward on a slight angle, clearing my ears as I go. Remember, if you are descending feet first, the greatest drag created is by your fins. This will usually cause you to lean backwards and you will find yourself descending butt first! At this point you are actually falling through the water. If you can not clear your ears, it is difficult to stop your descent immediately. If you are swimming down, all you need to do is level off to stop the descent. Now, as you continue your descent, you need to add air to your bc to maintain neutral buoyancy or at least be close to neutral. Do not wait until you reach the bottom to start adding air. If you do that, then you need to add a lot of air to get it right. If you make big changes, then you can make big mistakes. Make small changes and you will only make small errors that are easier to correct. Throughout your dive you will need to make changes as you change depths or as your tank gets lighter due to air consumption. At the end of the dive, as you start your ascent, you must start letting some air out of your bc in order to maintain neutral buoyancy during the ascent. If you do not, the air in your bc will start to expand, your wetsuit will start to recover from its compression, and you will start to be carried to the surface by your buoyancy. This is not buoyancy control. If all of a sudden a boat motor starts or a boat starts to approach the area, you can not stop your ascent easily. If you were neutrally buoyant, you would stop where you stopped kicking. That is a controlled ascent. It is also important that you know your bc. If you want to learn more about bcs, look at our equipment section for the piece I wrote on bcs. The bottom line is: you let all your air out to start your descent, then you add air as your descent continues. As you ascend you let air out until you reach the surface, then you add air to keep you afloat at the surface. Got that? Back to Top Your Body Control Our second "BC" is body control. Understand that your body wants to go in the direction that the top of your head is pointed. If your point your head up, your body goes up, if you point your head down, your body goes down. That said, let's explore body control. Newton's Second Law states that "For every reaction, there is a direct and opposite reaction." First of all note that Newton said for "every" action. That means if you are at the surface and have let the air out of your bc and you expect to sink, that the best way to do that is not feet first. That is because every move you make tends to push you back to the surface. If you just move your legs to balance yourself, that action has an opposite reaction (pushing you up). If you move your hands through the water, there is an opposite reaction to that action. Your best bet is to do a surface dive and then the movement of your fins pushes you downward. Remember as a kid, holding your hand out the car window to ride the air waves". Tilt your hand up and it goes up, tilt your hand down and it goes down. Your body acts like that in the water. If your are swimming along and you tilt your head up, your body goes up. Therefore your body must be parallel to a depth if you expect to remain at that depth. The problem comes in the way we where our equipment. If we are wearing our weight belt around our waist, it is really in the wrong place. We should be wearing it around the center of buoyancy. For most of us that is probably 8 - 10 inches above our waist. Of course, it is not practical to wear a weight belt there so we wear it lower. But that pulls our legs down, which means our head is pointed upward and we go up. How do we deal with that? We add more weight! And our legs sink even more. We made the problem worse. This circle continues until we have add so much weight that no matter where our head is pointed, we are not going up! And now when we get to the bottom we need to add that much more air to our bc to compensate for this excess weight. Of course, that air goes around the top half of our body and compounds the problem. Our body control is not under control. At this point we are now pushing our body through the water on an angle and not in a streamlined head-first position and we are pushing our bc through the water half full of air. Try pushing an empty bc through the water and try pushing a bc full of air through the water and see the difference. So the amount of weight that you use corresponds to your body position as you push it through the water. Notice the way a shark swims as it moves through the water. It is propelled by its tail (as we are propelled by our fins). When he wants to turn, he draws in a pectoral inward tilting his body in the direction of the turn. He then arches his back and glides through the turn. You can do the same thing. You want to turn? Drop one shoulder, arch your back, continue to kick and watch your body go through the turn. Your hands never leave your side. It is like flying. Practice it and you will be amazed at how effortless it is. Back to Top Your Breath Control We all know that every time we inhale we go up and every time we exhale we go down. So it must have some effect on our buoyancy. It definitely does. We can use that effect to our advantage. When someone realizes that they are too buoyant, the first thing they do is reach for their inflator hose and bring it up above their head to dump air. Two other things happen at the same time. By going into a head-up position, they proceed to move even shallower and, secondly, they are now pointed in a position to move them even shallower yet. What they should have done is quickly exhale and held that breath out. Yes, I did say hold your breath, but I said hold it "out." By exhaling you quickly get rid of several pounds of buoyancy. That buys you little time to get a hold of you inflator hose and dump some air. Remember, you don't need to dump it all, just a little. You should just be a little off. Also, make sure that you use the rapid exhaust at the top of your inflator hose or the dump on the back of your bc to do this. If you are not sure how these work, talk to one of our staff and they will demonstrate it for you. So, you can see that you can use breath control to your advantage. The bottom line is that proper buoyancy control takes all three of these methods. And proper buoyancy control is not something that just happens. If you think that someday it will just come to you, look in your Day-timer. Someday is not there. But if you practice these techniques, take an advanced course, think about how your movements and prescence in the water translates, and you work on buoyancy for the next 25 dives that you do, you will never have to think about it again. And you will be part of that group of divers that every one admires because you make it look so easy. Go for it.
Posted by hlyeoh @ Mon 30 Jan, 06, 12:36PM under Starfish- Dive
27JAN06,Friday I have a dive lesson today which accounts for the 3rd training that i have. I went there after work. Chaimane taught me today personally. She is very patient in teaching me. I asked a lot of questions as usual and she tried her best to answer me. It actually helps me a lot, as it helps me to better understand the whole process,instead of just following blindly what the instructor did underwater. I perform quite well today as i have successfully learnt the mask clearing process and regulator recovery. For me, mask clearing is quite difficult as i have problem in exhaling through my nose while tipping my head back. The water keep getting in my nose. The next thing that i need to practise is to equalization myself underwater and the kicking. Overall,i am very happy because i have learnt something today. It helps to increase my confidence, somehow it sparks up my life too. It is just so nice to learn and swim under the starlit sky again. Back home, found my skin on both hand starts to dry out and some part has signs of peeling. =( Got to sleep early tonight as i have my dive lesson tomorrow.
Posted by hlyeoh @ Mon 30 Jan, 06, 12:33PM under Starfish- Dive
Date:22Jan2006
Friends around me asked why i took diving? It is pretty hard for me to explain. My answer for this Q is that i wish to challenge myself. Well, it is really indeed a great challenge for me, I must need to conquer the fear of water,learning the diving equipment,and dive skills as well. My diving class started from 11am till 5pm yesterday. As a result, i get quite a severe sun burn. For me, i rated as severe, because it is reddish and painful. But luckily there is no sign of skin peeling or blistering at the moment. Right until now, i could still feel that i have been badly dehydrated and the heat has blanketed my whole body. My friend said she could even feel the heat permeated from my body. I was pretty down yesterday night, and called up my friends to talk .. i wonder whether i have enough strength to go on ...
Back from diving.Yeah .. surprisingly i went to dive again with peeling skin and mouth ulser. I guess the starlit sky brightens up all the things. I am happy to hear some praise from Ivan today despite the fact that i am a slow learner, he said he likes me because i have determination to learn. It really excited me for a while.
Time passed so fast .. still waiting calls from U.S to support. My eyelits are getting heavier.. Can i sleep? ....... ..
Posted by hlyeoh @ Sun 29 Jan, 06, 02:55PM under Starfish- Dive
Starfish's blog has finally set up, {yeah} which i hope i can share it with my friends. It is something great, it is indeed a great experience so far. ( the pain, the soar etc are part of the process) Scuba dive is an activity that can lead to high level of excitement and adventure. I guess this is the best description for it. I have yet to discovered it in the real underwater. Below is something that i read from scuba dive books which best described my feeling. "It feels strange the first time. The mask. The awkward gear, a bit heavy ( For me, the tank is extremely heavy, somehow i still dun believe that i can carry it in my shoulders.) You ease into the water and your face slips below the surface, Inhale;the air comes with a reasuring hiss and for the first time, you breathe underwater, In moments, you forget the mask, the tank, and the the equipment transforms to light and agile. You will feel like you 've never experienced before. With that first underwater breath, the door opens to a different world. Go through that door, your life will never be the same..." Scuba dive is one of those rare activities that delivers adrenaline and intensity or serenity and peace. Nothing on earth matches the sensations you experience - the thrill of breathing underwater, the freedom of "weightlessness" and unique sights and sounds.
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