the great escape

it's been a month and some change since i've posted, but i can happily say that this time it is with ample (and reasonable) excuse! ten days of scuba diving, a week of 'motivational camp' (which, i always hate, but as i was forced into going, i have some insightful [if also cynical and probably biased] things on which to elaborate) one week of packing and looking for a place to stay in australia. pretty awesome, but, even though it's not as time consuming as i make it out to be, forgo the slacking off as an entitled privilege for all those who would be unemployed.

without further ado, i'll begin in chronological order: the scuba diving trip. perhentian island, malaysia - although a lot of people have told me that the quality of marine fauna in perhentian has deteriorated tremendously, i have to say it's still worth going. it's not as great as sipadan, or the great barrier reef (sipadan was super awesome, by the way, and i doubt that any diving experience will compare to it. sadly it's not being maintained well and i can only foresee it becoming less and less attractive as the years go by) but it's damn well worth the money. soft corals are not as abundant as it used to be, so i'm told, but you can still find about 10 - 20 stereotypical species of them at regular intervals across the seabed. again, contrary to what i've been told, it's still colourful, and if you have an eye out for these things, it's very appreciable. in contrast to sipadan, there's less types of soft corals but there is not a lack thereof, and surprisingly, hard coral was harder to come by than i expected (not to say there's any lacking).

the fauna was 'mediocre', though i say this only because there is the absence of those 'holy shi*' moments during the dive. you can see lot's of stuff, don't get me wrong, it's just they're all the same mundane stuff you can get anywhere else. no turtles, one or two nurse sharks in the distance. a spattering of barracuda (again at a distance) etc etc. there was some 'exciting' microlife like rare cleaner shrimp and fluorescent nudibranch(es?) but being as near-sighted as i am, i guess i'm not fully equipped to appreciate them in all their splendour. oooo shiny colours. do want.

conditions were great though. slow-rolling sea. not too cold, i went in with only a skinsuit, and i can imagine it being thoroughly comfortable in a drysuit. no rough winds during this time of year (june) but i'm told to expect the monsoon conditions from september to april. the dive crew was awesome (bar a couple of old lady tourists who had trouble with everything from buoyancy to the ability to keep their mouths shut. i kid, i kid, they were awesome. i just mention them, though, because they left quite the lasting impression upon me, some old (i probably exaggerate since they might as well have been middle-aged) obasans suiting up. tee hee. the divemasters were a everything i'd come to expect, gear was clean and up-to-date. what can i really say, it was great. i did get rather ticked off by the prices of everything else on the island. food was incredibly overpriced and small in proportion, day-to-day items were similarly expensive etc etc. i can understand trying to make a quick buck out of tourists but this was ridiculous. i'd suggest bringing some of your own foodstuff like tinned sardines(also know as ikan bilis to our resident german friend).

all in all it was a great experience - i'd definitely go again. preferrably with a group of friends. although, sometimes it's pretty awesome to just kick back and take time to yourself. to each his own.

on a side note, i did get 2 chapters finished of a work-in-progress written thingy i'm working on. collaboration with my friend has been a bit slow, and we might not meet the deadline, but if we do, expect to see some pretty awesome stuff whenever we finish (disclaimer: definition of awesome may vary on an individual basis). 'til next time, kids. same awesome time, same awesome channel.