Lost in Translation - Chaos in Hong Kong

If you think Singapore is overpopulated, you have not been to Hong Kong.  I don't think I've ever seen that many people crammed into that small a place. EVER.  Coupled with the extremely fast pace of life, it was a little stressful for me, although technically I grew up in a city myself!

Welcome to Hong Kong, where the crowd will devour you!

It was one of those random chats that blossomed into thoughts for possible trips and that was what happened to us!  Because the 4 of us have very diverse interests, likes and dietary restrictions, coming up with one common location was both hard work and no brainer.  Beach/hiking/nature vacation was out as I was the only one who could do all these.  So we decided upon a place where you have city life and island life - Hong Kong!  Where the girls can go shopping and eating, and I just wait for my days of adventure.  

Little did we know that summer holidays were from June-Mid August and our visit coincided with the tail end of the school holidays.  Which could probably explain partly why it was super duper crowded.  But I still believe HK is forever crowded.

As a rule of thumb, I was vehemently denied the luxury of wearing flip flops in Hong Kong.  Not once, not twice but several times.  The general consensus was - You are not allowed to bring or wear flip flops out the streets.  Reason being - Nobody wears flip flops out in HK.  Apparently, the fashion conscious folks in HK don't understand the hippiness of wearing flip flops.  It's not about the shoes, but the attitude!  Bummer! So it was that I only brought 1 pair of sneakers for the entire trip.  It was the same pair of sneakers to shop, to hike, and for our girls' night out. 

All thanks to Mei Mei, we were booked into Royal Plaza Hotel family room where the 4 of us slept comfortably (kinda) in 2 double beds, smack in the middle of busy Mongkok.  And the free shuttle provided by the Airport Express Service (HKD90 single way, cheaper if you buy return and if you buy >1 ticket) stops at the hotel doorstep.  

Our first day was just exploring Hong Kong.  We walked Mongkok to Central to Soho to Causeway Bay, bracing ourselves against the crowd that started gathering at 10+am in the morning! Along the way, we sampled the HK Cha Chan Teng (HK Tea House) where the food was only so-so.  We also tried the Michelin Star Tim Ho Wan, albeit not the outlets that got the star. But food is food, and they are only famous for a couple of items, namely the Char Siew Bun, which was worth it according to the 2 who ate.  About our dietary restrictions – we have 1 who doesn't eat pork (Sa), 1 who doesn't eat meat (Me), 1 who doesn't eat green leafy vegetables (Mei Mei) and 1 who basically eats anything (Angeline).  Makes it a bit of a challenge when ordering since only 2 people eat pork, which accounts for most of the food in HK.  But we kinda survived.  

 

Famous Tim Ho Wan Char Siew Bun

It was a lot of walking and shopping on the 1^st day.  Truth be told, not my favourite activity.  But the girls were enjoying H&M, Uniqlo and what have you.  By the end of the day, after we went to the Avenue of Stars, which by the way should be renamed Avenue of Tourists, I was exhausted and overwhelmed by (1) the crowd (2) the shopping (3) the food.  I don't like crowd, shopping and have no fervent interests in the act of food scouting and planning.  So imagine how stressed I was when we had to plan what is for breakfast during dinner, and what is for dinner during breakfast.  Luckily, Mei Mei did all the planning.

 

Breakfast at Kam Wah Cafe. Their Polo Bun is pretty decent. Just be prepared for the not so friendly auntie service staff

A day @ Ocean Park!

Second day, finally some action and fun! We went to Ocean Park, thinking most tourists should be aiming for Disneyland.  Right? WRONG!!! Or were there 3x as many tourists in HK?? Ocean Park was packed to the brim at 10am when the gates opened.  You literally couldn't see what was in front, just follow where the crowd is pushing you towards!  Our plan of action to hit the cable car and head for the rides kinda backfired when the crowd all headed to the cable car!  Our next plan of action was to run to the furthest rides which worked to our favour as people were still leisurely walking and stopping by the nearer attractions!  It was only when we headed back to the main area that it hit us – everywhere was Q, Q and more Q! Each ride was at least a 45min Q, such that by the time we went on only 4 rides, it was almost 3pm in the afternoon.  With the scorching heat burning down on us, we decided to give up and head back for afternoon tea at Hokkaido Dairy Milk Restaurant and back to wash up for more night activity!

 

Nice cable car ride up

Hair Raiser, the best ride we had!!!

This night, we visited Madam Tussauds, which is located at The Peak.  Tips – Go online and secure tickets before you go there because (1) tickets will be sold out at the end of the day (which we encountered) (2) there are many online discounts from 10%-50% depending on the time of the day you want to visit.  Smart ass me went and we bought entries for after 9pm for 50% off, at HKD100 each! A steal! And a guarantee entry into the exhibit!

We wanted to take the peak tram up just for the experience but the Q is longer than if you attempted to walk up the hill! So taxi it was – fast, cheap and more comfortable.  Dinner was at Cui Hua Restaurant, where we had really good fish paste products.  After 2 days, this was one of the better dishes I had.  

 

Channelling the sexiness in us

Cannot help it - My childhood idol, my 1st love

Remember the iconic song by Aaron Kwok??

Moonwalker - Our interpretation

After a nice dinner, our fun began @ Mdm Tussauds!  Good thing – not many people in the museum after 9pm!  We had a lot of fun posing with the wax figures.  I had a little star struck episode when I literally turned into a teenage girl when I saw my childhood idol's wax figure!  As my friends said, that moment in point was the most excited they have seen me throughout the entire 5 days in HK.  It was then followed by a short walk to view the scenery from The Peak and a mad wait for transport back to Hotel.  The taxi Q was too long and after almost 1H wait, we hopped on the public mini-bus and took the MTR back.

Next day morning, it was time for Macau! Leaving HK for the day, we took the 11am ferry across (1H ride at HKD170 single way).  On recommendation by the taxi driver, we headed to Restaurant Vela Latino for Portuguese food, which to me was only so-so and pretty pricey.  There were a lot of tourists though, so I figured they are only out to earn tourist money, not real authentic.  

 

Vela Latino Restaurant where the food was so-so and pricey

After lunch, we headed out to the sun and Senado Square where once again, people mountain people sea!  It takes skill to weave your way through crowd, and I believe I have perfected the art of weaving! After shopping for snacks and posing for pictures at the Ruins of St Paul (pretty touristy things), we rushed off to Venetian to experience the casino atmosphere (Angeline wants to do research for her counseling work) and view the indoor canal.  Time was running out as we had to catch the 530pm ferry back so it was just a quick run through the casino and off to the shuttle bus.  No time to gamble! Though the jackpot price sat at HKD62M.  Then it was another 1H ferry ride back to HK.  

 

Senado Square

Ruins of St Paul

The night was spent walking along Fa Yuen street to Tong Chai Street savouring street food and desserts.  I finally had the Fishball, but still missed out on the Smelly Tofu.  Was gonna have Sushi One (50% off after 10pm) but the Q once again frightened us and we left without trying.  

 

Desserts in HK!! The Top bowl is Taro (Yam Paste) but is cold, not hot!! Which is weird actually

On our 4^th day, finally some activity I love – hiking! We went on one of the best urban hikes in HK – The Dragon’s Back Trail located along Shek O Road.  Leaving early in the morning, we abandoned Sa in the hotel and headed for some workout after days of eating.  Taking the MTR to Shau Kei Wan, then bus 9 stopping at To Tei Wan along Shek O Road, we started our hike up to Dragon’s Peak at 284m.  It took us 40mins to reach the peak, where we had unobstructed view of the harbor.  It was a great feeling to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city and away from people.   

 

Enjoying the view at Dragon's Peak

Just the 3 of us

It took us another 1+H to reach our exit point – Collison Bay where we took the minibus to the MTR station.  The entire hike, if you do the whole loop, takes you all the way to Big wave Beach which is a total of 8km.  We only did about 3km.  My companions already exceeded their expectations completing the 3km without 2H, so bravos to them!  I would have loved to do the entire loop all the way to the end, but oh well, at least I got to hike!  I would recommend doing this hike and if possible head all the way to the Big Wave Beach for some relaxing.  The trail is well marked and well trodden, so no worries about getting lost!

After the hike, we figured we could justify the calorie intake because we burnt enough! So the girls wolved down plates of roast meat while I slurped on noodles.  Then they took off for more shopping while I gave up halfway and went back for a nap before our girls’ night out!

Yes, this is the night when we went to Lan Kwai Fong, the pub street of Hong Kong!  We went there at 8pm for dinner, not so happening yet.  But we had our best meal so far that night!  Yes, it was Hard Rock Cafe, you might scoff at it, but seriously the food was good, the atmosphere was good, the service was top notch! And with drinks and music to go with! What more do you want?  We had the best time that night, just relaxing and slowly eating our food, not mindful of starring eyes trying to will us off the table once the last morsel of food is swallowed.  The only time when we spent more than 2H at a dining table!  We ordered 4 big plates of food and we still managed to almost finish them off.  When we left, the party outside just started!  I was very tempted to party, but next day is another early rise, I was bloody beat and I guess my party of girls is not big on partying (though we don't mind people watching).  And so it was, we headed back to sleep.

 

Best Meal of the TRIP!! Hard Rock, you rock!

Next day, we were all supposed to go Lantau island, but Sa and Mei Mei backed out last minute as they needed their beauty sleep. So Angeline and I soldiered on.  It was a smooth ride to Lantau – MTR to Tung Chung then cable car ride up! We took the return cable car package (HKD255 for 1 crystal 1 standard ride) which includes the boat trip in Tai-O village and unlimited inland bus rides.  If you are not extremely keen on cable car ride, you could most definitely just take the bus to Giant Buddha and Tai-O from Tung Chung. It will cost you approximately HKD14-19 each way and half the price on a weekday. 

 

Cable car up to Ngong Ping at Lantau

We were rather surprised that there was literally no Q for the cable car ride!  We got on the crystal cable car within 5mins of getting our tickets!  The ride up took all of 25mins and along the way, we were offered great views of the surrounding and the airport!  When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowd!  We could finally walk with arms stretched out and not hitting anyone!  The highlight of Ngong Ping Village is of course the Giant Buddha!  Just a few hundred steps up and you will be up close and personal with Buddha!  The view up there is also real nice!  You can buy a voucher for the vegetarian meal at the restaurant for HKD78 each.  We didn’t.

 

I have the Giant Buddha behind me

After Giant Buddha, we took the bus to Tai-O fishing village.  The bus ride (bus 21) took only 10mins and when you arrive, it is like you are transported back in time.  All the houses on stilts, and old village, reminiscence of the old times.  We saw toys and stuff that we used to play when we were kids!  It was real nice to walk along the empty streets and just soak it in.  Our lunch was a simple affair of noodles, which was a nice break (at least for me) away from all those calorie-ridden food we had.  Then we headed for the boat trip which was included in our package.  The boat trip actually only costs HKD20 if you want to take it.  It takes you along the stilt houses, to the open sea to try to catch a glimpse of the white dolphins!!!  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any white dolphins.  And our boat broke down on our way back.  And so, it ends our nice quiet day at Lantau Island and back to HK.   

 

I love the feel of the rustic fishing village at Tai-O

Practicing my Kickboxing

So Angeline decided we should take a pic with the Shaolin Monks.

We spent the rest of the night doing nothing much cos everyone was pretty beat.  Dinner was at One Dim Sum, a Michelin recommended restaurant near Prince Edward Street.  It was cheap, 4 of us ordered about 6 items and came up to SGD20! And less crowded.  Food was pretty ok, but probably cos we ordered without knowing which were their signature dishes.

 

Sa decided to order something called 'Fried Egg with Honey' on the menu and this is what it was! Taste like fried dough with condensed milk and peanuts

And so ended my trip in HK.  Personally, HK is not my favourite place to visit.  And I don't understand why so many people love to go back to HK time after time after time.  The place is overcrowded, and unless you love shopping, there is nothing much to do in HK itself!  I did enjoy Lantau island, and I think I would totally like visiting some of the other islands in HK, just not staying and walking in HK city itself, getting crushed by crowds.  Although I would like to go back to enjoy the night life at Lan Kwai Fong.  Seems like a pretty interesting place for some drinking and partying... Food wise?  Singapore has much better food!  Seriously, the food didn't impress me or my friends. And we had a list of places recommended by other tourists to try out the different food!  Feel so lucky to be in Singapore where we get to devour so many delicious food.  Maybe I’m just not suited for city life or the extremes of a bustling city.  It really scared me a little facing the crowd.  And I’m really glad to be back in Singapore where I don't feel ‘claustrophobic’. 

After the trip and the disappointing food experience, we have decided to go on our own little makan-sutra hawker style trip within Singapore! First up - Probably Chinatown!! Why fly 3.5H to HK for food when you have better and cheaper food back home? A bowl of instant noodle in HK costs HKD20 (SGD3+) onwards, a plate of Char Kuey Tiao is only $3!  I shall hopefully try to capture the results of our makan-sutra hawker style

The Curious Case of Little Red Riding Hoodless and a mountain called Bukhansan

八千厘路云和月
我行山路10公里
攀登山峰赏心悦
绵绵细雨伴我行

I posted that on my Facebook and sometimes I amaze myself at how creative I can be, coming up with a Chinese poem Haha! Simply put, it translate roughly (and I mean very roughly) to describing my hike of 10km in Bukhansan up to the peak, with drizzling rain along the way. But of course, it still sounds more poetic in Chinese.

Back to the case in point - So what is this curious case? Nothing more than the impromptu decision to finally hike Bukhansan, located in Seoul. Like I said, I have stories.

So it was, I thought I was going to spend a very boring weekend stuck in Kunsan, a small town south of Seoul but we got approval to spend the weekend in Seoul like 2 days before the weekend. So with hotels booked, I started thinking of what I could do and the first thing was - Bukhansan! I have wanted to hike this bloody mountain since 3 years ago, when I went to Seoul. Ended up doing Gwanaksan instead. But all was good.  Now, I have 1 full day in Seoul and I couldn't let it go to waste!  So it was, I had no hiking attire at all because like I said, impromptu decision!  Still I had to NIKE it (just do it). Found the most hiking appropriate attire (which is actually my only pair of red hot pants + pink gym wear + running shoes - Hence Little Red Riding Hoodless), with the help of Internet, I kinda got an idea of where to start the hike.

The day was Saturday 20 July 2013, the time was 745am when I started my subway journey.  There are ALOT of different trails in Bukhansan, leading to different peaks or rather ultimately will lead to the same peak. I chose the most popular hike that will bring me up to Baegundae, a peak of 836 meters.  And accordingly, I took the subway to Gupabal station, and hopped onto bus 704.  Apparently, there are 2 other buses from Gupabal to Bukhansan too, as I saw hordes of colour coordinated, hiking geared-up Koreans getting up those buses. But I didn't want to take the chances since there's no way I could communicate with anyone here! As I saw it, I knew 704 for sure takes me to the starting point I wanted, so I boarded the bus. KRW1,150 per trip to get off at Bukhansanseong.

Once I got off, it is easy, just follow the crowd! You wouldn't go wrong following any of the Koreans as long as they are fully decked in hiking attire.  Everyone goes to the same place!  The initial 1H or so was relatively ok, yes slopes and rocks but compared to Gwanaksan, I thought this was easier! It took me about 2H to reach the peak, with only the last 10mins being the toughest and steepest.  Still it wasn't as difficult as Gwanaksan. 

View from the top

The route up to the top is relatively well marked.  Afterall, Bukhansan is very much visited by locals and foreigners.  So there are road signs along the way at each junction telling you where to go, and the distances. And the well trodden path makes it a lot easier too!  Following the path to Baegundae is a 4km hike.  I saw one that is 4.2km but not sure what that 200m extra takes me to.

Insudong peak, another nearby peak that can be scaled

Did I mention I had soju high up?

At Baegundae peak, it is actually just a very small rock face, with people squeezing to get on.  The wind was blowing full steam and a little freezing up there! And the clouds were gathering.  Before long, it started to drizzle.  Then stopped.  I had my moment just sitting by the edge at the top and marvel at the magnificent view.  Misty as it was, it didn't dampen my spirits.  I have this habit of always cursing and swearing when I'm in the process of climbing/hiking up the terrain/mountain because sometimes you just feel like 'What the fuck am I doing?!' But I still keep on going and going and once I reach the top, everything calms down.  The sense of achievement and the view high up there calms me down instantly and I am brought to my sense of nirvana, how great everything is high up.  The air is cleaner, the view is breathtaking, and it is like you are disconnected with the world for that split second, nobody disturbs you and you are in your own bubble.  A bubble that you keep blowing and maintaining, not willing it to burst, until you know it's time to leave the bubble and return.  The same bubble I blow myself when I'm diving, when nothing exists but me and my underwater world. 

I could have sat there for ages.  Like I did in Koh Tao when I sat up there for like 1H or so without realizing.  But Mother Nature decided my bubble has to burst there and then, and rain hit hard! Not drizzle but not thunderstorm either.  The kind of rain that makes you pack up and start moving.  As I said, I was ill prepared. So no raincoat or ziplock bag or anything, so potentially my camera/handphones and what shit are susceptible to being flooded. I had to act quick and move quick.  And I was drenched. 

On my way down

The road down was tough for me, because of the rain which made the rock face very slippery and my shoes have NO GRIP at all! Mind you, running shoes!! But thank god for my well trained arms, I was pulling/pushing myself up and down rather than using my legs because holding onto the metal ropes was a lot easier and steadier!  Before long, like 15mins or so, the rain stopped but I had already made my way down.  So I continued down.  At the junction, I had a decision to make - Continue down the same way I came up or try a different route which I have absolutely no idea where it leads to but down.  Just at this moment, a foreigner came hiking the opposite direction and I asked him if the way he came from leads down.  He said yes, and he offered another alternative road down which is shorter - 50mins down compared to 2H the way he came from.  He suggested I go for 50mins.  I thanked him and guess what?  Those who know me should know which one I took.  Why go for 50mins when I can have 2H of fun hiking and exploring!  That was exactly the reason I chose to go down to Daedongmun gate.  The time was 1130am, very early to be headed down in 50mins.  Why not spend longer in Bukhansan! 

The distance was marked 2.6km, but the road down is not all down. In fact it was more up than down!  I had some problems in the beginning, again because of the shoes. Couldn't get a grip on the rock surface, so once again arm muscles to the rescue!  And I just kept walking. Once past the initial rock surface, the road down is actually easy mud soil. So it was a relatively relaxed walk down.  And just when I saw the 1.3km sign, the next sign I was 0.44km the opposite direction (back where I came from).  I was and still am very certain I did not past any sign that points to Daedongmun exit, so I couldn't comprehend why I would miss the sign! But of course, like I said, lots of trails leading in Bukhansan.  The next exit was Bogukmun at 0.16km so I moved on.  And that was when I saw a sign pointing to a ridgeline.  And when I looked over, oooooh... A very interesting climb up a steep rock!  The adventurous spirit in me shouted "Go for it! You can come back for your exit later!" So I made my way down.  In fact, I was the only one going that direction.  Everyone else came from that steep rock to where I started.  Weird.  Anyway I went, and at one point it was like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2 where scaling was required.  Not as extreme as his in terms of rock climbing, but basically had to pull myself up and climbed up and down the rocks.  If you are afraid of heights, better don't attempt this. Cos once on top of the rocks, the wind is very strong and looking down can be very scary. 

The ridgeline hike

Very windy up there

Ajumma made me do KIMCHI

And another pose

There, I stopped for a moment.  And overly excited Ajummas (middle aged women) started helping me take photos.  I couldn't say no to them.  And that was when I met my Ajumma! A Korean lady who speaks Chinese. Conversational Chinese!  So it was that we hiked together! I backtracked to where I came from while she continued her hike!  And I found out from her that there was another trail that leads up to where we met!  Coincidentally, she was on her way down too so we hiked down together.

At Bogukmun, where I was planning to exit, the Ajumma told me - This way down is very short, not interesting. That killed it for me.  I don't like "NOT INTERESTING".  She suggested another exit which she was headed to, and if I was not tired, I could follow her! OF course I was going to follow her! 1 - I was not tired; 2 - she was my hope to get back to hotel! If I went down at Bogukmun, I have no idea how I'm going to get a bus to whatever subway station it is since NO ONE can speak English; 3 - I look for interesting and longer hike!

So we continued for another hour or so, going up up and up most way, then finally down.  This was when I realized why I missed my Daedongmum exit. Because, there is no sign pointing to EXIT!! There is just a route that appears!! You have to realize that is the route down to the exit and only when you started down the route, will you then see the sign that tells you how many KM to the exit! So once again, if I hadn't met my Ajumma, I might have been hiking non-stop until I cannot take it, so sit and wait to follow the crowd to somewhere, anywhere they might take me to.

The exit that we went for is Jeongneung.  According to my Ajumma, it is nearer to my hotel (City Hall station) as compared to Bukhansanseong, but Bukhansanseong has more people, so safer for someone like me who knows no Korean and haven't been to Bukhansan before.  Which is true! Going down Jeongneung, the crowd is far fewer than Bukhansanseong.  However, I must say the route is well trodden and there are signs, so I guess it will still be manageable!  But it is a longer way to Baegundae peak which was where I wanted to go.  So either way, I still did right!  At least I have down both route!

Along the way, we stopped by a river and washed up in the freezing cold water, ate some food and Ajumma gave me some of the melon she brought.  Her name is Jin Zhen Yu - Kim Cheong Hook (sounds like that in Korean) and her husband is Korean Chinese.  She studied Chinese in a private school for 4 years and I must say, she speaks pretty decent Chinese! She is an avid and super hiker who hikes on a weekly basis! Koreans simply love to hike!

At the bottom, we took bus 143 to the Line 4 subway (again 1,150KRW per trip for me).  The station is either Hansung Uni or the Women's Uni, both of which are on Line 4.  She made sure I got to the subway station before we bade farewell!  Nice Ajumma! I have to give her a really big thank you for bringing me along the hike.

So it is my hike started at 9am and ended around 3pm.  It was a really good workout and I enjoyed the hike!  Compared to Gwanaksan? I met a professional hiker team at Gwanaksan who took me down a very scenic and rather treacherous path which I totally enjoyed, walking at the edge of the mountain and climbing rocks after rocks.  Here at Bukhansan, probably no such route, but the view is fantastic at the various peaks!  I really enjoyed the downhill hike in Gwanaksan because of the very adventurous route we took and the view it offered.  But Bukhansan has a better view of mountains and city from the viewpoints.  Too bad the weather was not kind to me this day at Bukhansan.  Bukhansan is more tourist friendly as the signs are posted in English indicating the direction and distance.  None whatsoever in Gwanaksan.  All comes to instinct!

I did Gwanaksan in Tee + berms + sandals and the hiker team I met laughed at me, not mockingly but because Koreans hike in the best gear+attire possible, I was not in line with their expectations.  I kinda improved in Bukhansan, with Tee + Shorts + Running shoes!  Still I managed to scale both mountains in the wrong outfit/attire.  Note to self: Running shoes and sandals can do the job! And I got the colour coordination down pad - All in the tone of red! Even my backpack! As bright or colourful as some of the attire of the Koreans, none was in RED but me!

Bukhansan definitely manageable and I highly recommend it! I walked a total of 10km but it is not too difficult.  On this hike, I saw a total of 7 foreigners! And a bunch of young adults! So you are not very likely to get lost. Just follow the crowd!  Next time, I'm going to try Suraksan.

Fuck that back - I'm high on painkillers

So it is, on a gloomy Sunday morning, when I woke up to excruciating pain in my right lower back.  The same pain that started last Thursday but kind of subsided the next day.  As I painstakingly hauled myself off the bed, each movement eliciting a small yelp of pain, each move of limbs like an ageing 80-year-old grandma, I felt the world spinning, the vision blurred and stars appeared.  As I brushed my teeth, I felt myself slowly but surely crumbling to the floor, slowly to be engulfed by darkness.  That was when I knew.  I knew I couldn't move. I couldn't brush my teeth.  With the lightning speed of a crutches holding grandma, I went back to bed, trying out every possible position - left, right, center, back flat, tummy flat, curling like a foetus, trying to get comfortable and squeeze in a little bit of sleep to fight the dizziness.  None worked.  The pain persisted.  There were times when, if I hold my breathe for a moment, I can get 5 seconds of peace, of nirvana where the pain temporarily cease to exist for that magical moment and I felt normal for once.  I did that for long periods of time, to kid myself into believing all is not lost.  But, although I don't use much air when diving, I can't possibly not breathe for long.  And the pain eventually hits back with a vengeance.  A fucking mad man on a vengeance run. 

 

What happened?  If I had an answer, I would not be feeling so lost!

 

It all started on a kinda ok Thursday in the office.  I was in the office, doing my usual thing, not exerting any pressure of force.  I took the shuttle bus to lunch, still healthy and kicking and jumping.  When I finally arrived at FOOD, my hand automatically went to grasp my right lower back, by the side when the pain first hit.  I shook it off, thinking maybe just my imagination or just something that will pass.  As I walked along the food feast, all the food suddenly did not appeal to me at all as time and again, I find myself clutching tight to my right lower back.  Not the spinal cord, but the right of it.  The pain did not go away, and each step I took felt like thousand knives stabbing at me.  A friend told me to be careful as one of his friend got hospitalized for 3 days due to mysterious back pain.  I was scared.  As the day past, it seemed as if the pain would go away. I had no trouble really walking or sleeping.  As it was, I felt good enough to play tennis the next day!  I know now that people will lament the fact that I deserved it. I should have known better than to play tennis.  But I did know!  He pain was gone, I felt fine, and when I did play tennis, my movements were not restricted.  Though a little stiff, but no problems at all.

 

Then came Saturday, when I only felt muscle ache along my thighs and no where else!  So I thought I must be fine!  Who knew, the back pain decided to punish me for whatever reason unbeknown to me.  That was when on a Saturday night, I tossed and turned, trying to find the best position to sleep.  It started out well, but crisis happened in the middle of the night, when just by laying there, the pain stabbed me hard!  So hard it was difficult to breathe.  So hard it was difficult to sleep as pain kept me up.  I tried holding my breath, but I can only hold that many times.  Sleep came and go intermittently.  It felt like someone snapped my muscle tendons and a thousand knights were trampling on the snapped tendons like crumbling tofu.

 

So it is, that I'm sitting hunched by my laptop, typing this, leaving a legacy in the event that you don't hear from me.  It is Sunday, there are no X-ray facilities or any form of scanning facilities open in the country called Singapore.  I can only get more painkillers and see what the doc says.  It is the sort of pain that makes me go "Just fucking kill me and end my misery".  Exactly the same feeling I got back in Jan 2013 when I got really sick, with a fucking migraine and fainting spell.  These are the times, when you just want to fucking not feel a thing.  Like when your life fucks you up, your work destroying your mere existence, people around you hurting you left, right and center, when your heart breaks into a million pieces.  These are the times, when I go "I don't want to feel a thing".  It happened too many times in 2012.  I told myself I'm not going to let it happen this year.  Of course, any attempt is futile.  You know life plays its own games, and you have no say in any of the games and rules of life.  At least so far, I have tried to protect myself from emotional pain.  Believe me I have tried, and it is not easy.  The heart is always rebellious.  But I've tried to condition it to the frequency of my brain.  There has been near misses but no major disaster YET.  Learn to pull away when an impending disaster seems to loom. 

 

But physical pain?  Shit!  That really sucks.  How do you distance yourself away from physical pain? Maybe morphine helps. For those who know me, I have a pretty high tolerance level for pain.  I've cut myself deep with a knife, crushed my ankle, scrapped my chin oh too many times, and not a single tear shed.  I've always tried to hide the injuries, more out of fear than pain.  Fear of letting my parents know I've once again injured myself, and they'll get all worked up and upset.  So I tend not to tell anyone, and heal myself of the injuries, eventually.  This time, I tried and I failed.  I am scared, still am.  When the pain is so not tolerable that every single slight movement makes me cringe, I am scared.  Scared of what is happening, scared of what may happen.  When the pain is unknown, it creates another vile of secrecy and fear.  Fear of the unknown is always the most potent fear.  At one point, I almost cried in pain.  That says a lot about the agony I am in right now.  And for the first time, I told my mum I needed to see a doctor because of back pain.  I reckoned there is no way I can hide this one away, seeing that I walk like a grandma, back hunched, hand clutching the back and walking like a snail. 

 

The trip to the doc's earned me a haul of painkillers.  5 Types in fact.  I asked the doc "Are the painkillers strong, like really strong? Cos it fucking hurts like hell!" Ok, so I didn't use the 'F' word, nor the 'H' word, but I think I conveyed the message.  He gave me a smile and went on to put more line items in the prescription and said "These should work".  I would have liked to be shot in the back, instant gratification probably, but I'll let the medicines do their work first.  The diagnosis - Inconclusive.  Possibly muscle strain, but let's see how it heals in the next few days.  And I got myself 2 days of medical leave to rest my fucking back.  That's a plus. At least I'm not busy at my work place, so I can rest.  It will be kinda boring though, seeing that I'm like a vessel restricted in her ability to manoeuver.  Which probably means I'll be glued to the TV most of the time, watching TV series and sitcoms.  Wasting my time away. 

 

I just want to get better, and I have to believe that I will.  Don't worry.  A little back pain is not going to kill me.  It might murder me though...

Riots, Haze and Fun Times

I'm back home, after finally completed my first business assignment in my newly minted position. My butt was overheated from sticking to the office chair for too long, itching to lift off.  Jakarta was the city, not my favourite city but was glad to be going somewhere, and close enough to have my visitor drop by.

Notoriously famous for its traffic, day in day out, we experienced it going to and back from the factory.  A 20min journey takes 1H in traffic. I don't mind distance, but I fucking hate being stuck in traffic not knowing what's ahead and why. I might have been rusty in operational audits, but just like diving, it comes back slowly and surely as the days go by.  People were nice and cooperative, which for sure made the whole process much more enjoyable.  

The first week went by, pretty boring and standard stuff. Waiting for the weekend which was supposed to bring fun with a visitor coming, but as fate would have it, it was reduced down to a weekend of pretty much just watching movies and sitcoms in my hotel room alone.  Of course, I tried to force myself to sleep and catch up on sleep, but as always, sleep eludes me. Which is annoying! I'm away from home, no parents in sight, in an air-conditioned room with a big bed, and yet I still can't sleep.  Oh well, I figured Kimiko is my only solution but not happening over the weekend.

Just when I thought the week is not getting any more interesting, we were told there was a demonstration in the factory area, all roads were closed and we were advised not to go to work! Woohoo! No Monday Blues then! Yup, as fate would have it yet again, Indonesia decided to create some noise to strike against fuel price increase and coupled with our dear neighbour factory's dispute with workers, the union came out full force on Monday, blocking our way to work.  It all sounded so bloody exciting and interesting, and I could only get pictures sent in from my fellow auditee stuck in the factory showing the crowd gathered outside.  And so it was, another day spent in my hotel room, obviously working as well!

And just on the exact same day, the country I'm stationed in gave a nice present to the country I'm from!  Suddenly everywhere on Facebook, every single post on Facebook, by every single Friend from Singapore on Facebook was about just one topic - HAZE!  I never thought I would hear that word again, not when there was nothing mentioned last year and for quite some time.  As if on que with the demonstration, the world decided one demonstration was not enough, we need more news to show the world who we are!  So it was that HAZE index rose day after day after day, quite unlike the ST index.  And there I was, staying in Indonesia, breathing in fresh air and looking into clear blue skies, while my country mates suffer in the haze.  I did give a little smirk, sorry for being insensitive, but the irony of it was not lost on me.  It is just a little funny that the clean and green city was not as clean and green at that moment.  And so it was, that facebook became so boring for 5 days.  No surprising news about someone getting married out of the blue, so someone getting pregnant suddenly.  Because all I read about was Haze, Haze and more Haze.  But you know, Singapore has nothing much going in terms of exciting news, so I guess Haze is a topic that gets all citizens riled up. That's not often, which is good in a way.  But when it happens, everyone is talking about it.

Then I started to realize, everytime something really catastrophic happened in Singapore, I seem to be distinctly out of the picture!  The time when the MRT broke down nation-wide - Not in Singapore.  The time when massive flooding occurred in lots of area of Singapore - Not in Singapore.  This time the terrible Haze - Not in Singapore (as yet).  Count myself lucky to read about the misfortunates and not witness them.  And I shall not gloat about it because I do not wish to jinx it!

There were times of uncertainty in the factory, not knowing if the workers will come out again, and we were herded out of the factory early on some days to avoid being caught in any unfortunate incidents.  I tried to snap a picture of the small crowd gathered next door on Wednesday but my auditee kept advising against it.  Even my manager.  So with a security guard escorting me, I stood like 200m away from the real action, and didn't even had a good view of the crowd.  Still at least I was allowed to look for like 10sec.  Then another thought came to me - I was more excited about the fact that there was a demonstration than the fact that I need to work!  Go figure!

And then, I had a great second week in Jakarta.  The city sucks, still sucks.  Terrible traffic, and just didn't attract me much.  Just like Manila is to me.  Well, maybe Manila is slightly better than Jakarta, but still not my favourite cities. But I had fun towards the end of my trip.  The intrepid explorer from Lostbuanbajo came, and it was nice to have someone to explore the city with, have fun and to meet again! The drunken Russian couldn't make it in time though, could have been explosive and Legen-wait for it-dary if the 3 of us got together.  I can only think of one thing - ARAK. Oh and maybe just getting high :) But I know you got my virtual hug back in Bali.  It took the domestic flight from Jakarta and was delivered safely (what I was told).  If not, put a rain check on it.

If not for intrepid explorer, I would have been banned from taking the Trans Jakarta bus or any form of transport that is NOT the Blue Bird taxi.  And I have learnt not to tell/ask for suggestions from my client or colleagues because the only answer I will get is "NO, you cannot".  Fine.  A note on Trans Jakarta bus service.  I was impressed!  They are cool!  In a city like Jakarta, this bus system is like the Apple of the computer/IT world!  Air-conditioned, nicely maintained buses that run pretty often enough along selected routes, in dedicated lanes (means only the buses are allowed).  Good for escaping the traffic! And the network is pretty impressive too!  Not to mention for a price of IDR3,500, you get to travel the entire network as long as you do not exit the gantry!  Many of the main tourists spots or city centers are connected by the buses.  It is not that difficult to navigate once you get the map, but of cos the stations are not named after the landmark or specific locations, so you have to ask for the nearest stations.  Which may not always be true, given how different Indonesians give different answers.  But way cool!  A note - the section of the bus from the driver to the middle cabin is designated for women only! So no men allowed to sit in that section.  Which apparently, we found out too late.  Yup that was the cause for the pointing, staring and mumblings for all the aunties on board.    Yes, sexual harassment apparently is a major concern - for both the men and women probably.

Just when it couldn't get any better, on our last day, the factory closed as there was a planned demonstration of 3,000 protestors in the area.  I had hoped for the demonstration to come out more often during the week so I can skip going to the factory, but they decided Friday is the day they like best!  So we had a meeting in a cafe near our hotel.  But luckily that did not hinder our journey to the airport. Just when we were about to head home, the fucking PSI jumped to 400 that day.  And when I got off the airport, the second I stepped into the world's best airport, the stench hit me hard!  Even the world's best airport couldn't do anything.  And I thought to myself - Fuck, should have gone to Bali instead.  But unfortunately, Bali and Flores have to wait.  But I'll go back.  Hopefully soon enough.  I need my dose of the sea. Ah, maybe Bali not so soon.  But Flores maybe, for my rescue.

And of course, I remembered I had to come back for my powerboat course! Which I just completed.  2 day of intense theory lesson (which was as dry as paper), and a fun practical day out in the sea!  That was fun! The instructor gave us each a minute to speed across the water at full speed and the rush of air and smell of the sea was exhilarating!  And now, I have been certified as having completed my course.  Next step - take the fucking theory which only has a 50% passing rate, and you have to get 26 our of 30 questions correct!  Like the instructor said - Singapore has the highest criteria in the world because we always want to be number 1.  Yea right.  Damn it!  I now get 1 month to study for my theory.  So I need to start speaking marine.  No time to slack, have to get it right.  Practical comes after I tackle my theory.  Say, I haven't studied for years!  I think I can restart my brain.  Hopefully. After theory comes practical and I will become a certified skipper! When I get a boat, it will have a sundeck.  There is naked beach, and there is naked sundeck.  On my sundeck, it will be nude-tanning only.  Only Hunks Need Apply, Strict Conditions Apply.  Bikini babes are To Be Considered only.

Lo and behold, I am fucking tired again after I came back.  Alas, the week of good sleep was only temporary.  Solutions, Solutions, Solutions.  Maybe I do need Kimiko.  

Of Baking and Me

The baking spirit within has been reignited, like a dormant volcano erupting.  Once, I was so passionate about baking that I baked very often - Cheesecakes (oreo, original, Japanese), Kaya Cake, Mango Cake, Muffins, Banana Bread, Choc Chip Cookies (my signature) etc.. I have books of recipes tucked in my cupboard.  Then, all of a sudden, that passionate died down and I kind of stopped baking, except for the choc chip cookies which I still baked once a year, until recent years when I stopped. 

 

Now, I'm back! With a vengeance. Kinda.  The problem with me stopping baking is because I don't eat what I bake, so if there's no occasion or anyone to give the baked goods to, no use baking.  It is with renewed passion and a drive that I have started to bake again, this time only trying Nonya cakes.  It is a do or die, no room for failure attitude that I have to take, for this is something I must master hopefully to perfection or at least reasonably good standards.  Bengawan Solo? I don't dare to dream now, but hopefully good enough for the mass public.  Of course, I have guinea pigs who have volunteered themselves to try out the results.

 

So far, I have tried 3 different baked goods:

 

Tapioca Cake

The Tapioca Cake, which was a success!! I'm happy with the results.  But this is a very labour intensive process.  Had to manually grate 1kg of tapioca using a hand held grater.  30mins of pure grit and muscle to whittle down the tough tapioca into strands.  But I'm happy that the taste is good.

Pandan Cake




 Second attempt at Pandan Cake.  The first attempt was too sweet and too wet.  Taste was ok but not up to standard.  Second time - Better!  The colour is more realistic, and drier texture.  Sweetness ok but not sweet enough for the kids.  Next time, work harder on getting it fluffier.

Ondeh Ondeh

Ondeh Ondeh - A small devilish ball of flour + sweet potato puree with a burst of melted Gula Melaka within.  I love this.  Relatively easy to make but hard to master that burst of melted sugar when you bite into these in your mouth.  I still have yet to master it entirely.  There is a burst but only a small burst, and at times, the liquid sugar just flows out instead.  Need to grasp the correct proportion of sugar and dough mix to make the experience a little better.

 

Nice to be baking again.  Gets me into the zone when I'm in the 'baking' mode, where I just concentrate on getting the ingredients right and nothing else.  Then slump into my chair and wait...

 

Next week, what should I make?

Flashback in Stills

Used to have this traditional of selecting representative photos and collating a montage for each personal travel trips I've been to, starting from 2005.  Still do and the photo count is now up to 30.  Only trips OUT OF SINGAPORE counts, so sentosa or sister island or Ubin I'm sorry.  It's not easy selecting the best photos out of a bunch of fantabulous ones and takes time and effort.

Used to, once long time ago, post an annual update of the montages for the past year on my blog.  Then I got sloppy, as I do always once in a while.  I promise I shall try to live up to the expectation and tradition.  I can't really go back too far in time now, but I'll start with 2012.  Better late than never.  There were many firsts in 2012.  Once again only personal vacation trips included, which means trips out of my weekends on business trips would not turn into my photo montage collection (that would be too much work!)

The year started with a bang which was my first ever Skication in Japan!  Whatever led me to agree to skiing?  Beats me.  Especially when you are looking and talking to an ultimate beach babe.

First Ski-perience in Japan

Then it cumulated to a FUNtastic trip across Sabah where I finally, after years of telling myself, scaled to the top of Mt Kinabalu!  All without prior training!

Where I finally conquered Mt Kinabalu

Then once again, I seek solace and fun and a reflection on my year end trip (which kinda has become a ritual for the past 5 years).  Had a fantastic time getting high and drunk on NYE.

Epic year end trip to end a tumultous year

 

I hope 2013 brings about a new flash of light in my life.  So far I have 2 GREAT montages.  Sitting here writing this, my mind is racing through a jumble of thoughts about what MAY lay ahead of me.  HeHeHe... It may potentially be LEGEN...wait for it...DARY! High 5! Self High 5!  Or it may just be.............

Eat, Pray, Love

Ever watched or read the movie/book? Neither have I. But I guess the gitsh of it is Julia Roberts went in search of herself in Bali, Eat, Pray and Love. End of story. Simple as that. We've seen it in movies read in books but they are called movies and Fiction for a reason. Julia Roberts is one in a trillion. Now I've done the Eat and Pray to death, been to the City of Love, City of Lights, City that never sleeps, Land of Smiles, Land of thousand Islands, Land of Dreams, Conquered Mountains and kissed a sea turtle! Where's the love? Once, not too long ago, I thought I finally had it but he broke my heart, I was naive and stupid, and I spiralled into my own world of sorrow and tears for months, no one knew not even him. But I managed to snap out of it and close for renovation. Till someone comes to complete the job. Hopefully.

I seem to have delved into an early onset of mid-life crisis, going through my bucket list and looking at where I'm heading, where I want to be. My friends have always said I'm too adventurous, travelling to too exotic a place. Exotic is a relative word. Bali is exotic to someone who's never been to Asia. I've never been but heck, maybe Bali is the answer!Yea, just have to seriously psyche myself up to pack my bags and get my ass over to Bali... Adventurous? Neh, I just live in a slightly more conservative country. I like to say I've experienced life. My body has indeed been bruised and battered all too many times but I never give up do I? Come on, review the list of things I've done/ experienced in life:

The Bummer
Health scare - checked
Excruciating pain - checked
Busted knees - checked
Broken toe - checked
Twisted ankle - checked (thrice)
Chipped/bruised/no toenails - checked (too many times)
Got lost temporarily(on land and underwater) - checked
Thrown off a bicycle - checked (ok maybe I exaggerate, fallen off a bicycle on a slope)
Chased by barking dogs - checked

The Merry
I Flashed Koh Lipe/Sipadan/Koh Tao/Bajawa - checked
Mooned the camera - checked
Emergency quick ascent from 14M underwater - checked
Got merrily drunk - checked

Half braided my short hair - checked
Swam with whalesharks - checked
Close encounter with Thresher sharks and Manta - checked
Won an arm wrestling contest with a BIG GUY - checked
Dolphins swimming nearby - checked
Serenaded privately by a local - Frank owes me that!!! I fully intend to cash in the promise

Which brings me to my uncompleted 100th dive - not forgotten and Yes I'll do it naked like a diver! 2 months ago, I told myself I'm never gonna hit 100 dives this year when I was at the 86th mark. Then I went to do 20 in Komodo. Goes to show never say never! I've learnt my lesson :) 7 yrs ago I would have never thought I would dive so much! My buddies have all but waved the white flag while my passion only slowly burned and grew. Once I was a novice diver who went with 3kg knowing 2 was all I need, then one day a diving epiphany occured and I KNEW knew diving, enjoyed the tranquility of being deep down. There really is a truth in 'nothing matters when you are deep in enjoyment and passion'. I totally didn't feel the fresh wounds on my legs when I dive! I question myself - should I take one step further and get myself DM certified? Somehow I don't think I trust myself to guide. Would you? I pride myself in being good with directions. Proven on land. But underwater is a different world. What kinda DM would I be? Get excited about the big school of fish and abandon my divers to play with it! Haha take that! Then again, my divers would have the comfort of knowing that their DM doesn't really run the risk of being low on air!

Anyway what was my point? I think I'm too lost in my new environment, therefore my mind wanders and ponders about anything and everything.  Once again, the Nth time, I'm asking myself Who What Where When. Every now and then I find myself in this predicament. Especially so when I'm experiencing a change in my life or when I'm going through a whole lot of shit in my life. Everyone has their own shit, no one's shit is shittier than the other, me included. And Murphy's law always never fails to come true when the 1st load of shit happens.  So I googled the opposite of Murphy's law - Yhprum's Law - Everything that can work, will work.  Hmm doesn't exactly mirror Murphy's (it should be Everything that can't go wrong, wouldn't go wrong)  Cos if WRONG can work, then it will work, hence fulfilling both Yhprum's Law AND Murphy's Law right?

My lower back still hurts. Sucks
My legs are still scar infested. Sucks

So I'm not making a whole lot story in this post, more like random thoughts floating through my mind right now. This new environment is not exactly agreeing with me now. Normally it doesn't take me long to swim with new change, new people. IF I put myself into it.  That is when it gets me thinking - Have I once again made a mistake? SO tired of putting myself in situations where I do not feel like I've gained an advantage or be in a better position than before.  I was afraid of this when I decided on this.  Questioning myself "Did i make the right move", "Would I regret it", "I'm scared it's going to be wrong or worse".  And now it makes me rethink back to those questions and I'm really afraid that my answer would be YES.  And then I would go on a solo vacation again and say to myself - Why am I going back to work?

Why did I agree to put myself into the torture of commuting 1.5H to work and 1.5H from work everyday? 

I should stop updating my blog so frequently by ramblings.  It's a blog, not a diary :)

I miss the star-lit skies of Labuan.  I miss arak cos I only had a tiny sip of it!

It's still only the middle of the week.  Hang in there buddies... Long weekend next week!!

Coral Gone Dry

Coral has gone dry! How long will it survive without the moisture of the ocean water? Wouldn't you like to know!  I'd like to know too.  Counting back, been submerged about 42 times the past 4 months.  How active was Coral!!  Time to consider Operation Rescue Diver.

BTW, Coral aka Moi is now the name of the blog.  I figured after so many years, maybe it's time for a change.  Essentially, it is still my name, albeit a translated version of my chinese name.  Funny how I never thought my chinese name meant anything until people started asking what it means and I just figured - Split the words and translate them!  Of course, you have thousands of characters in the Chinese Language that it is not easy to exactly match each word to a meaning but my Chinese name 典珊, when broken down can mean 字典的典，珊瑚的珊(i.e. part of the word that forms dictionary and part of the word that forms corals)。That's how I came up with Dictionary of Corals.  Coincidentally, my surname has the same sound as FISH in Mandarin.  So how apt it is that my name can literally mean Dictionary of Corals and Fish (beautiful and colourful corals and fish I may add).  Of course, I can tell you the Korean meaning of my name Yeo Jeon Sun - Which means Female Warrior.  Imagine the Female Warrior of the Dictionary of Corals and Fish.  I feel like a mystical creature now.

 

So back to life.  Coral has gone dry for 1 week now.  The last time Coral went dry, she survived for 1.5months before immersing herself again, and after that another 2 months past before she iched for the sea again.  Matter of coincidence or convenience? Maybe a bit of both.  Now donning the business attire with my heels and projecting a professional demeanour needs some getting used to.  Especially for a so-called unconventional auditor that is Coral.  How's things at the new environment? Not sure.  A little disappointed at some stuff but also nervous and excited about the complexity that follows.  Would my disappointment outweigh my excitement? Only time will tell.  

 

Somehow, my heart is taking a long long time to get down to business.  In the past, holiday withdrawal syndrome only lasts a flicker of an eye blink.  Now it gets harder and harder to swallow.  Why do I still dream and think about mingling with sea turtles, trevalis and Manta Ray when I'm typing away on my computer?  If there's a job to audit the underwater sea life, I'll be the first in line!

 

Coral: Hey sea turtle, you are not following protoccol! Underwater manual says that you don't give a fuck and you should just lazily swim around, not scurrying away!  I give you a RED!

 

Sea Turtle: Management oversight Coral.  We will immediately implement your recommendation.  You will see the next time you do a follow up audit that we will comply.

 

How fun would that be!

 

Now, my coral orientation marks have kinda peeled off 90%.  Still have a few painful blots that can't be peeled off but soon.  Now it's time for OPERATION VANITY PROJECT.  Despite the fact that I like roughing it out, I also like the fact that I maintain smooth flawless skin and legs that make people green with envy!  Call me vain or sissy, I don't care! I can endure the pain but I wouldn't endure the ugly scars that remain.  So Vitamin E and Aloe Oil are my friends for now. 

 

On another note, I hurt my lower back when I was in Labuan.  I figured I probably hurt it when I dived into the water.  But who knows.  Things happen to me when I have no idea how, and when the pain starts or bruises show, I then realize I had done something or something happened.  And this is killing me!  Not the pain, the pain I can bear.  I didn't even blink my eyes when corals started chasing me and left their marks on me.  But this lower back thing is really irritating me much.  Makes me unable to perform in my yoga class when I KNOW for a fact that I always ace those poses.  Crunching my face and taking deep breathes, I tried and tried to bend greater than the current 30 degrees to reach my optimal but the pain shoots me up.  And it kills me deep that I can't do it anymore.  Damn you back!  Maybe I shouldn't have gone back to Yoga knowing for a fact that my lower back hurts, but me being me, I don't give up and obviously I didn't let a tiny ache stop me.  But probably I should now.  Think my yoga teacher unknowingly tried to contort me further and I almost screamed.  So I guess no yoga for me tomorrow, but I'll definitely go for a swim.  Can't just sit and be an invalid.  Hopefully I can be well again for next week.

 

Funny how the 1.5H daily commute each way to office is not as "fun" as the 2H ride to the dive sites.  "Your 1st dive site will be a 2H boat ride away" Okie Dokie, not a problem! 1.5H on the train, well ok I'll take it.  I know, I signed up for it knowing it would be like this.  So I've gotta man up and accept it.  Still, who knows?!?!  Everyone has a breaking point.  I broke mine a couple of times before at different stages of my life.  Who is to say when it will break again this time.

Ah another milestone.  My photo montages have hit 30 pieces!  Beginning from 2005 till date, excluding business trips.  Nice!

 

Coral needs to get it's edges realigned again now.  Cross fingers and hope this monthly realignment will come to an end soon and Coral can shine bright and pretty!

Diving at Labuan Bajo

Why dive at Komodo? Because of the diversity of the underwater life!  Big fish, small fish, beautiful corals and of course Manta Rays! Why the diversity? Current baby, current! Big fish and Mantas LOVE currents, so with current means great sightings!  Of course you have gotta know what you are doing when diving with current.  It can be fun, it can be tough, it can be dangerous.  You can be superman, wonderwoman, astroboy swimming with current, or you can tumble with it.

 

So knowing I have a bad history with current, and I must say still a slight phobia of current, I still chose to dive in Komodo because you only live once, why not do the things you want to and like to and know will enjoy?! And I mean Manta Rays! How can I say no to that!

Also as I mentioned in an earlier post, why I chose to come to Komodo to dive was purely based on a conversation I had with a fellow diver, who happened to be a dive master in Komodo for several months, when I was diving in Philippines.  So on his word, I decided this is the place I have to go to for diving!
 

Researching dive shops online spawned only a few choices and I thought I had decided on Dive Komodo as my go-to dive shop but only to find out that 2 dives a day was what they were going to offer.  Lady luck has to, I chanced upon DiversParadiseKomodo.com which was just beside my hotel who offers 3 dives a day!  Hey if I were going to make the 2H boat trip out, might as well squeeze in 1 more dive! Immediately I signed up for a 3D dive package (discounted to IDR2.9M for 9 dives).  Of course, you have to pay for the Marine park fee (IDR20K) and diving pass (IDR75K) valid for 3 days each time.

 

As luck has it, the 1st day of diving was just me, Ivana (Polish) and our dive master! Woohoo! I love small intimate dive groups.  As Indonesia has it, we were told to meet at 7am but of course, it never happens on time!  Indonesia time baby! We boat through great scenery and I was already psyched up!  Alex was on boat with us, as was Hugo who had a student with him.  On day 1, we saw 2 Manta - 1 at Batu Bolong, 1 at Manta Point!!! Good start! And I knew I was up for more great things to come!

Onboard Lintas Batas

 

Day 2 introduced 3 Danish guys who were kinda a nightmare for Theo (DM).  They dived with us for 2 days. We were in a group heading out, and as Advanced divers, they didn't have much experience under their belts but loved to wander around themselves and kinda didn't listen much to instructions.  Plus being bad with air consumption, it was a mess.  With current, they just froze up and almost stalled the dive.  One guy even forgot to open the valve all the way, causing it to shut halfway through the dive and he went out of air!  Of course, only to realize it was his own fault when we surfaced and checked the equipment!  Great job guys! So they kinda fucked up my dive time too... Well things happen and you just gotta suck it up and go with the flow..

During one of the dives, with wonderfully strong current that we were basically just flying across, one guy got lost cos he refused to let go of the rock while the rest of us drifted through.  Well his buddy didn't realize he was lost until we realized we lost 1 guy.  Cancelled dive and basically fought our way up a little too fast to surface.  Suffered a mild headache for a bit but ocean breeze and seawater cured me in no time!

 

Of cos, more drama ensured the next day.  I thought I would stop at 3 days of diving, but sorry to say, the underwater world is too alluring to me, and tends to seduce me back for more!  So went for more diving.  And not to mention it was Theo's (my dive master) birthday.  You would have thought it would be a good day.  But that day started with no fuel and me fighting against the sleeping monster to stay awake, then when we had fuel, then the boat broke down halfway to the dive site.  So we ended up changing the dive sites and waiting for our rescue boat which took forever to come!  And when it did, we finally understood why it took forever to arrive.  In the end most of the divers abandoned the 2nd dive, and only me, Melanie, Hugo and Theo went ahead with the 2nd dive with the rescue boat which was super duper SLOW..... Still we had a great time diving with a bit of current.  But all was good when we drowned ourselves in ARAK and Vodka and beer at night in celebration of the birthday boy's birth day...

Me Me Me

 

And of cos, I had to dive the sites I did not dive so I went back for more and glad I did!  This time, a small group again and had 3 great dives!  The 3rd dive was only me and my DM and it was soo fun!  We had an intimate session with a lazy sea turtle, playing with it, feeding it and sayanging it.  Totally cool! And did I mention that dive master Theo has a crazy obsession with sea turtles.  Yah, he goes crazy when one appears.

Me with cute sea turtle

Dive master who would love to kiss a sea turtle

 

And the rest of my time in Labuan was of course spent out in sea and underwater.  In total, I probably did like 20 dives there, visiting sites from Batu Bolong, Castle Rock, Crystal Rock, Golden Passage, Sebayur Kecil, Tatawa Kecil, Tatawa Besar, Siabo Kecil etc etc.  Maybe almost everything that could be done on a day trip dive boat.  Oh Well, dive like you would never come back again, so might as well hit all and miss nothing! 

The last day of diving was the highlight!  Great 2 dives, and the 2nd dive - Manta Orgy! Haha, we saw Manta after Manta after Manta!  Soooooo coool!! If I could shout underwater, you would hear my scream of joy miles away... And with 3 cameras underwater at that time, it was like National geographic in motion! Manta - Camera lights action! Manta - Camera Lights Action!

Manta

Manta Manta Manta

 

Didn't start out this way but I ended up spending 7 out of 8 days diving in Labuan.  I had meticulously (ok not really but it was in my mind) planned 8 days in LBJ to do the following - Visit to Sano Crater Lake, 1 day Cunca Wulang, 3 days diving, 1 day komodo adventure, maybe 2D1N on Sebaya Island.  But in the end, it was Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah.  Only did Cunca Wulang and half day Komodo adventure and the rest was embracing the marine life of Komodo National Park!  I was a fish in the water!  Even my name is kinda  synonymous with the underwater world - Dictionary of Corals and Fish (well the sound of my surname)  Haha, I was diving so much with them that I almost became part of the staff of the shop.  These people were so generous, helpful and fun and easy to dive and work and talk with! Totally enjoyed my time there.  Special Thanks to you guys - Theo (my favourite DM, I've gota say that, who took me diving and showed me a great time), Hugo (who kinda just provide comic relief and tends to purposely irritates me but I guess I'm too "cute" to resist NOT to irritate me. But who is a really good instructor, knowledgeable), Alex (calm cool relaxed guy who likes to get drunk a lot haha) and all other divers who were there!

On a separate note, We kinda never left the dive shop on time, different shit happens on different day - no fuel, missing this missing that, lunch not ready, captain not ready, no boat boys etc etc.  As a diver, I never like that!  Yes, sometimes you don't leave on on time but not like 1-2H late or not having fuel for your boat.  That's not supposed to happen when you run a fucking dive shop that supposedly to be in operation for like 1 year!  Was I angry?  Yes, I didn't like it, but I like diving and I did have a great time diving because of the great companions on board.  Would I have left the shop?  Yes I definitely would have said "I've had enough with all this shit" but the great guys are really great 'guides' and friends who made the diving enjoyable and all those mess kinda tolerable.  If I had a shitty DM, I would have said Adios the next day.  I don't know about the other divers who suffered these shit, but I know I don't like it when you don't manage your boat and equipment properly to ensure that the dive will go smoothly.  You can blame anything else but I guess ultimately the shop has to take responsibility.  But in Indonesia, it seems nobody wants to bear that.  So that's that! 

Would I recommend the shop?  I would for the fact that they seem to be the only one who for sure offers 3 dives a day.  If you don't care about doing 2 or 3 dives, then maybe go with another dive shop with less trouble.  I would recommend the shop for the people I dived with - Theo, Hugo and Alex.  But they are not necessarily permanent staff.  Being half family, I know the shit that is going on behind the scene, but discounting that fact, the shop seems reasonable.  So I guess it's still up to you :)  If only more shops offer 3 dives a day, the options would be wide open!

It's never a boring day in Labuan Bajo!  8 days and I wasn't bored a single day.  It was so entertaining how different day brings about a different set of problems. And of course many laughs and fun.

 

A self made video of my diventure in Komodo.  Enjoy!

Not to mention, I passed my 100th dive in Komodo. Though I never did my 100th dive (in the diver's world, the 100th dive is meant to be a naked dive)  So i'll keep that 100th dive for future when the water is a lot warmer.  Yea we've got warm waters sometimes but just when I thought maybe I could do the naked dive this time (with no other divers around), we go dive in waters of 26 degrees (Yes Hugo, we are sissy divers so what!).  Damn!  But I'll keep my hopes high up for future :).  I keep to the Divers' Motto.