20 APR - 23 APR 2018 / Two weeks back, I was at Tioman Island taking my PADI Open Water Diver course (need to emphasize that I was on course, and not on a holiday trip) and it was everything that I did not imagine it to be. For one thing, I needed to unlearn the breathing technique and movement from swimming in order for me to even stay underwater. And then, I got to overcome this initial fear of deep waters so that I could clear all my skills training during those shore dives (prerequisite for my boat dives). They say you won't forget your first breath underwater, and I find that very true (even though I experienced that first breath through snorkelling on my first day there). But unlike snorkelling whereby I could just come up for air whenever I would like to, I wasn't able to do the same for diving.
And I think that was what scared me the most at first. So many times I just wanna surface so that I can take a good proper breath coz apparently Im still breathing through my mouth AND nose at the same time which is totally incorrect (but as long as I don't hold my breath I guess Im pretty safe) It's not even like I'm running out of air, but the thought of not being able to get to safety was unnerving. I shivered so much (even back in our room) I didn't know if that was me feeling cold or me feeling scared about all the skills training I had to complete on my third day there (the progress on the second day was not ideal and I think my instructor was pissed at me right till the very end hahaha)
At some point during my skills training I knew I was in good hands, and I believe at one point I swore to myself I won't ever go diving without my instructor with me (not realistic — does that mean I won't ever go diving again ?????) Anyway, all those skills training made me realize that any problems encountered underwater got to be solved underwater. I think once I got this into my head, the urge to surface pretty much disappeared. Plus the fact that I really need to freakin' clear my skills before I can do my boat dive and be freakin' certified. I wish I had a beautiful story about how I have always wanted to learn diving, but no, I was only tagging along coz I thought being a good swimmer naturally makes you a good diver. WRONG.
Weather was pretty good throughout the weekend except for the occasional rain. And the theory part was as much sleep-inducing as the practical part was stress-inducing. Let's just say Sis's bf (Norman) did a better job at explaining concepts lol literally free consultation for me, and for that Im thankful. A picture of our kampung estate which was very near the dive shop, which also meant toilet trips were especially convenient! And my toilet roll came in handy after all /shrug
Wet suit: Short, 3mm
Weight: 3kg
Skills training covered included clearing mask, regulator recovery, hovering, removing and replacing my BCD underwater and on surface, removing and replacing my weight belt underwater and on surface, removing and replacing my mask underwater, sharing air, CESA and tired diver tow. A picture with Sis before I went on my first boat dive!
How much air did I use up just from hyperventilating before my first seated back roll ?????
So, we went for my first boat dive at Tomok Island, before going further out toward Renggis Island. I don't remember seeing much on these two dives (COZ STRESS) but I saw a cuttlefish at Tomok without knowing that's a cuttlefish (in fact so many schools of fishes Idk the names of) and this DAMN BIG sea turtle at Renggis (: Apparently people saw sharks, but I guess my immediate reaction if I really saw one up close would be to pretend that I didn't see it hahaha either that or I would start to hyperventilate again. And there's this treadmill at Renggis (for real) which I totally forgot to keep a lookout for :( One artificial site which actually piqued my interest coz like wtf, imagine divers running on that treadmill I CANNOT.
For sure the boat dives had been the real test. Zomg at the rate I kept floating up from inhaling > exhaling, Im just super thankful my instructor and subsequently Norman were there to pull me down (which made the latter almost run low on air oops) IM SUCH A BABY DIVER and attempting to cut across this current was a nightmare I really thought I would be swept away. And despite all these distresses, I could actually see the appeal of the deep waters. Cue Aladdin's A Whole New World. It's nice to actually say hello (in my heart) to all those aquatic life down there whilst swimming right into schools of fishes (they won't blame you) and I still wish to spot a whale shark some day (the biggest fish and shark in the world and they eat planktons!) Just please don't let me see great white shark thank you. And also more sea turtles pretty please.
I don't think I will ever forget that weekend for a long time to come, and I hope one day maybe I won't have to hold onto my LPI and regulator throughout a dive hahaha my survival instinct damn strong, if someone swims ahead of me then I will naturally let go of my LPI to protect my mask lest it gets kicked off accidentally. On the way back to Paya on the boat, I was thinking about how I made it to the surface alive and how I wish Sis was there to share the experience with me and also about how perhaps I can be a child of the sun and the sand and the sea like him and him and him. And one thing's for sure, I know the deep blue is where I wanna return to (:
With my instructor — August Chuah 蔡崇烈 (:
I have got a 八月最美丽的画面 to unveil, of course in Aug, when it's ready!
Now, Idk when my next dive's gonna be but I do hope it won't be too far off in the future. Cannot wait to receive my PADI Open Water certification card hehehe from my initial naïveté about diving to the knowledge and skills that I have built up over the course of three days, I felt like I had came a long way but this is only just the beginning (:
Technically one has to avoid alcohol for at least 8 hours before diving, but cheers to more Finding Nemo adventures, xx