Day 1
didn't feel right for photography, if only because I was trying to
figure out how receptive to the camera, the human subjects would be.
The moment I got to know them better, the clicking came naturally.
:)
8 am. Breakfast, no
kidding.. almost Mac.. with toast, egg, jam, butter, sausage, and
baked beans.
Bright and sunny
would describe the entire day. We checked out our life-jackets and
snorkel-gear. Four boats would bring us up north of Tioman to the
Marine Park.
The wind on our backs.. also created huge waves which
gave some of us huge yelps of sea-coasting fun (and others huge
gulps of sea-sickness..).
I'd forgotten how
much I miss the sea. It'd been quite a while since I last rode the
waves. I stood up on deck, both hands locked on a wooden column in
the bow, as huge waves collided head-on with the puny but steadfast
boat. It leapt skywards a couple of feet, the momentum carrying all
of us along for the ride in the air before it smashed against the
watery surface. Everyone was jolted, concerned ones yelling with the
roar of the waves for me to stay down. So sweet of them.. :) I
complied though it was less fun.
I sighed. A true
moment of content and absolute peace despite the oceanic rock and
roll. I lay my head down and closed my eyes, destined for a little
nap.. which also got a concerned P.K. wondering if I was sea-sick..
*lol!* No, I replied.. I'm gonna fall asleep.. :)
Some of the other
guys picked up on the sea-surfing bit, and had their hands locked to
the wooden column. It was too crowded up front so I moved to the
back, bent on getting some more sleep. I was surprised to discover
more people at the stern; Dave and Rick had been quietly enjoying
their piece of the boat. Dave's life-jacket sure made for a good
pillow. Zzz..
We'd docked at
another jetty. I wasn't sure how long it'd been. I remember feeling
the sun burn. Berjaya Beach Resort. A wonderful stretch of beach,
many tourists. We'd stopped here for an hour of touring, I
guess.
I'd parked myself on
one of its beach-side lounge chairs. More
sighs.. This is *life*.. The wind rustling the leaves of
strategically planted coconut trees, the waves lapping up the sands.
I wasn't sure where everyone else had headed. I'd lost them after a
while. (They had apparently gone
swimming a little further up the beach.)
Poh Ling and Bernardee
After
a bit of lazing, I wandered off and found Bernardee, Huishan and Poh
Ling.. rather, they found me. There was a playground I hadn't
notice. The lonesome pair Rick and Dave on the swings. They turned
around for a photo. Dexing and Shyh Haur appeared from somewhere and
took on the see-saw trying to outbalance each other. I saw this
other contraption that I could only identify as similar to those
wheelbarrels that people make hamsters run on. Not easy stuff, mind
you! (Yes, I tried.) I gravitated to the slide where Bernardee and
Poh Ling had just finished a round of photos at.
12.45pm..
Regroup. Two photo opportunities caught my eye: by the coastline,
and on the jetty. After much dallying, we were *all* finally on the
jetty. The boatmen-in-charge had to shoo us off it into our
respective boats.
The
second leg of the journey towards the Marine Park. We were all
ready, I was prepping my goggles with spit.
At
the jetty, one of the guides gave a 5-minute crash course on
snorkeling. I heard a small part of his lecture in Mandarin,
"Keep a serious face.."
Ok,
that was all I heard (I did say "a small part") before I
headed for the water.. a chorus of laughter from the ones who
finished hearing his sentence.
As
some of the guys "Jerominoed!!" off the top into
the deep end, I chose to use the ladder down. I wouldn't care to
injure any fish that might be swimming pass the deep end.
The
water was refreshingly cool, and was immediately greeted by a
curious school of small fish hanging out by the ladder. I floated my
way towards the plastic island buoy in the middle. Oh boy, *big*
fish. The area was cordoned off with nets and buoys further out at
sea. Good idea. The species within the net grounds were friendly
enough. It would seem they were harboured here for tourists to feed
and get fat.. (probably sold to the markets later..) The biggest
fish was just over a foot-long.
Fish
photo by Ban Chon
For a
couple of minutes, the few of us who got into the waters first had
encountered a couple of schools. I'm
no fish expert but I think most were of the edible species. After
everyone got into the area, the fish seemed to disappear for a
while. Not a moment later, they seemed to be in a frenzy. Ohh..
lunchtime for the fish. Slices of bread crust were liberally thrown
in by someone on the top of the jetty. Fish, human and breadcrumbs
mixed in a strange sea soup.
I
plucked a few pieces of bread from the surface and fed the fish by
hand. Most seem to be debating between hunger and fear of us. They
would dart in to take quick nips of what they can and speed off
again. Oh
man, that was cool.. I didn't know fish ate bread with such gusto. I
tried to touch those that were nipping food off my hands. Cold and
slippery. Some in their feeding frenzy were nipping at my fingers but
it would seem they have no teeth..
I let out a grin.. *Bad
move.*
Seawater
gushed into my goggles. I choked as the salt-concentrated liquid
seeped into my nasal passage. Hot DANG!
The salt stung; I couldn't breathe and was too far away from the
buoy. I floundered a bit and scared off the fish. I made my way to
the buoy and got the guys on deck to hoist me up. More concerned
looks as I coughed out the salty stuff. "I was smiling at the
fish.." I think it was Hanting who amusedly clucked,
"Didn't you hear what that guy said? Don't smile at the fish, keep
a serious face.. or you'll get water in."
Oh..
heck.. I turned away and spat out the rest of my chagrined
ignorance. Dang!
the salt so leaves the nasal passage smarting. I've snorkelled
before, but never had such a fun time with the fish to smile at
them...
Tough
lesson learnt:
I will never smile at a pretty fish
again underwater.
Fish
photo by Ban Chon
Hanging out on the island buoy with a couple of others, peeling
pieces of wet bread, and skimming them across the water surface
brought the fish up for food. (By the way, the bread crust was
really fragrant.) I saw some really pretty rainbow fish. They really
were an artistic riot of green, lavender, pink, magenta, cyan,
yellow. And the only thing I could think of was, no camera to take
them fish. :(
A final dive and we were off to another coral area. We hosed off the
salt with fresh water and got onto the boats. Lunchtime for humans.
Nasi lemak with chicken, sausage, egg.. There was an extra packet of
food on our boat. It was then that I first noticed we had a boat
captain of sorts. His name: Ah Foo.. (I only found out much later
that he was the chef.)
He
offered the extra packet around, gave the chicken out, and when
nobody wanted the rest, he simply dumped it, fried egg and all into
the sea.. (minus the polystyrene box, of course..) and the fish came
after the food with equal gusto, nipping at the floating egg. Those
fish will be headed for a major artery clog.
The
next dive site was barricaded only by a nearby rock formation that
buffeted the bigger waves from the open sea. The schools here were
smaller, the coral features look more extensive. I passed up the
opportunity on this dive, staying on board for some casual
photography of the others snorkelling.
A day
of content and contents. I could get used to a life at sea. On our
way back, the sea was much calmer, the ride smoother. Some fell
asleep, others shared jokes at the boat's bow. Dave, Rick, and Ein
hanging out at the stern. I stood at the bow for a good part of our
journey back to the resort, mesmerized by the swirling emerald
waters as the boat forged ahead. Occasionally, I took a few shots. A
Malay boy of no more than 13 years piloted the boat while his elder
brother napped.
A commercial
light plane landed on the main island's hidden runway. A
military copter dived in low above our boats. A huge red jellyfish
of perhaps 2 feet in diameter floated by starboard side.
5pm..
Arrival. Already, they had a volleyball match in tow at 5.30pm.. Poh
Ling and Huishan joined in while Bernardee and I opted for sleep.
Bernardee was substantially sunburnt. Dinner at 8pm. It was a
personal struggle to decide between more sleep and food. Finally, I
straggled out with everyone else at 8.30pm.. Dinner was already in
progress..
9.30pm..
Bernardee, Poh Ling, Huishan and I started on the cards, too lazy to
return to our room after dinner. For the first time in 2 days, we
got acquainted with Raymond at the resort, who was quite possibly a
champion at "Tai Di". Hey, the man had strategies for
winning.. we common-card-folk just want to get rid of our cards.
Stargazing
would ensue for the whole night till dawn. This being the final
night, few were vowing to stay awake till dawn. They brought out the
guitar and were soon on karaoke-high. Others were playing cards by
the moonlight. As always, a dose of ghost stories too.. (Apparently,
Rooms 13, 14, 15, 16.. have had night visitations a-knocking on
their doors before.) Soon,
a set of mind-games ensued
to keep everyone awake and guessing.
By
4am, only a handful of us were left on the jetty: Willie, Dexing,
Kumar, Poh Ling, Sabrina, Huiling, and myself.
5am..
We had gravitated to the balcony at the main reception as the night
cooled. They were still binocular-hunting as Taurus and Orion drew
higher. Saturn, Jupiter, Venus. I drew a chair right up front of the
balcony, the front row audience.
"What's
that bright star over there by the edge of the coconut tree?"
Willie pointed excitedly as everyone else checked maps and aimed
binoculars. "Capella.." I replied..
In
the few seconds of silence that ensued, I watched as the sky slowly
lightened blue. This was one of the most enthusiastic groups ever.
After a long day of activities, they were still awake. "It's so
nice out here, so beautiful, y'think?" I thought out loud.
Silence. I thought they were all in silent awe. I turned back to
look at them. Only Dexing looked at me and grinned.. the rest were
fast asleep in their chairs. I grinned. Oh well.. they did survive till dawn.. and
they well deserved their sleep.
