Anilao-Philippines

Me and my family had only one week to spend the holiday this time, and we spent it in Anilao-which is in Philippines! It took us two hours to get to Manila first, then three hours (by car) to Anilau. Together, it took us five hours to get to Anilau and back to Brunei. It was pretty long, but it was also worth it!

In Anilao, we stayed at Arthur's Place and it was good!

The foods tasted delicious; the atmosphere was beautiful; the people were very friendly; they took us to amazing dive sites and what I really liked about it here, was that the resort was very quiet in the weekdays!

Day 1

We arrived at Arthur's Place around midnight on Friday. It was dark, so it was hard to see things. We all slept pretty well though!

Day 2

On Saturday, we all had two amazing dives and it was really good for a start! In Anilau, you can never ever say it is boring!

Dive 1-Koala

My dad had this old camera with an underwater casing. I was allowed to bring it for all the dives! It was fun! My pictures wasn't really good, like my sister's and my dad's, but I guess it's okay for a beginner like me.

Anyway, me and my family saw a couple of Eels, loads of Nudis, some Trigger fish and one or two Blue-Spotted Stingray! We also saw Nemo & his family group, quite a lot of Lion fishes, a Flabellina and lots of Christmas Tree Worms!

Dive 2-Secret Bay

We were supposed to go to Twin Rocks, but unfortunately the current was too strong!

The Urchins were so pretty just like the Nudis we saw there! We also saw a really small juv. Box fish-so cute! There were some Lion fishes too; either

Scorpion/Leaf/Wasp fish; a Crab that I don't really have a clue what it's called; Blenny in a shell and Shrimp in a broken bottle! We also saw a File fish, some Nudis (we also saw this giant Nudi!), one or two Octopus', Pipe fishes, Sexy Shrimps-I like to call it Wiggly Shrimps, Tube Worms, some more Crab and a few Trumpet fishes! So for exchange, we went to Secret Bay. The sand was 'black sand', it was pretty sandy with particles of rocks.

Day 3

On Sunday, we had three dives!

Dive 1-Twin Rocks

Our guide brought a slice of bread for that dive, but I wasn't allowed to feed the fishes because they were too ferocious! Anyway, we saw big groups of Jack fishes; Trigger fishes; loads of colourful fishes; Nemo & his family group; Trumpet fishes; a few Giant Clams; one or two Scorpion fishes; greedy fishes (inc. Bat fishes); groups of Barracudas; a juv. Sweetlip; a small wreck; Squirrel fishes; Mantis Shrimps; Flabellina; Lion fishes; Eels and other common fishes.

Dive 2-Secret Bay

We went to Secret Bay again because we liked it!

Me and my family saw Flounders, loads of Mantis Shrimps, two Octopus'-one free and the other one in a shell, a SEAHORSE (which I found)-first time seeing a 'normal-sized' Seahorse, Blenny in a shell,again, Shrimp in a bottle, again, Wiggly Shrimps in anemones, a Cow fish and a tiny Black Frog fish!

Dive 3-Arthur's Rock

Arthur's Rock is Arthur's Place House Reef and it was really nice! We didn't really see as much as in Twin Rocks, but I thought it was good enough for me and my family!

We saw a couple of Eels, a Box fish or two, Trumpet fishes, Nemo & his family group, some Nudis, Wiggly Shrimps, Mantis Shrims, a Cuttle fish, a few Sea Cucumber and a group of Cat fishes for last!

Day 4

On the 31st of May was my dad's birthday, so I wished that the dives on Sunday would be fabulous!

Dive 1-Twin Rocks

That day, my sister was sick(a bad start) and she didn't went diving. So my parents said that I could use my sister's camera!

In Twin Rocks we saw a group of Cat fishes, big groups of Jack fishes, some Nudis, Octopus', Shrimps, Nemo & his family group, Bat fishes, Giant Clams, Trumpet fishes and we also saw this faded-black coloured fish eating a shrimp!

Dive 2-Mainit

Dive 2 on Sunday was a little bit better than the dive before.

We saw a Box fish, some Lion fishes, Nudis (of course), Pipe fishes, juv. Sweetlips, Christmas Tree worms, Scorpion fishes and a Frog fish! I also saw this small (cute) white fish with an orange stripe over its head-like a bandana! I don't what the fish is called, but I thought that it was a cool fish!

Dive 3-NDS (I don't know what it stands for)

Fortunately and unfortunately, my sister felt better and she was able to dive on the third one- that means I can't use her camera!!!!

In NDS, we saw Trigger fishes, Nudis, Lion fishes, a group of Barracuda, Stingray, Cat fishes and other common fishes.

Day 5

On Day 5, we only went for two dives because we were pretty tired!

Dive 1-Kirby's Reef

In Kirbys, the diving there is like going across this gigantic (rock) wall! 'The wall' has LOADS of healthy and beautiful corals-which meant lots of fishes! We had a brilliant time there, and it was just gorgeous! The wall was around 20-25m deep (too deep for me!) so we had to 'float around' at about 12m.

Since there were quite a lot of 'uncovered' parts of the wall, there were lots of Scorpion fishes! They were like here, and there and everywhere! Of course, there were also lots and lots of Nudis! Most of them were these yellow squishy-looking ones.

We also saw some Trumpet fishes, quite a few of Lion fishes, one or two Box fishes, Nemo's family group, and we also saw millions and millions (just exaggerating) of Eels! My dad and my mum saw two Eels fighting for a hole! Later then, we saw two Octopus' but one of them were hiding in a hole. When we were just swimming by, hiding on a blue coral was..... a BIG Blue Frog fish!!!!! I have to say, it was pretty amazing, but I think in Lembeh (Indonesia) me and my dad saw a BIGGER Yellow Frog fish-cool right? At the end, when we were doing our safety stop (3 minutes), under an anemone (with Clark's Anemone fish) I saw a crab! It was white with bit of orange (I think). I had a feeling it was a Porcelain Crab, but I wasn't sure!

Dive 2-Bethlehem

The dive site Bethlehen is near a village. The water wasn't that busy so it was okay to dive in. When we were waiting for our surface time (1 hour), me and my family saw this tree with these red leaves/flower all over them! It was so outstanding- just like our dive!

Underwater, we saw a juv. Sweetlips, Nemo's family, loads of shrimps, a group of Rigid Shrimp fish, some Nudis and a couple of baby Eels! They were swimming around in this anemone, so cute! What's so weird is that their colour is white! They're babies though! Anyway, we also saw a few sea Cucumbers, a BIG Puffer fish, a Trumpet fish, some Triggers, about two Porcupine fishes, an Octopus my sister couldn't take a photo of, quite a few of Scorpion fishes and we saw this HUGE Sponge Barrel! I bet I could fit in it! This huge Sponge Barrel was surrounded by beautiful corals- a good way of 'beautifying' a Sponge Barrel!

Just when we were diving about, we saw some pink Nudi Eggs! We saw 2 'groups' of it! The Nudi Eggs were neatly set by making them go on top of the other, until a certain height, and swirling around like a Spanish Dancer!

Day 6

We had three dives on Day 6 and I was really excited! We went to this island and underwater was really cool!

Dive 1- Sombrero Island: Coral Garden

In this dive site, we didn't really see very interesting creatures, but we did saw this beautiful scenery!

There were loads of gorgeous corals (very healthy) which meant lots of fishes- and there were! We all couldn't believe what we saw in Coral Garden. It was like an underwater heaven! Lots and lots of fishes were around! Unfortunately, there were also quite a lot of Stinging Hydroid! Luckily, I didn't get stung, but my dad and my mum did! Anyway, we also saw lots of Nudis, and a couple of Puffer fishes-they remind me of my cat (Puffer)! Everywhere, and literally everywhere, there were these small red fishes! They make a really good photo, though my sister doesn't like them unless they are all swimming in the same way!

My mum told me that she saw these Lizard fishes eating a small Red fish-awesome right! When my mum wrote that on my underwater writing pad, I was really excited to see if I can find a Lizard fish eating a Red fish. So then I waited every time I saw I Lizard fish, just 'sitting' on a rock or something. Apperently, they don't like me (or they're just not hungry-but I didn't really think so) because every single time, I just 'hovered' as still as I could, but they just don't do anything-even when I tried to get a small group of Red fishes close by! Soon I gave up, it was just so frustrating!

Just at the end of the dive, I saw this Scorpion fish clinging to this fan coral-weird! My dad got a photo of if it, but I bet it was really hard to get one, because there was a current!

Anyway, I really liked that dive site. I love how the small Red fishes really fit in with where they were, though it wasn't like they camouflaged themselves with the background! Sombrero Island: Coral Garden is no. 2 in may favourite dive sites in Anilau! So I would love to come there again some time!

Dive 2-Layag-Layag

The dive site Layag-Layag was close to Sombrero Island: Coral Garden, so I was expecting that Layag-Layag is a little bit like Sombrero Island: Coral Garden- and I was kinda of right!

In Layag-Layag, we saw loads of Trigger fishes, some Shrimps and one or two Moray Eels. The sight there were beautiful, just like in Sombrero Island! There were also loads of these small fishes (like in Sombrero Island), but instead of it being fully red, it was slightly blueish! They make a good creature there!

Again, my mum wrote on my pad, saying that she saw some Lizard fishes eating these small black and red-blueish fishes. And again I waited for some action, but nothing happened!

In Layag-Layag, we also saw this pair of Nudis mating! Both Nudis looked really pretty!

Dive 3-Twin Rocks

Our guide decided to take us to Twin Rocks again. He probably know that we all like Twin Rocks!

What we saw was basically the same creatures as before. But the following would be my favourite creatures in Twin rocks!

My favourite were the groups of Jack fishes (I just think they're really cool), the group of Barracudas (Barracudas look awesome because of their sharp teeth), Bat fishes (they were every where and they weren't afraid to get close to humans), Nudis (I love the pattern on their backs), Giant Clams (the inside of their mouth is so pretty), Shrimps (their cool), Trigger fishes (I like it how they have this clear wiggly fin) and Nemo and his family (they're so cute).

Day 7 LAST DAY:(

Unfortunately, it was the last day! I will miss diving for a few months!

Dive 1- Basura

We were supposed to dive in Cathedral (there's the Christian cross at the bottom), but the current was too strong. We didn't want to not dive at all, so instead we went to Basura. I didn't really like Basura because it was mostly rubbish. The diving was like in Secret Bay, just a little bit worse.

Anyway, in Basura we saw lots of colourful Lion fishes, a few Scorpion fishes, some shrimps (including Wiggly Shrimps) on anemones and Clark's Anemone fish. We didn't really see much Nudis, so that was quite a shame. Although, there was no current at all, so that was good!

Breakfast:

We had breakfast at this resort! I bet the resort cost a lot, because it has these birds and they have this pool with sharks and other fishes! Anyway, we had breakfast there and it cost 6x more than we had expected! Luckily, the cost of the breakfast includes swimming in the pool of sharks and the other fishes! It was so cool! The sharks were pretty small and they were called the Black Tip Reef Shark. I have never swam with sharks before except in Langkawi (Malaysia)!

The water of the pool was green and murky, so it was very hard to see. It was raining hard so the water was pretty warm! In the pool, there were some big Groupers, of course Sharks, tiny fishes, Bat fishes and a few common fishes!

We were going to dive at Eagle Point (the dive site in front of the expensive resort), but since the wind and the rain was really hard, the waves were big too! We had a few difficulties going on to the boat, but soon we managed to get on!

When we reached back at the resort, our guide suggested us to go to Secret Bay for our last dive. He said that there would be no current and there would hardly be any waves, just some probably from boats!

Last Dive- Secret Bay

I was a bit disappointed that we had to go to Secret Bay again for our last dive- but at least we could go diving!

We started from shore, so it was a lot easier for me to put my BCD on!

Just when we were around 2-4m deep, I found this 'group' of orange Nudi Eggs! It was under this big thin square-ish wood (good hiding place mother Nudi!). Later then, I saw this whole LOT of Nudis! The colour was grey-ish and the were at this blot area! It was the most disgusting underwater sight ever! I tried showing my dad, but he was already too far from me! I didn't want to spend one more second over there that time, so I left all the Nudis alone!

I saw a Flounder, and I got time to look at it closely. What was strange about Flounders (now that I've found out), is that either their eyes or mouth is the wrong way round! It looked so weird!

There were quite a lot of Lion fishes and only a few Scorpion fishes on the sand. I don't really like them as much as before anymore, so I didn't really care much about them! Also, there were lots of Mantis Shrimps!

When I was going to my guide (quite quickly), I had to stop because I saw a Seahorse-again! I was really excited so I banged my tank with my stick! A few minutes later, our guide found another Seahorse! Instead, it was bigger and a little bit fatter! It had a pattern too that time, but the Seahorse was quite dirty!

At Secret Bay, we also saw some Octopus'! We either saw 3 or 4 of them! All I know was that one of the Octopus' were swimming around, another one was squished in a shell and another was in a bottle! Amazing right?

Unfortunately, that was all for the last day! I was pretty amazed though! I love Anilao and I would love to come there again! There are still some dive sites in Asia me and my family hasn't to explored though, so it might be a while! If you go to Anilao, don't change your mind and go to Arthur's Place because it's both cheap and really good! So bye-bye Anilao, hope to go back there again sometime!

My week has finished, and now, I am looking forward to my next journey!

The pictures were either taken by may sister or my dad.

Outward Bound Sabah-KK trip 2010

Outward Bound Sabah (OBS) P7 Panaga School

This year, I'm in P7 and our school trip is going to KK (Kota Kinabalu) in Sabah-Malaysia. Me and my friends had TONS of fun!!! In KK, we are staying there for 5 days, and 4 nights.

Hope you enjoy this 'adventure' too.

Day 1

We arrived in KK at the evening. And all of us were really excited!

Since we were so energetic, we couldn't sleep at ALL! But soon we did.

Day 2

We woke up at around, 5:50 am, that morning. We had to change quickly so we won't be late for the morning exercises. We did some stretches then, we played some games- it was pretty weird.

Every morning we had to do that- for the week.

After the morning exercises, we raised the Panaga School flag. A boy named David, raised it.

Tuesday's activities were the Giant Ladder, the Flying Fox and Orienteering-Treasure Hunting!

The Giant Ladder

The Giant Ladder is a teamwork activity, in fact all of the activities here is all about teamwork. With the Giant Ladder, basically all you have to do is climb and pull.

At the bottom of this obstacle, there are 3 more people helping the person who is climbing the obstacle. They are the; Belayer (I'm not sure how to spell that word), the Anchor and the Rope manager.

The Belayer is someone to make sure that if the climber falls, he/she won't crash to the ground.

The Anchor is someone to make sure that the Belayer won't fly!

The Rope manager is someone who is in charge of the ropes.

Later that afternoon, after the Giant Ladder, we did the Flying Fox, which was 'reasonably' long.

Just before the evening, we had a walk on the beach for 5 minutes, it was pretty relaxing.

Tonight, we're going to do orienteering, and I'm really excited!

Orienteering

This is a really fun activity. We had to find this sign that is in a shape of a rectangle .

Each group gets a map, of the camp, and they have to find these signs. Of course, since it's in the night, there is at least an instructor looking after us, to make sure, we're correct and we won't get lost. It was SERIOUSLY cool, scary and hard!

Day 3

On Wednesday, we're doing Rock Climbing, Canoeing and that night, we're sleeping in the JUNGLE! Awesome right?!?

Rock Climbing

There are 2 sides of this rock climbing wall. The easier one and the harder one. Good thing because, me and my best friend, Amy T., got time to do both of the walls, and guess what? We reached the top, for both walls! The harder wall was LITERALLY hard. But still, we can’t believe we did both walls. Although, the first wall was pretty hard, but not so much.

The walls might be hard to climb, but they’re extremely fun!

Basically, what made these walls harder than usual rock walls, are because, the ones in OBS, are made out of REAL rocks, not the one with plastic rocks.

Anyway, the easier wall is easier, because of how the wall is made, and that at the beginning, there is a little window-like hole that really boosts you up.

P.S. This wall is the HARDEST rock wall I’ve ever climbed.

Canoeing

Before we do the actual canoeing, we had to do some basic stuff, also, our instructors introduced some us, who has never canoed before, about canoeing; such as, the difference between canoeing and kayaking etc. After the introduction, we get into the canoes two by two, and the instructors will flip us! Then, we had to do all these stuff.

After doing all of those things, we finally went on the canoes, and I went with Meghana, my friend. We canoed in the river, and just when we can’t see the OBS camp anymore, one person each canoe, stands up and sing a little song to the other people on the canoes. It was really fun and funny!

Camping; in the JUNGLE!

I think, this was a really cool experience because; well I slept in a jungle, on the floor-with my sleeping bag of course, in a mosquito net ONLY! If you want to ask me if it’s comfy or not, before you ask, try sleeping on the floor with a sleeping bag only, tonight, then, I think you might know your answer.

This time, we get to choose who to sleep with, and I chose Yasmin Church and Allana Wilkinson, they’re also my friends.

In the night there, the instructors made a bon-fire, it was cool! We sang songs near the fire, but the songs weren’t exactly camp fire songs. Anyway, we had marshmallows for dessert, in fact, some of us took sticks from the ground, wash them, and stick a marshmallow through them to make roasted marshmallows!!! They were GREAT! Of course, we put them in fire first, but not the bon-fire, because it’s too big.

P.S. The toilets there, was a NIGHTMARE!!! Literally, it smells like a rotten mouse!!! UGHHHHHH…

Day 4

On Thursday, the plan was that we are going to the Wildlife Park. Cool right? Then, in the night, the other 2 groups (I’ll explain more about these groups later) are going to sleep in the jungle, while my group and one more group, will be doing the 4 wheel drive challenge) and the Night walk-with blind folds on!!!!!

Wildlife Park

This was one of the best parts of going to this KK trip, because I saw one animal that is somehow special to me- the Shetland Ponies! I really love them, although, I didn’t take pictures of them, because they were inside their little ‘house’! They’re sooooo adorable! In the Wildlife Park, I saw a Mouse Deer really close, a Clouded Leopard (I think this animal was pretty stressed), Orang-Utans, Proboscis Monkeys, Otters, these tiny monkeys (smaller than a growing kitten), different types of birds and MORE! But of course, I can’t really remember all of them. In this Wildlife Park, there is this place called the Aviary- which was AWESOME! This is where I saw the different type of birds and the Mouse Deer…. So CUTE!

After exploring this ‘park’, we went to the café for either an ice-cream, or a drink….REFRESHING. After that, we went to see an animal show. When the show ended, I get to touch a snake and an Orang-Utan, called Mogli (I think that’s his name).

Also, some of us (including me) saw an Orang Utan called Masha (I think) driving a golf buggy, and she's only 6 months!!!

4 Wheel Drive Challenge

This is like an obstacle race, but the obstacle is basically nature and games-in between. After this challenge, I was REALLY tired! But it’s all about teamwork...

In the beginning, both teams were given 4 or 5 tires and a plastic chair, the basic ‘materials’ for a four wheeled ‘car’. We had to bring those things through this challenge. (We started this challenge on the beach house)

So at first, we had to go through the jungle (this one leads to the camping place), and for the first few minutes, we were blind folded, and only the first person, of each teams, didn’t have a blind fold on (because they were bringing the big tyre). After that, when we reached the camping place, we had to make an origami butterfly, which my team’s didn’t work, at ALLJ! Anyway, when the time finished, we moved on and this time, we went to the beach (still carrying the wheels and the plastic chair). On the beach, we did tons of exciting games. At first, we did a dry ‘cooperating’ game, then we did the wet ones, which was of course, a lot FUNNER than the other two games. Finally, we finished with the beach games, and we went back to the boat house. There, we had to play ONE more game, and this time, whoever wins this game, gets to shower FIRST! (We didn’t like being wet and sandy) We had to play a game where you only had 5 tubes and a marble. Each teams had to put the marble in this cup, and we were a few meters away from the cup. This activity wasn’t that hard, neither easy. In fact, it was half and half. Anyway, the ending was really close, but my team WON!

That night, I was supposed to be doing the night walk, but I had a heat rash, which hurts A LOT!!! So I had to miss the funL, but I wasn’t the only one who missed it…...

Day 5

I can’t believe it; it’s already the last day. I JUST got used to this place, and then we had to goL.

But one

challenge is still waiting for us… Raft Building (this challenge includes racing each teams).

Raft Building

Obviously, before we do the racing, we had to build a raft (look at the picture for more information). It

was pretty hard making it, but the hardest part was, tying the bamboos altogether. We had to make

sure it was really tight, because when we ride it, it might break apart.

After we built the raft, it was time for the race. Since not everybody in each team can go on the raft, the

instructors decided to make 3 rounds, so everybody in each team gets to row the boat. Also, when we

finished the rowing, we still needed to untie the ropes from the bamboo and the tyres. After that, we

had to clean the things we had used, and then we must put them back in the storage room. Whoever

finishes all of those things first, wins this last challenge! And my team came secondJJ!!

P.S. Rowing is A LOT harder than I’ve EVER thought in my ENTIRE life!

After all of those hard works, we had a shower, and then we had lunch. Guess what we had for lunch?!?

Burger King! There was a mixture of vegetarian burgers (only for vegetarians), chicken burgers and

cheese burgers, which I had. My best friend, Amy T. told me and my table, “I hate Burger King, but this is

the best food I’ve had so far, for this week!”

And all of us agreed!

Ceremony

After our DELICIOUS lunch, we had to go to this special room, for our ceremony.

In there, we first sang a song (I Have A Dream), then two students (from Panaga School, of course),

Bradley Cox and Romay Suville , told us about their experience in OBS, like

about our goals for this week (cooperation, resilience, respect etc). After that, we went outside, to

plant a tree. And I get to water the plant, only once though.

After the ceremony, we had to say bye-bye to OBSL. But at least we are going back to sleep on our comfy beds, and eat YUMMY foods!

Other pictures of critters I saw in Lembeh(2009)

Blenny hides in bottle

Snake Eel

Flying Gurnard

Lembeh 09 - Diving Trip

For our 2009 Christmas Holiday, we are going to Lembeh AGAIN, but this time, with my granny!!! Me and my sister were happy when our parents told us. I think, Lembeh is the BEST diving place I've ever been to. Why? Because Lembeh keeps the starnge and unique critters!

Since I'm a JOW diver now, I can explore the critters at 12m deep!!! :)

I was really excited to dive in Lembeh, again, and this time, I'm diving up to 12m :) YAY

For this holiday, we are not staying at Two Fish Diver again, because it's full. Instead,we're going to KBR (Kungkungan Bay Resort). I have to say, this resort was the best one I've ever been to. I'm going to start my diving(13/12/09) after the day I came to KBR.

My sister can dive up to 21m and she doesn't want to stay at 12m. So she's diving with my mum(with a guide), and I'm diving with my dad(with a guide too).

Day 1 Dive 1-Makawide 2

In Makawide 2, me and my dad saw a lot of stuff. First of all, we

saw tons of BCF (Bangai Cardinal Fish). Then, we saw 1 or 2 Flounder, and I think it's a Peacock Flounder. We also saw Nudis, different kinds. Not just that, we found 1 or 2 of juv. Catfish, they are cute, but they also have spiky 'whiskers'. On the way, we saw this fish that looks like either Scorpionfish, or Stonefish. And at the end of our dive, we saw this really cute Cuttlefish!

I saw a lot more critters, but they are common ones(excluding Clownfish). Also I think I saw an eel.

Dive 2-Tandu Rusa

This is a really cool dive site, because there is like so many critters. Me and my dad saw BCF (very common in Lembeh), Pufferfish, Snake Eel, but only the head popped out, Porcelain Crab, Clown Fish, Mantis Shrimp, a few Nudis, 2 tiny Emperor Shrimps on Sea Cucumber, Scorpion fish, Pipe fish, and loads more!!! Awesome dive :)

Dive 3-Nudi Falls

Favourite of all. Best dive ever. Guess why? Because we saw groups BCF, 1 or 2 Flounders,

Scorpion fish, Clown fish, Porcupine fish, a few Wasp fish, a few Sexy Shrimp(this shrimp wiggles

its butt), a Sea Cucumber, this shrimp that camouflage it self on a greenish black Feather Star, 2 PIGMY SEA HORSE & an ELECTRIC CLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was crazy when I saw both of

the creatures.

And I was really amazed by how AWESOME it was. How lucky was I? HUH? :)

Day 2 Dive 1-Nudi Retreat

Nudi Falls and Nudi Retreat are two of my favourite dive sites!

That's because it's all about Nudis, and I love Nudis! But it doesn't mean there's nothing else(apart from corals). We saw Clown Fish, Flabellina, BCF, wiggly wobbly juv Sweetlip, Scorpion fish, Puffer fish, Pipe fish, Leaf Scorpion fish, Mantis Shrimp and tons more!

Dive 2-Hair Ball 2

At this dive site, I saw BCF, 1 or 2 Flounder, a few Nudis, Frog fish, Lion fish, Scorpion fish, this really HUGE shell, Clark's Anemone fish, and it's egg, and loads more!

About the Anemone fish eggs, I thought they were these round

and red corals, and I was going to find out by poking it, a bit. I

never knew that it was eggs, and the fishes are trying to guard it

and I thought that they were just little mean fishes. So when I lightly poked it, one of the big anemone fish, bit me on my hand!!!

Ouch! Never underestimate these little fish, just because they have little teeth, doesn't mean that it won't hurt if you get bitten, you know. Luckily it wasn't bleeding, PHEW!

Dive 3-Jahir 2

This was an interesting dive. We saw Nudis, BCF, Clown fish, a

Mantis Shrimp, quite a lot of Porcupine fish, Lion fish and this beautiful Flying Gurnard. Not just that, we saw this GIANT yellow Frog fish, and guess what it did, it extended it's mouth, which was so cool! We also saw either a female or juv Eel, that was fed by the

guide with live Anchovies I think. He fed the Eel by making the little fish go near to the Eel, then SWOOP! The Eel took one of the fish into its hole, with its mouth.

Day 3 Dive 1-California Dreaming

From KBR to this dive site, using a boat, took 12 mins. People say

this is a beautiful dive site, and I hope they are right. And they were. The corals here was healthy, although there was a little bit of current, but it was gorgeous. We saw lots of BCF, a Mantis Shrimp, Nudi Eggs, tons of Nudis, juv Eel, Porcelain Crab, groups of Cat

fish, Clown fish, a few little crabs and a dozen more. I have to say, this was a 'colourful' dive! :)

Dive 2-Jahir 1

We didn't see much unique critters on this dive, but it was still fab!

:) Like usual, we saw BCF, 1 or 2 Wasp fish, groups of Cat fish, a Porcelain Crab that was bitten (no marks) by a Clark's Anemone

fish, Cow fish and more!

Dive 3-Tanjung Kubur

Kubur means grave and there is a grave yard next to this dive site. When there's a grave yard next to something, it doesn't mean it'll be all scary, maybe a bit, but not near a dive site, because this site just hit the spot! I saw BCF(of course), Mantis Shrimp, 2 Scorpion fish, I think, an Eel, Clown fish, and guess what we saw under these dead corals stacked up??? A Mandarin fish!!!!!!!! I screamed when I saw it, because it's my first time seeing a Mandarin fish. Even though it just stopped for a second and then it dashed away, it was still AWESOME!!!

Dive 4-Mandarin Dive - Tanjung Kusu-Kusu

This is the first time for me, to dive 4 times in a day. And the fourth dive is a Mandarin dive,

which is evening!!!! At the Mandarin dive, apart from the obvious, we saw BCF, 1 or 2 Nudis, 2 Ghost Pipefish, this weird Cardinal fish and other common fish.

There is 2 big corals, and inside it is the Mandarin fish, sleeping. We have to wait patiently until it is the right time. It was awesome. We saw some of the Mandarin fish fighting and marrying,

that's when they go together up until the right moment, then SWOOP, they zoom down! :)

Day 4 Dive 1- Kapal Indah

This is suppose to be a wreck dive, but the wreck is at 21m and

that's too deep for me, so I just stayed at 12-15m. At that area, we saw BCF, Mantis Shrimp, Nudis,Crocodile fish, which I found, 1 or 2 Scorpion fish, an Eel(I think) and just at the end of the dive, near a Feather Star, the guide found a Ghost Pipe fish!!!

Dive 2-Magic Crack

We were suppose to go to Nudi Retreat 2, but there's already 10 people diving. So we went to Magic Crack. This place sounds good, and it was good. When we're under, we saw BCF, this really cute fish in a bottle(!!!), Goby and Shrimp, groups of Cat fish, Lion fish, Scorpion fish, these little Shrimp on a Cushion Star, Flounder, a

few Nudis and other common fish.

Dive 3-Hair Ball 2

I have no clue why this site is called Hair Ball, but let me tell you, I

haven't seen any hair balls in the ocean, EVER, especially when I'm diving. But I did see loads of groups of BCF, a few Puffer fish and Porcupine fish, an awesome Octopus, a family of Sexy Shrimps on Anemones, with Clown fish(of course), 1 or 2 groups of juv Cat fish and Flounder, Nudis, 2 Mantis Shrimps and other common fish.

Day 5

I can't believe it's already the last day:( Everytime I'm enjoying something, it somehow feels like it finished so quickly:( It's really

annoying. But luckily, today was an AWESOME day!

Dive 1-Batu Merah

Batu means stone, merah means red then Batu Merah means Red Stone, but I didn't see any. Although, I think people call this site Batu Merah, because the soil of the cliff next to the dive site, is red.

In Batu Merah, we saw BCF, Mantis Shrimp, Nudis, pink Nudi Eggs, X-mas Tree Worms, Giant Boring Clam, a curled up Thorn Sea Star, Sexy Shrimp, Clown fish and other common fish.

Dive 2-Batu Kapal(Makawide)

This place seems interesting, and it was. In Batu Kapal, me and my dad, saw BCF, this really cute Fish, in a bottle, Flounders, Nudis, Sexy Shrimp on Anemone with Clown fish, Lion fish, Snake Eel, Wasp fish and Banded Sea Snake, which was swimming around. W e also saw this Eel with a reddish pinkish white-ish yellow head,

and I searched in this fish book, and I think it might be the Reptilian Snake Eel. We also saw tiny shrimps on Star fish.

Dive 3-T.K.3

Last day, last dive:( Although, I was 100% sure that the last dive would be the best, maybe

without Pigmy Sea Horse, and critters like that, but the only dive I really, really enjoyed.

In this dive we saw a lot of critters! More than the other dives:) We saw a Peacock Flounder, Leaf Scorpion fish, BCF, 2 File fish, Nudis, Ambon Scorpion fish, other types of Scorpion fish,a Crab that's carrying something-that looks like a coral, 2 Orang-Utan Crabs, Puffer fish, Mantis Shrimp, Hump-Back Scorpion fish, cute

fish in a bottle, Black Saddle Snake Eel, big Hernit Crab and a gazillion more!!!

See what I mean-the best always comes last:(

But nevermind about that now. I can't change anything. It was a good dive, and that's what I need!:)

At the end of some of the dives, I tried to make bubble donuts(!!!) , it was fun :), but most bubbles didn't turned out like a donut!

Lembeh 09 - Flight Delayed

We were suppose to go back to Singapore, on Saturday and go back to Brunei on Sunday. But unfortunately, it was raining, and no flights can land except one, Merpati. That wasn't our flight though, it was Silk Air. Anyway, we had to stay in Manado for one more night. And guess where we're staying? The same hotel as yesterday, Quality Hotel! Me and my family were laughing when we heard where we were staying. At least it's free!!!

Tomorrow, Our flight to Singapore was suppose to be at 2 o'clock, but there wasn't any Silk Air flight on Sunday, so we had to spend one more night in Manado. Instead of sleeping around in the room and watch TV, we explored the island and had a great time! So the following are the places of where we went on Sunday:

Danau Tondano (danau means lake in Indonesia)

Tomohon-Flower City

Kawang Koan-Peanut Farm

Lahendong-Power Plant

Desa Pulutan(desa means village in Indonesia)

Danau Linow

Bukit Kasih(bukit means hill in Indonesia)

What we saw:

Mt. Lokon - Active

Mt. Klabat

Sulphur-Heat from underground that goes through special rocks, which makes smelly smoke.

Tomohon-Flower City

This is a beautiful place. It's up a mountain and

there are loads of gorgeous flowers. There was an amphitheater(but we didn't go there) and a church. We didn't stayed there too long though. But it was really cool. It was like heaven of flowers (except that they need to grow a lot more flowers). But still, it was amazing!

After going to this place, we were hungry, so we went to a lake called Danau Tondano...

Desa Pulutan-Danau Tondano

This is a lake. There is a restaurant just at the

side. We had lunch there, and it was delicious! Me and my sister ate LOADS of fried fresh water crayfish, the other type of crayfish-like shrimps. We also ate fried fresh water fish. It was good too. After we finished eating the fresh water crayfish, we stacked the skin and made a mountain of

crayfish skin!!! It was funny! :)

We were full, and it started to rain, again, so we continued exploring this island.

Next, wer're going to Danau Linow.

Danau Linow

Danau Linow is known to be colourful. Not colourful like a rainbow, but it is said that the colour of the lake changes from blue to green and vice versa. But it didn't really change much. But it's stillcool though:) Near Danau Linow, there was sulpher and it was super-duper STINKY!!!

We didn't stay too long in Danau Linow, because the park was closed. And it was muddy!!!

BLECH :(

After going to Danau Linow, we are going to Bukit Kasih. On the way to Bukit Kasih, we passed

through a village called Desa Pulutan(desa-village), and we passed a Peanut Farm called Kawang Koang, and my mum bought these delicious nuts!

Bukit Kasih

Bukit means hill and kasih means love, which means this place is

called Love Hill. This hill has a very weird name, but on it, is this tall statue thing that represents the religions.

Me and my sister needed the toilet, and since it was raining, we had to rent an umbrella. When we rent one, our parents said that we're allowed to go anywhere, as long as it's close by. After going to the toilet, we went to the statue thing and read what ever it said on the statue thing. After that we went to see this smoke thing, which was sulphur. It was quite cold outside, so we went over the sulphur to get warmer, but unfortunately, it was STINKY!!!!!!!! We couldn't stand much of the smell so we left that area. Me and my sister were hungry and we bought each a really, really warm corn! It tasted fresh and delicious! :)

After Going to Bukit Kasih, unfortunately we are going back to our hotel:( On the way back, we passed through Lahendong, which was a geothermal power station! Awesome right!

This journey begun because of rain and no flight :)

.

Junior Open Water Course-Bali-Tulamben

I'm 10 now, and I'm really excited to get my Junior OW Course. I have been waiting for around 2 years now, since my first bubble maker in the sea (Dec 2007).

I was really nervous on the first day of my pool session. I thought that I would fail, but I've done so many dives for my age (even though it was only around 2m), I can't let my parents get disappointed. So now I'm ready take the challenge....

It wasn't only me who was taking the OW Course, there was Jen, Dudley and Martina(adults). It was really fun having this course with them.

Day 1

Today, the first thing Idid was going to Ricardo's (my instructor) place (resort), with my mum, walking. When we reached there, Ricardo explained a few stuff about the Junior/ OW course. After that, we watched a video. An OW course video. It was aro

und 35-45 mins.

When the video finished, Ricardo said that he and the others will meet me and my mum at our resort. Because we're going to do our first pool session (not my mum, she's already an OW diver).

Ricardo doesn't have a pool at his resort. At my resort, the pool is too small. So we had to walk to this other resort nearby.

Pool Session

This is going to be the first session, and I'm exited and nervous!!!!

In this session, we just did the basic stuff like; putting our BCD (buoyancy control device), tank and regulator together, getting used to breathing underwater, mask clearing and stuff like that.

While we were doing the course, my mum was diving below us doing her own thing.

When we finished, Ricardo said, later that day, we're going to have a fun dive at the USAT Liberty Shipwreck!!!! YAY!

USAT Liberty Shipwreck

This is my first time diving near a shipwreck, I hope it's going to

be fun(it was fun!)!!! We saw the ruins of the ship, which was TOTALLY AwEsOmE(!!!), corals- soft and hard and tons of fishes!!!! Unfortunately, there wasn't any 'fascinating' ones. Although, there were big Sweetlips.

My family says that in the night, the Sweetlips and Parrot fishes are a lot BIGGER! (I wish I can go night diving!).

If you want to know which kind of fishes I saw, just go to my other stories. But not all of the fishes, in my other stories, are exactly what I saw.

Day 2

It was a fun day yesterday, but I hope today is better!!!

Like yesterday

, me and my mum went to Ricardo's place, first thing in the morning. We watched the OW course video (like yesterday) and the

n me and my mum went back to our resort, to get ready for my 2nd pool session.

Pool Session

Today we did buoyancy. It wasn't that easy. One of the drill that we did was, laying down on your tummy and estimating how much air you need in your BCD. If you got it right, when you inhale, you'll go up and if you exhale, you'll go down. There were other drills that we did, but it's hard for me to explain.

Coral Garden

That afternoon, we had another fun dive. This time, it's in Coral Garden!

Down in this dive site, we saw this little aeroplane made out wires. Basically It's just the shape of an aeroplane. This 'aeroplane' is made and put there so more corals can grow, which means more fishes! It was really cool! There, we also saw an eel.We didn't stay at the area because or else we'll get bored, so we went around Coral Garden.

Like the other fun dive, we didn't see any 'fascinating' stuff, apart from the eel, but it was still a fun dive comparing to the pool session.

On the 3rd and 4th day, I didn't feel so well, so I stayed in the room. Although, on the morning of the 3rd day, I did go to Ricardo's place and watch the OW course video.

I missed 2 days, which means I missed 2 pool sessions :(

Day 4-Drop Off

That day, I felt a lot better. But I didn't watch the OW Course video and I missed the pool session :( My mum said to rest in the morning, just to make sure I'll be fit to do the afternoon/fun dive.
I did my afternoon/fun dive at the Drop Off, which means we're using a boat to go to that dive site. It was really fun. Although the boat was really small.
We saw lots of things in this area. It was awesome. When we were diving there was a current. It was fairly strong. But I did, see quite a few intresting stuff. In the beginning, the others did the drill (underwater), from this morning, while I was swimming around them. After that, the exploring begins! Right in the beginning of us exploring, a current came. While drift diving, I saw Nudi Eggs*, a baby Lion Fish and others!!! Just before we went up, we saw this HUGE fish*. I can't remember what it was, but what I can tell you is that, it was TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

Day 5

Ok! Today, my dad wants me to finish my course. And luckily, I only have 1 more Pool Session!!! But the others has already finished their course, so I'm doing this last session by myself (including Ricardo).

Pool Session

For this pool session, I did it at where I'm staying- at Joe's (the resort).

The hardest drill that I did was hovering. You have to sit at the bottom of the pool, cross-legged. Fill your BCD with air/water, until about enough. If you got it right, when you inhale you'll go up. It was hard for me, because I kept on losing my balance. I did other drills, but it's hard for me to explain it.

USAT Liberty Ship Wreck

No more pool session, YAY!!! But in this dive I did some drills first. Also, I learned how to use

and underwater compass.

In the beginning, as I wrote above, I did some drills first.Basically, I did everything I learned this morning. That includes taking off my mask and putting them on again!!! I was so scared when I did this, even at the pool session. In the sea, I had to go up, with my mask off, because I was scared, and I felt really, really nervous. But in the end, I did it!

When I was using the compass(going straight and back), in the middle of the 'course', I accidentally tou

ched the sand, and I saw something moved!!! Guess what it was; Yep, it was a Flounder, and I went crazy when I saw it, because it was my first time seeing a Flounder! However I didn't swim after the fish, and I continued what I was doing.

My mum went along too, she also used the compass, but instead of going straight and back, my mum was going in a square. It sure would have been much harder. After all I'm only taking my open water course at the moment, she's taking her advanced open water.

After this dive, I'm going to have the test! Yikes!!! I was really, really nervous. The test goes like this: there is a booklet(which has all of the 50-ish questions) and there is a sheet for ticking which answer is the one I think is right. To pass, the maximum number of incorrect questions I can get is 14.

And guess what??? I only got 7 incorrect!!!! Which means I PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY :) I was so happy when I saw the results!!!

So now, I'm a Junior Open Water Diver!!!!

After this, I can choose if I want to dive with my dad and my sister, or with my mum and Ricardo. My mum is having a course, so I'll have to wait for a bit if I join her. And also, she's going to the Drop-off and I've been there before. On the other side, my dad and my sister is going to Seraya Secret, and I haven't been there. So I chose to join my dad and my sister.

Seraya Secret

Seraya Secret is far from the resort, so we used a mini bus to get there, also because quite a number of people from the resort wanted to dive at Seraya Secret too.

When we reached thereI was excited. I'm a JOW Diver and now I can dive up to 12m!

In Seraya Secret, I saw more 'unique' stuff. There was this big semi-circular (3-D & made out of wire, i think) and around it, I saw Nudis*, either Stonefish or Scorpion fish, Lionfish and a few more! Also, I saw these little crabs on a Feather Star, and it was COOL! So far, that was the best dive in this holiday.

Day 6 -Last Day

I can't believe it's all ready the last day:( Never mind, as long as I have a wonderful day, which I did, I don't mind (OK, maybe a bit). Also, that day, it was my first time diving 3 times!!! :)

USAT Liberty Ship Wreck

This dive was with Ricardo and my whole family! Yay, at last, I went diving with my mum, dad & sister.

Somehow, I think diving with my family brings most of the good stuff out!!! Because, we saw a humongous group of Jack Fish and another Flounder!!! Not only that, there was a Barracuda, and I got quite close to it, well the closest I've ever went!! While going around, guess what I saw, a coral shaped like a heart, and surprisingly, it was pink! Now this is the best dive so far! :)

Coral Garden

This dive, my mum, my sister and the guide, are going a little bit deeper, so they can go to the cleaning station :( The cleaning station, is where fishes and other 'normal' sized creatures are cleaned, by either cleaner shrimps, or cleaner fish. Not just that, humans can be cleaned too!!! But that's only on the teeth and/or face by cleaner shrimps! I can't go there because it's around 18-21m. :( But I didn't care much really(but maybe a bit).

While me and my dad was waiting, we went around and saw quite a few Nudis, 1 or 2 Eels*, shrimps and a lot more!

When my mum, my sister and the guide showed up, we swam, while looking around, to the man-made aeroplane. There, we saw 3 Leaf Scorpion Fish*, a few Nudis*, Lionfish and A LOT more!

Cafe Garam

No way! It's the last dive now :( I hope me and my family have a wonderful time at this dive site!

Cafe Garam is a resort. This resort makes salt(garam-in Indonesian), from the sea. It's really interesting how they make it. But unfortunately, I only saw them MAKING it.

I love this site because on the beach, it's sand, and not rocks, unlike sites around Coral Garden. Not just sand makes me love that place, but what's under the water...

Cafe Garam, actually grows their own coral. Well not exactly, but what I mean is that they put stuff(not man-made wire sculpture), like rubbish, in the water, and let corals grow. It was amazing. These 'stuff' they put in, was one of their projects.

Like in Coral Garden, my mum, my sister and the guide, went a little deeper for a while.

Diving with my dad only wasn't bad, in fact it was wonderful. We saw LOTS of Lion fish, those little crabs on Feather Stars, and a lot of Nudis*, but most of them are the same kind! We were looking around and just near a Feather Star, I found a Ghost Pipe fish*! I was so happy when I saw it! I've always wanted to see a Ghost Pipe fish. And when my mum, my sister and the guide showed up, the guide found another Ghost Pipe fish. Just when we went up, we saw a White-Eyed Moray Eel*! Awesome right? And then the dive ends :(

Luckily, this was a really good dive, so I wasn't that upset when we finished.

'Keys' *-something awesome(to me)