No not as sad as saying goodbye to the dog, but sad nonetheless.
Finally we're done with our Sipadan experience, and it's hard to say whether it was harder to leave the reefs or the people we met.
Last night we arrived back in Tawau and headed out with a few of the guys who came off the rig.
At approximately 3AM we left Colin and Lena and headed back to the hotel. I don't remember exactly how I got to bed, but the night included getting a ride on someone's motor bike to the ATM, drinking the bar dry, and partying in a strange little nightclub.
Today we were ferociously hung over. I really wanted to die, and no bacon and eggs to be found anywhere. Curse this serve no pork business!!
Tomorrow we're staying in Tawau for one more day, and then off to Mataking Island for 5 more days of diving. From there we'll start the trek back to KK/KL/Singapore.
We're aiming to arrive in Hong Kong around the 13th of August to catch up with the world famous Euan Clearkin.
Must dash. Second batch of photos as soon as I can.
Friday 27 July 2007
Sunday 22 July 2007
Land Ho!
We decided to extend our stay on the rig, but unfortunately it was fully booked for 2 nights - so we've had to come back to land temporarily.
Currently we're staying at the luxurious Heratage Hotel in Tawau. It's not that luxurious, but compared to the rig it sure is. Tawau however is not exactly the jewel in Sabah's crown, oh well it's nice to do nothing and fix up all the photos.
The latest installment is here.
For those who are click-shy, here is the URL:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rogue303/SipadanPhase1
Until next scintillating update!
Currently we're staying at the luxurious Heratage Hotel in Tawau. It's not that luxurious, but compared to the rig it sure is. Tawau however is not exactly the jewel in Sabah's crown, oh well it's nice to do nothing and fix up all the photos.
The latest installment is here.
For those who are click-shy, here is the URL:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rogue303/SipadanPhase1
Until next scintillating update!
Thursday 19 July 2007
Pictures #1
Apologies for the delay, and also the crappy resolution.
Oil rig connection is a little flaky, therefore things have had to be made a little smaller than usual.
First up a jawfish. This little guy sits in his hole and only pokes his head up when he thinks the big fat loud bubbling thing has gone....
There are lots of these catfish here. They sift through the sand, I assume catching food. Otherwise there seems very little point, unless it's fun. Who am I to judge.
Madam Classifer has let me down on this one - but never mind, the picture looks ok.
Also unsure on the next one too. Next investment will be a book on identifying fish.
Next up a tiny stone fish (maybe). I only noticed it when it moved after I nearly put my hand on it.
Thankfully it was more scared of my hand, otherwise I would have gotten a nasty (and painful) surprise...
This one's a scorpion fish. There are plenty around here, and as you can tell they're quite well camouflaged. I have a nasty habit of nearly kneeling/stepping/putting hand on these.
I managed to snap this clown trigger fish as it swam past. I think the black on black looks quite nice.
Another nudibranch. Haven't looked this one up, but there's a big poster of it on the rig (not this photo unfortunately).
Am downloading more photos as I type. Keep your eyes peeled, and your underpants fresh.
Tomorrow we temporarily leave the rig for a couple of days on land, that is all.
Oil rig connection is a little flaky, therefore things have had to be made a little smaller than usual.
First up a jawfish. This little guy sits in his hole and only pokes his head up when he thinks the big fat loud bubbling thing has gone....
There are lots of these catfish here. They sift through the sand, I assume catching food. Otherwise there seems very little point, unless it's fun. Who am I to judge.
Madam Classifer has let me down on this one - but never mind, the picture looks ok.
Also unsure on the next one too. Next investment will be a book on identifying fish.
Next up a tiny stone fish (maybe). I only noticed it when it moved after I nearly put my hand on it.
Thankfully it was more scared of my hand, otherwise I would have gotten a nasty (and painful) surprise...
This one's a scorpion fish. There are plenty around here, and as you can tell they're quite well camouflaged. I have a nasty habit of nearly kneeling/stepping/putting hand on these.
I managed to snap this clown trigger fish as it swam past. I think the black on black looks quite nice.
Another nudibranch. Haven't looked this one up, but there's a big poster of it on the rig (not this photo unfortunately).
Am downloading more photos as I type. Keep your eyes peeled, and your underpants fresh.
Tomorrow we temporarily leave the rig for a couple of days on land, that is all.
Wednesday 18 July 2007
Sipadan Update #2
Not much news per se - short of Kat now having an ear infection, and being unable to dive today.
There is a REALLY F**KING ANNOYING FAT ASIAN SITTING NEXT TO ME. Correct.
I can't deal with it, so no posting pictures tonight.
Good evening.
There is a REALLY F**KING ANNOYING FAT ASIAN SITTING NEXT TO ME. Correct.
I can't deal with it, so no posting pictures tonight.
Good evening.
Monday 16 July 2007
Sipadan Update #1
Right then.
Sorry for the delay have been doing a bit of diving the last few days, and it's been kind of tiring.
I apologise for the water blob on the front of the dome which obscures part of the rig's superstructure, but here's where we're staying:
So Sipadan. Everything they say about the place is true, it's simply amazing - the variety and abundance of sea life IS breathtaking.
I've also never dived in such strong currents - at times it's like a rollercoaster tour of a reef - you're literally flying along without even kicking.
Unfortunately my photography is nowhere near as spectacular as the sights - some highlights that are undocumented include: tiny skeleton shrimp, baby nudibranch, trigger fish attacking Kat, bloody huge cuttlefish, wrass, puffers and grouper.
Switching from macro to wide angle also introduces a whole new world of things to try and figure out....
Some pictures (there are more, but I think these are the best so far - I've had to shrink them a bit, the connection here didn't like my first, larger ones):
This appears to be some kind of shrimp, in a hole with a fish, on its tail...
An eel - it stays in its hole waiting for prey to come past, and obviously would eat it...
A moray eel of some description. Really must classify this stuff before posting next time, not like I have anything better to do!!
Erm.... a stonefish, or is it s scorpionfish. Either way don't go poking at it with your mitts unless you'd like a trip to the nearest intensive care unit.
This one is an alligator fish, so named because it looks like an alligator.
This is a turtle. We've been lucky enough to swim with heaps of them... they're super graceful under water. Nearly as graceful as me, and less graceful than Katherine.
Another turtle. Not the same one.
Sharky sharky. There's plenty of sharks, and this is a crap photo....
A fleet of barracuda (x2) - they were swimming all around us in a tornado this morning, hundreds of them. A few of them were REALLY big and scarred - I assume they're old and wise - or they're the greater spotted scarred uber-barracuda.
There's plenty of these little spotted stingrays on the reef here. Note I am careful not to approach from behind like Senor Irwin is notorious for.
So finally hello to Mexico, Belgium, New Zealand and South Africa if they ended up here. We're only meeting countries at Seaventures, not people. You heard it first here....
Sorry for the delay have been doing a bit of diving the last few days, and it's been kind of tiring.
I apologise for the water blob on the front of the dome which obscures part of the rig's superstructure, but here's where we're staying:
So Sipadan. Everything they say about the place is true, it's simply amazing - the variety and abundance of sea life IS breathtaking.
I've also never dived in such strong currents - at times it's like a rollercoaster tour of a reef - you're literally flying along without even kicking.
Unfortunately my photography is nowhere near as spectacular as the sights - some highlights that are undocumented include: tiny skeleton shrimp, baby nudibranch, trigger fish attacking Kat, bloody huge cuttlefish, wrass, puffers and grouper.
Switching from macro to wide angle also introduces a whole new world of things to try and figure out....
Some pictures (there are more, but I think these are the best so far - I've had to shrink them a bit, the connection here didn't like my first, larger ones):
This appears to be some kind of shrimp, in a hole with a fish, on its tail...
An eel - it stays in its hole waiting for prey to come past, and obviously would eat it...
A moray eel of some description. Really must classify this stuff before posting next time, not like I have anything better to do!!
Erm.... a stonefish, or is it s scorpionfish. Either way don't go poking at it with your mitts unless you'd like a trip to the nearest intensive care unit.
This one is an alligator fish, so named because it looks like an alligator.
This is a turtle. We've been lucky enough to swim with heaps of them... they're super graceful under water. Nearly as graceful as me, and less graceful than Katherine.
Another turtle. Not the same one.
Sharky sharky. There's plenty of sharks, and this is a crap photo....
A fleet of barracuda (x2) - they were swimming all around us in a tornado this morning, hundreds of them. A few of them were REALLY big and scarred - I assume they're old and wise - or they're the greater spotted scarred uber-barracuda.
There's plenty of these little spotted stingrays on the reef here. Note I am careful not to approach from behind like Senor Irwin is notorious for.
So finally hello to Mexico, Belgium, New Zealand and South Africa if they ended up here. We're only meeting countries at Seaventures, not people. You heard it first here....
Saturday 14 July 2007
Farewell old friend...
It's with great sadness that today we say farewell to a loyal old friend - our dog Jazz.
She may be gone from this world, but in my heart, she'll always be walking with me.
Farewell old friend.
She may be gone from this world, but in my heart, she'll always be walking with me.
Farewell old friend.
Friday 13 July 2007
Oily Rig
Today we have a delightfully early start at 04:50.
Yes that's just shy of 5 AM for the 24 hour time notation challenged.
So a little packing, a little carrying of heavy bags down the stairs, and a lot of sweating. I was also overjoyed to find out that taxis charge a 20% premium on the fare to the airport at 05:30. I'm not EXACTLY sure what that was all about, but I wasn't going to argue with the guy about MYR5 that early in the morning.
Another interesting fact is that Malaysia Airlines describes a packet of peanuts and an orange juice as a "continental breakfast". I'm not sure which continent they were thinking of, but if you know please let us know so we can make sure we never stop there. Ever.
So KK --> Tawau (that's pronounced "ta-wow" for the Bahasa challenged) --> Semporna --> Shitty boat in large swell --> Seaventures dive oil rig resort thing. It's not palatial, but there's something kind of cool about it. I will take some photos tomorrow and try to convey the ambiance.
Loads of wind and current today. There's plenty of life here, but it's hard to see when the 6 brothers and sisters in your group are kicking up the sand in front of you...!
So one house dive, one dive at Mabul, and one night house dive. No pics. It's cool, but not breathtaking yet... stay tuned for breath and taking. Hopefully.
Yes that's just shy of 5 AM for the 24 hour time notation challenged.
So a little packing, a little carrying of heavy bags down the stairs, and a lot of sweating. I was also overjoyed to find out that taxis charge a 20% premium on the fare to the airport at 05:30. I'm not EXACTLY sure what that was all about, but I wasn't going to argue with the guy about MYR5 that early in the morning.
Another interesting fact is that Malaysia Airlines describes a packet of peanuts and an orange juice as a "continental breakfast". I'm not sure which continent they were thinking of, but if you know please let us know so we can make sure we never stop there. Ever.
So KK --> Tawau (that's pronounced "ta-wow" for the Bahasa challenged) --> Semporna --> Shitty boat in large swell --> Seaventures dive oil rig resort thing. It's not palatial, but there's something kind of cool about it. I will take some photos tomorrow and try to convey the ambiance.
Loads of wind and current today. There's plenty of life here, but it's hard to see when the 6 brothers and sisters in your group are kicking up the sand in front of you...!
So one house dive, one dive at Mabul, and one night house dive. No pics. It's cool, but not breathtaking yet... stay tuned for breath and taking. Hopefully.
Monday 9 July 2007
Rain, rain, we love rain.
It's 22:19 here in KK. We just finished watching the British GP. Jolly good.
It's now absolutely PISSING down with rain. I'm annoyed that I don't have a tripod, because there'd be (maybe) an amazing shot of the rain washing down the road in the street/car lights.
It's so heavy, it's interrupting the satellite feed for the TV.
As you might imagine, today has been highly enthralling.
Kat has been sick, so we've been hanging around the hotel.
Thrilling n'est pas?
Good night.
It's now absolutely PISSING down with rain. I'm annoyed that I don't have a tripod, because there'd be (maybe) an amazing shot of the rain washing down the road in the street/car lights.
It's so heavy, it's interrupting the satellite feed for the TV.
As you might imagine, today has been highly enthralling.
Kat has been sick, so we've been hanging around the hotel.
Thrilling n'est pas?
Good night.
Friday 6 July 2007
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
The very deep did rot :
O Christ ! That ever this should be !
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.
About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night ;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white.
-- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Well that's the only literature you'll be finding around here. Some may recognise this from an Iron Maiden song, others... may not.
So not much to report, except we're now Nitrox certified. Yes nitrox. For those not up with the lingo, this is a small summary:
"Nitrox refers to any gas mixture composed (excluding trace gases) of nitrogen and oxygen; this includes normal air which is approximately 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with around 1% other gases. The most common use of nitrox mixtures containing higher than normal levels of oxygen is in SCUBA diving where the reduced percentage of nitrogen is advantageous in reducing nitrogen take up in the body's tissues and so extending the possible dive time and/or reducing the risk of decompression sickness (also known as the bends)."
For those who are more interested you can go here for a fairly lengthy explanation.
So... more pictures I guess. We've dived with a whole ton of sea urchins. They look black when they're on the bottom, but when you light them up with a strobe they're an amazing red...
This is another cool looking nudibranch....
This is a puffer or porcupine fish. I think. Thank the wonders of RAW format for these pictures, as I'm still fine tuning my use of the strobe...
I guess this is some kind of sea anemone. They look very plant like, but are actually animals. They sting too, so no touchy touchy.
I think these are squid eggs attached to whatever the anemone is sitting on.
Another nudibranch. These little guys make good subjects for my poor technique, as they don't move very quickly.
I dunno what this is. But it looks cool.
Under this rock is some kind of crab/prawn/lobster thing.
Living in some of the hard corals there are what look like bivalve molluscs. If you tap near them they close up like a clam.
Speaking of clams, check out this fella!
Well that's it for today. Tomorrow will be our last day of diving here I think. No idea how much $$ we've spent, don't want to think about it.
Monday we WERE going to climb the mountain, but it's fully booked. Hmm.
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
The very deep did rot :
O Christ ! That ever this should be !
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.
About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night ;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white.
-- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Well that's the only literature you'll be finding around here. Some may recognise this from an Iron Maiden song, others... may not.
So not much to report, except we're now Nitrox certified. Yes nitrox. For those not up with the lingo, this is a small summary:
"Nitrox refers to any gas mixture composed (excluding trace gases) of nitrogen and oxygen; this includes normal air which is approximately 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with around 1% other gases. The most common use of nitrox mixtures containing higher than normal levels of oxygen is in SCUBA diving where the reduced percentage of nitrogen is advantageous in reducing nitrogen take up in the body's tissues and so extending the possible dive time and/or reducing the risk of decompression sickness (also known as the bends)."
For those who are more interested you can go here for a fairly lengthy explanation.
So... more pictures I guess. We've dived with a whole ton of sea urchins. They look black when they're on the bottom, but when you light them up with a strobe they're an amazing red...
This is another cool looking nudibranch....
This is a puffer or porcupine fish. I think. Thank the wonders of RAW format for these pictures, as I'm still fine tuning my use of the strobe...
I guess this is some kind of sea anemone. They look very plant like, but are actually animals. They sting too, so no touchy touchy.
I think these are squid eggs attached to whatever the anemone is sitting on.
Another nudibranch. These little guys make good subjects for my poor technique, as they don't move very quickly.
I dunno what this is. But it looks cool.
Under this rock is some kind of crab/prawn/lobster thing.
Living in some of the hard corals there are what look like bivalve molluscs. If you tap near them they close up like a clam.
Speaking of clams, check out this fella!
Well that's it for today. Tomorrow will be our last day of diving here I think. No idea how much $$ we've spent, don't want to think about it.
Monday we WERE going to climb the mountain, but it's fully booked. Hmm.
Wednesday 4 July 2007
Tuesday 3 July 2007
Randomisation, Transformers, Diving
Some random things that have caught my attention so far, but have not yet made it to this hallowed arena.....
No Squat Sign - Some of us have postulated that the mess made on toilets that have been invaded by our friends from India were only possible if the culprit was standing on the seat. Well ladies and gentlemen, I present to you evidence that this IS ACTUALLY THE CASE. At the Fenix Inn in Melaka, there was a sticker on the toilet seat CLEARLY INDICATING that the patron should NOT stand on it like a squat toilet. Case closed......
Accurate News Reporting - I have been known to make fun of the Herald Sun. I am forced to apologise to their staff. In yesterday's newspaper, it clearly stated that Lewis Hamilton had attain pole position for the French Grand Prix, and that Fernando Alonso was somewhere other than that 10th that he actually started on. Very interesting, perhaps I was watching a different qualification session.
Nice Locals - We were touched when a couple of delightful muslim ladies pulled up in front of us, not to detonate an explosive device, but to offer the sweating white people a lift to the bus stop. Allāhu Akbar!
Squat Toilet #2 - For those who have not yet had the opportunity to avail of the local facilities, this is a RIPPING GUIDE: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000348.html
Ok. Still with me? We've been diving for the last few days. Kath has finished her Advanced Open Water. Congratulations!
We're diving with my old friends at Absolute Scuba (http://www.abscuba.com/) - Kipp will be pleased to know that Daniel and Ahmad still remember his bald ass.
So... the moment you've all be waiting for - PICTURES!!! I apologise for the quality of some of these - I post processed the RAW images with Acdsee which ... is a bit crap at it, next time will be Photoshop all the way.
This is like a puffer fish thingy, in a purple coral bowl.
A lionfish - also in a purple coral bowl. Popular hangouts these are.
A nudibranch. Let me tell you this photography business under the water is FRICKING HARD.
Just a close up of some coral....
Another spiny fish puffer thing. Kath can classify the animals later, as she is more into it than I am.
A nudibranch. Kat thought that flicking this poor guy while pointing him out would be funny. Shame!
Umm.. I dunno what this is, but it looks cool!!!
This guy was just chillin, he let me get SO close. Unfortunately I was still having some technical difficulties with the *@#$U(@)$ equipment, so this is the best I could do.....
Other cool things we have seen: blue/yellow spotted rays, a moray eel, a fleet of cuttlefish, little shrimps, a giant lobster, some weird evil killer prawn thing....
Tomorrow == Enriched Air Course. Fear it. The rest of the pictures are here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rogue303/TunkuAbdulRahmenPark2ndJuly2007
Oh one last one :-)
No Squat Sign - Some of us have postulated that the mess made on toilets that have been invaded by our friends from India were only possible if the culprit was standing on the seat. Well ladies and gentlemen, I present to you evidence that this IS ACTUALLY THE CASE. At the Fenix Inn in Melaka, there was a sticker on the toilet seat CLEARLY INDICATING that the patron should NOT stand on it like a squat toilet. Case closed......
Accurate News Reporting - I have been known to make fun of the Herald Sun. I am forced to apologise to their staff. In yesterday's newspaper, it clearly stated that Lewis Hamilton had attain pole position for the French Grand Prix, and that Fernando Alonso was somewhere other than that 10th that he actually started on. Very interesting, perhaps I was watching a different qualification session.
Nice Locals - We were touched when a couple of delightful muslim ladies pulled up in front of us, not to detonate an explosive device, but to offer the sweating white people a lift to the bus stop. Allāhu Akbar!
Squat Toilet #2 - For those who have not yet had the opportunity to avail of the local facilities, this is a RIPPING GUIDE: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000348.html
Ok. Still with me? We've been diving for the last few days. Kath has finished her Advanced Open Water. Congratulations!
We're diving with my old friends at Absolute Scuba (http://www.abscuba.com/) - Kipp will be pleased to know that Daniel and Ahmad still remember his bald ass.
So... the moment you've all be waiting for - PICTURES!!! I apologise for the quality of some of these - I post processed the RAW images with Acdsee which ... is a bit crap at it, next time will be Photoshop all the way.
This is like a puffer fish thingy, in a purple coral bowl.
A lionfish - also in a purple coral bowl. Popular hangouts these are.
A nudibranch. Let me tell you this photography business under the water is FRICKING HARD.
Just a close up of some coral....
Another spiny fish puffer thing. Kath can classify the animals later, as she is more into it than I am.
A nudibranch. Kat thought that flicking this poor guy while pointing him out would be funny. Shame!
Umm.. I dunno what this is, but it looks cool!!!
Coral. I think.
More coral.
This guy was just chillin, he let me get SO close. Unfortunately I was still having some technical difficulties with the *@#$U(@)$ equipment, so this is the best I could do.....
Other cool things we have seen: blue/yellow spotted rays, a moray eel, a fleet of cuttlefish, little shrimps, a giant lobster, some weird evil killer prawn thing....
Tomorrow == Enriched Air Course. Fear it. The rest of the pictures are here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rogue303/TunkuAbdulRahmenPark2ndJuly2007
Oh one last one :-)
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