I am back from Tioman, safe and sound, and with an embarrassing wetsuit tan. The trip was at times nerve-wrecking, but I had fun nonetheless. Think I have some mild form of phobia/paranoia about water environments and loose masks, sigh. But breathe through my regulator I did. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. You get the idea. Got spooked and shot up to the surface from 5 meters when asked to remove my mask as part of the basic drill for beginners. *shudders* I seriously dislike that sudden release of pressure when the mask is pulled off and water rushes in. Renewed my confidence by redoing that particular drill later in the day, and doing the buddy air-sharing exercises w/o mishaps. And I didn't attempt anymore surface shoot ups for the remainder of the dives in Tioman. :)

Sights-wise, I wasn't as bowled over as I'd expected to be. But it's still an experience to be 'standing' in the middle of a shoal of near-frantic fish as they feed on fragments of bread that you've flung about you. Ooh. And I saw a turtle too. The funny part about it was that our assistant instructor was complaining that he hadn't seen a single one in all his 50 dives. But lo. God sent not 1, but a few our way during our leisure dive. Musn't forget the shipwrecks either! Those were man-made, i.e. condemned ships that were deliberately sunk to serve as dive attractions. Nice. And sea cucumbers that spat out stubbornly sticky strings of innards when handled. Haha. Shucks. Makes me want to go back into the water as I'm recalling all these sights. Oh... to feel weightless once again! Hrm. In retrospect, I was probably more concerned about not freaking out at a depth of 18 meters rather than taking in the beauty of the environment in a relaxed state of mind... Alright. I'll take back what I said about not being bowled over by the underwater sights then. Guess it'll require a few more dives before I become fully at ease in the water! Oh, what would I give for more confidence... *wistful sigh*

'k. Rambling. Still waiting for the underwater photos to be uploaded and sent to me!


The 6 of us and our dive instructor and assistant. :)