The Blue Tempeh
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
FREAKIN' SOLID DIVE!! Raffles Lighthouse
TODAY, was the day I REALLY didn't want to get out of bed. It was too early in the morning to go diving in cold cold waters. Especially when it's a work dive. We dived two days ago and it was so tiring... Came home and just shacked out till the next morning...And TODAY, I really didn't want to dive.
BUT! But but but but but....TODAY I AM SO THANKING MY LUCKY STARS I DRAGGED MY A** OUT OF BED. COS! Cos cos cos cos cos.... IT WAS SUCH A GREAT DIVE!!! I haven't even blogged about my last dive but I CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER. I JUST HAVE TO BLOG THIS DIVE FIRST.
IT'S! It's it's it's it's... JUST SO GREAT! What a GREAT way to start the year man! This dive WAYYYYY beats ANY of the dives I have had so far this year! Although this is essentially only my second dive of the new year...ehehe... but STILL SO GREAAAAATTTTT!!! GREAT GREAT GREAT!!! Vis was 4m! AT LEAST! It's WHOOAAA WHOOAAHH.... Not only the VIS, but the ABUNDACE AND DVERSITY OF MARINE LIFE IS SO...so so so so... ASTOUNDING! So WONDERFUL! When I first descended I though... WHOOOWWW... IS THIS FOR REAL?! Is this SINGAPORE?! But YES! YES IT IS!
What greeted me when I first descended...OOHHHH *melts*
*SNAP* YES!!! IT WAS THAT RED!!! My fave colour!
*SNAP* Just in case you didn't believe my first two photos...hehe
What a REEF!
I took this when I was at 5m...YOU CAN SEE THE SURFACE! Sunlight streaming in....Siigghh
THE FISHES! So many!
And so many gorgonians! Must be the currents...It...got...pretty strong...ehehe
This one had a crinoid (feather star) among its pretty branches...awww
Seawhips and gorgonians...SO COLOURFUL! SO PRETTY!
And don't forget the fishes!
THERE WERE SO MANY FISHES! It's most definitely because of the vis that you don't really see fishes in Singapore. But once the vis makes a turn for the better, it's a whole different world man! Not only were there the usual gobies and colourful damselfishes, but there were SCHOOLS of rabbitfishes, fusiliers and snappers! Well, not large schools by themselves... but these fishes schooled together... It was incredible!
I also saw THREE spotted sweetlips...which were quite sizable and so PRETTYY... and a big grouper that promptly went to hide under a rock. It was camera shy, I guess. And there was this ROPE! Look for yourself!
Whooahhh fiishhiiess...
And there were small little fishies too...
Your tomato anemonefish...there were also a lot of anemones with the false clownfish too!! =)
I literally chased after this six banded angelfish (Pomacanthus sextriatus...what a name huh haha) to get you evidence...
And sergeant majors! Reminds me of diving Okinawa! *sniff*
It was all a nice, relaxing reef scene...UNTIL...
I GOT THE SHOCK OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY... I was so busy looking at other things... I didn't see what was in front of me... and swam RIGHT INTO THIS!!!
A WHOLE SCHOOL OF DIAMOND FISH (Monodactylus argenteus. Also called the Silver batfish. A WHOLE FREAKIN' LARGE SCHOOL!
I had the DARN video to SHOW it too... BUT I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED IT...*WAIL*!!! If anyone knows how to retrieve accidentally deleted stuff from your CF card... PLEEEEAAZZEEEE PLLLEEAAAZZEEEE LET ME KNOW!!!! Sobs...Sooobbsss...
BTW, we saw it at the jetty area... that's where these fishes normally hang out. See the pillars? SO COOL! But very eerie jetty...urgh...about 8.sth m.
But we also saw this at the jetty...really sad...
Lots of discarded sacks and trash!
And THIS! A CAR BATTERY! Imagine the acid that it holds...what damage it can do...haiz...
A cushion star by a discarded fish net...
Anyway, do you believe that THIS is actually Singapore. But it's true! We have such rich marine life right at our doorstep but it's really sad when very few people actually realise this. Even if the vis is bad, it's STILL THERE. Not seeing it doesn't mean it's not there. Even if a tree falls in the forest and noone hears it, we can still see the evidence of it later. So if our corals die but noone witnesses it, doesn't mean that the issue is not real. We will still see the impacts later on. Less fish, less marine life...or some other real impact that has not manifested yet...
Well, back to more happy photos... Ooohh.... Ahh.... PRETTYYYY.....
Look at that...high coral cover! THIS is what we need to protect!
I love corals....awww....
Doesn't it give you a sense of calllmmmness....
Huge OLD colonies!
Aaahhh.....Grandpa coral...
Overall, a pretty reef.
WE SAW NUDIBRANCHS TOO!!!! But the other pics I took were very shaky. Probably from the excitement hehe!
OH AND WE SAW THIS FLATWORM THAT WAS BIGGER THAN MY HAND! MY WHOLLLLEE HAND... fingers and ALL!!! WHOOAHHH......
AND MORE CRINOIDS!! This one had reflective goldish flecks...was sooo prettyyy....
And one that looked like a LOTUS!
Don't you think...LOTUS...
CLOSE UP! IT WAS THIS RED!!!!!!!! I AM NOT KIDDING YOU!
Oh... and THIS TSE-LYNN (my buddy)...
Tse-Lynn...
SCARED ME HALF TO WITS! By SNEAKING up to me... (probably unintentionally)... TO SHOW ME THIS!
HUGE GIANT UNGLY THING WITH ONE CLAW
It wasn't alive though...It was just a moult... MEANS IT GREW... EVEN BIGGER!!!! Look at that claw man...*droolllss*
Evil Tse-Lynn behind the corals...
BACK TO PHOTOS! LOOK AT THIS GORGONIAN/SEA FAN! HUGE!
A white colour one... so prettyyy!!!!
A RED one!
....and a DARN HUGE ONE!!!! This was probably as tall as I am!
Ahhh............................................I wanna dive again.....Haven't had this feeling of wanting to DIVE AGAIN for some time....It's so magical.... ARGHHHH.....I WANNA DIVE I WANNA DIVE I WANNA DIVE!!!!! Doesn't look like a work dive though right? BUT IT WAS! We did our work... WHILE doing all these things too!! Perks of the job... EHEHEHEHHEHEHEHE....
Can't wait to dive again... DIVE DIVE DIVE!! DIVE DIVE DIVE!!! WOOHOOO! =)
Oh not to forget the important people that were there doing work with me! ehehe...
Tse-Lynn...of course...
And JEFF! Ooohh... how stroonngg....hahaha
And...Elsie...who blackmailed me to delete her nice FRONTAL shot so all I am left with is her back view. NOT the one in trunks.
And our trusty Mr. Loh! Our boatman! When the MUDSKIPPER is out of commission, THIS CAPTAIN takes over and gives us a ride to whereever we need to go! We SALUTE YOU! And his 4D winning lucky boat!
Well, that's it folks...and yeaps... sorry no close up shots cos was reeling too much from the dive... whehehehe.... My only advice is... TAKE A CHANCE! TRY DIVING IN OUR OWN WATERS! You'll be SURPRISED what you can see and find! DON'T GIVE UP IF THE VIS IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE...Try diving again! Once you are confident about diving in Singapore waters, then you'll be confident diving anywhere else...pretty much...
AAWWWRGHHGRGGGR SO PRETTY RIGHT... haiz.... it's soooooooooooooo wonderful.... I am SO glad I got out of bed this morning.... ¶ 9:56 pm 4 comments
BUT! But but but but but....TODAY I AM SO THANKING MY LUCKY STARS I DRAGGED MY A** OUT OF BED. COS! Cos cos cos cos cos.... IT WAS SUCH A GREAT DIVE!!! I haven't even blogged about my last dive but I CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER. I JUST HAVE TO BLOG THIS DIVE FIRST.
IT'S! It's it's it's it's... JUST SO GREAT! What a GREAT way to start the year man! This dive WAYYYYY beats ANY of the dives I have had so far this year! Although this is essentially only my second dive of the new year...ehehe... but STILL SO GREAAAAATTTTT!!! GREAT GREAT GREAT!!! Vis was 4m! AT LEAST! It's WHOOAAA WHOOAAHH.... Not only the VIS, but the ABUNDACE AND DVERSITY OF MARINE LIFE IS SO...so so so so... ASTOUNDING! So WONDERFUL! When I first descended I though... WHOOOWWW... IS THIS FOR REAL?! Is this SINGAPORE?! But YES! YES IT IS!
What greeted me when I first descended...OOHHHH *melts*
*SNAP* YES!!! IT WAS THAT RED!!! My fave colour!
*SNAP* Just in case you didn't believe my first two photos...hehe
What a REEF!
I took this when I was at 5m...YOU CAN SEE THE SURFACE! Sunlight streaming in....Siigghh
THE FISHES! So many!
And so many gorgonians! Must be the currents...It...got...pretty strong...ehehe
This one had a crinoid (feather star) among its pretty branches...awww
Seawhips and gorgonians...SO COLOURFUL! SO PRETTY!
And don't forget the fishes!
THERE WERE SO MANY FISHES! It's most definitely because of the vis that you don't really see fishes in Singapore. But once the vis makes a turn for the better, it's a whole different world man! Not only were there the usual gobies and colourful damselfishes, but there were SCHOOLS of rabbitfishes, fusiliers and snappers! Well, not large schools by themselves... but these fishes schooled together... It was incredible!
I also saw THREE spotted sweetlips...which were quite sizable and so PRETTYY... and a big grouper that promptly went to hide under a rock. It was camera shy, I guess. And there was this ROPE! Look for yourself!
Whooahhh fiishhiiess...
And there were small little fishies too...
Your tomato anemonefish...there were also a lot of anemones with the false clownfish too!! =)
I literally chased after this six banded angelfish (Pomacanthus sextriatus...what a name huh haha) to get you evidence...
And sergeant majors! Reminds me of diving Okinawa! *sniff*
It was all a nice, relaxing reef scene...UNTIL...
I GOT THE SHOCK OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY... I was so busy looking at other things... I didn't see what was in front of me... and swam RIGHT INTO THIS!!!
A WHOLE SCHOOL OF DIAMOND FISH (Monodactylus argenteus. Also called the Silver batfish. A WHOLE FREAKIN' LARGE SCHOOL!
I had the DARN video to SHOW it too... BUT I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED IT...*WAIL*!!! If anyone knows how to retrieve accidentally deleted stuff from your CF card... PLEEEEAAZZEEEE PLLLEEAAAZZEEEE LET ME KNOW!!!! Sobs...Sooobbsss...
BTW, we saw it at the jetty area... that's where these fishes normally hang out. See the pillars? SO COOL! But very eerie jetty...urgh...about 8.sth m.
But we also saw this at the jetty...really sad...
Lots of discarded sacks and trash!
And THIS! A CAR BATTERY! Imagine the acid that it holds...what damage it can do...haiz...
A cushion star by a discarded fish net...
Anyway, do you believe that THIS is actually Singapore. But it's true! We have such rich marine life right at our doorstep but it's really sad when very few people actually realise this. Even if the vis is bad, it's STILL THERE. Not seeing it doesn't mean it's not there. Even if a tree falls in the forest and noone hears it, we can still see the evidence of it later. So if our corals die but noone witnesses it, doesn't mean that the issue is not real. We will still see the impacts later on. Less fish, less marine life...or some other real impact that has not manifested yet...
Well, back to more happy photos... Ooohh.... Ahh.... PRETTYYYY.....
Look at that...high coral cover! THIS is what we need to protect!
I love corals....awww....
Doesn't it give you a sense of calllmmmness....
Huge OLD colonies!
Aaahhh.....Grandpa coral...
Overall, a pretty reef.
WE SAW NUDIBRANCHS TOO!!!! But the other pics I took were very shaky. Probably from the excitement hehe!
OH AND WE SAW THIS FLATWORM THAT WAS BIGGER THAN MY HAND! MY WHOLLLLEE HAND... fingers and ALL!!! WHOOAHHH......
AND MORE CRINOIDS!! This one had reflective goldish flecks...was sooo prettyyy....
And one that looked like a LOTUS!
Don't you think...LOTUS...
CLOSE UP! IT WAS THIS RED!!!!!!!! I AM NOT KIDDING YOU!
Oh... and THIS TSE-LYNN (my buddy)...
Tse-Lynn...
SCARED ME HALF TO WITS! By SNEAKING up to me... (probably unintentionally)... TO SHOW ME THIS!
HUGE GIANT UNGLY THING WITH ONE CLAW
It wasn't alive though...It was just a moult... MEANS IT GREW... EVEN BIGGER!!!! Look at that claw man...*droolllss*
Evil Tse-Lynn behind the corals...
BACK TO PHOTOS! LOOK AT THIS GORGONIAN/SEA FAN! HUGE!
A white colour one... so prettyyy!!!!
A RED one!
....and a DARN HUGE ONE!!!! This was probably as tall as I am!
Ahhh............................................I wanna dive again.....Haven't had this feeling of wanting to DIVE AGAIN for some time....It's so magical.... ARGHHHH.....I WANNA DIVE I WANNA DIVE I WANNA DIVE!!!!! Doesn't look like a work dive though right? BUT IT WAS! We did our work... WHILE doing all these things too!! Perks of the job... EHEHEHEHHEHEHEHE....
Can't wait to dive again... DIVE DIVE DIVE!! DIVE DIVE DIVE!!! WOOHOOO! =)
Oh not to forget the important people that were there doing work with me! ehehe...
Tse-Lynn...of course...
And JEFF! Ooohh... how stroonngg....hahaha
And...Elsie...who blackmailed me to delete her nice FRONTAL shot so all I am left with is her back view. NOT the one in trunks.
And our trusty Mr. Loh! Our boatman! When the MUDSKIPPER is out of commission, THIS CAPTAIN takes over and gives us a ride to whereever we need to go! We SALUTE YOU! And his 4D winning lucky boat!
Well, that's it folks...and yeaps... sorry no close up shots cos was reeling too much from the dive... whehehehe.... My only advice is... TAKE A CHANCE! TRY DIVING IN OUR OWN WATERS! You'll be SURPRISED what you can see and find! DON'T GIVE UP IF THE VIS IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE...Try diving again! Once you are confident about diving in Singapore waters, then you'll be confident diving anywhere else...pretty much...
AAWWWRGHHGRGGGR SO PRETTY RIGHT... haiz.... it's soooooooooooooo wonderful.... I am SO glad I got out of bed this morning.... ¶ 9:56 pm 4 comments
