The Disappeared Year

Posted on Saturday, 17 March 2012 by haan | 2 comments
Labels:

今年最快看完的书,so far 是这本《我睡了81个人的沙发》。前晚临睡前开始、昨天早餐时逼自己把书盖起来、晚上再躺在床上看了约两小时,就看完了。摘录如下...

台湾长大的小孩,从小到大什么也不缺,唯一缺乏的,其实是和自己相处的时间。从出生的那一刻开始,家人、兄弟姐妹、邻居、老师、同学、电视节目,随时随地陪在我们身边,随时都在教导我们这个社会的价值观,我们不懂得和自己相处,也不会处理寂寞。一开始我们以为,爸妈喜欢的东西就是我喜欢的东西;长大一点以后,同学喜欢的东西就是我喜欢的东西;再过一阵子,男朋友喜欢的东西就是我喜欢的东西,我们一直在寻找一个天、一个目标、一个信仰。

我们忙碌着,像帮女王蜂采蜜的工蜂一样,每天忙得团团转,我们以为我们在做自己喜欢做的事情,我们从来不想停下来仔细问问自己,这是否真的就是我真正想要的?

我们的社会不容许停顿,我们的父母希望我们从小就赢在起跑点上,我们已经习惯放学就去补习班报到,成绩单一发下来心里就计算着自己赢了还是输了,不管情不情愿,对于比别人慢一步这回事,充满了恐惧。因为根本没有机会跟自己相处,所以我们很难真的认识自己。知道有一天突然一觉醒来,赫然发现自己大学毕业了,念了20年的书,却好像没有地方可以发挥,觉得自己满腹的才华,却好像没有伯乐懂得赏识,更甚的是,好手好脚,却不知道自己的存在的意义是什么。

我们不是不能吃苦,我们心底最迷惘最害怕的,是想要做自己却又怕跟别人不一样,是想要努力却不知道为了什么

做自己没有什么不对,做自己很好,但可悲的是,我们连自己是谁都不知道,又怎么能做自己?

身边那些爱你的人给你的意见不是不好,但是我们已经这么大了,是时候听听自己的意见了

流浪让我们远离了所有我们最习惯的东西,流浪把我们送上和自己独处的道路,流浪很辛苦,但流浪让我们认识自己

愿不管什么年纪的人,都给自己一个去流浪的机会。

遇到人生的沟时,把自己丢到沟里面,宁可在沟里面痛苦,也不要一生都不面对那份迷惑

当我看着这个男人在作画的时候,我突然明白,绝对的美丽或绝对的丑陋其实并不能真正撼动我们,所谓艺术,其实是一种人们对自己华丽又痛苦的偏执,而感动,就在于全心全意追寻自己心中理想的那一刻

我在巴黎发现人的美丽不只是外表,更是从内里散发出来的气质,那种魅力,才是最让人喘不过气的。

单独旅行更是容易引人同情,不过如果你很有礼貌、一脸诚恳地微笑,其实就连不会说英语的法国老太太,也会愿意努力比手画脚来帮助你。

旅行到这一刻我才明白,人生就像拍照一样,只有我们想要呈现的那个画面是美好的,而框框外面的那些真实,往往丑陋得让人难以面对

他让我突然觉得,那一切的投缘,一切的好,似乎都只是某种为了拐人上床的伎俩罢了,我好像变成一个巨大的阴道,而不是一个活生生的人。

渐渐地我发现,这些千奇百怪的host反而比任何知名景点更吸引我,我从此爱上从一个人的家转移到另一个人的家这种旅行方式。我不在乎会不会少看到几个景点,我更在乎我能不能深入地认识某个人,了解他的生活,聆听他的故事。从踏进某个人家的那一刻起,这个城市对我而言就不再只是一个观光景点,随着一段又一段写满悲伤与快乐的故事,我逐渐触摸到这个城市的节奏与温度

在西班牙,我发现美女不是脸,美女是笑容,你笑得越多,别人就越把你当成美女,你越亲切可人,别人的眼睛就睁得更大了,长相固然吸引人,但是在西班牙,男人更喜欢友善的女人。

也许我是从那一刻开始喜欢上伦敦的,这个城市里的人虽然冷漠怪异,特立独行,可是为了追求的东西,他们比其他国家的人更容易抛开成见,对不曾接触过的挑战也不会扭扭捏捏

我突然明白,不管我们面前还有多少东西必须学习,原来最重要的,是给自己一段独处和消化的时间

我其实什么也没有做,我唯一做的,就是放任自己为所欲为地在欧洲游荡一年多,但这一年多的游荡,确实让我变得和其他人不一样最主要的原因。因为我终于有时间,可以把自己看个清楚

我沉淀了一段时间,然后我心底最深处的欲望像一朵小花一样长了出来。因为不用工作,不用和任何人交代任何事情,我可以凌晨3点独自穿越巴黎,我可以睡在一个又一个陌生人家的沙发上,我可以拍裸男,我可以把画家骂得狗血淋头,我可以把模特儿丢进水里面,我可以叫一个女孩子在大街上表演割腕。这些东西,其实一直存在我的心底,一直是我的一部分,却因为我所习惯的社会价值,从来没有弹出头的机会

我曾经跟那些赶着25岁有份好工作,28岁嫁人,30岁生小孩的人没什么不同,我赶得要死以为这个世界只有一种可能性,却不知道自己到底在赶什么。幸好,因为我终于忘了自己是谁,所以我终于找到我自己

虽然花了一年的时间,但是站在大笨钟前的那一刻,我终于知道自己是谁,喜欢什么,想要什么,那种喜欢的感觉好踏实,一点也不自欺欺人

对于弹性应该是最大的年轻人来说,多吃一点苦,多经历一点从未经历过的,其实是一件很重要而且很美好的事情

我不知道未来等着我的会是什么,成功或者失败,我只知道,我充满期待

Back from Sumatra

Posted on Friday, 16 March 2012 by haan | 1 comments
Labels:

写完了“在路上”系列、分享了行程及消费,也是时候来一个感想篇了。

首先,所谓的“在路上”系列,并没有在回到家之前写完。最后两篇,算是随后补上的,因为在韦岛的时候,真的没有力写了。潜完水,洗澡、洗用具、洗头、吹头、吃饭、上网、看照片等,已经够累了。不想只为了交差而随便写,所以,还是选择回来后才补上。

星座说处女座的人喜欢有条理的东西,不喜欢惊喜,不懂呢,我又并非完全是这样。我还蛮喜欢计划之外的惊喜。对于突如其来的苏门答腊之行,我是抱着“一切会很好”的心态出发。原本以为是一人行的,怎知突然有个印尼沙发客说要和我一起。当友人知道这点时,曾问过我,如果那个是男的,你会不会也做同样的事?当时我回答,基本上对我来说,男或女不是一个问题,最主要是看合不合feel。从哪里找感觉呢?就是沙发客的个人介绍页、还有之后的网上沟通。这些就足以让我决定。

很多时候,用理智判断出来的东西,也未必准(对)到哪里去。所以,我还是喜欢跟着感觉走。就算感觉错,我相信自己还是有能力“拨乱反正”。


从论坛看了许多关于夏梦思岛(Samosir Island)的游记,没多大担忧,很简单而已。以我的旅游经验,可以说只是a piece of cake。加上还有一名印尼女生同行,我没有任何忧虑的理由。只是,没想到会发生车祸。紧张担心了几小时,庆幸后来一切都被解决了。这场意外,让我开始思考一些问题。比如说,若有天我在外独自旅行时遇到意外昏迷不醒,别人又联络不到我家人,那...会变成怎样呢?我就一直昏在那里直到十年后才开始追溯自己是谁(与电视剧桥段不相上下)?以后出去,可能真的要带一张卡在身上,说明在紧急情况下应该联络谁,还有那人的电话、伊妹儿等。在这之前,我从来不曾这样做。

在夏梦思岛的几天,天气从下雨到变晴,直至我离开那天才是最漂亮的。对长居夏梦思的人来说,那美景纯属普通(多幸福啊)。虽然在那里经历了我人生中的第二次电单车车祸,及首次有个满脸鲜血的人昏迷在我身旁,我并不希望自己对旅行或骑电单车会有恐惧感。若有,我想我的人生会变得很可悲。就如我常说的,到时间要走的时候,就算是留在家里不出门,还是逃不过那一劫。既然如此,为何我们要为自己设限?

这一路上,我遇到的人都很不错。我想,要遇到好人的先决条件就是:先不要把身边的人都想成是坏人。就好像我在等德士时,那些德士司机过来和我交谈(还要一面抽令身边人难受的烟),我都是礼貌地回答他们,并不会去想他们有什么企图。我这个人,不笑的时候看起来很凶很严肃;一旦笑,给人的感觉就完全不同。这不是我自己说的,是那么多年来很多人告诉我的。所以,我面对陌生人的必杀技,就是“笑”。让他们觉得我是一个单纯的人(那些常看我对客户说谎不眨眼的同事们看见这个形容词,肯定会觉得十分恶心)、让他们觉得要对我做什么不好的事真的是太违背自己的良心、让他们觉得就算我做了什么令他们不高兴的事(如拍他们的照)但我还是值得原谅的。

从夏梦思岛去到韦岛,当中是个漫长的路程,32个小时。首先,荷兰姐Tuula(其实她比我妈还年长一岁)送我去搭船,然后我就一个人了。在德士上、在巴士上,我都有交谈的对象,直到我去到了咖啡座,那里的侍应小弟也会来找我聊天。要寂寞也没机会,呵呵。等了几个小时,终于看到驾驶盘先生从远处走来。在异地看到熟悉的脸孔,那种感觉是喜悦的。侍应小弟看到驾驶盘先生的莅临,还和他握手问好。


放了行李在车厢、上了车,又认识了两个新朋友(Charles和KC)。之前我有问过驾驶盘先生这个韦岛游到底有多少人,他回答过我,但我没放在心上,想说可能还会有变(我的加入就是一个“变”的例子)。当时再问,才知道加上我共有八人。看到了另一辆车的四人时,才知道,原来我是唯一一个女生。不过,也没什么好担心的,因为相处下来,他们都对我很好。虽然有时不晓得那些赞美是真是假,但有人愿意花心思去骗我代表我还有价值,就算是假的我也会暂且把它当做是真的。enjoy当下最重要!

首晚的晚餐十分丰富,但这种食物就不太适合我了。我吃完了把碗碟收去厨房,顺便要求他们在未来几天给我煮些菜。那次过后,蔬菜类不只增加了,每餐都还有几种蔬菜供选择,真好!与此同时,他们也没有牺牲大伙儿的大鱼大肉(不然我就内疚了)。第一晚我和许多人都还在初相识的阶段,我就像以前在背包客栈遇到其他旅人一样,侃侃而谈自己的事儿,不像面对客户时那般三思过、计划过。有时,不要只去期待别人拿出真心来对你,我们为何不能先那样对别人?说着说着,我们就轻易地混熟了。我的牙尖嘴利、自嘲能力及婉转太极都耍得还可以。

这班男生都是70年代的,最年长的和我相差13年,最年轻的比我大4年。只是,我万万想不到,年纪已经不小的他们,依然还有顽皮、天真的一面,玩起来的时候够疯够颠。那四个喜欢打麻将的,虽在麻将台上彼此挑剔及调侃,但情谊依旧深厚。先说小老爷,他是我们当中最德高望重的,有一次我们出海到很迟都没回,他十分担心,我们回到之后他看到其中一人涂满火山泥的“僵尸脸”,还以为我们发生了什么事,那天他没与我们一起去火山泥那里,是他此行最大的遗憾;至于小模特,从某个角度看,他酷似草蜢一员的苏志威,十分爱摆姿势照相,打麻将的当儿不会忘了用手机浏览面子书、为你上载的照片按“赞”;小得意呢,可以说是六男当中我第一个也可说是最后一个认识的,他两年前用了要买新车的钱去旅行,今年则把屋子卖掉去旅行,不算社会上“正常”的人,但这种人通常与我很轻易便谈得来;最后是驾驶盘先生,就套小得意所说,他是一个很好的人(我十分赞同),外冷内热,只要能将冰山劈开就可以看到真正的他,但在他打麻将的一刻,我看到了他凶恶的一面 :)

其余的三个,阿明是重情深情的男人,他喜欢静静听海、赤脚走路、开怀大笑(有一次笑到蹲在那里),但谈起国家政治又变得十分正经八百、很有自己的想法;Charles是比较艺术型的,对摄影、美容、健康很有自己的一套,很有当行为艺术家的天分,他像是一个药箱,总在适当的时候给我们提供药品、防晒霜;KC呢,是属于文静型的,说话不会太大声,喜欢拿相机玩自拍并不断为我们拍照,是那种有求必应的人,听说他还是做蛋糕的高手。


在韦岛的最后第二晚,阿明说他的伤感已经开始,尤其是想到离开的时刻越来越近。最后一晚,他独自在树下听海,我原本想去打扰他,但收拾完行李我就累到上床睡觉了。离开那天,他依然还是赤着脚,说要在最后那段路再好好感受韦岛。回到来了,不晓得他是否还对自己与韦岛的亲密接触念念不忘、夜夜思念?

旅程末,小模特问我比较喜欢那一段时刻(夏梦思岛vs韦岛),其实,我觉得两个都不错,每一种旅游方式都有各自的好与不好,只在乎我们怎么看。只能说,这一次,一个人在路上的时间太短了,通常是在一个人的时候,才会去思考比较多的东西,然后许多答案渐渐变得清晰,因而更加认识自己。后面那段在韦岛的几天,人多、笑料多、快乐时光多,大家都乐在其中,最重要是没有血淋淋的场面(我怕)!

对了,这一个十天之旅,我总共跌了三次,可怜我的两个膝盖。第一次,是在夏梦思岛的电单车意外;第二次,是在韦岛住宿(房间里有个突然凸起来的地方,已经向有关方面反映);第三次,是在火山泥那里的石头。也因如此的“频频跌”,让Charles猜到了我的生肖。他说,这个生肖犯太岁啊,今年会发生很多这样的事。不管怎样,我已经跌惯了。就算不跌,也常会有不知名的淤青。接受得到就好~

我曾经问过自己,在这个时候有这样的一次旅程、发生了这些事、让我认识到这些人,是不是有啥特别的意义?我想是有的,但可能要在几年后,我才能够笃定地告诉你,它们如何影响了我往后的人生。

该明了的时候,就会知道,无需那么心急。

10-Day Sumatra Trip Expenses

Posted on Thursday, 15 March 2012 by haan | 0 comments
Labels:

As usual, I'm going to share with you the trip expenses of my 10-day Sumatra journey (2-11 March 2012), with the following itinerary. In short, there were only two main destinations - Samosir Island and Weh Island.

  • Day 1: Subang to Medan (flight); Medan to Ajibata (taxi); Ajibata to Tomok (boat); Tomok to Tuk Tuk (motorcycle).
  • Day 2: Around Parapat and Tuk Tuk.
  • Day 3: Round Samosir Island by motorcycle (Tuk Tuk, Ambarita, Simanindo, Pangaruan, Tele, Hot Spring, Tomok). Had a motor accident.
  • Day 4: Around Tuk Tuk, Ambarita, Tomok (on foot, by local bus, motorcycle).
  • Day 5: Left Samosir Island. Tuk Tuk to Parapat (boat); Parapat to Medan (taxi); Medan to Bandar Aceh Bus Terminal (bus).
  • Day 6: Bandar Aceh Bus Terminal to Simpang Lima (motorcycle); around Bandar Aceh (car); Bandar Aceh to Pulau Weh (fast ferry).
  • Day 7: Three dives at Pulau Weh.
  • Day 8: Visited KMZero in the morning. Two dives in the afternoon & evening. Enjoyed hot spring and volcanic mud.
  • Day 9: Three dives at Pulau Weh.
  • Day 10: Left Pulau Weh by fast ferry. Around Bandar Aceh and finally took flight back to Malaysia.

Exchange Rates:
IDR 10,000 = MYR 3.37

Total Expenses:

Breakdown of "Local Spending in Rupiah":

While I did my expenses estimation, not too much is needed for my Samosir Island part. No matter how, I still factored in >50% reserved amount, coz I used the unspent HKD from Feb's trip to get the IDR. The "unexpected expenses" refer to the amount spent for motorcycle repair and helmet replacement. Honestly, this round, I was very willing to pay for that coz I don't wish Mawar to have another burden. She is supposed to just worry about her face/injuries. For the things I'm able to settle, I don't mind taking charge.

This is the first time I do a backpack+diving trip. This is because for both, the things to carry along are quite different. Anyway, I've a very kind friend, Mr Steering who voluntary offer me to his help to carry my diving stuff. I'd like to sincerely thank him again :)

I hereby list out some prices for reference. Please be noted these prices are AS OF MARCH 2012:

  • Taxi between Medan-Parapat: 65K (Bagus Taxi, Paradep Taxi), 70K (Raja Taxi)
  • Boat between Ajibata-Tomok: 5K
  • Boat between TukTuk-Parapat: 7K
  • Accommodation at Christina Guesthouse (twin room without hot shower): 50K/night
  • Mineral Water 600ml: 2.5-3K
  • Mineral Water 1.5l: 4K
  • Motorcycle rental (comes with full tank petrol): 80K/day
  • Postcard: 5K/each
  • Postcard postage: 5K/each (flat rate for sending to all countries)
  • Local bus: 2K/journey
  • Entrance to Museum Simanindo: 10K
  • Ticket to Tele: 2K
  • Bus between Medan-Bdr Aceh: 200K (executive AC)
  • Airport tax at Bdr Aceh (international): 100K
Paradep Taxi is struck-through above coz it's NOT RECOMMENDED. I read before that they are not honest. Optimistically, I still gave it a try. However, they disappointed me! Bagus Taxi is just like their name, GOOD, aligned with what Juan (from Christina Guesthouse) told me. We should thank the competition between the 3 taxi companies. In the past, when one monopolized the market, the fare between Medan-Parapat was as high as 100K.

Click for bigger image
Lastly, would like to attach a transportation price sheet here, in case anyone is travelling to other nearby areas and wish to do budget estimation or trip planning. For the diving package offered by Pulau Weh Resort, you can click here to check the latest price.

On the Road, Sumatra - D10 (Last Day)

Posted on Wednesday, 14 March 2012 by haan | 0 comments
Labels:

11 March 2012

It's the day to leave Weh Island back to Malaysia. Though heavy-hearted, we had to face the fact. I set alarm to wake up at 0530 to complete my packing. I believe others would have done that the night before. But for us, divers, the gears were still wet. Prior to going to bed the night before, I brought our gears (done dripping) into the room. Few reasons to do this:

  1. afraid that there was rain in midnight, the gears would be dampened
  2. things dry faster in air-cond room
  3. worried that expensive stuff like regulator would be stolen (though chance was slim coz we were the only customers during that time)
Once done, I tried to get online from the room, while waiting for 6am. From Facebook, I was able to know who of my island mates were already woke up. Similar to me, they would start being active on the Internet :) Charles came knocking on our door, checking if we were already awakened. Mr Steering thereby awoke and I reminded him it's already 6am. Not too sure if they played mahjong till late the night before. I was too tired therefore I went to bed first.


As per the resort told us, the breakfast would be ready by 0600, and the pickup will be at 0630. However, the breakfast was served late. Without wasting time, I let others copied the photos I've collected the night before. Right after breakfast and getting our luggage from room, we left the Pulau Weh Resort which we had stayed for 4 nights. We took approximately another 1 hour to reach the jetty, inclusive of stopping by Gabang to fetch some other people.

We did not hang around the market there but went onto the fast ferry directly (too bad I couldn't buy a Pulau Weh t-shirt). On the ferry, I sat with Jimmy and Charles, listened to them talking about their travel stories. Comparing with them, the places I visited are still very few. At least when they both talked about Iran, I could not share my experience, coz I had not been there. Anyway, it's always a great pleasure to know more friends who share the same interests. You would feel that we have the same type of blood flowing in our body, and we can understand each other's thoughts easily. As opposed to the ferry going into Sabang (at the beginning of the trip when I was still not familiar with most of them), now I felt the 1 hour was too short, hehe.


Once arriving at the Ulee Lheue Ferry Port (kind of difficult to pronounce the name), Bandar Aceh, surprisingly I saw a familiar guy walking beside me. I looked at his face, took few seconds to realize he was the motorcyclist who sent me from Bandar Aceh Bus Terminal to Coffee Corner Simpang 5. The one whom I paid him extra coz of lack of small change. He thought of making another business from me, I guess. I showed him my group of friends and indicated that we already had cars fetching us to the airport. The place was full of people. Some kind of bicycle activity was going on. How come both of us could meet again? Unbelievable!

Anyway, if he didn't walk next to me and let me see his face, I'm sure I could not spot him!

Due to the fact that we still had time, we requested the drivers to drive us to somewhere we missed last time - Kapal PLTD Apung & Taman Edukasi Tsunami. They charged us extra 100K Rupiah for 2 cars. We paid for that anyway. Nevertheless, the Kapal was not available for visit at the moment. We just strolled around the garden while drizzle started.

Next, we headed to the Sultan Iskandar Muda international airport. The exterior look of the airport resembles a mosque. After settling the check-in, KC and I walked out to take a photo of this special airport, whilst the others bought some fruits from the sellers doing business nearby. We found a cafe to take lunch before boarding. The small shop did not offer much selection. Finally, we ate all the Korean instant noodles the guys brought all way from Malaysia to the Weh Island, but then the same were brought out of the island again. It would be kinda funny if they reach back their original destination (Malaysia) again. So, we finished all of them at the airport.


The flight from Bandar Aceh to KL took about 1.5 hour. Once getting to my seat, I already couldn't stop myself from sleeping, though my original plan was to read a book. This round, I found something not so right about my ears. I prayed hard in mind that the ears won't suffer from any pain. Till we touched down, I became less worried. I checked with Mr Steering if he had same problem, seemed like same thing happened to him. Checked further with Charles, same as well. Not too sure of the reason. Perhaps we didn't rest enough before taking the flight. Anyway, we had 18 hours rest before flying.

As far as I know, there is no problem with going scuba diving straight after flying. This is because when you descend in a plane and then in the water, you are "on-gassing" and your body is absorbing nitrogen. This is not unsafe. The problem comes with flying after diving. This is where you are "off-gassing" and letting the nitrogen leave your body. You need to allow sufficient time for the nitrogen to completely disperse before flying so as to not give the risk of decompression illness. With relation to the time in this instance, it depends on the dive you are doing. I would recommend using a dive computer if you are doing deep and/or multiple dives. However, I would recommend a "safe" limit of at least 24 hours. Each dive training body will have their own advice on a "safe" time limit.

Source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_do_you_have_to_wait_to_scuba_dive_after_flying

Gosh, I couldn't even 100% hear what I said to people. I wanted to go home soon. After waving bye to others at the airport, this trip ended amicably.

On the Road, Sumatra - D9

Posted on Monday, 12 March 2012 by haan | 0 comments
Labels:

10 March 2012

Today is the last day of diving at Weh Island. We woke up early to start the day. At about 8am++, we headed out to the sea. Only 3 divers. The rest were going to the dive center next door for Discover Scuba (coz cheaper there).

The first dive took place at somewhere near the ZERO KM. Beforehand, I told Mr Steering that I may descend a little slower, coz I did not feel too well with my ears. That time, I was coughing a little as well. As usual, after gearing up, we made a giant leap into the sea. This round, once I had done that, my first feeling was FREEZING. I couldn't help but told Mr Steering that "it's so cold". Once he did the same, he said the same thing.


For the dive, at the beginning, things were clear (good visibility). Over time, I felt much harder to continue diving. It could be due to my nose problem. Therefore, while the current got stronger, I just let it bring me to whatever it wanted. I didn't insist to follow the group to continue... Once getting onto the boat, I kept sneezing, coughing and felt a little dizzy. During the surface interval, I slept there to rest. I had really underestimated the sea temperature.

Before doing our second dive, since the dive site was not too far from the resort, the instructor asked the boatman and DM to get some hoods for us. Apart from the 3mm wetsuit, we wore another 1.5mm layer inside, with something to cover our head. According to the instructor, it's important to cover our head, especially the back of the ears, under such condition. That was my first time wearing a hood. My mates said I look like Malay~~ *sad but I already used to it*


I felt much better with the 2nd dive of the day. However, I still didn't force myself too much. When I felt too tired fighting the current and I had not much air left, I also ascended first. After that, we went back to resort for lunch.

After lunch, seems like everybody lazed around, took nap etc... just feeling lazy to move. Finally, at about 3:30pm, I was able to get everyone to move their ass. Instructor asked whether we were interested to see macros or big stuff. Charles mentioned big stuff but I answer macros. Finally, we were brought to Gabang, a site for lots of macros :)

We didn't dive too deep. This round, with the guidance of instructor (not the young DM), this dive could be said as the most fruitful. We dived for a total of 95 minutes. Saw a lot of interesting items, shot a lot of photos of them. For this last dive, Mr Steering and I hold the camera (belongs to him) interchangeably. Once he asked me to go shoot, but I felt a little pain with my ears (and not able to equalize), I just passed back the camera to him. I actually like shooting, but not able to afford an underwater camera and its casing. I truly appreciate him for giving chance for me to try. Before that, I tried Underwater and Auto modes, but not too satisfied with the results. Therefore this round, I tried using P mode, set the white balance to Cloudy, with ISO 125. Dare not say this is the best setting, but when processing the photos, felt like this can most achieve what I want.


We were pretty excited when finishing the enjoyable last dive. Before leaving the sea, we took photos again, together with Charles' Spiderman toy. I felt so ashamed that I kept mentioning that is a Batman :( After taking a shot of Charles and Mr Steering together, I forgot that the camera was not actually tightly attached to my wrist. Till Mr Steering reminded me, only I realized. Really sorry.. otherwise, the camera might have floated away and we had to chase it back.

We thought we would have time to go to the volcanic mud site again, but the boat headed back to resort directly. It's okay, we just called it a day. That night, I was busy copying photos, writing dive logs, packing luggage etc. Next day, the cars will reach resort at 0630 to pick us to take ferry. I admired the guys who could still playing mahjong. A guy who was so heavy-hearted to leave the island, spent his time near the sea to listen to the sea. Before the day, he already started to feel sad due to the fact that he's leaving the island soon.

Followers

Comments

Recent Comments Widget by Blogger Widgets