Sunburn, heatstroke, dehydration...

... but thoroughly enjoyable!

Back on Monday night from our boat trip on the Kaleebso. Took us almost 5 hours to get home from Hutan Melintang, Perak (somewhere near Teluk Intan) because of a bad jam. Madness.

Spent yesterday in bed because the whole room was swaying and my whole body just ached. It was like as if I'd done a 3 hour workout with my personal trainer.

And the cause of my misery? 4 dives that I managed to clock in over the weekend.

In my previous post, I initially had reservations about diving during this trip since I hadnt done it in years and I didn't think that the waters of West Coast Malaysia would be worth seeing. After all, it is much murkier than the East Coast so visibility would have been naught.

But I was proven wrong. Within minutes of arriving at Pulau Sembilan (translated as Nine Island - because there are nine islands in this little archipelago), we changed into our swimwear and jumped straight into the water.

The water was so warm and inviting in the evening sun (we arrived at the islands after 3 hours on the boat). The colour of the water was really, really amazing - clear emerald green. I've never seen anything like it. The waters off the East Coast are usually blue, never green.

Through our snorkles, we could see large schools of fish swimming below. Unable to resist, we got back into the boat, scrambled to sort out our diving gear and the 4 divers and 1 instructor jumped back in for our first dive.

Sadly, we only last 15 mins before I had problems with my Octopus - I had trouble breathing through it and so I panicked and had to surface. That's what you get for not diving in 3 years. Also, the sun was starting to set so there was barely time left for another dive. (unless one wanted a night dive but I still have a fear of night diving).

The next morning, I was up early and went for my first dive with Uncle Loh the captain and Joey his niece who was also the dive instructor on board. Managed to clock in 2 more dives that day and even got Rommel to go on a Discovery Scuba dive. He didnt seem too keen on it at first but I hope he enjoyed it.. Our last dive was on Monday morning just before heading back to the mainland.

So, for someone was unfit as I am, my body did not expect all that stress. My lungs now ache slightly when I take deep breaths, my shoulders ache and of course my legs have no energy. My head is perpetually spinning.

But would I do it again? Without a doubt, yes. I've been bitten by the diving bug again. Now it's time to plan my next trip. Anyone interested?

P/S: Pictures of the lovely scenery and yummy food to come. I just couldn't stare at the computer or the tv yesterday. Like I said, everything was spinning. Also, not much knitting done over the weekend since I was too tired by the end of the day.

And guess what Shen..... I'm darker than Fatteh!!! Imagine that! After all these years, this is the first time I've got a tan! SUCCESS. And the secret... I didnt put any sunscreen because there wasn't much sun and so I literally slowly baked in the low heat sun. (sounds like I was baking myself in an oven). Fatteh's almost the same colouring as Ma btw. I told him he better get a tan soon or he'll look too sissyfied.