Just came back from a weekend of underwater adventure. It is almost an annual pilgrimage to the underwater realm since my last dive was last in April 06 in Thailand. I was fortunate to be invited for this trip by David and gang, otherwise I would not have found the time or energy to plan a trip for myself.
It has been an interval of 8 years since last dived at the Aur region. The last time was in 1999 when I did my Open water certification. That trip, we stayed on Pulau Dayang, just a channel width away.
So our merry gang of 5: Myself, David, Teck Hwee, Kian Tak and Ruifang assembled at The Riverwalk Building on 30 March at 1900 hrs. The dive company this occasion was Friendly Waters Seasports. It was a PADI certified dive centre. There were a few groups gathered that night, some recreational while others were on a rescue diver course.
After some brief administrative details, we were on our way north once again. We arrived at the jetty at Tanjong Leman at about 2330 hrs. We boarded the Samudera Quest for the painfully slow ride to Aur. Arrival at Divers’ Lodge was at 0430 hrs. The boat moored at a floating platform that doubled up at a charging station and a sampan ferry service was required to get to Lodge.
Accomodation was comfortable with Teck Hwee, David and I sharing a room. There was a double decker bed which proved adequate for the three of us. The condition of the room was clean but bare. Small gaps in the wooden floorboard enabled us to see through below. Tak and Ruifang took the adjacent room. Each chalet had 2 rooms and the chalets were scattered on the face of the slope that rose steeply from the water’s edge. Wooden paths and staircases connected the different chalets from the dining area and dive centre.
In all, we had a total of 5 dives. 3 on 31st and 2 on 1st April morning. On the first day, the weather took a turn for the worse during the surface interval after the 3rd dive. Being lazy and not wanting to brave the cold and wetness, we opted to skip the night dive in exchange for a nice warm bath and clean dry clothes. The next morning’s dawn dive was at the unearthly hour of 0700 hrs. The skies too opened after the morning dive and the 2nd dive of the day started off with a whole boat of half clothed divers, huddling and shivering on the boat enroute to the dive site.
Overall, the food was good with a BBQ dinner on the first night. It was a pity the rain came and dampened the festive mood and all of us had to rush to get our food out of the wet rain. Food and drink was always available between dives and always much appreciated, especially the piping hot maggi noodles on day 1.
The difference between this and the other trips I’ve been on? I got myself an underwater housing for the digital camera and therefore, you will be able to at least share in the view of the world underwater.
See here for dive photos.
In all, a satisfying and good trip. as discussed, a dive every 4-6 months will be a good interval for us who are not fanatics, but still wish to keep in touch with a sport that opens a whole new world to us. Till the next dive!
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