September 2016

The last time I dive was back in May, before fasting month. I wanted to dive at least twice a year or once every six months since it will keep my skills in check. I have always heard rave review on Tenggol Island as a diver's paradise. Particularly because it hosts the ever beautiful whale shark from August to October.

Since I am going with the parents, I decided to have a dive day trip instead of overnighting at the island. The island is small, unlike the famous Redang or Perhentian. My parents will be bored, stuck on the island for 3 days if we choose to overnight there. I searched and came across TenggolScuba101. A mouthful indeed.

They are the only dive centre that offers day trip from the Dungeon jetty. A day trip will consists of 3 dives and lunch at the island. I contacted them and set a date somewhere in August. They also have their own guesthouse at the jetty - so convenient. The cost:

RM480 per person for day dive trip: 3 dives and lunch
RM150 per night for the accommodation at the guesthouse

I must say the price seems a bit high compared to other places, but TS101 had their own catamaran, dive shop, guesthouse. A week before my trip, the management call saying they had to cancel the trip because there is a malfunction on their boat. I was disappointed, but I chose a September date instead. We made amendments to move my reservation to another date.

We push off from our house in KL and arrived at Dungun around 7 pm and went straight to the TS101 HQ located at the Dungun jetty. Arriving, we checked in and the receptionist said he could not find my reservation. He found my name on the list but there is no room left. Gosh, it was getting late and he made dozens of phone call to rectify the room situation. He suggested that we stayed at a nearby homestead since our room was occupied. I was tired and I don't want to argue.

We went to the nearby homestead by the beach. Arriving there, we settled for a room. It appears that the homestead owner and the dive shop admin did not speak on the terms. Everything was misalign, and we had to sort it out ourselves. We went to bed and I hope that the dive would be better.

After having breakfast at the dive centre, we had briefing. Wow, the crowd. There is this own private diving club organising dive trips. It seems I am few of the divers who did not belong to any club. There are 24 divers I guess. We head off to the island and for first timer, they took us to a shallow depth dive called Turtle Point. This was a check dive session. We saw 2 huge turtles swimming next to us, there is not mush coral and the visibility gets really poor towards the end.
Drift Diving

Turtle in Turtle Point

Our second site dive is called Tokong Timur. This was one of the spot to see whale shark. The visibility was perfect. It was crystal clear and there were plenty of marine life! This was my favourite dive site. The species in Tenggol is very diverse and the corals looks super healthy. Saw some nudis, sting rays, box fish and yellowtail.
Horace, my supporting dive buddy from USA

Blue Spot Sting Ray

Parrot fish

Yellowtails

Tokong Timur is surrounded by an island with a lighthouse. The current is strong here, so we did a drift dive towards the end of the dive. I can say, this current is really strong. I was moving so fast. This is the first time I enjoy drift dive after the incidental one I had in Redang last year. We we hopeful, but unfortunately there is no whale shark here.

I had severe sea sickness after the 2nd dive. After having lunch and chilling out, we headed off to the third site called Rajawali - another famous spot for whale shark. There was strong surface surge and the water was super cold. I wear a rash guard which is sufficient all these time and I started to shiver at the end of the dive. The visibility was okay, but there were not many fishes as in Tokong Timur, and no whale shark sightings. I surface up, thank god my dive guide was very attentive, sit in the boat trying to make the nausea go away. I slept all the way back to the jetty.
3 out of 6 cameras blocking my way


Yellowtail school

Busy day in Tokong Timur

I would dive again in Tenggol because it is beautiful and undisturbed. It has plenty to offer. However, I will stay in the resort and take the resort dive guide next time. TS101 was great - the owner and even my dive master was superb. For a diver or two, the crowd might be overwhelming. The dive club has 16 people and they just do whatever they want - they don't care who is the guide since they are good enough to dive without one (some of them are master diver). Well, not good for us, the private divers who need our guide because safety is important to me.

With 24 people aboard, there is lack of space underwater (funny right?). I got finned in my face 3 times. People are hogging over every single sea creature with their advanced cameras and did not give a chance to other divers to see it. I just don't like it. Maybe, this type of outing is not for me. I believe diving should be calm, exciting activity and never, ever I hogged a nudi or a turtle to get my shot and block other diver. The beauty of underwater world should be shared among all, not taken away for and instaworthy shot for your followers.

Aside from that, yeah Tenggol is beautiful. If you are a diver, please consider going here. The amount of marine life you see here is astonishing.
Girls Trip to Redang
May 2016

Well, this year, we are going to Wisana Village in Redang. A boutique, lavish and secluded piece of heaven. Wisana is not a big resort, it has few rooms that would accommodate 30 people in one time. They provided several packages and accomodation type.

We took the all inclusive package costs around RM570 per pax. It includes:
- 2 nights Accommodation in Superior Chalet (2 Queen Beds)
- Return boat ride to Merang Jetty
- Full board meals
- 3 snorkeling trips
- 1 hiking trip

We drove from KL to Kerteh and spend the night at CB's place. Initially we would want to take the 10 am boat but due to CB and D did not bring their sea sick pills, we postpone to the 1pm boat instead. The management staff was very understanding and very accommodating right from the first email, which is a bonus.

After having breakfast, we head of to Merang which takes 1.5 hour drive from Kerteh. Stopped by Burger King to buy light lunch. There is a new jetty in Merang where all the boat operator to Redang and Lang Tengah operates. The parking free was around RM20 for 2 nights. We boarded the same boat with a Singaporean family who is staying at the upscale Taaras Beach Resort.
Blue waters

The chalet
How you can say No to this?

Wisana is located at a protected bay of Redang. We stayed in Laguna last year and we found out that there is no access by foot to the Long Beach. From the boat, Wisana was very glorious, with it's clear blue water and zero crowd. Almost like a deserted island fantasy you have in mind.

Our room was more than enough. We had 2 queen beds, a/c and fan as well as the amenities. It was clean, comfortable and everyone in this resort has a beach view for no extra fee. The snorkelling trip was fun. They actually bring us to a private island called Pasir Mak Kepit. There was no one here except us and there were a lot of fish! We also get to explore a cave near by. The boat man was vigilant to avoid the crowds. Not once, we were in a crowded places. The last snorkelling spot was not the best, as there was strong current at the Pulau Ekor Tebu. Redang has the best snorkelling spots. Unfortunately we did not go to the Marine Park or the Long Beach. We did however, see the Laguna boats drift by our side.
Snorkeling trip

The cave

Look at the corals!

Fish

Myself and M decided to hike up the hill behind the resort. Well, review said it was easy climb for beginners. NO, IT IS NOT. Don't judge based on what you heard people. The entire journey was inclined, so if you have not hike before, do not do this. The jungle trekking took 30 minutes to the top. Well, I am not a climber and I struggled a bit. It was very slippery, so bring proper shoes and even hiking stick if you need to and WATER. There were a lot of leaves that made it very slippery. M almost slip on the way down and I hiked down looking like a crab. But the view.. Ooh, the magnificent million dollar view was worthwhile. You can see the whole Redang Island and it's neighbouring islands. So, beautiful.
The boulder next to the resort

Here's WHY YOU SHOULD STAY AT WISANA:

1. The privacy. A perfect place to unwind. I feel very relaxed and for the first time, it felt like a real vacation. Where you just do nothing and be amazed by the view. Not crowded, very quiet at night. It has a private island feel to it. We brought UNO card to kill our time.

2. The amazing view. Come on, where else can you have a patio where you can just stare and lost between the blue waters and the sound of waves with no interruptions?

3. The staff. Yes, they made you feel like family here. The staff are very friendly and they love to make jokes. They will accommodate everything to make your stay comfortable. The staff gave us a whole coconut from the coconut tree in front of the chalets.

4. The food. There is nothing better than a homemade food. Since the guest are in small groups, the food is really good. They serve local food with fresh seafood with a burst of flavour. Until today, I missed the Fried Kueh Teow I had in Wisana.

5. The beach. It has boulders where you can climb and the beach has gentle baby waves perfect for swimming. In the morning, you can actually spot a turtle who's a regular visitor of the beach. I can easily fool anyone by saying I'm in Maldives. 

7. Stargazing. Yes, because of less artificial light, you can clearly see the stars while sitting on the beach or lying down in the hammock.

8. Quick Getaway. A perfect weekend trip from the hassle of KL city. It does not costs a fortune to get a million dollar worth of vacation.

To Wisana team, thank you for making our stay memorable and I fell in love with Wisana the moment I stepped my foot on it's white sandy beach. I will definitely come again.



No. of Dives: 4
Dive Center: Turtle Bay Divers, Perhentian Kecil.
Accommodation: The Barat Perhentian, Perhentian Besar
Date: End of April 2016

This would be my first dive trip of 2016. Well, coming home from US, makes me longing to be underwater again. As usual, my parents are tagging along for my dive trip. And, because of that, I had to choose a suitable and decent accommodation in Perhentian. 

I choose The Barat for good reviews and it's location on the quieter area of Perhentian Besar. We booked the Garden Family Room, costing RM280 per night. This room has 24 hr electricity, with fan, A/C, hot shower, small fridge, safe deposit box and hair dryer. The room has a Queen bed with a bunk bed (4 adults). Boat ride costs RM 60 per pax for return journey.

Well, there was a lot of huge mosquitoes on the island, so we come prepared. We bought some mosquito repellant incense. The beach right in front of the resort was not suitable for swimming. Go to right side, where the Coral Bay was located. It was much nicer to snorkel and swim here. There were plenty restaurants next to The Barat. We ate at the in house restaurant as well as went to Mama's Restaurant next door. 

Turtle Bay Divers (TBD) were located nest to Panorama and both dive centre are the best in Perhentian. Bridget from TBD arranged my transport to and from the Big island for free. The dive shop is big, pretty crowded during surface intervals. The staff are friendly and very helpful. The dive group were small, consists of 4 divers max (pretty much common in Panorama too) with an alternating dive schedule. The price was the same as any dive shop on the island, but they charged extra for T3 and Tokong Laut.

I dived with Pascale, Daniel and Manu over the 2 days and met new friends. The equipment was well maintained and the boat was okay. As usual, if you're diving in Perhentian, please work out for your upper body strength to climb the boat after the dive. No ladder available, people. Well, let see where I dived this time:

D'Lagoon - last time I was here, this was my favourite dive spot due to it's amazing visibility. It does not disappoint this time too. Visibility was around 8 meters, I dived for 50 minutes with max depth of 11.9 meters. Spotted 2 huge Jenkin's Whip ray (It was so early on the dive, by the time I turn on my camera, they disappear to under the rocks). Saw small rays, blacktop reef shark, barracudas, batfish and of course a lot of corals.

Something weird

Anemone Fish


Tokong Laut - dream spot of everyone. The English translation is Temple of The Sea. It was famous for it's diverse marine life and amazing coral garden. Turns out to be the worst dive in my diving experience due to very very strong current and bad visibility. The visibility was around 4 metres and we lasted less than 30 minutes underwater at 18 meters depth. I managed to spot ray, treavlly and yellow tail. The vis gets worse at the end of the dive. So, I might repeat this next year since I'm not happy with this one.

Vis was bad. too bad it's a pretty site

T3 or Terumbu Tiga (maybe T2 as well)  - famous due to huge boulders laying on top of each other that creates a cave like dive to diver. Saw Flabellina nudi, Joruna nudi, glass shrimp, some reef fish. Nudi's are a lot here especially in the critters. Depth was 12.5 meters with 47 minutes dive time.

Nudibrancs

Goby Fish


Shark Point - Ironically I saw no sharks at all. LOL. Saw Hawkbill turtles, parrot fish. The visibility was poor also for this dive. The surface surge was bad, that I actually feel seasick while waiting on diver to climb the boat.



Overall, I will dive with TBD again. They are fun and very informative divers. We actually took the time to go over each other skills and how to improve them. If you have any concerns, they will help you to work on your skill - buoyancy, finning etc. For me, my problem recently was that I float during my 3 meter safety stop. I realised, I forgot to deflate once my air reached 80 bar. The resort was pleasant and I would stay here again for sure. See you next time, Perhentian!




What are manatees? It is a mammal that looks like a seal, except it lives in the river. Florida has a lot of Manatee Reservation and the closest one to Orlando is the Blue Spring State Park, Orange City. It took about 1 hour drive from Orlando. I got in touch with hannahonearth on her trip to see the manatees while she's in FL. She went to a larger spring called Crytal Lake. Too bad for me, Crystal Lake was further away from Orlando and my flight was at noon.

After checking out, this time I properly downloaded my offline map and off I go to the Blue Spring. The entrance fee was $6 and the park opens at 8am - perfect for my short time in Orlando. I dreamt of maybe do some canoeing or paddle boarding but the rental centre does not open until 10 am. At the park ranger's booth the manatee count was 6 (pretty low) due to colder water temperature. 


There is a trail called the Blue Pool trail, where you can walk on the board walk and see couple of pools in the park. I expected clear pools that you can see the bottom just like hannahoneath's pictures and I did not get disappointed. It was amazing that the river was crystal clear! I can see the bottom and all the fishes inside the river. And, I manage to spot 2 manatees swimming and floating in the middle of the lake.
Couple of manatees (squint your eyes a bit)
The park actually open for swimming and water sports, but the activity ceased during manatee season. I saw a couple owning a boat actually get closed and personal with the manatees. Ahh, how I wish I have an inflatable pocket kayak in my bag. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience and the river was very beautiful. We always thought US waters are polluted but not in Orlando. they keep it very clean and beautiful. I don't see any blue river like this in Malaysia - the only ones I saw was when I visited Interlaken, Switzerland. 
I can spot what type of fish in the river. It was so clear!

A mansion in the park

"Too Friendly" Squirrel. I thought I'm being stalked.

I spend 1.5 hours at the park (I wish I spent more) and I drove straight to the airport to return the car rental and board the flight to Houston. I initially wanted to go to the beaches but considering it is Spring Break, I don't think I managed to handle the massive crowds. I had to passed on the Cape Canevral Space Centre too. The security line in Orlando was worst. Thankfully they open two sections to speed up the process. The flight was okay except when the plane was about to land. it was so scary since we're landing cross-wind. The plane shook and sway very hard that a kid besides me started to cry. I was terrified but thankfully, the pilot land it smoothly.

Overall, I am very happy on how my solo trip turns out. I get to go to every places I planned to despite of several short comings. Who knows, I might come back to visit Orlando next time?


After the harrowing journey to get here, I managed to find the Main Gate to the parking complex. I salute the USO management in handling massive crowds. The parking complex was huge and has multiple travelators. Parking fee was compulsory and the charged $20. Unless you stayed at a hotel the night before, you have to park here. I bought my tickets from the website and trust me, it was so expensive. It costs $156 for the entrance. I nearly cried while paying but considering this is my ultimate dream since I was a big Potterhead, I concede and pay.

There was a huge line at the parking entrance. I spent 20 minutes going through the counter. The parking lot was assigned to each character and I got the SpiderMan zone. Entering the park, they have employed security with X-ray scanner and metal detector. Just like other Universal, they have different Worlds and my eye was fixed on ONE - Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Diagon Alley/King's Cross. Getting through to WWHP, I passed through the whimsical and colourful World of Dr Seuss obviously for kids. Amazingly, the queue time was not bad at all! I don't have to buy the Express Pass like I did for USS.
Florida beaches

Whimsical World of Dr Seuss

I entered the gateway and there it was, the magnificent Hogwart's Castle. Walked through Hogsmeade and saw the Hogwart's Express station. Yes, there is only ONE Hogwart's Express ride and it is in Orlando. They don't have it in Japan. Being in Hogsmeade was so magical that is brings the memories of reading and imagining the famous JK Rowling fantasy that was a huge part of my childhood. I scream internally when I saw the Three Broomstick, the Ollivander shop. It was so magical and moving.
Hogsmeade

Hogwarts Express

Dragon Challenge Coaster

I chose two ride both Dragon Challenge roller coaster which consist of the Hungarian Horntail and the Chinese Fireball track. There was a locker, free for 1 hour and it was packed with people. I managed to squeeze and keep my bags. Well, the beauty of a Single Rider is that you get on the ride quickly. I waited for 20 minutes for each coaster. It reminds me of the Battlestar Galactica in USS. The ride was fierce and I think the Chinese Fireball was the fastest. Then, I went to the next ride which was the famous Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey. 1 hour queues.
Butter Beer. yes, it's non-alcoholic.


The luncheon at Three Broomsticks
We enter the Hogwart's Castle where the magic come to live. Literally. The paintings move, talk and there's magical spell and you can spot Dumbledore in the Castle. It was amazing! Just like I'm in Hogwarts! They even got the Madam Pomfrey's garden right to the detail. I mean, the details is just amazing! The ride? Well, I got stuck in the middle. Fair to say, I hate the ride. I got severe motion sickness that I actually closed my eyes the entire time. I had a Butter Beer and lunch in the Three Broomstick, just like Harry did!

I then went to ride the Hogwarts Express back to King's Cross. There was a very long queue since it was almost 7 pm. You will be seated with 5 other occupants and you can see experience the train ride as if the characters' are right outside your coach door. It is a real train you guys.

My last ride in WWHP would be the Escape From Gringotts ride in Dragon Alley. I got lost trying to find Diagon Alley. It was located behind the set of brick gates somewhere in King's Cross. This was the BEST ride among them all. Located well, in Gringotts, complete with a fire breathing dragon on top of the bank.

The fire breathing dragon on top of Gringott's

I attend a couple of shows including the Choir, the Ollivander shop, some singing in Dragon Alley. Also bought some souvenirs from both WWHP and Dragon Alley. The Weasley shop was colourfully decorated and magical - not interested in tasting the Puking Pastiles though.
King's Cross

London's Bus
At night, USO has a Mardi Gras parade along with a free The Script Concert. I was running out of time and do not want to spend too long there at night, alone. The last ride I took was the Hollywood Ripe Ride Rock It coaster. It was super fast and the thrill of being vertically carried to the peak was awesome. My song choice for this one was Kanye West's Stronger. I rode with a hype college dude who was very excited for the ride. LOL.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

My room at Best Western Orlando Convention Centre

After buying souvenir, I walked to the parking complex. The USO complex seems alive since they have a mall with cinemas and restaurants. I was greeted by a Muslim family on my way back and it seems they were very happy to see me. I am off to my hotel which was Best Western Orlando Convention Centre. It was cheap, located about 7 minutes drive from USO. The room was spacious and clean. They even let me use the printer and PC for free. For me, this was probably the best hotel since it was away from the crowd (I went there during Spring Break), very family friendly and cheap. On to next post where I meet Manatees!


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