2020 is the year for Tenggol Island

First off.. forgive me if this post is going to be boring or not interesting enough. I haven't written anything since like forever. I tried to come up with something elegant or like that used to be special someone said, magazine worthy write up about my Tenggol trips in 2020. But it won't be me. I usually write something from the heart, and my heart I've left it with the whale sharks in Tenggol. 

Before 2019, I've never done Tenggol. I started diving in 2004, and it's amazing how I managed to avoid diving in strong current for 15 years. I think it was my 8th dive ever or something, I was diving in the Similan waters and I was pushed by strong upward current. My DM managed to pull me back after I was screaming my lungs out. Scared shit out of me, and I avoided really strong current at all cost. I've been to Aceh. I was duped into thinking that special someone would rescue me. Turned out he had students. 😒 Anyway somehow I wasn't affected by current that much underwater. Anyway, last year, Farah succeeded in persuading me to try Tenggol for the first time. I just recovered from Bronchitis, and I was panting after each dive as if I ran a marathon every time I dived. Luckily we were only diving for a day. 😓 Needless to say Macha was horrified to know that I went diving that soon. Tenggol of all places. Well.. ignorance is bliss, until something really bad happens la kan? Alhamdulillah, nothing bad happened. We came home safe. 

Then 2020 came. COVID-19 affected everyone. We were placed in MCO (Movement Control Order) beginning 18th March 2020. A lot happened during the 3 months plus we were quarantined within the safety of our homes, I had to cancel a dive trip to Tenggol planned on the 21st March. Luckily for us, AfroScuba Tenggol returned our money. As soon as the MCO was laxed, we squeezed ourselves out of KL and went to Dungun. I finally went diving again on Friday, 3rd July 2020. And the current was a bitch. 

But the water was beautiful. It was the bluest blue. The corals were healthy. The fish was in abundance. I admit the water was cold. My body was sore after I came back. We did 2 whole days and I could not get enough of it. I had to go back, and I did. Like two weeks later. Afroscuba advertised that they had 1 spot left on Sunday 19th July. Didn't take much to convince me that I should go. That weekend was special because I saw my first whale shark in Tenggol. The ever elusive whale sharks that managed to hide themselves every time we were there. I finally saw one. That weekend was also special because it was that day in 2019, I first met Chad and Acap during our trip to Bali with Apat. And I never remember these things. Not even my exes birthdays. That weekend just felt special. Plus we got a whale shark photo for Apat's birthday! We all sent him a birthday wish using Acap's whale shark photo. You gotta love us. 

Since that weekend, I've been going back. With different people of course. I finally mustered up the courage to drive all the way to Dungun on my own on several weekends. Got myself a ride as promised by Acap last year. I think he is regretting it now hahaha. I talk non-stop. I amaze myself sometimes really. Maybe that's my superpowers. I can really talk when I feel like it. According to Chad, I'm one of his customers that top the charts in terms of the number of dives completed with AfroScuba Tenggol. Wow.. Shouldn't I get an award or something? Come to think of it, I went diving on five different trips from July til September 2020. I was supposed to go again end of September but the government decided that we should be quarantined again right before I was supposed to go on my last trip of the year. What made really sad was I was supposed to go to Redang before the quarantine started, but the resort cancelled our trip. I'm so banning them. 😒 Anyway, I am so going back. Chad, if you're reading this, (I'm sure you won't) I'm booking the first weekend you're opened next year. I only dived with Afroscuba Tenggol in 2020 for many reasons. I think they have the coolest and the best crew ever. I'm pretty sure they grew tired seeing me every month, but I still love you guys. And I have to thank Chad, Pian, Kamil, Amin, and of course Jimi for taking good care of me while diving Tenggol with you guys. Of course I have to thank everyone who have been diving Tenggol with me throughout 2020 - Farah, Nisa, Zack, Acap, Fazlee, Sha, Zeti, Mardhiah, Fara, Amira, Mirs, Elmy, Mynt, Pawi, Fawwaz, Amry, Carress, Taqi, Ijurq, ET and Thing. You guys really made my trips.. should I say, memorable? 

Also saw a mobula ray.. actually saw a school of them.. graceful and very fast! 

The crew, Kamil and Jimi

It's always like this. My first whale shark, I didn't have batteries in the camera, my second whale shark, I set my camera on super micro, and my third whale shark, I forgot to turn off the strobe. Hmm... 

She went right above me. 

I told Harris, next time kejar whale shark.. bukan flounder

The batfish were acting all weird that day. 

The exact depth we saw the whale shark. She was at 15 meter

Gambar wajib lepas tengok whale shark secara berjemaah

💓💓💓

The beautiful creature

We were elated. We saw our whale shark

I think Chad was exhausted. All that traveling and diving was the cause. They fixed it by having a better schedule  and hiring an extra DM

Penat ye banggg

He saw his first whale shark 

The weekend we saw whale shark

Jimi yang sengal. I'm a happy camper

My favorite model. Semua gambar dia lawa... jealous

The day I because Jimi's helper. 

The cute sea slugs we kept seeing in Tenggol this year. 

Zack and Kamil. Before Kamil found out Zack makan angin 😋

First trip photo. 

Happiest girl alive

Dinner with the crew and Zeti. Jimi masak

This group is awesome. The only "big" group for me. Lol

With Elmy, Mirs and Kamil..

Yeah well.. that night was a bit hazy.. ermm... 

Ayie belanja us roti tempayan. Langkah kanan? 

We bumped into one another in Dungun.. 😁

Boo took good care of his baby lol

✌

Ijurq and her girlfriends went diving in Tenggol.. I was just there. So we hung out. They were such darlings. I was too tired to go out for dinner, and they came and picked me up to go for a night cap. Thanks girls for letting me crash in like that.. 💜

More photos can be found on my IG. You can also find them using the hashtag #gebudiveswithafro. 

For more info on diving Tenggol with AfroScuba Tenggol, you can visit them on Instagram @afroscuba.tenggol or you can call them at +6012 355 4695 (Chad). Trust me, you won't be disappointed. 

[#3] UW Photography: Taking Photos (White Balance)

Water absorbs colors as light ray travels through water, and the color Red is the first color to be absorbed; followed by Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.

As you go deep, you will find that, without using your flash, your photos will be blue. The corals will be blue; the fish will be blue; the nudibranch will be blue; the subjects will all be blue. If you use flash, colors will appear. However, you'd notice back scatter; the light starts hitting small particles that exist between your source of light and the subject and the light that bounces back create back scatter effects. This is especially true if your subject is more than 1 meter away from your camera.

So how do you tackle this problem?

One way is to adjust the white balance of the camera, which actually will help the camera to identify the color temperature. When underwater, the colors are cooler, so they are more blueish than when on land. We can adjust the white balance by telling the camera what the color white looks like at the depth you're at. Luckily for us, our cameras are able to analyze the scene and compensate the overly warm or cool colors. They are usually able to produce colors that are pretty similar to real life. However, underwater, our cameras may not be able to do it as well as they are on land.

In short, if you have good ambient light, and you're less than 5 meter deep, you may want to consider using ambient light, without any flash or strobes. You can adjust your white balance as you go deeper.

Next would be tips on using your camera's internal flash underwater.

[#2] UW Photography: Before your dive

So you've got your camera. Now what?

Understand your equipment. I would encourage you to first read the manual. Get to know your camera in its underwater housing. Underwater, you would not have time to figure out which button does what. Besides you might press the wrong button, and you might re-format your memory card. That would be a bummer. Go out and use your camera (with the housing and all its accessories, of course) and take photos. Get used to the camera. You should be able to change setting (at least basic ones) before you go diving. Nowadays there are countless how to Youtube videos for different cameras. You might want to check them out. You can also practice in the pool. The camera setting you will be using may be different but it will help you get to know your camera.


Always prepare your camera before you go out. Make sure your batteries are fully charged. Check if your memory card is in its slot. Also, if it still has space. It is frustrating when you see something interesting, say a Mola Mola and your camera ran out of batteries or even if your memory card is full. I had instances where the Dive Master showed me a nudibranch or three that I have never seen before and right at the moment I pressed the shutter, it shuts off. Prepare your underwater setup in your room where it is more comfortable and more convenient. Wake up earlier to start setting up. You would not want to rush when preparing your underwater photography equipment. Things that could go wrong would go wrong. Usually.

Check your o ring. Test in a bucket full of water. Typically dive centers provides containers filled with fresh water for their customers' underwater photography set up. Utilize fully your camera's functions. Olympus TG-5 has some added functions compared to its predecessor, TG-4. The users can save their favorite functions and move from one favorite functions to another at the twist of the knob. Use this advantage. 

Know your camera, and press the right button. 
This nudi won't forever stay this way.

I was in Tulamben looking for its macros. My favorite subject. We were about 10 meters from the shore, at about 10 meters deep. Eda, my Dive Master was showing me, I think a nudibranch. The day I arrived I told him, I need at least 40 very good photos of different subjects. Suddenly it was really dark; I thought it was raining. So I looked up. There was a whaleshark overlooking us. Unfortunately my camera was on macro setting, and I failed to learn the favorite functions before going to Bali. I snapped a photo of the whale shark and there's only its silhouette. The whale shark actually came back, but I could not change the functions in time, so only a 4 second video of 1 second appearance of the whale shark was shot. Don't ask me how I got to video mode. The moral of the story is, learn your camera thoroughly. Learn and learn again. Practice with it before you go anywhere with it.

Safety. This, though the third point, is most important. Whatever you wish to do, safety comes first. Know your dive site. Understand the obstacle. How's the current? How's the visibility like? Will there be anything that may harm you in any way at that dive site. Read up on the dive site. Ask around. If necessary leave your camera. I sometimes, purposely leave my camera at the room, during the first dive or even first day of diving. I would like to get used to the rented equipment. I know I could always repeat any of the dive sites. You also will need good control of buoyancy when taking a photo. Practice your buoyancy. You don't want to damage the corals or harm the corals when taking photos. Again, practice, practice, and practice again.

I believe these are three major ones. Hopefully with these tips, you will be able to avoid the mistakes I made.

Next one, will be on...... taking the photos. 😈

[#1] Underwater Photography: Where do I begin?

Underwater Photography is a skill that almost every diver I know has taken up. I began my underwater photography journey a long time ago. Back then it was purely to fill up my dive log, and to make identifying the creatures I saw while diving easier. I would take the photos, and my dive buddy would hit the reference books to identify them. After a while she complained that my lack of skills in photography is making it difficult for her to identify anything sometimes. The photos would be blue most of the time, and the subjects (mainly the fish) would turn away, and photos will be blurred. I would joke that they were art. But I knew that I should start taking underwater photography seriously so it would be easier for us to write anything on our dive logs. 

It took a long time for me to finally get colors in my photos. There were too many things to consider and understand. So I am starting this series for those who wish to start taking photos underwater. I am not a professional underwater photographer. I am not that good at it too. But I know how tough it was to get started. Which camera to buy? Do I need a strobe? Do I need a wet lens? Do I need to have them all to start taking photos? What other things I need to consider? Auto vs Manual, and other features - Would you be needing RAW files? Some cameras offer RAW, of course at a price. Examine the features of the camera. Read on about the features and ask yourself if you need them?

You may or may not have a camera already. But if you don't here are some things to consider:

• Your budget - Most people will be limited by their budget. There are options too. Some entry level cameras are quite affordable. But the higher range are also attainable. You may be able to get used underwater setup in excellent condition at dirt cheap. Approach your diver friends, ask around. I have seen a complete setup of used underwater camera, complete with strobe, and accessories at less than a 1/3 of its cost.
• Your interest - What you like to do underwater? What do you enjoy most when diving? I love everything about being underwater but I get so mesmerized when I see micro creatures, especially shrimps and nudibranchs. Some of my friends prefer bigger animals: giant groupers, turtle, sharks. Some hate the bulky photography equipment but would love to record their dive. This will determine the choice of cameras or even the need to have one. For some they would probably be content with just an action camera, which can be very cheap.
• How likely are you to upgrade - If you're like me at all, you may get bored after playing with an entry level camera after a few months. Should that be the case, get yourself the next level camera.
• Other factors - How often do you dive? If you dive only once a year, maybe you don't need to buy a camera. Most dive centers offer cameras for rent.

Next time I'll get to the preparation. What to do before you go diving. 

Ambon bon bon..

Actually I am not sure how to start writing about this trip. It all started with coffee with Nazir one day months earlier where he told me about the trip. I was intrigued but not enough to say yes ... I didn't know any of his dive buddies except Tony, and at my age, I don't feel like meeting new people (yeah.. so what?) He FB messaged me a few weeks later, during Ramadhan... and I thought.. mm... maybe.. why not? At that point in time, I already had plans to leave my job and searching for a new one.  I got myself a new job. I had to serve 3 month notice, and promised the new boss I'd start work right away. I told him about my plans to Ambon... lo and behold... he is all for vacations and getaways. And he also had a trip planned at the same time. He said, "No problem, you could always take unpaid leave" Yeay! So I told Nazir, I was going. Bought tickets to Makassar.. and persuaded Jon to join me. The rest is history!

Jon & I are ready for our new adventures!

26/11/14

I left home early in the morning to get on the  train to KLIA2. It's my first time to KLIA2, and as usual I have my travel jitters.  My flight was at 12:45 pm, but I wanted to leave early because I heard KLIA2 is big. And... I missed the train. Oopss.. Luckily I was a bit too early. Jon was already at the airport. Nazir texted me to make sure I arrive safely. How sweet. I texted Jon to make sure she's ok. She was still recovering from her knee surgery. Felt bad about taking her but would've felt worse if I had left her. And I am also glad she's around.. I love familiar faces when I travel.

As soon as I arrived at KLIA2, I checked in my bags and went to look for Nazir. He said to meet him at NZ, KLIA2 is huge! I circled the bloody airport twice to look for NZ! Then I decided to just meet Jon at the gate, and maybe have my breakfast inside or something. Found a McD and had breakfast there before I joined Jon. As soon as we saw each other, Tony and Nazir greeted us. We were joined by Dinesh and Alfred (Tony's cousin). Dinesh is quite a handsome guy... reminds me of that Turkish guy I met at Sipadan... alas, he's taken. lol! He seems lost too... so I didn't really feel alone. hehe.. Both Jon and I have been really sick before this trip. Nose block, flu, cough, fever... you name it. It's all there. It kinda added up to my usual travel jitters... #nervoustraveller.

Then a few other strangers greeted Tony and Nazir, and we found out there were about 12 of us.

Sama-sama.. gunung didaki.. sama-sama.. 

We arrived at around 4 pm. Had to wait for everyone to clear the immigration. I didn't have any problem .. alhamdulillah. Nazir has warned us about printing our return boarding pass before we left for Makassar because they have had issues before pertaining the boarding pass. Giun had problems because she did not print her outbound boarding pass. Luckily she had it on her laptop! Phewww...

While waiting for our ride to the hotel, I got us local sims... Yippeee... internet! We were to stay in Makassar for the night before leaving for the airport at 2 am for our too early flight. Huhu..

Our room.. katil yang bersepah tu katil Jon

The rooms were on the second floor and we had to bring all our bags up. I dreaded my own decision to bring my own equipment now. I was so glad I went to all my torture weight training sessions with Dhiya the entire year.. My legs were strong, my back were okay to lift all those heavy bags of mine and Jon's. Someone has to help her.

Dinner time, Jon was tired. So I went and got her some food, and went back downstairs to eat. Hung out with everyone.. some kind of orientation session for everyone.. Missing a few names still.. but was sure that by the end of the trip would have remembered everyone's names. We retired early, so we could wake up at 1:30 am and shower.

27/11/14

We left the hotel at 1:45. Our flight to Ambon was at 3:35 am. We had to leave early to beat the long lines at the airport. We managed to check in smoothly, and were not charged for any extra luggage at all. Awesome. Had some starbucks coffee before we left, and Dinesh got a new name. Jimis.

Mrs.. because the poor boy thought I was Tony's Mrs. Lol

We arrived at Ambon safely. The airport was tiny, and it has Roti Boy. They sure love their Mexican bun. Not only they have roti boy there.. they have a Roti Boy imitator next to it. hahaha..

Welcome to Ambon

We're here.. 

The "Resort"

Our ride met with us at the airport and took us to our "resort"... Patra. It's located in Laha, owned by a a local pakcik, who is damn rich by the way. He owns the land which housed the dive center we dived with too. It's humble, and had everything we needed. And the air-conditioner can be turned on 24 hours. *love*

We had lunch and Jon and I slept. We're supposed to do 2 dives after lunch, but Jon and I were sleepy. I hate diving when I don't get enough sleep.. I get cranky dizzy.

I did one dive that day... After I had taken my nap.

tinggal kenangan

Was still groggy when I dived. Luckily I brought my camera down with me during my first dive. Muck diving at Laha is awesome. Hehehe... Saya suka! If you wanna see anything.. just do a shore dive.. and you're fine. Rhinopias.. Ghost Pipefish.. colorful nudis..  love!

Rhinopias. Unfortunately I missed its yellow partner. haha bodo

The place is crawling with eels.. euww.. mak geli makk

i love these little clown frogfish.. comeyyy

my first time seeing this nudi. never thought it'd be this big!

After the dive, I was tired.. so went straight back to Patra. That night we had a small celebration for our dear daddy Tony... My task was to distract him in his room. :) Happy birthday Tony..

Haha... entah berapa kali birthday dia pakai baju kuning ni hahaha

28/11/14

The next day, we dived Aquila Wreck. OMG.. Aquila is one amazing wreck. The corals were healthy and colorful.. The view was just majestic. Awesome.. I rarely love wrecks because it's eerie.. but Aquila wreck was wonderful. #mustdive The weirdest thing happened to me while diving there.. One song was playing on my mind over and over again the moment I saw the wreck... Pusara di Lebuhraya.. Scary ain't it?

This ketam was looking for a fight with me

We went back and Jon said she's not gonna dive anymore.. Nazir pulak said that he's gonna get a driver and drive around the city with Jon. Where got like this? Hahha.. so ahkak pun ikut sama. I ditched my dive the rest of the day and went to town with them. Hehehe.. We had lunch at a restaurant before crossing over to Ambon. Banyak la pulak. Tak habis. Everything I had to try..

Ready to paint Ambon red 

Tapi kita makan dulu....

Aftermath. We were hungry

Ambon people on wheels

I thought it was funny

Cak! I love you... You love me.. I look like Barney

The city is interesting with so many things to see..The people are nice. At least those we have met.

When we drove back to Laha it was almost dark. Jimis Dinesh was entertaining the staff and the local ladies. They were amused when he said he's an Indian guy... immediately asking him to imitate Shah Rukh Khan. Lol!

29/11/14

The dive sites

Diving on the third day was fun. They took us to Pintu Kota and another dive on a nearby dive site Air Manis I think..  They said the current would be quite strong here.. and we'd be able to see some big fish having their meals. Both didn't happen... but the dive sites are beautiful. Only thing missing is the fish. Hehehe..

Pintu Kota

Surface interval

Our My last dive, we did a shore dive under the pier. We planned to ditch the dive guides and stay a wee bit longer to find stuff.. especially those tiny ones.. But we kinda ditched our plans because the water got too cold. hahaha.. However.. we did find some amazing stuff...

After the gorgeous food we had the day before, that night's dinner felt like blerghh... So most of us went and got food and jajans.. I'm sure the pakciks and makciks were so happy to have us come to Patra again. Lol!

This doesn't sound right. 

30/11/14

Tony and Joe were the only ones that dived on our last day in Laha. I was tired and lazy. Lazy was the operative word here. Nazir planned a tour of Ambon today. Yippee!! After we're done cleaning and drying the equipment, we went out to Ambon. Our first stop was Desa Larike to see and feed... and touch the famous Morea (freshwater eels). They are quite tame and allow people to touch and pet them. A bit icky though.. But I did it anyway... huhu

Luckily for Jon, ada supir2 yang bisa membantu turun tangga.. 

Geli i tell you

The tourists hehe.. :D

We're allowed to touch them.. I touched one of them too.. and like I said icky.. euww.. :(

After that we moved on to the city. On the way we had a few stops. The Batu Selayar and Batu Suanggi were beautiful rock formations on the shores of Ambon on the way to Desa Larike. We saw them on our way to see the Eels, and stopped on our way back for some photos.

Batu Selayar on far right

Batu Selayar

Dinesh being Jimis.. hahah.. 

As usual.. I jadi Mem besar. Duduk depan. The perks of being fat. :) 

Batu Suanggi is a lonely batu

Before we actually went to town, Nazir thought the guys should also try the restaurant we tried the other day. So we stopped for lunch. Everyone was burnt, and hungry.

Belanja Wefie satu. Look at our lunch!

Obviously we're piranhas.. Licin.. hahaha

Though full and sleepy, we proceeded according to plan. We went sightseeing at Ambon. Making our way through the small town of Ambon... finding souvenirs like Minyak Putih (which is famous in Ambon). I bought a few bottles, as it can be mixed with unscented massage oil to be used as of course massage oil and used on its own for flu and stuff. Smells really nice and makes really cool souvenirs. I also bought some fridge magnets for my girlfriends and some nice Ambon cookies for the office. We also stopped at the beautiful monuments of the warriors of Ambon..

Penat dan ngantuk.. sememeh nye iols.. 

hahaha.. jimis and nazir are acting in this cacat panoramic still movie

 After all that shopping and tourist attractions, we made our way to our final stop.. I have no idea where it was but we get to eat the best rojak in Ambon.

Eating rojak with this view.. nothing could beat this!

the fruits.. fresh! 

They have different scales of pedas. I think I opted for mild. Luckily!

ROjak and air kelapa.. and awesome company. 

Our awesome ride.. Hehehe.. :D 

We went back to our homestay. We were beat.. but I guess there was still energy left for some drinks and jajan.. and cup noodles.. We hung out as it was our last night there.. got shooshed by other guests who were trying to get a shut eye. Lol.. It was a fun trip and it was ending..

1/12/14

I have to thank Nazir for the invitation. I would never dreamed of diving Ambon.. I bet Jon think the same too. (tu yang gigih jugak pegi walaupun dah boleh dapat kad OKU.. LOL)  I truly had fun.. the company was cool.. the dive sites were beautiful. The rojak was so sedap I don't think I have yet found a match. I made so many new friends. And despite the fact that it has been almost a year and a half ago, I could still remember the experience. 

So I get to cross out Ambon from my world map now.. hoping to cross out more places in the future.. 

We went to Ambon as strangers.. and we came back as friends.. 

The End.