Underwater Exploration
Trip Start
Jul 10, 2007
1
14
46
Trip End
Mar 11, 2008
Nha Trang,
Vietnam
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
In honour of my favourite French explorer Jacques Cousteau, this next entry can be read with a French accent.
"It vas a cliir morning on ze ocean and we lowvered ze bathiscafff to trfee tsouzand feet." Truthfully, it was a feverishly hot morning on the island of Koh Sahmet in Thailand and we couldn't wait to throw ourselves in the ocean. Our tour group leader hired a boat with a red and white "diving" sticker on it. This was as close to a diving organization we could get on their overly relaxed island. With snorkel, mask, no fins...rats and no wet suits needed, we set off on our adventure. Before diving in, I checked everyone's arms and legs for open wounds (saw the movie Open Water) we were all safe to jump in.
Having only been on dives in glacial Canadian waters, I could not believe that the water could be so warm (sometimes too warm) and clear
soft coral
. We did not have to wear a thick neoprene suit which in Canada usually includes foot, hand and head covers. We spotted our first anemones, starfish, and some very colourful fish like Dori. Imagine that; no sunfish biting our legs in the Gulf of Thailand. Unfortunately due to the rise in temperature and the 2004 Tsunami, the coral reefs where we dove were all but dead. It was still a good first experience...to get our feet wet.
In Nha Trang Vietnam, we hired a reputable organization called "Rainbow Divers" owned by Australians. They provided a service with the utmost safety and reassured us that our young ones would be in good hands. Both boys (and I) each had individual dive masters continuously holding our tank or hand (me) to make sure that we were breathing properly and did not become disoriented. Just, just to be safe, I picked the dive masters who had 25,000 dives or more under their (weight) belt.
Before we left for our new adventure at sea, I swallowed my trusted motion sickness tablet and placed one directly IN my 13 year old's hand. Of course, being 13 and knowing pretty much everything by now, my son decided that he did not need to swallow anything on that particular morning
Nemo and buddies
. Well, the boat ride was probably the worst I have ever experienced. The South China Sea waves can put on quite a dance performance when the wind blows after a cyclone. It really hurts when the ride out to sea is a stretched out an extra hour or when the boat is bounced around as soon as it anchors. You can imagine how someone's delicate stomach may react.Well, we dove and saw trumpet fish, some coral, lion fish and a lot of beautiful coral. I was quite concerned about the local boats and their drivers who blatantly and completely disregarded any safety rules mandated by boating and diving laws. It is something else to see boats slaloming between surfacing scuba divers.
Back to the 13 year old...he was sooooooo sick after his dive... on the boat, over the boat, on the side of the boat...you can probably visualize this. However, there is a strong possibility that he may listen to maman next time I place the little pink pill into his hand and accept to swallow it.
Third, fourth, fifth attempts etc. at the Cousteau family diving experience was on Tioman Island in Malaysia. What an experience! Tioman is a natural playground for exotic and crazy land creatures; the oceans are the same. Our first snorkeling outing was around a small and near island
Nemo
. The coral was spectacular; more abundant than in Vietnam and had an amazing range of shape and colour. I saw a lime green that would look stunning on a living room wall! The amount of sea life bemused us. We spotted an incredible variety of coloured fish, blue tailed sting rays who love to dance and fly underwater in the scuba divers' bubbles, slow moving groupers about 1 meter long with Mick Jagger lips, bumped head parrot fish with horse like teeth. These massive parrot fish chew up the coral and produce tons of sand for the beaches every year. I was ecstatic when I finally located Nemo and his buddies. I am on a quest to locate every fish creature from the Finding Nemo movie. Sea urchins seem to have silver eyes, puffer fish can be quite big and am I ever so happy that we never encountered the black tipped shark who often frequents our small snorkeling island.The scuba diving trip the afternoon was lovely. Being 20 feet underwater holding my boys' hands was a peaceful and tranquil experience. However, I did not understand why I could see flashes of light underwater and could hear heavy"airplanes". Upon surfacing, we realized that we were diving under a whopping thunderstorm. I was hoping to get a medal for climbing a flimsy metal ladder onto a rocking boat, wearing a weight belt, a mask, flippers and a heavy tank. Now that's a sport! As we were all aboard the tiny boat, in the big ocean, bouncing from side to side, being drenched by heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning, I was ready to go home! Once again, the motion sickness pill before the trip was a great choice! The 13 year old was sheepishly very thankful!
Comments
Nha Trang, Vietnam
MJTYEX,
Am I first again to post a comment to this very exciting, informative and humourous entry to your blog. Your travels seem to be more and more fascinating as you go along. Take full advantage of your trip as we said earlier; it only happens once in a lifetime (big X may think that this is sufficient).
Elections in Ontario to-day, Sens playing in Atlanta to-night.
XOXO Papy, Papa.
quelle aventure!!!
hello my intrepid traveling foursome!
all i can say is... WOW!! i just finished reading your blog (yes, i was a little behind), and it certainly seems as if you are having a transformative experience! i can't wait to read more - and to see more gorgeous photos. i particularly liked the lion fish & the elephant video! i guess Dewey never imagined this kind of experience in his philosophy of education!! enjoy yourselves, and take care of each other through the challenges of being on your learning edges. i will be eager to hear your reflections upon you return.
love you,
xxo vanessa
ps. all is well here. loving BC, grad school & Bern - we have big plans for future adventures like yours. keep up the inspiration!!