Diving a.k.a. I couldn't come up with a more original title for a post about diving

So, as we've commented on before we have now entered the ranks of certified divers, an activity that I think we've both always had a passing interest in. Anyway, since we are in SE Asia and diving is relatively cheap here when compared t the rest of the world we thought we should give it a go. Its an interesting sport/activity and something we both enjoy but not quite in the ways that we (or at least I) expected.


Read (and see) the rest...


Most of the sports and activities I've done throughout my life have one thing in common, that being there is a sense of rush or thrill in doing them. I've been climbing, kayaking, I grew up playing soccer and played Ultimate Frisbee throughout college and all of these have some sense of a rush to them. That feeling of adrenaline that pumps you up and clams you down all at the same time either through physical exertion or through a little bit of fear. In many ways it is this rush (I think) that makes these sports/activities fun and exciting. As an example, in climbing there is a continual sense of fear and a knowledge that you could fall and possibly hurt yourself, not to mention that falling is always a little scary even if you know you're safe. This same kind of rush happens in most organized sports, the rush after a goal is scored or a touchdown is made and/or the feeling you get after winning a close game. A rush has always been part of my mindset and I entered diving with those ideas kicking around in the back of my head, for better or for worse.

However, diving has proven to be unlike that at all. Diving is an activity where the goal is to move with a little effort as possible to save your air(e.g. as slowly as possible). So where as before I would huff and puff and get a rush from the exertion, now the goal was to move slowly and to remain calm... almost like meditation. The goal is to feel peaceful and happy as you gently "bob in the water looking at fish" as our instructor was prone to say. This is inherently quite different than someone who normally has been looking for that thrill to simply "swim around and just look at fish."

And to be honest I was a little disappointed by this at first, the whole process felt a little anticlimactic. On my first few dives I enjoyed myself but I just felt that something was lacking. I had a great time swimming, I saw some interesting stuff but when I was back on the beach I mostly thought... "well was that it?" It was fun but there was just something extra missing, later I realized I was missing the rush I was used to.

Now what I've discovered that diving has instead of the traditional rush is a sense of wonder and exploration. Diving is an activity that focuses mostly on exploring, finding a new shelf here, or looking under the coral over there, sticking your head into a crack looking for eels, or some other such move. It is a slow process, a deliberate process, (once again always trying to save your air) where in you simply try to exist and watch everything swim around you. Its peaceful, its calming, its watching with a sense of wonder at the things I never thought I'd see with my own eyes. And so the more I dove the more I learned to appreciate this part of diving, I stopped waiting for a rush ans simply learned to "bob in the water looking at fish" and I had a great time. A soothing time, a relaxing time, but still something that was fun and exciting (or as exciting as bobbing can get) that I look forward to doing again. I'm not going to quit my job and go dive for the rest of my life but there was something particularly rewarding about diving.

Well, enough of my reflections on diving and what I think of this weird activity and time to show some pictures. We are still working on the whole underwater photography thing and we weren't allowed to take our camera on our first few dives, so there are some pictures I wish I had. Mostly a large green turtle (probably about a 4 foot long shell) that we got close enough to I could have touched him if I wanted to. Anyway, pictures!

P.S. I should also say that we saw alot of fish... many of which I still don't know the name of. So please roll with any names like, "fish that like swimming in tight schools and enjoyed eating the crackers that get thrown in the water" as they are all I could come up with.

P.P.S. So far we have been diving 13 times in both Koh Tao (Thailand) and the Perhentians(Malaysia) and have spent about 10 hours under water. Nothing great, but still kind of cool. We made friends with a guy in the Perhentians who has done a decent amount of diving, who said he was on about his 175th dive!

P.P.P.S. Pictures!
Clown Fish.. aka "Nemo" This are easily my favorite fish so far, they juts hang out in the anemone and swim out to say "hi" or "get lost" when we came by.

Lets call this one a Trumpeter Fish. I think that's right even!

An aptly named Wife Fish.

A picture of a wreck we dove at. The visibility wasn't that great (meaning not many pictures) but it did create a great effect of the wreck emerging from a inky blue.

A school of Silver Bat Fish. I don't know if you can get the idea of them in the picture but at times there were so many they would block out an entire view, as in "I can't see anything to my left but Silver Bat Fish.

A moral eel. There were several of these we saw some were about 6 feet long and about as wide as my bicep (for those of you not so familiar with my physiology that's about as 5-6 inches across).


A banner fish.

A bunch of "Like to hide in crevices as a school fish." I think whoever named them was onto something.

This picture is actually three different schools of fish swimming into one another. Pretty cool but not as cool as the Black Tip Reef Shark that came out, ate one and swam away right after this!

A solitary batfish, a photo with part of the school of them is above.

P.P.P.P.S. Brad Nydam (if you read this) I think you'd really enjoy diving...