Whaleshark

After 5-odd years of diving, I finally see you!

Back from Anambas! I'm grateful to be back alive.

My first trip to Anambas was truly a humbling one, and I'm grateful to be back alive.

Many dolphin sightings along the way to Anambas. Jumped out of bed and geared up within 5 minutes hoping to dive with dolphins, but missing a little luck. Took the dinghy out for rounding but the dolphins don't seem to be in the mood for play. Thankful for the endless blue waters with unlimited visibility - my playground.

Stormy night kept the boat and dive crew up all night. Winds were strong, waves were high and rain was relentless. Boat was rocking and customers puking. Got a little scare when we thought customers went missing. Thank god all was good. Everyone stayed together, prepared for the worst to happen. Thought of our escape plan, said a little prayer. Succumbed to motion sickness finally and I gave way.

Woke up in the morning with customers staring down at the crew. We all looked and felt like shit. Thankful we made it through the storm. Dive resumed with not too good visibility anymore, but we made it back home safely.

It was a truly humbling experience - we are so small in the face of nature. We may have the best crew put together, it may be our first trip, first year, or nth trip out, but there's just so much to learn and so many ways to improve on. Thankful for the boat crew who put up a strong fight, keeping vigil while we gave in to fatigue. Captain John mentioned this was his toughest trip throughout his years of sailing.

We survived to tell the tale.

Missing Japanese Divers

News about the missing Japanese divers in Bali have been spreading like wild fires. 

It makes me feel really scared. Scared of how transient and fragile life is. Scared of the day my time is up and I regret the things I never got around doing, the words I never managed to say, the people I failed to love.

So stay safe, and be very happy.

Sunshine.

time spent with people who know me better than i do is the best time spent.

xoxo.

Mt Kerinci (Part II)

(here’s part I)

finally found the motivation to blog about the second part of Kerinci. just looking at the photos reminds me of the exhaustion. *gasp for air*

here’s us looking happy to finally reach the campsite. this is only the start of the torture…

woke up at 3am the next morning to summit. i was freezingggggg :/

pictures clearly don’t do justice to the beautiful scenery.

everyone looking happy to summit :D butttttt….

i… errrr…...

the euphoria on the summit is… indescribable.

the descend is made less boring with… lots of nonsense haha.

IT’S FINALLY TIME TO LEAVE THE HORRIBLE MOUNTAIN

and here’s ending the trip with happy (and very tired) us.

xoxo.

Mt Kerinci (Part I)

close to 2am and here i am because i can’t sleep. my body’s so screwed –.- but i’m being kept very occupied with all the Morocco photos and Kerinci photos coming in. that’s a whooping 5,000 photos and counting! can’t wait to share all the photos here goshhhh. they’re all so amaze-balls!

post-morocco (17072013 – 21072013) saw me up Gunung Kerinci. here’s a litle background: Gunung (Mount) Kerinci is the highest volcano in indonesia, located about 130km south of Padang, with an elevation of 3,805m. it is more active than most indonesian volcanoes, with nearly annual phreatic eruptions. on 2nd june 2013, mount kerinci erupted, spewing smoke as high as 600m. (source)

it was such a bitter-sweet feeling going to kerinci, freezing my ass off during the climb and struggling to breathe during the summit climb (instead of spending the time in some snowy mountains doing cool-shit ski stuns and swimming in heated pools). i almost didn’t know what to feel. but this was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime (again) experience :D

*most photos lost. not sure what happened.*

weiliang’s idea of climbing a mountain.

are… we… there… yetttttt :(

we appear to be level with the clouds, making all that torture and hardship pay off!

the guys’ MV shots.

our cozy tents for the night.
anyway it was really freezing no joke. i was clad in long john + 2 fleece + wind breaker in thick cushy sleeping bag and i still had frozen grapes for toes –.-

roomies for the night!

more ootd.

we do what we do best: we make do.

shall end off this post with a photo of myself standing on top of the world! (well… sort of)
tweaked the colours a bit and it turned out so pretty (at least to me) i must be a genius!

“Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it. So when you’re sad, go out of those doors. It’s always better underneath the open sky, for going to the woods is going home.”

so that’s all for now. will be back with more awesome travel pictures soon!
xoxo.