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Published: August 4th 2006
Dawn on Long Beach
Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia.I wake, sprawled out, tired, where was I last night? - out partying again? I extract myself from the tangle of sarong, pillow and mosquito net that my bed has become during the night. My wooden beach hut, now my home, an upgrade from the shed in the jungle where the mosquitoes won the nightly battle for territory. I open the door look out across the kilometer long beach, through the coconut palms, and over my hammock... another hard day as a divemaster trainee begins. It's 7:30am the beach is still, the boatman and local cleaning lady from the fisherman's village are making their way from the sunlight speedboat through the water to the restaurant, "Selemat Baggi!" - good morning!
I've been a scuba diver since 2002 when in Honduras I found that I was near to the "cheapest place" in the world obtain a scuba diving certification. It had never really occurred to me before that it might even be something I might like, growing up in England, the idea of crawling around in some grimy quarry looking for the victims of unhappy marriages and serial killers didn't appeal. The clear blue waters of the tropics were just a
dream, the great barrier reef a world away, plus I could see it all on TV with the wonderful David Attenbourgh my own personal guide. But being a savvy budget traveller, "cheapest place in the world", appealed to me. I tried scuba diving, I loved scuba diving, I took both my
PADI open water certification and my advanced open water, and I have been diving lots since.
Last September I decided that working as a divemaster, basically an underwater tour guide, would be awesome, doing what I love day in, day out, getting paid for it (at least a little), and gradually touring the world diving would be the life for me. So I made it my new years resolution, and enrolled in a divemaster trainee program at
Sunlight Divers on the small Perhentian Island, North West Malaysia... life on the imaginatively named "Long Beach" - it is quite a long beach.
I roll into the shop, it's 8.00am - we have 3 dives going out - fun divers, one to Temple, then Tajung Basi and an afternoon dive at D'Lagoon, Temple is one of my three favourite sites, one of the big three in the Perhentian Islands that
always get the customers, I'm going as a DMT (Dive Master Trainee) - I'll be at the back of the buddy groups, looking out for problems, and ready to take any diver that runs low on air significantly earlier than the other divers safely back to the surface and then the boat... there's always one, diving is a sport where being calm is best, getting excited, scared or over-exerting lead to an increased breathing rate, and therefore using air faster, using air faster means that you get to spend less time underwater, Rhi will be the divemaster, watching her doing the job I will do in a few weeks time. Tajung basi is dive 3 of an open water course that I've been assisting on, Sunny is the instructor. I practice demonstrating skills, watching students not under the supervision of an instructor, and learn so much about diving by watching. D'Lagoon, a nice site to end the day on, open water dive 4, maybe we'll see the Bumphead Parrotfish, buffaloes of the sea, maybe a turtle will cruise by, maybe a blacktip shark will flash past more terrified of us than we of him.
Kitting up, selecting the kit
Underwater Paradise
Redang, pink tailed triggerfish, barrel sponges and more... for the divers, emptying wash buckets, replacing foot bathes, the shop chores, everyone mucks in, DMT's are considered dive-slaves most places, but the crowd I work with are good, they don't take the piss, but expect me to work hard. Andy has just started his DMT course, and taken a lot of the load off, I'd spent the last week assisting with his rescue course - straight into diving and realized it was the career change he'd been looking for - straight from open water to Divemaster in one long stint...
The diveshop is small compared to many that I've dived with, 3 instructors, 1 divemaster and 2 divemaster trainees, a boatman and a tank boy make up the staff, tank boy is the worst job, a whole day sitting by a compressor waiting for tanks to fill. A job that goes to one of the local kids, who is happy with the money and the inclusive accommodation. I practice my Malay with the boatman "Apa itu?", I like the people here, they like me, I'm happy. I'm tired, social life is great on the beach, always new people to meet, always someone celebrating something. Was I out till
Perhentian Kecil
Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia. two or three last night - as long as I cut myself off from drinking at 12, and don't drink much before that an early evening siesta will fix that, diving hungover is a problem, leading to increased susceptibility to decompression sickness (the bends) and more likely seasickness. I don't risk it, planning my nights out based on the quiet days in the shop.
Diving is a different world, it's better down there, the fish do their thing, some oblivious to us, some hiding or fleeing, some curious. The coral is beautiful, the water relaxing. It's a pity that we all have to wear the bulky scuba gear, bubbles streaming past, darth vader style breathing - "kerrraragh... shooooffff.., kerraragh... shooofffff..." - and relax, keep breathing, keep relaxing and look around and around. The world in three-dimensions, flying around like superman, changing direction like a helicopter, freedom, only limited by the air-supply and safety considerations.
Palau Perhentian Kecil - "small stop island" - a rough translation, is something of a backpacker paradise, and it's now home, 6 weeks on the beach, making friends with those that stay, those that pass through, and the locals guys that work the beach.
Perhentian Kecil
Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia. Around 100 westerners and 100 Malaysians make up the long termers - the westerns are mostly divers, the Malaysian beach boys work mostly in the restaurants and bars, or drive the taxi boats, some also make a career diving. The beach is one of the longest stretches of white sand in the area, the younger trendier travellers tend to go to this island, the older and happily coupled up travellers tend to go to the large island (I miss the pleasure of meeting Mr Sausage due to my choice of the party island -
My name is Mr Sausage. I'm an Emergency First Responder. MAY I HELP YOU?) . We all dive the same sites and swim in the same water.
The weeks pass, I pass the theory exams, I pass the endurance test, getting the lowest possible score on the swimming test, luckily with fins on I go a lot faster, I've made up the lost points on the snorkelling test a few days earlier. Today is a day I've been dreading... the day of the stress test. Andy and myself will be underwater, exchanging equipment, whilst buddy breathing, sharing the same regulator, whilst overcoming additional obstacles that our instructors may set us. This is to demonstrate that we can remain
Sunlight and Moonlight
Dive shop and accommodation on Long Beach Perhentian Kecil. calm in stressful situations, and solve diving related problems. In practice - can we keep our heads, remain underwater, with masks off, regulators (breathing system) out, not knowing which tank has been turned off, swapping weights with BCDs (buoyancy control device) that are inflated every few minutes, sand in the face, free-flowing bubbles all around. Depending on the instructors the stress test can go to extremes. I trust Andy, I know that he won't bolt to the surface no matter what, this is important. To bolt, panic, go to the surface before completing the exchange is to fail. Our instructors push us as hard as we can take, tank straps flapping, masks lost, eyes wide unseeing irritated by the masses of sand in the water, one hand on weight belts on the sand, the other holding Andy while he tries to clear a mask as his BCD inflated drags him up, hoping that the regulator we're sharing is returned before I run out of my lungful of air. I'm blowing tiny bubbles to demonstrate that I'm not holding my breath, despite the fact that no one can see anything at all!
Masks don't clear when placed on the face
upside down. It's a valuable lesson that we learn during our stress test. That and losing a regulator, an inflated BCD are problems that can be handled by staying calm and responding appropriately. We have a video of the test and the general opinion is that we were pushed hard, to know that we passed this test gives us a lot of confidence.
May 1st - I am a divemaster! - I pass the final theory exam and one final ritual awaits - the snorkel test! - around a litre of some terrible alcoholic concoction is to be drunk through a snorkel while wearing something humiliating and blacked out mask. I have the pleasure of a bikini top and bows in my now long blond hair. (Apart from the chest hair I'm apparently quiet sexy... thanks Duncan.) Gulp, gulp, gulp, retch, dribble, gulp, gulp, splushssssssh! coffee, curry, pinapple juice and vodka, lots of vodka, explode over anyone sitting within two meters, I can't do it all in one go, two more tries and the litre goes down. Then more humiliation, monkey juice penalties for answering almost impossible dive related questions, "What colour and make of fins does everyone in
Found a friend...
a baby monitor lizard, can grow to around 3m. the dive shop use?", "What is the latin name of the Varicous Wart-slug?" - I know that one!! - "phylladia varicousa". "Make a dive style briefing on 'Sharking Girls in Palm Tree'" - I don't deserve this!* - "Local hazards include: - the palm tree toilets, around 3 inches of foetid toilet water surround the thrown, this area can get really slippy." I'm deliberately sick behind a tree, "tactical chunder" I'd have called it in my teenage years. I don't remember the rest of the evening... next day - I get told what I got up to - who I was rude to, how I got that bruise, where I lost my wallet... do they have beer scooters on desert islands? there are no motos at all here, how did I get home?
No dogs, no roads, no cars, no motos, no hawkers - this is what makes the island so special. No massive concrete constructions - or at least not yet - one day shortly after my snorkel test hangover leaves, a massive rusty barge pulls up, spills out JCBs, steel, concrete and workmen start smashing down local businesses that have expanded out onto unused government land. What
paradise obviously needs is a two storey concrete building slap bang in the middle of the beach - who am I to argue with the wisdom of the Malaysian planning authorities and whatever backhanders have been made. Things have changed, people that have been on Perhentian Kecil even just six years ago tell me about the differences, how commercial it is even now, but compared to Koh Phangan in Thailand or even Koh Tao this place is a divers and backpackers paradise, get here while you can.
More on the diving of the Perhentians in my next blog... I am a divemaster... 2 out of 3 new years resolutions kept.
Tips.
To get to Perhentian Kecil or Besar, go to Kuala Besut - at this time 60RM from the Thai Border, 32RM from Kota Bahru, 40RM from Kota Bahru airport. Fast boats to the islands cost 50RM return and take 35mins. Avoid Tok Bali - the slow boat takes hours and has tie ins with some terrible accommodation.
Avoid the cheapest dive shop on long beach, or those that send out hawkers - look for dive shops that have a nice atmosphere, it will
Scene from Sugar Wreck
Perhentian Islands, Malaysia. form part of your social life on the island and there is a reason why they have to send out those hawkers.
Acknowledgements and thanks.
Thanks to Sunny, Dan, Steve - my instructors from
Sunlight Divers, Rhi the divemaster, for all her support and help, and Andy (fellow DMT and survivor of the infamous stress test).
* ok - maybe I did...
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Cumberland Sausage
Kim Buckley and Richard Baxter
Well it is a small world ...
.. but not quite small enough. I'm sure we could have raised our couply game for one night. Sorry to have missed you. Great pictures, particularly the underwater ones. For the record the rubber o-ring in my camera case got stuck one due to the paint dye during the Holi festival in India - when I came to get it off it stretched, and I had no replacement :-(