Shore leave.

Since I arrived on back in late May I’d not actually left the shores of Singapore and half the point of being here is to do some exploring of Asia and it’s surroundings. Moreover because there is some great scuba to be done around here and having pretty much exhausted the diving in the Red Sea (I can visualise some Instructors mates firing up the complaints emails on this statement) I’m quite keen to explore new oceans, seas and puddles of water deep enough to stand up in to see what oceanic delights await me in this part of the world. Even better is the fact that places that I’ve looked at on the spinning miniature globe on my desk which once looked so far away are now just a small step away, or at least a smaller credit card bill away.
One of the guys at work was talking about learning to dive, so last Saturday I tagged along to see what the local school setups are like and also to find a store for spares and maybe a few dive trips and the like. I met up with Rafi and Louise from the Dive Company which is a great little dive shop and school absolutely nowhere near the sea. I always find this funny as people often paint the picture of dive shops being these run down little shacks held together with twine with stolen starfish nailed to the corrugated iron roof. Truth be told – I’ve certainly been to a lot like that, but this one was a much more modern affair and the only thing nailed to the wall was a load of cool new scuba goodies to spend your hard earned dollars on.
So having a chat with the guys about my teaching background and adventures, I promptly got offered a job to help out with teaching and was asked if I wanted to go to Pulau Aur in Malaysia that weekend. Bit of a result. I felt more at home than a pig in the proverbial.
Having had a couple of years off I was quite excited about teaching again so this was not only a result that I’d be getting to try out some of the dive sites in the area and getting to meet some really great people but I’d also be getting paid for it. It won’t pay the mortgage off, but teaching is something I’ve always enjoyed so it’s more about the love of it that making oodles of cash out of it.
So I rocked up to the dive shop on Friday evening and was promptly given my official “dive crew” black polo shirt that officially marks you out as someone who is supposed to know what they are doing. Truth be told I was rustier than a Lada at the bottom of the North Sea and fumbled my way through a lot of things that I really should have known back to front. Luckily, I had a small group and my DM Bobby and other Instructor, Jeff helped me out a lot and made it a fun weekend.

The trip to Pulau Aur is a 2hr coach journey to the causeway which links to Malaysia. It’s then a 2hr drive up to Mersing on the East coast of Malaysia which is where the small ferries head out easterly to the smattering of islands scattered between 2 and 4 hours sail away. Aur is the furthest island from the coast at about 80ks away. It’s also the most isolated in terms of facilities in that it’s just made up of a few ramshackle dive resorts which consist of a few wooden cabins on stilts on the rocks.
Whilst not 5 star in appearance or it really was 5 star in terms of friendliness and overall character. The food was also relentless in that it just kept on coming. After the first day diving on the Saturday there was a fantastic BBQ buffet with all manner of foods on offer. It really was great and the party spirit flowed as well as an inordinate amount of booze that Jeff and Bobby brought over. Now, Instructors and DM’s are particularly renowned for being able to put the booze away and these two had come away for a boozy weekend with diving being a secondary bonus level activity. It was a drink hard and fast quickly and go to bed early routine that left me in a little bit of awe. I’ve seen a bottle of vodka disappear pretty quick but not as quick as they hit the sack after it. The next morning I realised why as getting up at 6 for the breakfast dive made it hit home.
The diving at Aur was good fun. The sea is a balmy 28 so a skimpy shorty was all is really required. The diving was quite varied and lots of small things to see in the water on offer with some nice corals and the occasional turtle thrown in to spice it up.
This does of course mean my full length custom 5mm wet suit is bugger all use here as it’s a bit like diving in bath water. More dive gear purchases looking likely.
I’ll do a bit more teaching every now and again and especially when the trips to Bali come up. Rafi was good enough to give me a call a few days later to see if I enjoyed myself and if I was up for doing some more teaching when I’m back. Yes on both counts.

I’m back off to London this month for a work trip so the adventure is on hold for a couple of weeks hiatus.