Day 15: Second Day Of Diving

Day 15. Closer to the end of our trip than the beginning. And yet, we are still constantly amazed by the wonders that Malaysia has. Today, was our second day of diving, and for me and Arushi, our first to explore more than just 10 metres away from the beach. However, before we could, we still had one more practise dive to do.

We were driven, just like yesterday, to the waterfront where we then got on a boat and headed to the island where the Down Below instructors were waiting. We got ready for our first dive a lot quicker than yesterday, and after Millen, mum and dad left on the boat, me and Arushi waded our way through the water. And, no longer total newbies, we were able to soon go down.

Since the rain had cleared after yesterday, the visibility was loads better, and as we were about to reach the bottom, we noticed the sand move. We delayed our descent just enough for Jam, our instructor, to blow a ring bubble at the moving sand. The temporary air was just enough to cause the creature, which was a hidden stingray to swim off.

Then we continued with our dive, practising skills such as removal, and replacement of our mask, and emergency ascents. The 40 minutes flew by,, and we were soon once again out of the water. This time, we were excited to be out of the water because we knew that the next time we'd be in it, we would be diving with the pros. We had our first proper briefing, in which, as well as introducing me and Arushi, they congratulated Millen on officially becoming a certified diver. As the briefing continued, we learnt that we were heading to Ron's reef, which the others had already gone to yesterday. We learned it was named that because of a well known local who pioneered Malaysian diving. Soon, we were on the boat for the first time, along with Millen, mum and dad's group. As well as their instructor, they had an Australian who now lived in Dubai, and a Pakistani diver who was giving us tips throughout the day.

We were taken to Ron's reef where we performed our first back roll into the water. Then we waited for everyone to join us in the water before descending. Once at the bottom, however, me and Arushi, along with Jam and Mathias, who was doing the course with us, left the other group, and headed in a different direction. Swimming through the reef was a completely different experience to kneeling on a sandy seabed. We were swimming over the coral and sea life as if we were flying. The coral, and fish had a huge range of colours, and shapes. some fish swam in large schools, while others hid in the reef. It was an incredible experience. But, before we knew it, we were resurfacing. We climbed onto the boat and returned to Down Below's island for lunch.

Lunch was the same as yesterday, being rice, noodles, and vegetables. Despite diving involving slow, and few movements, we were all ravenous, and made good use of the free refills. Just before the end of lunch, we gathered around for the final briefing of the day. This time, we were going to pyramid reef. We learned it was named that because it is shaped like a pyramid. We descended to the bottom of the pyramid, where we began to circle its based, slowly moving upwards. Initially, me and Arushi's group swam in the opposite direction to Millen, Dad and Mum's, but after crossing paths, we ended up slowly trickling behind them. This dive was no less magical than the previous one, taking us across a beautiful garden of otherworldly plants, and fish. Yet, true to form, the dive ended after what felt like no more than 10 minutes, but was truly no less than 45.

With our second official dive done, we had finished the days dives and so we headed back to our apartment and to the infinity pool and gym that came with it. However, while the pool was open, it was very cold, so we gave up on the idea. The others returned to the room while me and Millen turned to the gym.Læs mere