Catching up with friends last week.

Been catching up with friends last week, because school was starting and today was the first day of school. So yeah, here's some pictures of certain events:

At Changi T3 Terminal..

YingYing and me..

At The Cathay...

With Jun Ping and Liang Zhi.

With Liang Zhi and Khai Theng.

Jia Yi and I..

Sentosa - Celebrating Clement and Wei Chong's birthday

Group photo.

Group gathering 2..

The Rice Crisis..

Firstly, it was the price of the oil barrel which reached US$100. Now, the price of Asia's basic food - Rice is increasing.

These are the reasons why prices are increasing:

1. Bad weather for agriculture and pest outbreak in certain countries.
2. Increased demand for rice in some western countries.


The world demand for rice is increasing rapidly, and the price is skyrocketing as well because rice producers are struggling to meet the demands. It sparked off unrest and protests in Asia. And people in some countries are wiping packets of rice off the shelves of supermarkets.

I'm rather more concerned about people in poorer countries, because increased prices in rice means there's a recipe for famine. Some millions of people live in poverty, and less than $2 a day. How can they afford to feed their family?

The IMF World Bank has warned that the rising prices could lead to hundreds of thousands of people into starvation.

Governments must find a way to stop rising inflation, and must continue to help fight against poverty in the world.

A Whole New Voice.

This guy is one of the most amazing singers I've ever seen. His voice is so well-controlled, and his falsetto is AWESOME! The first time I saw this video, my eyes popped, and I knew this guy was such a talent.

In this video, he sings a famous song from Disney's Aladdin movie, A Whole New World.

If you're interested after reading the above description, do view the video below:



Nick Pitera singing A Whole New World by Disney's Aladdin

Take care while in Pulau Tekong..

Some of my friends have to get ready for National Service, and they're leaving for some tough training at Pulau Tekong for several weeks.



Hopefully, they will be able to pass the Basic Military Training smoothly without any problems, and stay healthy.

Kelvin's leaving on Thursday.

Anyway friends, all the best for your National Service and take care! Let's catch up soon someday!

Tioman: An Oasis Of Marine Splendour

Here's even more underwater photographs of marine creatures that we've seen in Tioman:

Wrasse..

Puffer..

Very interesting coral.

Squid.

Another fish..

Stunning colours of the sea anemone and clownfishes.

This eel is the same as the one we saw at the night dive.

Michael behind thousands of fishes. This picture is nice!

Some fish we saw..

Barracudas..

It's the largest fish we've ever seen; the potato grouper. It's HUGE; bigger than your computer table.

And this is the summary of the underwater creatures we've seen, although there are even more which I didn't posted. Hope you like them!

If you're interested..

Ivan tagged me, so if anyone's interested in this quiz that I'm taking, do read on..


1. At what age do you wish to marry?

28 years old.

2. What i want the most right now?

Perseverance. I need it for my studies, for my fitness, for my future.

3. Anyone in your mind?

No one except Selina. I'm still infatuated with her.

4. Do you think you have enough confidence?

It has to depends. I might be confident in something, but not others.

5. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?

Being a singer.

6. Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain?

Not really. If I really believed in it, I might as well believe there's a pot of gold at every end of a rainbow.

7. What are you afraid to lose the most now?

If the question is phrased from What to Whom, I would say my family and friends.

8. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes, I do. The last one I had was the pretty lady I met at Nanyang Polytechnic when we were acting.

9. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?

Probably not. I'll not risk being a lover for a friend.

10. List out 3 bad points about the person who tagged you.

As of now, I can't think of any.

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?

Good time management - Girls who are late for more than 30 minutes is a MAJOR TURN-OFF for me.

Understanding - I love scuba diving, and you need to respect my passion and personality.

Trust - Trust is the key to a relationship.

12. What feeling do you hate the most?

The feeling of being so over-sensitive that you make baseless assumptions.

13. Do you cherish every single friendship of yours?

Duh!

14. Do you believe in God?

Sometimes. My faith isn't as strong as some people, but I sometimes question things around me. And I can't get the answers.

15. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?

I found my passion, and I know what I want to do at the age of 16.

16. Do you find it a need for you to have a boyfriend/girlfriend?

Not really. I'm enjoying bachelorhood because of the freedom, but sometimes you crave for love.

17. At this point of time, would you rather stay in your comfort zone or try something new?

Try something new. It's important to enrich yourself with experiences, and you gain insight and wisdom!

18. What kind of friend you hope to be in your friend's eyes?

Being trustful and a confidente.

Aside from that, each and everyone of us are unique and special in their own ways. Just be truthful to yourself.


19. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

In a university studying marine-related stuff or journalism.


20. At what age do you want to be a successful person?

At the age of 40.

I'm tagging those who are reading this quiz and has a blog!

Tioman: A Testimonial Of Nature Part(3)

Ok, let's get started with night dive.

Fourth Dive: Tioman Jetty (Night Dive)
Depth: 13.5 metres

Bottom Time: 45 minutes

I tell you, night dive was crazy. It was a virgin night dive for us, and it can be described as thrilling, dangerous, boring etc, it is subjective.

What lurks beneath those waters?

We finally descend, but most of us were so scared, we kept so close to each other that we bumped into each other most of the time. Armed with only a torchlight, and a mediocre one at that, we have to navigate the darkness to see marine life.

Guess what did we saw?

Such a cute porcupine fish.

This one felt really threatened by us and started to blow itself up. You could see it was puffed up and when it came close, all of us really backed off. Hehehehe..

We saw a lone specimen of a barracuda as well, and it was an adult one.

We also saw a old habitant of Tioman jetty which has been living there for than 5 years.

The eel!

Now it has a new companion, which is a cleaner shrimp which was so close to the eel.

Fifth Dive: Marine Park

Depth: 14 metres

Bottom Time: 45 minutes

The last time I went to Marine Park was 2 years ago, and it was such a terrible dive site. When I heard we were going to Marine Park, I sulked. But I was proven wrong.

This time, there were so many fishes; rabbitfishes, parrotfishes, batfishes, porcupine fishes, etc.

We visited a shipwreck first..

The size of the shipwreck was moderate, and there are many sea urchins.

Parrotfish!

Common clownfishes with sea anemone.




The marine life below Marine Park's jetty.

One thing you can find in Marine Park are sometimes fishes you find in the supermarket. The jetty below filled with marine park is so enriched, that it is on par with marine life under Tioman's jetty.

Tomato clownfishes, they're quite uncommon.

Another interesting thing that we saw is this project that was sunken into the water by some Malaysian University, and there's a sign that wrote: PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB!!!

Some experiment for the growth of corals I think.

Sixth Dive: Soyak Island

Depth: 12.5 metres

Bottom Time: 45 minutes

Final dive of the trip, and we kinda relax everything, and decided to play!

Gerald looked like Monkey God posing underwater. Haha!

Michael heading like Superman.

I was doing some dancing moves, and Jeremy saw and kept laughing. That's because I had my regulator in my mouth, and I looked so bloated while dancing.

Super funny!

Ok back to marine life..

This sea cucumber stuck to some coral and can move..

House reef with some fishes.

Puffer!

Ok, that's pretty much the summary of the dives, but there are alot of underwater photos which I haven't shown, but I will for the next few entries. I have so much content, but not enough time to blog em all!

Tioman: A Testimonial Of Nature Part(2)

SECOND DAY

First Dive: Tioman Jetty

Depth: 15 metres

Bottom Time: 50 minutes

Preparing for our equipment..

Going by the shore..

Yours truly posing for the camera.

I think I have underestimated the jetty, because there were SO MANY THINGS to see! Swimming around you are schools of THOUSANDS OF FISHES.

Almost countless..

Whoa.

We saw an eel, bannerfishes, clownfishes, a barracuda and squid!

Second Dive: Roger's Wreck

Depth: 21 metres

Bottom Time: 35 minutes

This is the worst dive among the rest. Visibility wasn't good, underwater currents were strong, and fellow buddy had difficulty breathing.

Currents were rather strong.

The shipwreck.

It was the first dive that I ever went into a shipwreck, and to be fair, there were lots of fishes around the shipwreck. It's just that the poor visiblity just spoilt the enviroment.

Roger's wreck is big, but we couldn't enter because the space is too small, and the only thing we could do was to peek in.. and guess what? There are so many fishes hiding inside!

I wonder how old is this shipwreck?

We held on to one of the lines for safety stop, and we were banging into each other. That experience was terrible, because the underwater currents kept swaying us, and I kept floating because of the rising bubbles below me.

When I reached the surface, I had a terrible headache, with hunger and fatigue came setting in.

Third Dive: Pulau Chebeh

Depth: 12 metres

Bottom time: 45 minutes

Chebeh sounds like one of those Hokkien vulgarities, but if my mind serves me right, the actual pronounciation is CHER-BAY, instead of CHEE BEH.

First time I dive around the waters of this little island, and I must say, it managed to salvage our dampened spirits for the second dive, with the visibility being crystal clear.

Clownfishes with homely anemones..

So beautiful..

Vast land of corals.

We looked so funny!

I'd tell you, the sunset is beautiful. It's BEAUTIFUL. I suddenly thought of those photography lessons!

Sun starts to set in..

Artistic and simple!

There will be a final part of the post soon, which I'll talk about the 3 remaining dives.

Tioman: A Testimonial Of Nature Part(1)

Before I begin, did anyone catch the April Fools joke? I guess some did. Hehe. So yeah, back to the post.


FIRST DAY




First day itself was mainly travelling, and it was rather tiring, boarding the coach bus and the ferry.




I spent most of the time sleeping, except on the ferry which I took some pictures..






On the ferry..





With Jeremy and Han Wen.

We managed to witness the beautiful nature of sunset on the first day.





It was breathtaking.






Imagine looking at the vast sea which seems to lead to nowhere, except to find the beautiful sun and clouds from there.






This is my fave, and everytime I kept looking at it, I just felt peaceful and calm.




When we reach Tioman, it was around 9pm, and after having dinner we went to the beach. You know, the starry night which was filled with hundreds of stars was so beautiful it makes you wanna cry.

I started to get really emotional, because I thought of some personal stuff and how this night could be shared with my girlfriend. But spending it with my fellow buddies, especially when some of them threw stones over at the water, I just felt happy. I thought I might not have a girlfriend to spend the starry night with, but I've got my buddies with me.





So yeah, I guess this pretty much summarises the first day..

This blog will close for the next 24 hours.

I'm sorry people, but I've decided to close this blog.


Sorry to those who have followed my blog all this while. It's just that something major happened that struck me so much that I've decided to close this blog.


Sorry...