Last Wednesday I packed my bags for the first time in 6 weeks and hit the road again. A week later, I’m sitting in the food court in KL’s central station, where there’s free wifi, food and (most importantly) handy tables where I can sit all day writing.
After staying put for 6 weeks, hitting the [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Malaysia’
On the road again?
Posted in Malaysia, Planning, SE Asia, tagged Cameron Highlands, divemaster, diving, Georgetown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Penang, scuba diving, Scuba Junkie on December 9, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Life as a DM in Semporna
Posted in Malaysia, SE Asia, tagged diving, Mabul, Malaysia, scuba diving, Scuba Junkie, Semporna, Thailand on December 2, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Well it’s official. I’m a divemaster.
My course ended on Monday – in the morning I led my instructor on a guide, and then I endured the “equipment exchange,” aka the stress test.
During this test, my buddy (Heath, another DMT) and I kneel on a sandy bottom at about 5 meters, buddy breathing (only one [...]
Life as a DMT in Semporna – II
Posted in Malaysia, SE Asia, tagged diving, Mabul, Malaysia, scuba diving, Scuba Junkie, Semporna, Sipadan on November 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’m stealing a moment during the hour free time I have between returning from diving and evening check-in at the dive shop for another quick post.
So, what’s a typical day like?
I wake up at 6ish, get my gear together and walk from Lee’s Rest House, which is situated in the center of Semporna, to Scuba [...]
Life as a DMT in Semporna
Posted in Malaysia, SE Asia, tagged diving, Kapalai, Mabul, Malaysia, scuba diving, Semporna, Sipadan on November 11, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I’m sitting in the Mabul Cafe, a cheerfully lit restaurant overlooking Semporna’s harborside drag that boasts mediocre food and sluggish service. I’m here only because it’s the only place in town with decent WiFi internet connection.
It’s a good thing that my DMT (divemaster trainee) activities keep me busy as hell from 6 am – 8 [...]
Boo! It’s November?
Posted in Malaysia, SE Asia, tagged divemaster, diving, Malaysia, scuba diving, Scuba Junkie, Semporna on October 31, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Holy crap, have I been busy. I can’t believe tomorrow is November.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m in Malaysian Borneo getting my PADI divemaster certification at Scuba Junkie. At most places, being a DMT (divemaster trainee) is tough work – lugging air tanks around, setting up customers’ gear, rinsing equipment at the end of the day, [...]
I left my heart in Melaka
Posted in Malaysia, SE Asia, tagged Baba-Nyonya, Chinatown, Chinese, Chitty, colonial, India, Kristang, Malaysia, Melaka, Peranakan, Portuguese on October 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’m posting this from Semporna, Borneo, where I’ve just signed up to do my divemaster course. Yee haw! More on that later.
In the meantime, Melaka (aka Malacca), the place I just left. It’s a place where it’s easy to get stuck. I arrived on a Monday, thinking I’d spend a few days. A week later [...]
G’night. S’tight.
Posted in Malaysia, SE Asia, tagged baseball, bedbugs, China, Malaysia, Melaka on October 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Bedbugs.
Bite.
It seems that most of SE Asia is infested with bedbugs. Here in Melaka I suffered my third attack (Xian, Yangshuo, then here). I changed beds and washed all my stuff. Everything was OK for two nights.
And then, two nights ago, I woke up to the now-unmistakable itch of bedbugs. Gah! It was around 3 [...]
Last post about China
Posted in China, tagged China, digressions, Malaysia on October 13, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I am *so* glad to be out of China. Malaysia is…*friendly*. Polite. Happy. Full of tasty food. In such an atmosphere it’s easy to overlook things like mosquito attacks and sudden, unexplained interruptions of internet service – things I would have railed against in China.
I would love wrap up my feelings about China (something more [...]
Notes from China
Posted in China, Planning, tagged AirAsia, China, digressions, Guilin, Kashgar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Urumqi, Xian on September 29, 2009 | 2 Comments »
This is sort of a catch-up post. The first two bits were written while I was in Xinjiang province, where I had zero internet access. The last part was written here in Xian. Not my best post ever, but whatever.
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9/18
Greetings from Urumqi, city of Chinese race riots.
Actually, this post can’t possibly be from Urumqi, [...]
