About me - in QR code

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

QR Codes are common in Japan, where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional codes. Moreover, most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera.

This is my first QR code.
To decode, you can download QR reader into your phone via this link: http://reader.kaywa.com/

nokia phone, you can go to:

http://mobilecodes.nokia.com/index.htm

Turtles

This dive at Sipadan is a wall dive. According to the dive instructors, the cliff can plunge down to hundreds of metres; at it's deepest, it can go down to 2000 m! Goodness, that's deeper than the maximum depth a submarine can go.

There is a turtle looking into the abyss




Turtle 'flying'. By the way they move their flippers, they look like they are flapping their wings.





Turtle setting off, 'taking flight'



Closer encounter:





'What are you looking at, you alien?"




More specifically, these are the Hawks Bill Turtles.






This photo has better colours. This could be because it is taken at shallower waters.



The light from the sun is white light, meaning it is composed of different colours. As it enters the water,the reddish hues attenuate first. That is why at greater depth, the photos looks greenish. ...
Ok, enough of physics for the moment.

Sharks

Some underwater photos taken during the Sipadan diving trip. These are the white tip sharks.

Sharks residing in a hole.

This one is on the move. Most sharks have to swim continuously to breathe, to let water passes through their gills. If they don't swim, they can't breathe - they drowned. ( That is, of course, unless the water current is strong enough to push the water through their gills)

That is why if we cut off their fins, they can't swim properly, and they get drowned!

Reef and Cliff

Cliff






Reef





School of fish


I'm not sure what this is, some sort of coral, I think... intriguing

Trying to identify the fishes

Hmm let me attempt to name the fishes caught on camera... Correct me if I'm wrong
There are actually tonnes more but ... even the smallest fish swims faster than us...

needle fish


The one on the top with the 2 black bands and yellowish white centre ( the one we see in Finding Nemo) should be butterfly fish.
The bluish one is the parrot fish.
And the black coloured one is the redtooth triggerfish. Yes, I know, it is black in colour. Well, we can't see its teeth, maybe it's red ???


This is also a butterfly fish - specifically, long nose butterfly fish


This an adult harlequin sweetlip. Its juvenile looks very different! and much nicer. I don't think I manage to take a picture of those.


Unicorn fish


Scorpion fish


Puffer Fish


Lion fish


Grouper, I think.


Eel, I'm not sure which type this is.


That's a batfish.


To end off the post ... Here is another common saying:

Leave only footprints
Take only pictures

Save the environment. We share the same home.

Kayaking Trip from Pasir Ris to Punggol - A Disappointment

Don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed with the kayaking trip per se. The route is nice and the company is fabulous. What I am disappointed with is the state of the water in Singapore - in particular, at Pasir Ris and Punggol.

On the way there. This is Punggol Jetty. I haven't been there for sometime. And there are some friendly people trying to fish. However, I don't think they should eat the fishes they caught, unless they don't mind having diarrhoea for the next thousand year and puking their intestine out.

This is Punggol Marina, or at least, that is what it was used to be called. The station is I think some LRT station.

The DAMn!

We were trying to cross the dam beside the marina. The stench here makes any sewage plant smells like a perfume shop. Goodness, it is the foulest smelling place I've ever kayaked to. I was glad I didn't have my lunch before coming here.

You don't need geomancy to know this place is not doing well. It has bad fengshui. Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes, stinks the place up ...

There is actually a bigger and more beautiful dam later on that leads to cleaner waters.

Before I come here, I imagined residences at Punggol waterfront would be sitting by the sea, having alfresco dining, or some beer, chilled out by the river ... Well sometimes, reality doesn't sucks, it stinks! The people here have my deepest condolences. They have to 'wait long long' for the place to developed.

I have a feeling crabs don't have sense of smell. They seems oblivious to the 'sewage water'.

Some artistic photo I was trying to take. Not very successful. But what the hack...

Back at Pasir Ris. A dead fish. Probaby killed by the pollutants, or maybe it decided to commit suicide after looking at the pathetic state of the sea water and the irresponsibly huge amount of litter.

(Warning: Do not click to enlarge if you just had your meal)

Let's be responsible and do our part. The moral of the story is clear: Clear up your rubbish!

I would like to end this entry with a quote:

"Leave the world a little better than when you found it."

Lord Baden Powell

Founder of the Scouting Movement

This quote has a deeper meaning than clearing up your own rubbish, but we can start with something simple and always be mindful about it. Clear up the rubbish, yours and others. 'Leave the world a little better than when you found it' I cannot have put it better than him.

A diving trip at Sabah

Semporna Town

After flying AirAsia from Singapore to Tawau, we had an airport transfer to Semporna town where the jetty is.

Our dive operator, Scuba Junkie. Stayed at the Scuba Junkie Backpackers.

Tea: Egg tosai with teh halia.

Semporna jetty in the evening.

Mabul Cafe (actually at Semporna) A place to chill out at night.